Autonomous wind energy conversion systems sharing a common load consist of a number of voltage source converters operating in parallel. A suitable control system should ensure desired load sharing among these as a number of these sources operating in parallel are required to meet the load demand and load excursions should not lead to instability of the system. In absence of the grid there is no reference angle for synchronization. Hence, a control scheme for parallel-connected three-phase converters incorporating the desirable features needs to be developed in order to exploit the renewable energy sources, which are intermittent in nature as effectively as possible in case of an autonomous microgrid. A simple and effective droop control strategy without the use of conventional &#x3b1;&#x3b2; technique incorporating only dq components has been proposed for load sharing among wind energy conversion systems connected by back to back voltage source converters in autonomous operation. The need for communication link should also be avoided, hence reducing the system cost. The system is modelled using Matlab and the control is authenticated by simulation results.

Aarti Gupta

Dinesh Kumar Jain

Surender Dahiya

Load Sharing of Wind Based Microgrid in Autonomous Operation

Wind power is highly variable due to the stochastic behavior of wind speeds. This intermittent nature could excite the electromechanical modes resulting in the small signal instability of a power system. In this study, the performance of static VAR compensation (SVC) and thyristor controlled series capacitor (TCSC) controllers in the damping of electromechanical modes is analyzed and compared. The study employs probabilistic modal analysis method using Monte Carlo simulation and Latin hypercube sampling techniques. Various scenarios are created to get insight into the study. The results obtained from the modal analysis are verified by using the time-domain simulation. Some of the key results show that SVC is more robust in the damping of electromechanical modes compared to TCSC. The result also reveals that allocation of power system stabilizer (PSS) using probabilistic method is more effective and robust compared to deterministic approach.

T. R. Ayodele

Comparative Assessment of SVC and TCSC Controllers on the Small Signal Stability Margin of a Power System Incorporating Intermittent Wind Power Generation

The paper presents a nonlinear approach to wind turbine (WT) using two-mass model. The main aim of the controller in the WT is to maximize the energy output at varying wind speed. In this work, a combination of linear and nonlinear controllers is adapted to variable speed variable pitch wind turbines (VSVPWT) system. The major operating regions of the WT are below (region 2) and above rated (region 3) wind speed. In these regions, generator torque control (region 2) and pitch control (region 3) are used. The controllers in WT are tested for below and above rated wind speed for step and vertical wind speed profile. The performances of the controllers are analyzed with nonlinear FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence) WT dynamic simulation. In this paper, two nonlinear controllers, that is, sliding mode control (SMC) and integral sliding mode control (ISMC), have been applied for region 2, whereas for pitch control in region 3 conventional PI control is used. In ISMC, the sliding manifold makes use of an integral action to show effective qualities of control in terms of the control level reduction and sliding mode switching control minimization.

Saravanakumar Rajendran

Debashisha Jena

Control of Variable Speed Variable Pitch Wind Turbine at Above and Below Rated Wind Speed

Ireland has one of the highest wind energy potentials in Europe. The intermittent nature of wind makes this renewable resource impractical as a sole source of energy. Combining wind energy with pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) can overcome this intermittency, consuming energy during low-demand periods and supplying energy for periods of high demand. Currently Ireland has a number of hydroelectric power plants and wind farms of various scales in operation. A feasibility study was conducted to investigate the potential of securing a reliable source of renewable energy by increasing the penetration of hydroelectric power by means of combined wind-PHES developments. The greatest wind potential is experienced along the western coast of Ireland and a number of sites were identified here which satisfied a minimum mean wind speed criterion of 10.5 ms&#x2212;1. Each site was then further evaluated according to topographical requirements for PHES. All but two of the identified sites are immediately unsuitable due to the presence of areas protected under European legislation; this highlights the nonenergy related obstacles in the path of renewable energy generation in Ireland and suggests that a compromise should be researched which could facilitate both renewable energy generation and species and habitat protection in Europe.

Alice Coburn

Eil&#xed;n Walsh

Patrick J. Solan

Kevin P. McDonnell

Combining Wind and Pumped Hydro Energy Storage for Renewable Energy Generation in Ireland

An alternative electric power source, such as wind power, has to be both reliable and autonomous. An accurate wind speed forecasting method plays the key role in achieving the aforementioned properties and also is a valuable tool in overcoming a variety of economic and technical problems connected to wind power production. The method proposed is based on the reformulation of the problem in the standard state space form and on implementing a bank of Kalman filters (KF), each fitting an ARMA model of different order. The proposed method is to be applied to a greenhouse unit which incorporates an automatized use of renewable energy sources including wind speed power.

Stylianos Sp. Pappas

Dimitrios Ch. Karamousantas

George E. Chatzarakis

Christos Sp. Pappas

A New Hybrid Forecasting Strategy Applied to Mean Hourly Wind Speed Time Series

This paper describes the starting behavior of small horizontal axis wind turbines at high angles of attack and low Reynolds number. The unfavorable relative wind direction during the starting time leads to low starting torque and more idling time. Wind turbine models of sizes less than 5 meters were simulated at wind speed range of 2&#x2009;m/s to 5&#x2009;m/s. Wind turbines were modeled in Pro/E and based on the optimized designs given by MATLAB codes. Wind turbine models were simulated in ADAMS for improving the starting behavior. The models with high starting torques and less idling times were selected. The starting behavior was successfully improved and the optimized wind turbine models were able to produce more starting torque even at wind speeds less than 5&#x2009;m/s.

Sikandar Khan

Kamran Shah

Izhar-Ul-Haq

Hamid Khan

Sajid Ali

Naveed Ahmad

Muhammad Abid

Haider Ali

Ihsanullah

Mazhar Sher

Observation of the Starting and Low Speed Behavior of Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

This paper presents closed form solutions to the classical beam elasticity differential equation in order to effectively model the displacement of standard aerodynamic geometries used throughout a number of industries. The models assume that the components are constructed from in-plane generally anisotropic (though shown to be quasi-isotropic) composite materials. Exact solutions for the displacement and strains for elliptical and FX66-S-196 and NACA 63-621 aerofoil approximations thin wall composite material shell structures, with and without a stiffening rib (shear-web), are presented for the first time. Each of the models developed is rigorously validated via numerical (Runge-Kutta) solutions of an identical differential equation used to derive the analytical models presented. The resulting calculated displacement and material strain fields are shown to be in excellent agreement with simulations using the ANSYS and CATIA commercial finite element (FE) codes as well as experimental data evident in the literature. One major implication of the theoretical treatment is that these solutions can now be used in design codes to limit the required displacement and strains in similar components used in the aerospace and most notably renewable energy sectors.

J. Whitty

T. Haydock

B. Johnson

J. Howe

On the Deflexion of Anisotropic Structural Composite Aerodynamic Components

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Journal of Wind Energy