Optimization of wind energy conversion systems – an artificial intelligent approach

The environmentally friendly wind energy conversion system has become one of the most studied branches of sustainable energy. Like many other power generator, maximum power point tracking is an easy yet effective way to boost the efficiency of the conversion system. In this research, a modified Electromagnetism-like Mechanism Algorithm (EM) is proposed for the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) scheme of a micro-wind energy conversion system (WECS). In contrast with the random search steps used in a conventional EM, modified EM is enhanced with a Split, Probe, and Compare (SPC-EM) feature which ensures solutions with higher accuracies quicker by not having to scrutinize the search in details at the beginning stages of the iterations. Experiments and simulations are carried to test the SPC-EM in tracking the maximum power point under different wind profiles. Results indicate that the performance of the modified EM showed significant improvement over the conventional EM in the benchmarking. It can thus be concluded that based on the simulations, the SPC-EM performs well as an MPPT scheme in a micro-WECS.