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Wind energy is considered a promising option to generate electricity in a more environmentally friendly way, particularly for the Netherlands. There exist, however, two fundamental differences between wind turbines on the one hand and conventional technologies to generate electricity, such as coal and gas fired units and nuclear units on the other. Firstly, the electricity generated by wind turbines can be controlled only to a limited extent. Secondly the types of generators that are used in wind turbines to convert the energy extracted from the wind into electrical power are different from that used in conventional units. Due to these differences, wind turbines affect the behaviour of electrical power systems. In this thesis, one aspect of the impact of wind turbines on the behaviour of electrical power systems, namely the short term stability, was investigated. To this end, first simulation models of wind turbines were developed. Then, these were applied to investigate the impact on the short term stability, using test systems obtained from the international scientific literature, as well as a simplified model of the Dutch power system. It was concluded from the simulation results, that from the perspective of the short term stability, there are no principal problems in reaching a large contribution of wind power to the electricity supply. However, the design of some types of wind turbines must be adapted in a number of ways. Further, it must be emphasized that the short term stability is only one of the factors that can limit the contribution of wind power to the electricy supply. Besides, many other factors are of importance. These must also be investigated thoroughly …