Design and Construction of a Wind Turbine Simulator for Integration to a Microgrid with Renewable Energy Sources

In this paper, a physical wind turbine simulator (WTS) has been designed, constructed, and evaluated in a microgrid environment. The reference turbine is a physical wind turbine (PWT), whose characteristics are obtained through wind tunnel experiments. The main purpose of this WTS is to investigate the integration and coordination control of wind energy systems in a microgrid environment. A comprehensive literature review has been performed, and the lessons learned from existing WTSs have been considered. A vector torque control strategy with an induction motor has been selected for implementation. Due to the feature of independent torque control in a vector mode, superior dynamic behavior, high accuracy at low-wind speed conditions can be achieved. This simulator, therefore, provides flexibility to accommodate a wide range of wind conditions. In addition, the simulator construction and control system design are also included. The steady-state and dynamic characteristics of the WTS correlate well with the considered reference PWT. The performance of WTS has been validated against the reference turbine under realistic wind conditions. Real-time coordination of this WTS with photovoltaic (PV) devices and battery storage within a microgrid has been also investigated.