Experimental results of the variable speed, direct drive multipole synchronous wind turbine TWT1650

This article presents details of the new variable speed multipole large wind turbine TWT1650 designed by the M. Torres group and summarizes some experimental results of the control system. After several years of multidisciplinary research the first prototype TWT1650 began to work at Cabanillas Wind Farm (Spain) in August 2001. Since then a large number of operational data have been collected and used to improve the behaviour of the machine. The design and controller tuning have been accomplished using advanced QFT (quantitative feedback theory) robust control strategies and have been optimized based on analysis of that information. This article introduces the main advantages of the multipole system and shows and evaluates some of the most representative experimental results under extreme wind conditions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.