As wind power penetration level increases, power\ud system operators are challenged by the penetration impacts to\ud maintain reliability and stability of power system. Therefore,\ud grid codes are being published and continuously updated by\ud transmission system operators of the countries. In this paper,\ud recent grid codes, which are prepared specially for the large\ud wind power plants, are analyzed and compared. Also,\ud harmonization of different grid codes in a common manner and\ud future trends are assessed.Postprint (published version

Reliability is becoming more and more important as the size and number of installed Wind Turbines (WTs) increases. Very high reliability is especially important for offshore WTs because the maintenance and repair of such WTs in case of failures can be very expensive. WT manufacturers need to consider the reliability aspect when they design new power converters. By designing the power converter considering the reliability aspect the manufacturer can guarantee that the end product will ensure high availability. This paper represents an overview of the various aspects of reliability prediction of high power Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) in the context of wind power applications. At first the latest developments and future predictions about wind energy are briefly discussed. Next the dominant failure mechanisms of high power IGBTs are described and the most commonly used lifetime prediction models are reviewed. Also the concept of Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) is briefly reviewed.

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Reliability is a critical criterion for multi-MW\ud wind turbines, which are being employed with increasing\ud numbers in wind power plants, since they operate under harsh\ud conditions and have high maintenance cost due to their remote\ud locations. In this study, the wind turbine grid-side converter\ud reliability is investigated regarding IGBT lifetime based on\ud junction temperature cycling for the grid-side press-pack IGBT\ud 3L-NPC-VSC, which is a state-of-the art high reliability\ud solution. In order to acquire IGBT junction temperatures for\ud given wind power profiles and to use them in IGBT lifetime\ud prediction, the converter electro-thermal model including\ud electrical, power loss, and dynamical thermal models is\ud developed with the main focus on the thermal modeling\ud regarding converter topology, switch technology, and physical\ud structure. Moreover, these models are simplified for their\ud practical implementation in computation platforms. Finally, the\ud converter lifetimes for wind power profiles are predicted using\ud the IGBT lifetime model available. Hence, the developed electrothermal\ud model’s suitability for the lifetime predictions is shown.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version