A comprehensive review on wind turbine emulators

Abstract

Rapidly increasing demand for electricity, rising costs of fossil fuels, and growing environmental concerns are driving research into alternative energy sources. Wind energy has experienced significant growth in recent years. Extensive research has been conducted to efficiently generate electricity from wind energy. However, due to limitations such as space and maintenance, it is very difficult and unsafe to install wind turbines for research and educational purposes. A lab-scale wind turbine emulator has many advantages, including independence from prevailing wind conditions, a greater degree of control, and freedom from space constraints. In this article, authors have reviewed and analyzed over 140 technical articles related to wind turbine emulators. It provides comprehensive information on prime movers, generators, and controls used in wind turbine emulator (WTE) research. Additionally, this paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of various WTE prime movers, generators, and control algorithms used in the literature review. This article will serve as a good reference for the researchers to choose the right technique for WTE according to their needs.