| Nowadays, there is an increasing proliferation of renewable energy systems, and wind energy schemes using induction generators have been included in power systems. Induction generators used in wind power require reactive power supply for rotor excitation, and the reactive power demand continuously changes with variation in wind speed. This reactive power flow can deteriorate the power factor unless appropriate reactive power is supplied. Power Factor correction for wind energy systems has been studied but many proposed schemes use switched capacitors only or result in power factor that still have remaining margin to be improved. The hybrid Power Factor Regulator (PFR) scheme proposed in this thesis provides enhanced Power Factor which enhances this margin in changing wind condition. The hybrid PFR consists of a Fixed Capacitor (FC), a Thyristor-Controlled Reactor (TCR) and a Thyristor-Switched Capacitor (TSC). The hybrid PFR has been modeled and simulated with a system including a wind farm and an AC power grid. The simulation results of the hybrid PFR are compared with the conventional FC controller, and the power factor regulation performance is evaluated and discussed. |
