Alternative Energy Assignment
Alternative Energy Assignment
Alternative Energy Assignment
TABLE OF CONTENT
1. INTRODUCTION 2
2. NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES 3
2.1 Fossil Fuel Resources 3
2.2 Nuclear Energy 4
3. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES 5
3.1 Wind Energy 5
3.2 Hydroelectric Energy 6
3.3 Solar Energy 7
4. WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEMS 8
4.1 Overview
8
5. WIND TURBINE DESIGN 11
5.1 Turbine size 11
5.2 Tower Height 13
5.3 Number of blades 13
6. SYSTEM CONTROL 14
6.1 Tip speed ratio 14
6.2 Stalling and Furling 16
6.3 General Control Theory 18
7. WIND TURBINE GENERATORS 19
7.1 Induction Generator 19
7.2 Permanent Magnet Alternators 20
8. INTERCONNECTION TO TRASMISSION SYSTEMS 20
8.1 Direct Grid Connection 20
8.2 Indirect Grid Connection 21
8.2.1 AC/DC Layout 21
8.2.2 AC/DC/AC 22
9. CONTROL REQUIREMENTS 23
9.1 Frequency and Active Power Control 23
9.2 Reactive Power Control 24
9.3 Short Circuit Power Level Control 24
9.4 Flicker Control 25
9.5 Harmonics Control 25
9.6 Stability Control 26
9.7 Protection Control 26
10. CONCLUSION 27
11. REFRENCES 28
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1. INTRODUCTION
In this modern day and age, energy is consumed continuously anywhere and
everywhere. It makes the world go round. With the increasing population and
level of activity, the demand for energy has grown tremendously. However,
growth does come at its price. To date, about eighty five percent of the world’s
Over the years, the future of energy has been debated within the government,
social groups and activists. There have been studies that have been carried out
with realistic assessments of the evolution of the global energy picture that offer
a glimpse into a changed energy future. In this report, I hope to provide a review
of fossil fuel resources, nuclear energy and alternative energy sources. For
Before I begin, I would like to clearly define the word energy. Energy is a
work. Energy can be categorized into two main groups; primary and secondary.
general public such as electricity and petrol. It is derived and converted from
The analysis of our fossil fuel resources starts from the recognition that it is finite,
rate in the near future. Fossil fuel consists of coal, oil and natural gas. These are
millions of years.
ADVANTAGES
To date, fossil fuels have been responsible for much of the world’s electric and
power demands. The reason being is that fossil fuels due to its molecular
Furthermore, due to its form, fossil fuels such as oil and gas can easily be
distributed through pipelines. Coal is also easy to transport as they are in solid
form and can be done through railway and road networks. This means power
DISADVANTAGES
However, despite all the advantages above, the disadvantages of fossil fuels is of
fuels. This is because when combusted, it gives out carbon dioxide which is a
The other concern is a situation popularly known as Peak Oil. The key concept of
Peak Oil is that after we have extracted a certain amount of oil, the rate of
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Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process called
fission which produces immense amounts of heat. This is simply a clean and
efficient way of boiling water to make steam which drives turbine generators.
Except for the reactor itself, a nuclear power station works like most coal or gas-
fired power stations. Nuclear energy is best applied to medium and large-scale
ADVANTAGES
environmentalists have decided that this is a more serious problem than their
virtually all its wastes are contained and managed - nuclear power stations do
not cause any pollution. The fuel for nuclear power is virtually unlimited,
DISADVANTAGES
both facts and ideology. One of the main concerns of nuclear energy is its nuclear
waste it produces. The waste is highly radioactive and has to be dealt with
extreme caution and care. There is no method to get rid of the radioactivity of the
waste or speed up the rate of decay. The waste must be sealed and buried in a
Because of this safety and environmental concern, disposal of nuclear waste can
Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in moving air into rotational energy,
which in turn is converted to electricity. Wind energy is derived from winds that
are caused by pressure differences across the Earth’s surface due to the uneven
heating of the Earth. The power output is a function of the cube of wind speed,
so wind turbines generally require wind speeds in the range of 20km/h. Places at
high altitudes or offshore can reach such speeds or higher, and are much more
constant, therefore, they are ideal places to construct wind turbines, or wind
farms.[5]
ADVANTAGES
due to its rapid growth over the past few years. At present, wind energy costs
only one-fifth as much as it did in the late 1990s. Newer technologies are making
the extraction of wind energy much more efficient. The wind is free, and
DISADVANTAGES
The main disadvantage regarding wind power is due to the winds unreliability
areas, the winds strength is too low to support a wind turbine or wind farm.
