Development and Application of a Simple and Reliable Power Regulator for a Small-Scale Island Wind Turbine

Wind power generation is one of the most effective ways to solve the electric power supply on islands. This paper presents a simple, reliable, and effective power regulating device for a small-scale island wind turbine, especially for the turbine’s protection against strong winds. The regulator consists of a rigid tail with an electrical control rotating the aerodynamic vane to yaw the rotor edgewise toward the wind direction in high wind speeds, an electric linear actuator, and a controller. Compared with the conventional mechanical vane applied in small-scale wind turbines, such a device possesses several advantages of a simple structure, which is easy to be manufactured and installed, high controllability, and increased reliability. The implementation of rotating the vane actively only depends on the generator speed by measuring AC electrical frequency and the output power by measuring two DC electrical quantities (i.e., voltage and current), and no mechanical sensors are needed. The regulator has been applied to a 15 kW wind turbine prototype operating on an island for more than 3 years. Field test results indicate that the regulator can effectively yaw the rotor out of the wind direction and its behavior agrees well with simulations. Such means of power regulating for small-scale wind turbines can be advantageously utilized compared to other mechanical or electromechanical methods.