DEVELOPMENT OF A SENSORLESS MULTILEVEL WIND POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM FOR EFFICIENT ENERGY CONVERSION AND POWER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Abstract

The increasing penetration of wind energy into modern power systems requires advanced control strategies to ensure reliable operation, high energy conversion efficiency, and compliance with grid power quality standards. Conventional wind power conversion systems (WPCS) rely on mechanical speed sensors for rotor position estimation, which increase system cost, reduce reliability, and require frequent maintenance under harsh environmental conditions. Moreover, nonlinear loads and grid disturbances introduce harmonics, reactive power demand, voltage fluctuations, and current imbalance, adversely affecting the overall performance of the grid-connected wind energy system. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a multifunctional wind power conversion system with sensorless operation and integrated power quality improvement features. The proposed system employs a Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS)-based sensorless control algorithm to accurately estimate rotor speed without using mechanical sensors, thereby improving system reliability and reducing maintenance requirements. A Fourth-Order Generalized Integrator (FOGI)-based control strategy is incorporated to achieve precise grid synchronization, harmonic ISSN 2319-5991 Vol. 22, No.3, 2026 https://ijerst.org/index.php/ijerst 478 mitigation, reactive power compensation, and balanced current injection under varying wind speed and load conditions. The proposed controller also regulates the DC-link voltage, maintains unity power factor, and enhances the dynamic response during grid disturbances. The complete system is modeled and validated using MATLAB/Simulink under various operating scenarios, including wind speed variations, nonlinear loads, and voltage disturbances. Simulation results demonstrate significant improvements in power quality by reducing total harmonic distortion (THD), minimizing frequency and voltage fluctuations, and ensuring stable power delivery. The proposed multifunctional sensorless WPCS provides a cost-effective, reliable, and high-performance solution for grid-connected renewable energy applications while satisfying IEEE 519 power quality requirements and supporting sustainable power system development.