A unity power factor, maximum power point tracking battery charger for low power wind turbines

This paper proposes a unique implementation of power factor correction (PFC) and maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for low power wind turbines. For a given wind condition, there is a unique electrical load which will harvest the maximum power from a wind turbine, the proposed control algorithm actively tracks this electrical loading condition for maximum power. An active 3-phase rectifier (VIENNA) converter is used to rectify the 3-phase AC voltage with near unity power factor which is critical in this application where the series resistance of the turbine is very high. An experimental 300 W prototype was designed and tested to verify the design. Experimental results showed a significant increase in power extracted from the low power wind turbine when PFC and MPPT were implemented.