Low-Cost Wind Power Conversion System Based on Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator and Grid Connected Single-Phase Impedance Source Inverter

In low-speed wind power systems, it is possible to remove the gearbox from the wind turbine structure by using permanent magnet synchronous generators and reduce the costs of construction, weight and maintenance. Therefore, in this paper, a single-phase grid connected impedance source inverter is studied for power management of low-speed synchronous magnet generators. Considering capability of the inverter to operate either in buck or boost modes, an extra DC-DC converter is not required in maximum power point tracking of the wind energy conversion systems. To cope with the non-minimum phase characteristic of the impedance source converter, an indirect controller is designed to regulate inverter input voltage as well as maximum power tracking of the wind turbine. Simulation results in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment indicate efficiency of the proposed controller in maximum power point tracking of the grid connected renewable power plant.