With the rising cost of petroleum, concerns about exhausting the fossil fuels we depend on for energy, and the subsequent impacts that the burning of these types of fuels have on the environment, countries around the world are paying close attention to the development of renewable types of energy. Consequently, researchers have been trying to develop ways to take advantage of different types of clean and renewable energy sources. Wind energy production, in particular, has been growing at an increasingly rapid rate, and will continue to do so in the future. In fact, it has become an integral part in supplying future energy needs, making further advancements in the field exceedingly critical. A 2 MW wind energy conversion system (WECS) is presented and has been simulated via the dynamic simulation software Simulink. This WECS consists of a 2 MW permanent magnet synchronous generator connected to the transmission grid through a power conversion scheme. The topology of this converter system consists of a passive AC/DC rectifier as well as a PWM DC/AC IGBT inverter, used to interface the DC link with the grid. The inverter has an integrated current control system for power factor correction to improve output power stability. The described WECS enhances grid-side tolerance by buffering wind power disturbances demonstrated by its capability to isolate the grid from wind speed fluctuations. It also optimizes wind energy capture through harmonic filtering, enhancing output power quality. These findings have the potential to lead to further advancements including the capability for island operation and integration to a smart grid.

Due to increasing concerns for global climate change, onshore and offshore wind energy technologies have stimulated a tremendous interest worldwide, and are considered as a viable solution to mitigate the environmental impacts related to electricity generation. Although wind energy technologies have been considered as one of the cleanest energy sources, they have a wide range of direct and indirect environmental impacts when the whole supply chain is considered. This study aims to quantify the direct and indirect environmental impacts of onshore and offshore wind power technologies by tracing all of the economy-wide supply chain requirements. To accomplish this goal, we developed a comprehensive hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) model in which process-based LCA model is combined with the economic input-output (EIO) analysis. The analysis results show that on average, concrete and steel and their supply chains are responsible for 37% and 24% of carbon footprint, consequently. On average, offshore wind turbines produce 48% less greenhouse gas emissions per kWh produced electricity than onshore wind turbines. For the onshore wind turbines, concrete, aggregates, and crushed stone approximately consume 95% of total water in this construction phase. On the other hand, concrete, lead, copper, and aggregate are responsible for around 90% of total water for the offshore wind turbines. It is also found that the more capacity the wind turbine has, the less environmental impact the wind turbine generates per kWh electricity. Moreover, based on the economic and environmental impacts of studied wind turbines and also three more nonrenewable energy sources, this study develops a decision making framework to understand the best energy source mix for a building in the state of Florida. This framework accounts for the uncertainty in the input material by deploying a Monte Carlo iii simulation approach. The results of decision making framework show that natural gas is a better option among nonrenewable sources. On the other hand, V90-3.0 MW offshore wind turbine is the best source of energy among renewable energy sources for a building. The findings of this research are critical for policy makers to understand the direct and indirect environmental impacts of different onshore and offshore wind energy systems. Also this study furnishes the decision maker with a range of possible energy mixes based on different economic and environmental weights.

This thesis describes the creation of a small-scale Hybrid Power System (HPS) that maximizes energy from a wind turbine and photovoltaic array. Small-scale HPS are becoming an increasingly viable energy solution as fossil fuel prices rise and more electricity is needed in remote areas. Modern HPS typically employ wind speed sensors and three power stages to extract maximum power. Modern systems also use passive rectifiers to convert AC from the wind turbine to DC that is usable by power electronics. This passive system inefficiently wastes power and introduces damaging harmonic noise to the wind turbine. The HPS described in this thesis does not require external wind speed sensors, and has independent wind and solar Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT). It converts AC from the wind turbine to DC with a Vienna rectifier that can be controlled to improve efficiency, allow MPPT, and allow Power Factor Correction (PFC). PFC all but eliminates the harmonic noise that can damage the wind turbine. A prototype HPS was built and evaluated that combines the two renewable sources in such a way that only two power stages are necessary, the Vienna rectifier and a step-down converter. This thesis describes the prototype and reports the results obtained.

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