Sizing of Converters Interfacing the Rotor of Wind Driven DFIG to the Power Grid

In this paper, the operation of the Double Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) in the range from synchronous speed down to sub-synchronous speeds is analyzed using the power-flow approach. The objective of this analysis is to determine a ceiling for the rating of the converter interfacing the rotor of the wind driven double fed induction generator (DFIG) to the grid. Sizing the converter is an important issue in determining the economic viability of using the DFIM as a generator at synchronous and sub-synchronous speeds in wind energy conversion systems. The size of the converter is proved to be less than 10% of the rated power of the DFIG, which is 40% to 67% lower than that estimated in previous publications.