EKF - based MPPT control for vertical axis wind turbines

The paper proposes a novel sensorless maximum power point tracking control strategy for vector controlled vertical axis wind turbines. One relevant aspect of the proposed algorithm is that the mechanical rotor position sensor and anemometer are not needed. Estimation of the rotor position and speed of the electrical generator is performed by using an Extended Kalman Filter while the wind speed estimation is indirectly obtained through implementation of a suitable Maximum Power Point Tracking algorithm. Robustness to parameter variations and the dynamic behavior of the sensorless approach are investigated through numerical simulations.