DESIGN OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR BLIMP/AEROSTAT BASED HIGH ALTITUDE WIND POWER GENERATING SYSTEM

Abstract

High Altitude Wind Power (HAWP) generating system can provide clean energy at low cost and high capacity factor. This thesis proposes an electrical system for a blimp/aerostat based HAWP generating system. Two different power generation and transmission mechanisms are postulated and comparative study is presented. A medium voltage AC generation and transmission based electrical system with aluminum power cable is found to be the optimal choice for generation and transmission of HAWP. In addition, the variations in power-to-weight (P/W) ratio with respect to altitude and power rating of HAWP generation system are also presented and the optimal operating altitude is calculated. The transmitted electrical power is interfaced into the load/grid using a suitable power conversion system (PCS) in the ground based station. Two different PCSs and their control mechanisms are proposed and simulated. A 1 kW laboratory prototypes are built and tested to validate the proposed control strategies.