Effect of Static VAR Compensator positioning on a grid-connected wind turbine-driven Squirrel Cage Induction Generator

Generation of electricity using wind power has received considerable attention worldwide in recent years as the power grid is being geared towards increased smartness. Various wind turbine generator models have been developed. Conventional wind turbines use Squirrel Cage Induction Generators. A Squirrel Cage Induction Generator (SCIG) always consumes reactive power. In most cases, this is undesirable, because it can lead to voltage instability, particularly in case of large turbines and weak grids. Therefore, it is pertinent to adequately compensate for the reactive power supply in the wind turbine squirrel cage induction generator systems. In this paper, the characteristics of a 2-mass model wind turbine connected to a SCIG are investigated. This investigation is conducted on a simulated model with the whole system connected to the grid and given a reactive power support through a Static VAR Compensator (SVC). The simulation result shows that the positioning of SVC alters the behavior of SCIG with SCIG generating some reactive power when SVC is connectedacross its terminal.