Optimising Control of Wind Generators

Basque Research Public Release, 24 Apr 2006 The School of Engineering at Bayonne is working on a research project on control optimisation for the latest-generation wind generators using intelligent microsensors. The latest-generation wind generators work at variable speed and with pitch regulation based on the pitch angle of the rotor blades. These degrees of freedom enable an increase in energy yield, a decrease in fatigue due to mechanical loads and an enhancement in the quality of the electrical potential with respect to fixed-speed wind turbines. The rotation speed and the pitch angle of the blades are controlled continuously by control algorithms and the quality of these algorithms have a determining influence on the price of the energy produced by the wind generators. Although a large amount of research work on wind generator control has been undertaken, it still remains for more "intelligence" to be introduced into their functioning. Read more