A study of flicker emission of a mid-scale wind turbine

An analysis of the flicker level of a mid-scale wind turbine connected to a distribution system is presented in this paper. The analysis is based on simulation results from different programs in order to provide a more realistic wind emulation and a detailed model of mechanical and electrical components of a wind turbine. Such aim is accomplished by using FAST to simulate the mechanical parts of the wind turbine, Simulink/MatLab to simulate the electrical system, and TurbSim to obtain the wind model. These programs are used together and the flicker level is calculated from simulation results as function of the electrical distribution system parameters. The results show that, even for a small wind generator, the flicker level can limit the wind power capacity installed in a distribution system.