Techno-economic assessment of the application of small-scale wind turbines

Abstract

In the present work, a tool is proposed for the evaluation of micro-wind turbine performances in the Australian cities. The power curves provided by the manufacturers were combined with the two-parameter Weibull function representative of the local wind conditions. Calculations demonstrate that when taking into account the only wind speed magnitude, the horizontal axis micro-wind turbines have greater capacity factors than the vertical axis micro-wind turbines for similar wind conditions. Turbine capacities were then mapped over a wide range of wind conditions assuming the wind distribution characterised by Weibull parameters. By considering the market price of electricity, the income of a power source can be evaluated. The critical wind-condition boundary needed to provide a beneficial active micro-wind turbine was determined for one horizontal axis micro-wind turbine using a hypothetical income map.