Effective harnessing of wind energy using pitch-controlled turbine blades

With the rising cost of traditional energy, alternate sources of energy like wind energy are being looked into. This ample source of renewable energy is widely distributed, cheap and also helps in reducing toxic gas emissions. Although, wind energy is one of the renewable sources of energy, there are certain constraints which pose a challenge in using it to its full potential. Higher wind speeds will cause fluctuations in the power output from the wind turbine causing stability issues in the grid. Pitch angle control may be used during such cases for maintaining the output speed at constant rated value which otherwise would result in the rupture of the whole system. An analysis of two different control techniques for the output speed control of wind generation systems is presented in this paper. Traditional PID Controller as well as Inverse System Controller is designed. Simulation results show the effectiveness of ISC over traditional PID Controller thus reminding that with right tools we can turn the movement of air above us into fuel for our energy hungry life styles.