Development of vertical-axis wind turbine with asynchronous generator interconnected to the electric network

Because of energy shortage and environment pollution, the renewable energy, especially wind energy has become more and more considerable all over the world. Vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) has some advantages. The heavy parts such as gearbox, generator and control system can be placed on the ground and they can be maintained easily. The head of horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT) must be rotated toward the direction of the wind. But VAWT can capture the wind from all the directions. Asynchronous generator connected directly to the power grid is the one of the simplest methods for the wind generation system. The models of each part such as wind turbine, transmission system, asynchronous generator and soft-starter are proposed. Especially, the model of VAWT is given in details including the phenomena such as tower shadow and wind shear. The control schemes of dual-speed generator are also presented in this paper. Finally 55 kW experimental VAWT is accomplished. Simulation and experimental results verify the analysis and the conclusion.