Power Quality Improvement in Rural Grid Using Adaptive Control Algorithm to Enhance Wind Energy Penetration Levels

The intermittency associated with Wind Energy causes Power Quality (PQ) disturbances, which in turn can limit the penetration levels. These penetration levels are further restricted due to the non-linear (NL) loads and the weakness of the grid (especially in the rural grid). This paper proposes a methodology to enhance wind power penetration levels into the rural grid by mitigating PQ disturbances using a DSTATCOM controlled by Adaptive Least Mean Fourth (ALMF) control. The proposed algorithm computes the active and reactive load current components with the help of updated weights by continuously adapting the changes in grid voltages, wind speed and DC-link voltage to generate reference currents, which are used to generate switching signals for the DSTATCOM. Various case studies establish the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in MATLAB simulation and experimentally to enhance the wind energy penetration level up to 25% into the rural grid with a short circuit ratio as low as 2.74 in the presence of NL loads.