Configuration and EMT Simulation of the 240-bus MiniWECC System Integrating Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs)

Abstract

As offshore wind farms (OWFs) become increasingly prevalent in Northern California and Southern Oregon, they introduce faster dynamics into the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) system, reshaping its dynamic behavior. Accordingly, electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation is essential to assess high frequency dynamics of the WECC system with integrated OWFs. Against this background, this paper presents the integration of detailed dynamic models of OWFs into a 240-bus miniWECC system in PSCAD software. The sequential initialization technique is employed to facilitate the smooth initiation of a large-scale system in an EMT simulation. The performance of the configured model is assessed under wind speed variations and grounded faults, demonstrating the effectiveness of the miniWECC system with OWFs. This system serves as a valuable basic use case for validating the fast dynamic performance of future WECC systems with high penetration of wind energy.