A Medium-Frequency Transformer-Based Wind Energy Conversion System Used for Current-Source Converter-Based Offshore Wind Farm

Offshore wind farms with series-interconnected structures are promising configurations because bulky and costly offshore substations can be eliminated. In this paper, a medium-frequency transformer (MFT)-based wind energy conversion system is proposed for such wind farms based on current source converters. The presented configuration consists of a medium-voltage permanent magnet synchronous generator that is connected to a low-cost passive rectifier, an MFT-based cascaded converter, and an onshore current source inverter. Apart from fulfilling traditional control objectives (maximum power point tracking, dc-link current control, and reactive power regulation), this study endeavors to ensure evenly distributed power and voltage sharing among the constituent modules given the cascaded structure of the MFT-based converter. In addition, this paper thoroughly discusses the characteristic of decoupling between the voltage/power balancing of the modular converter and the other control objectives. Finally, both simulation and experimental results are provided to reflect the performance of the proposed system.