Abstract Wind energy is seen as one of the main pillars of renewable energy. However, the intermittent nature of these sources still poses as a major challenge. Moreover, sensitivity to grid faults and response to load changes are also main concerns. Superconducting devices have been introduced to solve grid faults and energy storage problems associated with renewable energy sources. Nevertheless, the cost of superconducting materials was still a major drawback for their application in power grids. In this paper, a novel power electronics circuit is used to connect the superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) to a DC system based on a doubly fed induction generator wind turbine. The proposed system merges energy storage function and the fault current limiting function into one device which is referred to as SMES-FCL in this paper. The role played by the SMES-FCL is studied under various scenarios that may affect the whole system. The study of the system is carried in MATLAB/SIMULINK where the system is simulated in standalone and grid-connected modes. In the end, the proposed SMES-FCL control circuit is tested in a small-scale DC system experimentally.