Real-Time Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop Implementation of Variable-Speed Wind Turbines

This paper presents the real-time (RT) power-hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) emulation of the two most popular variable-speed wind turbines (WT): the doubly-fed induction generator WT with partial-scale power converter and the permanent-magnet synchronous machine WT with full-scale power converter. RT-PHIL emulation offers a realistic, controlled, and easily reconfigurable test environment for analyzing grid integration problems, in which classic tools frequently show a lack of capacity. The proposed discrete-time models and implementation methodology result in creation of platform-independent models suitable for application on any RT platform. A voltage-source converter is used as PHIL power interface between the RT simulation and a microgrid testbed. This test environment is of interest for verification of high-level control strategies for wind farms and for evaluation of the response of hardware systems, such as active filters or static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs) connected to a grid (or microgrid) in presence of wind power generation. The RT discrete models of both WTs are demonstrated in a grid-connection experiment.