A tutorial on the control of wind turbines and wind farms

Wind is recognized worldwide as a cost-effective, environmentally friendly solution to energy shortages, and wind energy is currently the fastest-growing energy source in the world. Despite the amazing growth in the installed capacity of wind turbines in recent years, engineering and science challenges still exist. These large, flexible structures operate in uncertain environments and lend themselves nicely to advanced control solutions. Advanced controllers can help achieve the overall goal of decreasing the cost of wind energy by increasing the efficiency, and thus the energy capture, or by reducing structural loading and increasing the lifetimes of the components and turbine structures. This session will introduce the controls community to a number of issues in wind power, and will outline many open problems in the areas of modeling and control of wind turbines.