Topology Comparison of Superconducting Generators for 10-MW Direct-Drive Wind Turbines: Cost of Energy Based

Superconducting synchronous generators (SCSGs) are being proposed for 10-MW direct-drive wind turbines, because of their advantages of low weight and compactness. So far, however, there has not been a commonly accepted design philosophy of SCSGs and various possibilities with many tradeoffs remain for study. Partially SCSGs are considered a starting point since excessive AC losses in armature windings can be avoided. Many topologies can be applied to partially SCSGs and may significantly affect the performance indicators (PIs) of a wind turbine. Since cost of energy (CoE) is usually used as a key PI to evaluate the feasibility of an SCSG in wind turbine applications, this paper compares twelve topologies using MgB2 wires regarding the capital CoE as well as other resulting PIs. These topologies cover most possibilities for a radial-flux SCSG and four scenarios are investigated regarding the used MgB2 wire. The comparison results shows clear trends of these PIs over the twelve topologies and can be used as a reference for designing an SCSG for large direct-drive wind turbines.