Optimizing railway energy reliability using wind energy harvester with FLC - MPPT: A case study of Addis Ababa light rail transit

For sustainable railway transportation, there is need for a reliable electrification system but the Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit faces a problem of frequent power outages which compromises its operational reliability. Wind energy harvesting is a solution that has been widely adopted by different industries but the harnessing wind energy generated by moving light rail trains in addition to the ambient wind remains a complex control challenge. This study proposes a novel small-scale Wind Energy Harvesting System (WEHS) that integrates a Savonius Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) and a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) designed for railway corridors. The research implements a Mamdani-type Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC) MPPT to track the Maximum Power Point. The system dynamically adjusts the pitch angle and Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) in real-time. The MATLAB/Simulink electromechanical simulations reveal that train-induced wind speeds significantly increase the available wind resource up to 7.60 m/s effective wind speed and boosting Wind Power Density (WPD). The proposed FLC-MPPT framework consistently outperformed baseline systems across a wind speed spectrum of 2.66 m/s to 7.6 m/s, demonstrating superior energy extraction and optimal battery state-of-charge management, particularly when paired with Lithium-ion storage. Ultimately, this research validates the technical viability of localized WEHS to power auxiliary railway subsystems (e.g., signaling and lighting), offering a scalable, resilient pathway toward self-sustaining smart city transit infrastructure.