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Another disadvantage is that the commercial wind turbine in operation gives out
This form of energy mainly comes from dammed water that drives a water
areas can turn water turbines to produce electricity. Energy produced, however,
ADVANTAGES
generation. And since it does not produce harmful elements, it does not cause
pollution in the water and in the air. Hydroelectric plants also tend to have
longer economic lives than fuel-fired generation, with some plants now in service
which were built 50 to 100 years ago. Operating labor cost is also usually low, as
plants are automated and have few personnel on site during normal operation.
[7]
DISADVANTAGES
While it does not cause pollution, there are many other environmental impacts to
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very little suspended sediment, which can lead to scouring of river beds and loss
of riverbanks. There are also impacts on fish breeding, loss of wildlife habitat and
Solar energy is derived from harnessing energy from the sun. The Earth receives
techniques use photovoltaic panels, pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into
favorable thermal properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate air, and
increase the supply of energy and are considered supply side technologies, while
passive solar technologies reduce the need for alternate resources and are
ADVANTAGES
The main advantage of solar energy is that it provides cost effective solutions to
energy problems in places where there is no mains electricity and it is silent, non-
polluting, and does not produce any harmful greenhouse gases. It requires little
maintenance, and is available everywhere under the Sun. Moreover, it is free and
fossil fuels as fossil fuel prices have risen steeply globally in the last few years.
DISADVANTAGES
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The main disadvantage of solar energy is the initial cost. Most types of solar cells
require large areas of land to achieve average efficiency. Also, the production of
Similarly, it is not available during the night which reduces the total production
4.1 OVERVIEW
Simply stated, a wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using
electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity.
The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and
There are two types of turbines, mainly horizontal axis turbines and vertical axis
turbines.
Horizontal axis wind turbines have their main rotor shaft and generator located
at the top of a tower, and they are pointed into the wind. Wind vane, or wind
sensor coupled with a servomotor, is used to indicate the wind direction, which
then adjusts the blades direction for upwind turbines only, by using a yaw drive,
which is used to keep the rotor facing into the wind as the wind direction
changes.
Vertical axis wind turbines have their main rotor shaft running vertically. This
arrangement allows the generator and gearbox to be placed at the bottom, near to
the ground. There is no need for the tower to support those two components,
and turbine need not be pointed into the wind. However, each revolution
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turbulent air flow near the ground, with lower energy extraction efficiency.
A close up view of a common horizontal axis wind turbine can be seen here in
figure 1 below.
Figure 1.
The wind turbine consists of various different components that play very specific
and important roles. The anemometer measures the wind speed and transmits
wind speed data to the controller. Most turbines have either two or three blades.
Wind blowing over the blades causes the blades to "lift" and rotate. The brake is a
The controller starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per
hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 65 mph. Turbines cannot operate
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at wind speeds above about 65 mph because their generators could overheat. The
gear box consists of gears that connect the low-speed shaft to the high-speed
shaft and increase the rotational speeds from about 30 to 60 rotations per minute
(rpm) to about 1200 to 1500 rpm, the rotational speed required by most
generators to produce electricity. The gear box is a costly (and heavy) part of the
wind turbine and engineers are exploring "direct-drive" generators that operate
at lower rotational speeds and don't need gear boxes. The generator is usually an
is made of the blades and the hub together. The high-speed shaft drives the
generator, while the low-speed shaft is being turned by the rotor at about 30 to 60
The rotor attaches to the nacelle, which sits atop the tower and includes the gear
box, low- and high-speed shafts, generator, controller, and brake. A cover
protects the components inside the nacelle. Some nacelles are large enough for a
technician to stand inside while working. The blades are turned, or pitched, out
of the wind to keep the rotor from turning in winds that are too high or too low
Towers are made from tubular steel or steel lattice. Because wind speed increases
with height, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate
more electricity. An "upwind" turbine operates facing into the wind direction.
