Optimization of power quality in wind energy conversion system using hybrid modulation

Abstract

Generation of power from renewable sources of energy is being more actively researched in recent times due to fast depletion of non-renewable energy resources. One among the renewable energy resource is tapping of energy from wind turbines where wind energy is converted into ample electrical energy. However, power generation systems are often influenced by several attributes which affect the quality of power generated. One among them is the crucial harmonics which if present in significant measures tends to degrade power quality. This research paper proposes a control technique which operates at voltage source inverter level incorporated in a wind energy conversion system to reduce the overall THD%. A hybrid control mechanism is employed in the proposed work which actively works to reduce the harmonic spread factor as well as voltage harmonics by providing precise decision of carrier states which form an integral part of the feedback shift register present in the system. The emphasis therefore extricates to arrive at an appropriate choice of the carrier and ensembles a comparative analysis of the voltage harmonic reduction strategy that includes sinusoidal PWM, random PWM, space vector PWM and hybrid SVPWM techniques. The framework evaluates the performance using MATLAB simulation and validates the results through a prototype to establish the suitability of the scheme for use in practice.