Performance comparison of wind park configurations

Report, 2003

In this report, layouts of various large-scale wind parks, both AC as well as DC, are investigated. Loss modelling of the wind park components as well as calculations of the energy capture of the turbines using various electrical systems are performed, and the energy production cost of the various park configurations is determined. It was found that from an energy capture point of view, the difference in energy production between various wind turbine systems is very small. In addition, a study of the suitability of various DC/DC-converters is made. Three DC/DC-converters, Boost, Full Bridge and Full Bridge Isolated Boost, are found to be interesting candidates as the "transformer" component in potential DC-based wind parks. Of all the investigated wind park configurations, the wind park with the series connected DC wind turbines seems to have the best potential to give the lowest energy production cost, if the transmission distance is longer then 10-20km.