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The integration of a wind farm through IEC 61850 standard-based protection in smart grids
Author(s)
Gcelu, Yongama
Date Issued
2026
Type
master thesis
Publisher
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Abstract
The increasing integration of renewable power plants (RPPs), particularly wind power plants (WPPs), into electrical grids requires advanced protection schemes to maintain grid reliability, stability, and selectivity. This thesis presents the design, implementation, and validation of a coordinated protection system for high-voltage (HV) transformers used in the integration of a large-scale wind farm (LSWF) within a smart grid environment. The proposed protection scheme is IEC 61850 standard-based. It uses high-speed communication among Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) via Generic Object-Oriented Substation Event (GOOSE) messaging to ensure reliable fault coordination. A modified IEEE 9-bus power system integrated with a large-scale wind farm (LSWF) made of eighteen Vestas V117-4.2 MW wind turbine generator units (WTGUs) is used as the test network. The transformer differential protection is implemented as the main using the SEL-487E Station Phasor Measurement Unit. The backup to this main is done using the SEL-751A Feeder Protection Relay. The system is modeled using the Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) in conjunction with its software, Real-time Simulation Computer Aided Design (RSCAD) FX. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing is conducted to validate the protection logic and communication performance under various fault conditions. The results confirm that the IEC 61850 standard-based protection scheme improves the speed of detection of the fault, the latency of communication, and the accuracy of coordination. GOOSE messaging enables a timely and selective response, with trip and blocking signals successfully exchanged between IEDs. The developed protection scheme demonstrates robust performance under both internal and external fault conditions. This supports reliable and efficient integration of LSWFs into modern smart grids.
Additional information
Thesis (MEng (Electrical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2026
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Gcelu, Y_219492891 (1).pdf
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4.72 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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