Romblon State University College of engineering and Technology Department of Electrical Engineering

Current Source Converter for Megawatt Wind Energy

KENNETTE MAYOR RONALD ANDRES JOSHOUA MECCA

Introduction
Wind energy has stood out as one of the most promising and dynamically growing sources for electricity generation. In 2008, worldwide wind energy growth was at an increased rate of 29%, with 27,261 megawatts (MW) added by new installations [1]. The total power capacity of installed wind turbines as a result has boosted up to 121,188 MW by the end of 2008, accounting for more than 1.5 % of the global electricity consumption. Today, more and more countries set up favorable policies to stimulate the growth of green energy, with particular interests on solar and wind. It is expected that the global wind power capacity will increase steadily and contribute more than 12% of the global electricity consumption by the year 2020. Environmental concern is the main factor that stimulates wind energy growth. Existing fossil energy based power generators contribute huge quantity of greenhouse gas emissions amounting up to 40% of the global total [2]. The booming of wind energy is expected to help phase out fossil-fuel generation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Besides environmental benefits, wind energy also provides a sustainable solution to escalating concerns about energy crisis. Moreover, it is becoming a significant stimulus to economic development by providing a mass of direct or indirect job opportunities instead of importing/exporting fossil energy resources. The wind energy industry has made tremendous advancements in various aspects of the technology. The improvements done to turbine and blade design, system control and electrical generation systems have significantly brought down the cost of wind energy. In the meantime, the size of an individual wind turbine has upgraded from a few kilowatts to a few megawatts, mainly driven by the saving of manufacturing and installation cost. The wind energy cost is becoming comparable to the cost of conventional fossil generators. All the technology advancements, together with other factors, have led to a substantial boost of wind power generation into the grid. This increased wind penetration also brings concerns of power system quality and stability. System operators are now enforcing grid connection codes on large grid-connected wind turbines or wind farms. For wind turbines rated at megawatt level, variable-speed generation is the dominant technology because of its higher energy efficiency, better power quality and lower mechanical stress. The variable-speed operation of the turbine necessitates the use of power electronic converters to interface the generators with the grid. In this dissertation, current source converters (CSCs) are proposed for megawatt wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) using permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs). Comprehensive work is carried out to analyze and design a complete converter system for wind power generation from the perspectives of converter topology, modulation scheme, system control and grid integration. This chapter starts with the introduction of basic configurations, latest trends and requirements for megawatt WECS. A comprehensive review on generator and converter topologies is then provided. Following the review, a new configuration is proposed, based on which the objectives and motivations of the dissertation are defined. The organization of the dissertation is summarized at the end.

Background of wind energy conversion systems

A WECS produces electricity by converting kinetic energy of the wind to electrical powers, the fundamental components of a typical WECS include wind turbine, drive train, electrical generator, possible power electronic converter, and transformer for connection with the grid. The wind turbine extracts power from the fluctuating wind and converts it into mechanical energy. It is normally composed of three blades and a turbine hub for supporting the blades. The mechanical power extracted from the wind depends on many factors: wind speed, turbine angular speed, air density, blade shape and etc. In general, for a particular wind turbine and wind speed, the generated power peaks at a certain turbine rotor speed. According to the wind turbine aerodynamic characteristics, this maximum power is proportional to the cubic of wind speed The rotational motion of the turbine rotor is then coupled to the electrical generator by the mechanical drive train. The structure of the drive train strongly depends on the configuration of the WECS and may be either direct coupling or using a gearbox. The rated rotating speed of a megawatt wind turbine is normally around 10 to 15 rpm [3]. Generators directly driven by the wind turbine rotor have to be designed with a large number of poles and a large diameter to accommodate such a low turbine speed. In order to optimize the generator design, a gearbox working as a speed multiplier can be used to step up the mechanical speed of the generator rotor. The generator transforms mechanical energy to electrical energy with variable frequency and variable magnitude. Several machine types, such as squirrel-cage induction generator (SCIG), doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG), electrically excited synchronous generator (EESG) and permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) have found applications in practical WECSs. The generators can be directly connected to the grid or via a power electronic converter. Detailed review of the generator and converter configurations for WECS is provided in the following sections. Finally, a WECS is connected to the grid or a wind farm power station through a voltage step-up transformer. Most megawatt wind turbines are connected to the medium-voltage network Large offshore wind farms are usually connected to the grid with even higher voltage level.

Significance of the Study This study will be significant endeavor in promoting environment friendly energy source. Also this study is also beneficial to the students and other researchers in using this conversion system for megawatt wind energy conversion system.