Other turbines are designed to run "downwind", facing away from the wind.
The wind vane measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive
to orient the turbine properly with respect to the wind. The yaw drive is only
found in upwind turbines as they face into the wind; the yaw drive is used to
keep the rotor facing into the wind as the wind direction changes. Downwind
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turbines don't require a yaw drive, as the wind blows the rotor downwind. The
The aerodynamics of a horizontal axis wind turbine is not straight forward. The
air flow at the blades is not the same as the airflow far away from the turbine.
The very nature of the way in which energy is extracted from the air also causes
at the rotor surface exhibit phenomena that are rarely seen in other aerodynamic
fields. [10]
length of a turbine is limited by both the strength and stiffness of its material.
Labor and maintenance costs increase only gradually with increasing turbine
size, so to minimize costs, wind farm turbines are basically limited by the
Typical modern wind turbines have diameters of 40 to 90 meters and are rated
between 500 kW and 2 megawatts. Currently the most powerful turbine is rated
at 6 MW.
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the 1980s.
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The wind blows faster at higher altitudes because of the drag of the surface (sea or land)
and the viscosity of the air. The variation in velocity with altitude, called wind shear is
Typically, in daytime the variation follows the 1/7th power law, which predicts that
wind speed rises proportionally to the seventh root of altitude. Doubling the altitude of
a turbine, then, increases the expected wind speeds by 10% and the expected power by
34%. Doubling the tower height generally requires doubling the diameter as well,
During the night, or better: when the atmosphere becomes stable, wind speed close to
the ground usually subsides whereas at turbine hub altitude it does not decrease that
much or may even increase. As a result the wind speed is higher and a turbine will
produce more power than expected from the 1/7th power law: doubling the altitude
may increase wind speed by 20% to 60%. A stable atmosphere is caused by radiative
cooling of the surface and is common in a temperate climate: it usually occurs when
there is a (partly) clear sky at night. When the (high altitude) wind is strong (10 meter
wind speed higher than approximately 6 to 7 m/s) the stable atmosphere is disrupted
because of friction turbulence and the atmosphere will turn neutral. A daytime
atmosphere is either neutral (no net radiation; usually with strong winds and/or heavy
clouding) or unstable (rising air because of ground heating by the sun). Here again the
1/7th power law applies or is at least a good approximation of the wind profile.
For small (novelty or urban) horizontal axis turbines manufacturers typically ship three-
bladed turbines with three separate blades that must be assembled onsite, into a central
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hub. Without careful assembly ensuring accurate dynamic balance of the blades, the
Most wind turbines have three blades. Very small turbines may use two blades for ease
blades. Noise and wear are generally lower, and efficiency higher, with three instead of
two blades.
Turbines with larger numbers of smaller blades operate at a lower Reynolds number
and so are less efficient. Small turbines with 4 or more blades suffer further losses as
each blade operates partly in the wake of the other blades. Also, the cost of the turbine
6. SYSTEM CONTROL
This is the ratio between the speeds of the wind and tips of the blades. High efficiency
Modern wind turbines are designed to spin at varying speeds (a consequence of their
generator design, see below). Use of aluminum and composites in their blades has
contributed to low rotational inertia, which means that newer wind turbines can
accelerate quickly if the winds pick up, keeping the tip speed ratio more nearly
constant. Operating closer to their optimal tip speed ratio during energetic gusts of
wind allows wind turbines to improve energy capture from sudden gusts that are
In contrast, older style wind turbines were designed with heavier steel blades, which
have higher inertia, and rotated at speeds governed by the AC frequency of the power
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lines. The high inertia buffered the changes in rotation speed and thus made power
The speed and torque at which a wind turbine rotates must be controlled for several
reasons:
To keep the rotor and hub within their centripetal force limits. The centripetal
force from the spinning rotors increases as the square of the rotation speed,
To keep the rotor and tower within their strength limits. Because the power of
the wind increases as the cube of the wind speed, turbines have to be built to
survive much higher wind loads (such as gusts of wind) than those from which
they can practically generate power. Since the blades generate more downwind
force (and thus put far greater stress on the tower) when they are producing
torque, most wind turbines have ways of reducing torque in high winds.
full stop.
