Wind energy is a prominent area of application of variable-speed generators operating on the constant grid frequency. This paper describes the operation and control of one of these variable-speed wind generators: the direct driven permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). This generator is connected to the power network by means of a fully controlled frequency converter, which consists of a pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) rectifier, an intermediate dc circuit, and a PWM inverter. The generator is controlled to obtain maximum power from the incident wind with maximum efficiency under different load conditions. Vector control of the grid-side inverter allows power factor regulation of the windmill. This paper shows the dynamic performance of the complete system. Different experimental tests in a 3-kW prototype have been carried out to verify the benefits of the proposed system.

In this review, the state of the art of 23 distributed generation and microgrids standards has been analyzed. Among these standards, 18 correspond mainly to distributed generation while five of them introduce the concept of microgrid. The following topics have been considered: interconnection criteria, operating conditions, control capabilities, power quality, protection functions and reference variables. The revised national standards cover ten countries on four continents, which represents 80% of the countries with the largest installed renewable capacities. In addition, eight other relevant international standards have been analyzed, finding IEEE 1547 as the most comprehensive standard. It is identified a clear need to define a common framework for distributed energy resources (DERs) and microgrid standards in the future, wherein topics, terminology, and values are expressed in a manner that may widely cover the entire diversity in a way similar to how it has already been expressed at the network transport level by the ENTSO-E codes.