Dynamical variable structure controller for power regulation of wind energy conversion systems

The paper addresses the problem of output power regulation of fixed-pitch variable-speed wind energy conversion systems. Operation is constrained by practical reasons to the low-speed side of the turbine power-speed curve. Unfortunately, this region is characterized by a nonminimum phase dynamics which is an obstacle to perform the regulation task. A dynamical variable structure controller is developed that accomplishes the control objective despite this limitation. The proposed control strategy presents attractive features such as robustness to parametric uncertainties of the turbine and generator as well as to electric grid disturbances.