Small Wind Energy Systems

The application of small wind turbines for residential and commercial applications depends on how a microgrid can operate in a suitable way. Because there is variable demand and a random nature of wind resources, it is usually necessary the installation of controllable end-use loads, storage devices, and a centralized distribution control. In order to establish a small wind energy system it is important to observe the following: (i) Attending the energy requirements of the actual or future consumers; (ii) Establishing civil liabilities in case of accidents and financial losses due to shortage or low quality of energy; (iii) Negotiating collective conditions to interconnect the microgrid with the public network or with other sources of energy that is independent of wind resources; (iv) Establishing a performance criteria of power quality and reliability to end-users, in order to reduce costs and guaranteeing an acceptable energy supply. This paper discuss how performance is affected by local conditions and random nature of the wind, power demand profiles, turbine related factors, and presents the technical issues for implementing a self-excited induction generator system, or a permanent magnet based wind turbine control, in addition of discussing the use of Magnus effect wind turbines for small scale generation.