An Economic Evaluation of SiC-MOSFET Modules in Wind Turbine Converters

Abstract:
This paper presents a comparative income statement for operators of wind turbines, whose converters are equipped with SiC-MOSFETs instead of Si-IGBTs. A generic MATLAB model of a wind turbine, which contains calculations of semiconductor losses and total supplied energies to the grid, forms the basis to calculate the economic benefit regarding the Si-IGBT baseline for different influencing factors. The results are obtained via dynamic capital budgeting techniques, assuming a life cycle of 20 years. Based on the income statements, this paper derives the highest possible costs of SiC-modules on the semiconductor manufacturer level, so that the wind turbine operator’s investment is not adversely affected.