Optimal design of the electric connection of a wind farm

Highlights: • This work introduce a technique of connecting the internal grid of a wind farm. • The advantage is that, the search space of solutions is considerably reduced. • The proposed approach is usefulness during the planning phase of a wind farm. The network of a wind farm is composed of an internal medium voltage grid which represents several wind turbines and substations, and a high voltage transmission system. The capital cost of the internal grid constitutes a significant part of the total cost of the farm. Thus designing the optimal architecture of a wind farm is a key element in the profitability of a project. In this context, this paper presents a novel solution algorithm for connecting the internal grid of a wind farm. This algorithm is based on a combination between genetic algorithm and a specific algorithm. Genetic algorithm is used to optimize both the position of the electrical substation and the number of its cable feeders, whereas the specific algorithm considers the shortest distance to connect the wind turbines between them and the electrical substation. The proposed approach is tested on a real model of wind farm; the obtained results proved that the proposed algorithm is usefulness during the planning phase of a radial or meshed electrical network in a wind farm.