Wind power system hardware

In wind generation systems, the wind turbine, the electrical generator and the grid-interfaced converters are three key components that have been developed in the past 30 years 32, 33. The turbine converts wind energy into mechanical energy.

Air Windpower, a company in Spain, developed a wind-powered generator designed to maximise reliability and minimise the cost of the energy produced during its operating life. Our Integrated Architecture® system provides a powerful platform for the safe control of wind turbines and wind farms.

Wind generation systems harness the power of the wind to convert kinetic energy into electricity. Wind is becoming one of the most popular renewable energy sources owing to technological advances that enable its abundant resources worldwide to be harnessed at increasingly lower cost 30, 31.

These requirements are twofold: first, wind generation systems must operate effectively under diverse grid conditions and disturbances arising from interactions between wind generation systems and the grid; and second, wind generation systems are mandated to provide various auxiliary services to ensure the optimal operation of the power systems.

Two typical configurations of power electronic converter-based wind turbine generation systems have been widely adopted in modern wind power applications: type 3 wind generation systems with doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) (Fig. 2a); and type 4 wind generation systems with permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs) (Fig. 2b).

One approach involves operating the wind generation system with power reserve, achieved by shifting the MPPT reference. In this approach, the pitch angle can be regulated based on frequency deviations, enabling power reserves to participate in primary frequency control 156.