Operation and Control Strategies for Wind Energy Conversion Systems

Wind energy systems have become an essential part of nowadays electricity supply and are increasingly competitive with conventional fossil fuel based power plants. Despite their contribution towards a more sustainable electricity supply, large-scale integration of wind power plants as well as Distributed renewable Energy Resources (DER) in general, poses a major challenge for the operation of future power grids. Besides increased system complexity and uncertainties, DERs are required to provide grid operation support and ancillary system services. This paper deals with operation and control strategies for wind energy systems, focusing on wind farm management but also individual wind turbines, and gives a review on state-of-art industrial solutions as well as recent research findings. A simulation study shows the prospects of advanced wind farm operation strategies to achieve a globally optimized energy yield. The developed simulation models include the emulation of aerodynamics and wind turbine wakes. Novel wind farm operation strategies are discussed in contrast to conventional approaches.