In this paper, fuzzy fractional order PI+I (FFOPI+I) controller for grid connected Variable Speed Wind Energy Conversion System (VS-WECS) is proposed. The FFOPI+I controller is applied to control a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) connected to the grid and nonlinear load through a back-to-back AC-DC-AC PWM converter. The control strategy of the Machine Side Converter (MSC) aims, at first, to extract a maximum power under fluctuating wind speed. Then, the Grid Side Converter (GSC) is controlled to improve the power quality and ensure sinusoidal current in the grid side. The FFOPI+I controller implements a Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) in parallel with Fractional Order PI (FOPI) and conventional PI controllers by having a commune proportional gain. The FLC changes the integral gains at runtime. The initial parameters of the FFOPI+I controller were calculated using a frequency method to create a search space then the PSO algorithm is used to select the optimal parameters. To evaluate the performance of the proposed controller in steady and transient states, an experimental test bench has been built in laboratory using dSPACE1104 card. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the FFOPI+I over FOPI and conventional PI controllers by realizing maximum power extraction and improving the grid-side power factor for a wide range of wind speed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.