This paper presents a comprehensive study on the state-of-the-art and emerging wind energy technologies from the electrical engineering perspective. In an attempt to decrease cost of energy, increase the wind energy conversion efficiency, reliability, power density, and comply with the stringent grid codes, the electric generators and power electronic converters have emerged in a rigorous manner. From the market based survey, the most successful generator-converter configurations are addressed along with few promising topologies available in the literature. The back-to-back connected converters, passive generator-side converters, converters for multiphase generators, and converters without intermediate dc-link are investigated for high-power wind energy conversion systems (WECS), and presented in low and medium voltage category. The onshore and offshore wind farm configurations are analyzed with respect to the series/parallel connection of wind turbine ac/dc output terminals, and high voltage ac/dc transmission. The fault-ride through compliance methods used in the induction and synchronous generator based WECS are also discussed. The past, present and future trends in megawatt WECS are reviewed in terms of mechanical and electrical technologies, integration to power systems, and control theory. The important survey results, and technical merits and demerits of various WECS electrical systems are summarized by tables. The list of current and future wind turbines are also provided along with technical details.

High-Power Wind Energy Conversion Systems: State-of-the-Art and Emerging Technologies

The evolution of power electronics and its control has been mainly driven by industry applications and influenced by the development achieved in several technologies, such as power semiconductors, converter topologies, automatic control, and analog and digital electronics. Digital signal processors (DSPs), in particular, have experienced an exponential development in processing power, which until now has not been fully exploited for control purposes in power converters and drive applications. Presently, the control system technology finds itself in a paradigm-changing tipping point, in which more demanding control goals, system flexibility, and functionalities required by emerging applications are driving the control system technology development, in addition to stabilization and robustness, which was the main focus in the past. This article walks briefly through the history of the mainstream power converter control scene, with an emphasis on the more recent introduction of predictive control, and gives a glimpse on the challenges and possibilities ahead. Special attention is given to finite control set (FCS)-model predictive control (MPC), because of its simplicity, flexibility, inherent adaptation to power electronic circuits and their discrete nature, both in the finite amount of switching states and the digital implementation with microprocessors.

Model Predictive Control: MPC's Role in the Evolution of Power Electronics

Direct model predictive control (MPC) with reference tracking, also referred to as finite control set MPC (FCS-MPC), has gained significant attention in recent years, mainly from the academic community. Thanks to its applicability to a wide range of power electronic systems, it is considered a promising control method for such systems. However, to simplify the design, researchers frequently make choices that—often unknowingly—reduce the system performance. In this article, we discuss and analyze the factors that affect the closed-loop performance of FCS-MPC. Based on these findings, design guidelines are provided that help to maximize the system performance. To highlight the performance benefits, two case studies will be considered: the first one consists of a two-level converter and an induction machine, whereas the second one adds an $LC$ filter between the converter and the machine.

Guidelines for the Design of Finite Control Set Model Predictive Controllers

In this paper, a new medium voltage power converter topology using a diode rectifier, three-level boost (TLB) converter, and neutral-point-clamped (NPC) inverter is proposed for a high-power permanent magnet synchronous generator-based wind energy conversion system. The generator-side TLB converter performs the maximum power point tracking and balancing of dc-link capacitor voltages, while the grid-side NPC inverter regulates the net dc-bus voltage and reactive power to the grid. A significant improvement in the grid power quality is accomplished as the NPC inverter no longer controls the dc-link neutral point voltage. A model predictive strategy is proposed to control the complete system where the discrete-time models of the proposed power electronic converters are used to predict the future behavior of control variables. These predictions are evaluated using two independent cost functions, and the switching states which minimize these cost functions are selected and applied to the generator- and grid-side converters directly. In order to comply with the high-power application, the switching frequencies of the TLB converter and NPC inverter are minimized and maintained below 1.5 and 1 kHz, respectively. The proposed topology and control strategy are verified through MATLAB simulations on a 3-MW/3000-V/577-A system and dSPACE DS1103-based experiments on 3.6-kW/208-V/10-A prototype.

Predictive Control of a Three-Level Boost Converter and an NPC Inverter for High-Power PMSG-Based Medium Voltage Wind Energy Conversion Systems

Recently, multilevel inverters (MLIs) have gained lots of interest in industry and academia, as they are changing into a viable technology for numerous applications, such as renewable power conversion system and drives. For these high power and high/medium voltage applications, MLIs are widely used as one of the advanced power converter topologies. To produce high-quality output without the need for a large number of switches, development of reduced switch MLI (RS MLI) topologies has been a major focus of current research. Therefore, this review paper focuses on a number of recently developed MLIs used in various applications. To assist with advanced current research in this field and in the selection of suitable inverter for various applications, significant understanding on these topologies is clearly summarized based on the three categories, i.e., symmetrical, asymmetrical, and modified topologies. This review paper also includes a comparison based on important performance parameters, detailed technical challenges, current focus, and future development trends. By a suitable combination of switches, the MLI produces a staircase output with low harmonic distortion. For a better understanding of the working principle, a single-phase RS MLI topology is experimentally illustrated for different level generation using both fundamental and high switching frequency techniques which will help the readers to gain the utmost knowledge for advance research.

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Recently Developed Reduced Switch Multilevel Inverter for Renewable Energy Integration and Drives Application: Topologies, Comprehensive Analysis and Comparative Evaluation

In this paper, a model-predictive control of medium voltage, grid-tied four-level diode-clamped inverter for use in high-power wind energy conversion systems is presented. The control objectives such as regulation of net dc-link voltage, reactive power generation to meet the grid operator request, dc-link capacitor voltages balancing, and switching frequency minimization are included in the cost function. The latter objective is an important requirement for high-power converters, and this has been achieved without any modifications to the software or hardware configuration. The future behavior of the grid currents and dc-link voltages is predicted for all the possible switching states using the discrete-time model of the inverter, dc-link, inductive filter, and grid. The switching state that minimizes the cost function has been chosen and applied to the inverter directly. During different operating conditions, the switching frequency is regulated between 750 and 850 Hz with the help of a lookup-table-based weighting factor, and thus, the proposed methodology appears as a promising tool to control the high-power grid-tied inverters. The results obtained through the MATLAB simulations on 4 MVA/4000 V system and dSPACE DS1103-based experiments on 5 kW/208 V prototype are in a close relationship and thus validate the proposed control strategy.

Jin Chen

Papers

Model-Predictive Control of Grid-Tied Four-Level Diode-Clamped Inverters for High-Power Wind Energy Conversion Systems