Efficiency improvement of a variable speed wind turbine: Effect of controller design and generator speed range

Abstract

In this paper, a theory and practice-based research is conducted using real data, in order to increase the efficiency of a Vestas 660 kW wind turbine. The data obtained from Binalood’s wind farm, shows the degraded performance of these turbines. This is mainly because of the weak performance of the classical controller in tracking to reach the maximum power in the partial load region. Another factor with a negative effect on efficiency of the turbines, is the low range of generator speed variation. In this research, two solutions are proposed to solve these problems. First, a nonlinear state feedback controller with wind speed calculator is designed which improves the turbine performance. Second, it is shown by simulation results that the turbine efficiency is improved by increasing the range of generator speed variation. Also, the model is validated using actual data and FAST model.