Electrical machines and power electronic drives for wind turbine applications

This paper presents a review of different solutions for small wind turbines of the order 2-50 kW, designed for wind energy harvesting applications. Because the power characteristic of wind turbines is not linear, there are several topologies and control strategies for maximizing machine output power. In addition, the efficiency of the entire system depends on the type of the electrical machine that is used. The development of new designs of electromagnetic machine exhibiting good power density within a low cost constraint, coupled with appropriate power electronic control strategies, can improve overall system efficiencies.