Fast Frequency Services from HVDC-Connected Offshore Wind Power Plants: A Review in the European Context

Zhenghua Xu, George Alin Raducu, Behnam Nouri, Oscar Saborío-Romano, Nicolaos A. Cutululis

The rapid expansion of offshore wind energy is central to the European Union's climate-neutrality targets, with High Voltage Direct Current-connected offshore wind power plants (HVDC-OWPPs) becoming increasingly important for integrating gigawatt-scale renewable generation over long distances. Simultaneously, the phase-out of conventional synchronous generators, together with the gradual withdrawal of renewable-energy subsidies, are creating growing demand for ancillary service provision from HVDC-OWPPs as alternatives. This paper presents a comprehensive review of fast frequency services from HVDC-OWPPs in the European context, focusing on inertia support, fast frequency reserve (FFR), and frequency containment reserve (FCR). The review covers both mandatory grid-code requirements and commercial service products, including the latest developments from ENTSO-E, ACER, NESO, TenneT, and Energinet. Furthermore, the paper discusses the key technical gaps and challenges in the practical implementation of fast frequency services from HVDC-OWPPs, highlighting the limited fast response capacity, complexity of stacking optimization, asymmetric provision of inertia, and overall coordination of an HVDC-OWPP system.