Simulation of the impact of parameter manipulations due to cyber-attacks and severe electrical faults on Offshore Wind Farms

Motivated by the transition to renewable energies in the context of ongoing climate change, offshore wind energy is of rising importance for the energy provision on national and international level. This trend, though, puts pressure on the safety and security community to provide appropriate analyses and solutions in regard to safety and security threats. Based on this motivation, this work investigates the internal disturbances in Offshore Wind Farms (OWF) provoked by cyber-attacks and severe electrical faults that might lead to high impact events. Therefore, the influences of these disturbances are quantified using a simulation model that represents electrical and mechanical aspects as well as the protection and control system. Furthermore, the dependence of the system response on to the disturbance characteristics is determined and the critical values of the disturbance characteristics leading to the OWF service interruption or even physical damage are identified. The results indicate in quantitative manner processes in the electrical and mechanical systems during parameter manipulations due to cyber-attacks and severe electrical faults. This, together with the quantitative signatures of the disturbances, enable future improvements of the security and stability of OWF systems. •Quantitative impact study of manipulations due to cyber-attacks on Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs).•Quantitative impact study of severe electrical faults on service provision of OWFs.•Application of Disturbance Impact Index for vulnerability analysis of OWFs.