Application of STATCOM for Transient Stability Improvement and Performance Enhancement for a Wind Turbine based Induction Generator

Voltage stability is a key issue to achieve the uninterrupted operation of wind farms equipped with squirrel cage induction generators (SCIG) during grid faults. A Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) is applied to a power network which includes a SCIG driven by a wind turbine, for steady state voltage regulation and transient voltage stability support. The STATCOM is controlled by using PQ controller technique with voltage regulation as basic scenario. The system is implemented using MATLAB/ SIMULINK. Results illustrate that the STATCOM improves the transient voltage stability and therefore helps the wind turbine generator system to remain in service during grid faults. The time to reach steady state torque and speed without using vector control or direct torque control can also be achieved by using this STATCOM control technique.