To reduce noise; as a rule of thumb, the noise from a wind turbine increases with
the fifth power of the relative wind speed (as seen from the moving tip of the
approximately 60 m/s.
Over speed control is exerted in two main ways: aerodynamic stalling or furling and
mechanical braking. Furling is the preferred method of slowing wind turbines. [10]
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Stalling works by increasing the angle at which the relative wind strikes the blades
(angle of attack), and it reduces the induced drag (drag associated with lift). Stalling is
simple because it can be made to happen passively (it increases automatically when the
winds speed up), but it increases the cross-section of the blade face-on to the wind, and
thus the ordinary drag. A fully stalled turbine blade, when stopped, has the flat side of
Furling works by decreasing the angle of attack, which reduces the induced drag from
the lift of the rotor, as well as the cross-section. One major problem in designing wind
turbines is getting the blades to stall or furl quickly enough should a gust of wind cause
sudden acceleration. A fully furled turbine blade, when stopped, has the edge of the
A fixed-speed HAWT inherently increases its angle of attack at higher wind speed as
the blades speed up. A natural strategy, then, is to allow the blade to stall when the
wind speed increases. This technique was used on many early HAWTs, until it was
realized that stalled blades generate a large amount of vibration (noise). Standard
modern turbines all furl the blades in high winds. Since furling requires acting against
the torque on the blade, it requires active pitch angle control which is only cost-effective
on very large turbines. Many turbines use hydraulic systems. These systems are usually
spring loaded, so that if hydraulic power fails, the blades automatically furl. Other
turbines use an electric servomotor for every rotor blade. They have a small battery-
As seen in Figure 4, on medium-size wind turbines, the most common mechanism for
protecting the rotor from over speed is pitchable blade tips. Some turbines use spoilers;
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others use tip brakes; a few have used parachutes. Large turbines and some medium-
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The figure below describes the general overview of typical control strategies of a
Figure 5. Overview of typical control strategies; U, mean wind velocity; U cut-in, U cut-
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There are many types of generators in practical use for wind energy conversion
systems. Listed here are the common types of generators used in the industry.
power when their shaft is rotated faster than the synchronous frequency of the
equivalent induction motor. Induction generators are often used in wind turbines and
some micro hydro installations. Induction generators are mechanically and electrically
simpler than other generator types. They are also more rugged, requiring no brushes or
commutator.
Induction generators are not self-exciting, meaning they require an external supply to
produce a rotating magnetic flux; the power required for this is called reactive current.
The external supply can be supplied from the electrical grid or from the generator itself,
once it starts producing power or can you can use a capacitor bank to supply it. The
rotating magnetic flux from the stator induces currents in the rotor, which also
produces a magnetic field. If the rotor turns slower than the rate of the rotating flux, the
machine acts like an induction motor. If the rotor is turned faster, it acts like a generator,
producing power at the synchronous frequency. In the United States it would be 60 Hz.
The common down side of using an induction generator in a wind turbine is gearing.
Typically you need an induction motors to run 1500+ RPM to meet the synchronous so a
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Permanent magnets alternators (PMA) have one set of electromagnets and one set of
permanent magnets. Typically the permanent magnets will be mounted on the rotor
with the electromagnets on the stator. Permanent magnet motor and generator
technology has advance greatly in the past few years with the creation of rare earth
magnets (neodymium, samarium-cobalt, and alnico). Generally the coils will be wired
Permanent magnet alternators are can be very efficient, in the range of 60%-95%,
typical three phase motor would need. It is easy to rectify the power from them and
overhead lines, for the transmission and distribution of electricity from the power
stations to the users throughout a service area. Each grid are usually operates by an
There are two main types of connections to the transmission systems; direct and indirect
grid connections.
