Reliability and energy loss in full-scale wind power converter considering grid codes and wind classes

With the increasing penetration of the wind power, reliable operation and cost-effective wind energy production are of more and more importance. As one of the promising configurations, the cost on reliability and production losses of permanent-magnet synchronous generator based full-scale wind power converter is studied considering the grid code with reactive power production as well as the annual wind profile. Regarding the reliability, it is found that either the Over-Excited (OE) or the Under-Excited (UE) reactive power injection threatens the lifespan under all wind classes. Meanwhile, if the specific designed wind turbine system operates at different wind classes, it can be seen that higher wind class level results in lower lifetime of the power converter. In respect to the cost of the reactive power, either the OE or the UE reactive power increases the energy loss per year significantly if they are provided all year around, in which the OE reactive power injection even has a worse scenario. Moreover, it is also concluded that in order to realize an energy loss saving of the wind turbine system, the constant power factor control strategy is more preferred compared to an extreme reactive power injection.