Trends in wind power technology and grid code requirements

Developments in wind turbine technology are facilitating the increase of power generation capacity from renewable energy sources. However an electrical utility grid is generally unable to accept a large amount of wind power without imposing strict conditions. Voltage fluctuation, reactive power compensation and fault ride through are the main areas of concern. Variable speed generators, STATCOMs and crowbar circuits are used to comply with grid code requirements. This paper discusses a number of wind turbine topologies and grid code requirements for large scale integration of wind power.