Most wind turbines run at almost constant speed under a direct grid connection. In a
direct grid connected system, turbine generator feeds output straight into the utility
grid (usually 3-phase AC current grids) via a step-up transformer. In this case, only
induction generator is capable of such connection. Power outputs are than available for
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The large AC wind farm system is a more traditional system, based on the general
system. This system has a local wind farm grid with a lower voltage level (20-30kV)
requires an offshore platform for the transformer and switch gear. [14]
An Indirect grid connected system, turbine generator feeds output into an electrical
distribution system before reaching utility grid. In another word, generated electricity
will goes pass a series of electronic circuit interfaces and be filtered into grid frequency
to suit grids standard before entering main transmission system. There are several
types of power electronic circuit interfaces like PWM converter AC/DC, and AC/DC/AC
converter.
In this system, the AC transmission has been replaced with a DC transmission, this
wind farm will be referred to as the AC/DC wind farm and does not exist today, except
for one or a few small experimental wind farms, but it is frequently proposed when the
distance to the PCC is long, or if the AC grid that the wind farm is connected to is weak.
We have an independent local AC system in which both the voltage and the frequency
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are fully controllable with the offshore converter station. This can be utilized for a
collective variable speed system of all wind turbines in the park. The benefits with this
are that the aerodynamic and electrical efficiency can be increased, depending on the
For all DC solutions throughout this work, only transistor technology is used. The
attractive technology. The transistor technology is also more attractive due to the better
8.2.2 AC/DC/AC
To extract the maximum amount of power, let the turbine speed vary over a wide range
to and optimum value dependent on the operating conditions. This would not be
possible if a synchronous generator were directly connected to the utility (60Hz) system
that dictated a constant speed (synchronous speed). The induction generators connected
to the utility system would allow the speed to vary in a very narrow speed range.
generation, the three-phase generator output is rectified into DC and then interfaced
with the three-phase utility source by means of a switch-mode converter. Since wind
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and small hydro generators is the medium power level, a three phase utility
From the aspect of AC/DC/AC, it offers huge possibilities in control of active and
reactive power flows, and can manage variable frequency on its outputs.
AC/DC systems have two outputs from the battery bank in this system, the DC output
and the AC output. The AC output is initially a DC output but it is then put through an
inverter to convert it into AC. Ac current with a variable frequency cannot be handled
by the public electrical grid so we convert it into direct current, DC. The conversion
transistors. [14]
inverter) with exactly the same frequency as the public electrical grid. This conversion
to AC in the inverter can also be done using either thyristors or transistors. The
thyristors or power transistors are large semiconductor switches that operate without
mechanical parts.
9. CONTROL REQUIREMENTS
The electrical supply and distribution system in the modern day are all under an AC
on to the rotation speed of the rotor. An increasing electrical load on turbine system will
The frequency control of the system is to increase or reduce the generated power in
order to maintain generator operation under a specified frequency range. [17] A wind
turbine may have to operate under a lower power level than available power so as to
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increase power output for frequency control. This will mean that a low utilization of
resources. A way to meet this challenge is to use active energy supply, or energy
storage, however, energy storage technologies in this moment are yet to be cost effective
Reactive power defines the portion of power flow caused by stored energy in
returns to its power sources. It is generated from capacitive element (capacitor etc.) and
Induction generator consumes reactive power while a synchronous generator can either
produce or consume reactive power due to its magnetizing level. Reactive power
control is critical as reactive power flow causes system voltage drop, unstable network,
converter to adjust reactive power. For example a controller which switch on and off of
The ability of grids to absorb disturbance is closely related to the short circuit power
level in a given point of an electrical system. Short circuit power level control adjusts
the short circuit impedance for its management purpose. Strong and/or weak grids are
terms often used in connection with wind power installations. When the short circuit
impedance is low then the voltage variations in grid will be small which indicate the
grid is strong and consequently, if impedance is high, then the voltage variations will be
large. [17]
Depending on the type of electrical equipment in the turbine, they can sometimes be
operated effectively under weak conditions. [19] Extra precaution should be taken for
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single or few wind turbine system because they are relatively more prone to
Wind generated power are frequently fluctuating. Voltage variations due to this matter
may affect the quality of grid voltage. Magnitude and frequency of fluctuation will
There are two type of flicker emission: flicker emission during continuous operation
and emission due to generator and capacitor switching. Often, one or the other will be
predominant. [18] Flickers cannot be avoided. The best way is to manage flicker
Operation of a generation machine should not cause excessive voltage flicker. Flicker
should constantly measure and closely monitored. A way to measure flicker directly is
small enough. A way to lower harmonics is by setting a higher frequency in system (e.g.
