Multilevel converters for 10 MW Wind Turbines

Several promising multi-level converter configurations for 10 MW Wind Turbines both with direct drive and one-stage gear box drive using Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) are proposed, designed and compared. Reliability is a crucial indicator for large scale wind power converters, therefore the evaluations are mainly focused on the power device thermal performances, which are closely related to the life time and cost of the converter. Simulation results of different converter candidates regarding the loss and junction temperature are presented and analyzed. It is concluded that the three-level and five-level H-bridge converter topologies both have potential to achieve improved thermal performances compared to the three-level Neutral-Point-Clamped converter topology in the wind power application.