System and Method for Exciting Low-Impedance Machines Using a Current Source Converter

A wind turbine, comprising:

• a tower;
• a nacelle mounted atop the tower;
• a rotor coupled to the nacelle, the rotor comprising a rotatable hub and at least one rotor blade secured thereto;
• a superconducting generator coupled to the rotor, the superconducting generator comprising at least one armature winding set having an impedance value lower than an impedance value of an armature winding of a non-superconducting electric machine, the at least one armature winding set comprising a plurality of single-phase coils;
• and
• a current source converter assembly electrically coupled to the at least one armature winding set of the superconducting generator, the current source converter assembly comprising a plurality of current source converters connected in parallel, each of the plurality of current source converters comprising a current source rectifier coupled in series to a current source inverter via a respective DC link and a respective capacitor coupled across the plurality of single-phase coils,
• wherein the respective capacitors of the current source converter assembly absorb high frequency components of current pulses generated by the current source converter so as to minimize current ripple in a current applied to the plurality of single-phase coils of the at least one armature winding set of the superconducting generator.