distortion (THD). THD and individual harmonics should always be limited under the
system requirement.
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transmission line (i.e. Overload or component failure), loss of production capacity, and
short circuits.
turbine. This is due to the existing of strong magnetic field form and conceal in cables
and the generator of a wind turbine. Hence, precaution needs to be made especially on
System electrical protective functions in a wind turbine have two main requirements:
The need to protect wind turbine and to secure safe operation of network under all
circumstances.
The wind turbine needs to be protected from short circuits, thermal overloads and
faults resulting in high, possibly dangerous, over voltages which are earth-faults and
The safe operation of the network can be described as the utility view, with an objective
personnel. The faults associated with this line are situations with unacceptable
deviations in voltage and/or frequency and loss of one or more phases in the utility
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10. CONCLUSION
Research has shown that conventional methods of providing energy to the world are
not sustainable. Upon reviewing the pros and cons of the various types of energy
production methods, it is clear that that some renewable energy technologies can meet
In the second part, wind energy conversion systems including their control were
reviewed. The types of generators in practical use and their main operating
characteristics were also studied. Then, assessment was done on the interconnection of
was written on the control requirements and power electronic circuit interfaces of wind
energy systems.
economic sense and allows societies to benefit from the declining cost curves that
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11. REFRENCES
1. http://www.nrel.gov/features/
2. http://www.paulchefurka.ca/WEAP2/WEAP2.html
4. http://www.world-nuclear.org/education/intro.htm
5. Wind Power: Capacity Factor, Intermittency, and what happens when the wind
doesn’t blow?(2008)
6. Renewable Global Status Report 2006 Update, REN21, published 2007, accessed
2007-05-16
Change.2007-09-29.
9. "The Present and Future use of Solar Thermal Energy as a Primary Source of
12. “Types of Generators used for Wind Turbines”, C Bracken Meyers. 01 August
2009
http://re.emsd.gov.hk/english/gen/grid/grid_int.html#1.
14. http://www.elkraft.ntnu.no/norpie/10956873/_Final%20Papers/009%20-%20Eval_
WF_lay_009.pdf
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15. Article of Power Electronic Interface for DER Konrad Mauch, KM Technical
varennes.nrcan.gc.ca/fichier.php/codectec/Fr/2004-164/2004-164e.pdf
17. F.Blaabjerg, Zhe Chen, 2006, “Power Electronics for Mordern Wind Turbines”, Morgan
& Claypool, USA
18. Prof. Dr. Manfred Stiebler, 2008, “Wind Energy Systems for Electric Power Generation”,
Green Energy and Technology Series, Springer, Germany.
19. Fritz Santjer, Gerhard J. Gerdes, 2002, “Wind Turbine Grid Connection and Interaction”,
ENERGIE, Germany.
20. M.C. Esteban 1, F. Arteche1 , M. Iglesias1, FJ. Arcega, 2009, “EMC ISSUES FOR WIND
TURBINES”, European Association for the Development of Renewable Energies,
21. Zigniew Lubosny ,2003, Wind Turbine Operation in Electric Power Systems :
22. http://wind-turbine.co.cc/
23. Johnson, Scott J., 2008, "Active Load Control Techniques for Wind
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