Control of wind energy conversion systems with permanent magnet synchronous generator for isolated green hydrogen production

Abstract

This paper addresses the design and analysis of the control system for a Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) with a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) and its application for isolated green hydrogen production. The designed control maximizes the wind turbine (WT) power generation by regulating the electrolyzer current consumption, where the electrolyzer operates as a controlled load, ensuring power balance in the system and enabling the generation of maximum power from the WECS without the use of any energy storage system. The system involves directly integrating a WECS with an alkaline electrolyzer (AEL), and its configuration includes a WT with a PMSG, an AC/DC voltage source converter (VSC) acting as the generator side converter (GSC), and a DC/DC converter acting as the electrolyzer side converter (ESC) with Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control for the WT. The proposed control system has been fully modeled and tested through simulations in Matlab/Simulink, demonstrating its reliable performance under variable wind speeds. Simulation results illustrate how, over rated wind speeds, the pitch control limits the rotational speed and power to their maximum values, and at under rated wind speeds, the ESC control regulates the AEL current following the MPPT of the WT, while the GSC control maintains the DC bus voltage at its designated nominal value. Overall, the proposed control system shows robust and effective performance across the entire range of possible operational points, ensuring no wind generation power losses by following the maximum power point.