Experimental investigation on the performance of an autonomous wind energy conversion system

Distributed generation seems to be a very interesting solution to provide electricity especially for the remote areas far from the electrical grid. In this paper, an autonomous wind energy conversion system and the control strategies applied to feed an isolated site were presented. A test bench was achieved in order to emulate the behaviour of a variable speed wind turbine connected to isolated loads. This study shows that the use of resonant controllers ensures the stability of the three-phase source supplying the loads which may be unbalanced and subjected to abrupt variations. A comparison between simulation and experimental results proves the effectiveness of the test bench and the control strategies implemented in real time.

► We experiment an autonomous wind energy conversion system. ► A test bench emulates the behaviour of a variable speed wind turbine. ► The supplied load is subjected to abrupt variations and unbalance. ► A comparison between simulation and experimental results shows the performance of the considered system.