System and methods for controlling wind turbine

1. A method of operating a wind turbine, the wind turbine including a rotor rotatably coupled to a generator positioned within a nacelle, the rotor including one or more rotor blades coupled to a hub, said method comprising:

transmitting, from a first sensor to a control system, at least a first monitoring signal indicative of a first wind condition at a first distance from the wind turbine;

calculating a first generator torque command based on the first monitoring signal;

transmitting, from a second sensor to the control system, at least a second monitoring signal indicative of a second wind condition at a second distance from the wind turbine that is longer than the first distance;

calculating a second generator torque command based on the second monitoring signal;

calculating, by the control system, a collective generator torque command based on the first generator torque command and the second generator torque command; and,

operating one or more wind turbine components based on the calculated collective generator torque command.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising:

calculating a first wind turbine operating command based at least in part on the first monitoring signal to facilitate increasing a performance of the wind turbine;

calculating a second wind turbine operating command based at least in part on the second monitoring signal to facilitate reducing an overspeed of the wind turbine; and,

calculating the collective wind turbine operating command based at least in part on the calculated first wind turbine operating command and the calculated second wind turbine operating command.

3. A method in accordance with claim 2 , further comprising calculating the second wind turbine operating command signal when the second wind condition is different than a predefined wind condition.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising sensing a first wind condition and a second wind condition with one or more light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the wind condition includes one of a wind speed, a wind direction, a wind turbulence intensity, and a wind gust.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the wind turbine includes a pitch control system coupled to at least one rotor blade, said method further comprises:

calculating a first blade pitch command based at least in part on the first monitoring signal;

calculating a second blade pitch command based at least in part on the second monitoring signal;

calculating a collective blade pitch command based at least in part on the calculated first blade pitch command and the calculated second blade pitch command; and,

operating the pitch control system to adjust the pitch of the rotor blade based on the calculated collective blade pitch command.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising

operating the generator to adjust an air-gap torque of the generator based on the calculated collective generator torque command.

8. A wind turbine control system for use with a wind turbine, the wind turbine including a rotor rotatably coupled to a generator positioned within a nacelle, the rotor including one or more rotor blades coupled to a hub, said wind turbine control system comprising:

a first sensor configured to sense a first wind condition at a first distance from the wind turbine;

a second sensor configured to sense a second wind condition at a second distance from the wind turbine that is longer than the first distance; and,

a controller coupled to said first sensor and said second sensor, said controller configured to:

calculate a first generator torque command based on the sensed first wind condition;

calculate a second generator torque command based on the sensed second wind condition; and,

calculate a collective generator torque command based on the first generator torque command and the second generator torque command; and,

operate one or more wind turbine components based on the calculated collective generator torque command.

9. A wind turbine control system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein said wind turbine includes a pitch control system coupled to at least one rotor blade, said controller coupled to said pitch control system and configured to:

calculate a blade pitch command based at least in part on the sensed first wind condition and the sensed second wind condition; and,

adjust the pitch of the rotor blade based on the calculated blade pitch command.

10. A wind turbine control system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein said controller is further configured to:

calculate a first blade pitch command based at least in part on the sensed first wind condition;

calculate a second blade pitch command based at least in part on the sensed second wind condition; and,

calculate a collective blade pitch command based at least in part on the calculated first blade pitch command and the calculated second blade pitch command.

11. A wind turbine control system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein said controller is coupled to the generator and is configured to

adjust an air-gap torque of the generator based on the calculated generator torque command.

12. A wind turbine control system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein each of said first sensor and said second sensor comprises at least one of light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device, a radio detention and ranging (RADAR) device, and a sonic detection and ranging (SODAR) device.

13. A wind turbine control system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the wind condition includes at least one of a wind speed, a wind direction, a wind turbulence intensity, and a wind gust.

14. A wind turbine system, comprising:

a tower;

a nacelle coupled to said tower;

a generator positioned within said nacelle;

a rotor coupled to said generator with a rotor shaft;

at least one rotor blade coupled to said rotor; and,

a wind turbine control system comprising:

a first sensor configured to sense a first wind condition at a first distance from the wind turbine;

a second sensor configured to sense a second wind condition at a second distance from the wind turbine that is longer than the first distance; and,

a controller coupled to said first sensor and said second sensor, said controller configured to:

calculate a first generator torque command based on the sensed first wind Condition;

calculate a second generator torque command based on the sensed second wind condition; and,

calculate a collective generator torque command based on the first generator torque command and the second generator torque command; and,

operate one or more wind turbine components based on the calculated collective generator torque command.

15. A wind turbine system in accordance with claim 14 , wherein each of said first sensor and said second sensor comprises at least one of a LIDAR device, a RADAR device, and a SODAR device.

16. A wind turbine system in accordance with claim 14 , further comprising a pitch control system coupled to said at least one rotor blade, said controller coupled to said pitch control system and configured to:

calculate a blade pitch command based at least in part on the sensed first wind condition and the sensed second wind condition; and,

adjust the pitch of the rotor blade based on the calculated blade pitch command.

17. A wind turbine system in accordance with claim 16 , wherein said controller is further configured to:

calculate a first blade pitch command based at least in part on the sensed first wind condition;

calculate a second blade pitch command based at least in part on the sensed second wind condition; and,

calculate a collective blade pitch command based at least in part on the calculated first blade pitch command and the calculated second blade pitch command.

18. A wind turbine system in accordance with claim 14 , wherein said controller is coupled to said generator and is configured to

adjust an air-gap torque of the generator based on the calculated generator torque command.