Revision of the standard method for statistical evaluation of flicker coefficients in wind turbines

This paper presents a comparative study of the method used for measuring the flicker emission from wind turbines as currently defined in standard IEC 61400-21 and the new proposal included in the draft version of the revised standard. The new procedure applies a different arrangement scheme to the flicker measurements, and simplifies the statistical analysis to obtain the final flicker coefficients. The study performs a comparison based on data from a wind turbine measuring campaign. The results from both methods are discussed, and the proper statistical analysis is determined. The comparison shows that it is possible to simplify the flicker's statistical evaluation and obtain flicker coefficients that are consistent with the results from the standard in force. The study points out the research challenges in the validation of the assessment method that is required to comply with the technical regulations and grid codes.