A New Multi-level Inverter with FACTS Capabilities for Wind Applications

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) is an attractive topology for HVDC/FACTS systems. In this paper a new single-phase MMC-based D-STATCOM inverter for grid connection is proposed. The proposed inverter is designed for grid-connected wind turbines in the small- to mid-sized (10kW-20kW) range using the most advanced multi-level inverter topology. The proposed MMC D-STATCOM inverter controls the DC link voltage as well as the active and reactive power transferred between the renewable energy source, specifically wind turbine, and the grid in order to regulate the power factor (PF) of the grid regardless of the input active power from wind turbine. The goal of this paper is to present a new inverter with D-STATCOM capability in a single unit without any additional cost. The 5-level D-STATCOM inverter is simulated and the results are presented to verify the operation of the proposed system. The simulation studies are carried out in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. To validate the simulation results, an experimental configuration of a 5-Level DSTATCOM inverter has been built and tested.