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Implications of the UK field trial of building mounted horizontal axis micro-wind turbines

Implications of the UK field trial of building mounted horizontal axis micro-wind turbines
Implications of the UK field trial of building mounted horizontal axis micro-wind turbines
Building mounted micro-wind turbines and photovoltaics have the potential to provide widely applicable carbon free electricity generation at the building level. Photovoltaic systems are well understood and it is easy to predict performance using software tools or widely accepted yield estimates. Micro-wind, however, is far more complex and in comparison poorly understood. This paper presents the key findings of the building mounted (< 2kWp) turbine component of the UK micro-wind trial undertaken by the Energy Saving Trust in 2008/09. The monitored performance of 39 horizontal axis turbines in urban, suburban and rural locations is discussed alongside the accuracy of predictive wind speed tools for the sites. The performance of urban and suburban micro-wind sites in the trial was poor with annual generation of less than 75 kWh/m2 swept area, the majority of which were less than 25 kWh/m2. Good rural sites had an annual generation of between 100 and 280 kWh/m2, far less than the nominal 360 kWh/m2 (10% load factor for a typical turbine) that is often assumed. In the light of these findings, the potential impact of the UK’s latest policy instrument, the 2010 micro-generation tariffs, is considered for both micro-wind and photovoltaics.
micro-generation, tariffs, micro-wind
0301-4215
6130-6144
James, P.A.B.
da0be14a-aa63-46a7-8646-a37f9a02a71b
Sissons, M.F.
f67e53e4-f5c3-4607-bcd2-b31e0c0a3ae8
Bradford, J.
c522df46-5e35-4551-855b-5456d589a5b7
Myers, L.E.
b0462700-3740-4f03-a336-dc5dd1969228
Bahaj, A.S.
a64074cc-2b6e-43df-adac-a8437e7f1b37
Anwar, Arif A.
e9a57bb7-5225-45e6-9a69-2396a6e4fd31
Green, S.
8810abd6-6c88-4042-8ebd-e3f55ae37ce4
James, P.A.B.
da0be14a-aa63-46a7-8646-a37f9a02a71b
Sissons, M.F.
f67e53e4-f5c3-4607-bcd2-b31e0c0a3ae8
Bradford, J.
c522df46-5e35-4551-855b-5456d589a5b7
Myers, L.E.
b0462700-3740-4f03-a336-dc5dd1969228
Bahaj, A.S.
a64074cc-2b6e-43df-adac-a8437e7f1b37
Anwar, Arif A.
e9a57bb7-5225-45e6-9a69-2396a6e4fd31
Green, S.
8810abd6-6c88-4042-8ebd-e3f55ae37ce4

James, P.A.B., Sissons, M.F., Bradford, J., Myers, L.E., Bahaj, A.S., Anwar, Arif A. and Green, S. (2010) Implications of the UK field trial of building mounted horizontal axis micro-wind turbines. Energy Policy, 38 (10), 6130-6144. (doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2010.05.070).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Building mounted micro-wind turbines and photovoltaics have the potential to provide widely applicable carbon free electricity generation at the building level. Photovoltaic systems are well understood and it is easy to predict performance using software tools or widely accepted yield estimates. Micro-wind, however, is far more complex and in comparison poorly understood. This paper presents the key findings of the building mounted (< 2kWp) turbine component of the UK micro-wind trial undertaken by the Energy Saving Trust in 2008/09. The monitored performance of 39 horizontal axis turbines in urban, suburban and rural locations is discussed alongside the accuracy of predictive wind speed tools for the sites. The performance of urban and suburban micro-wind sites in the trial was poor with annual generation of less than 75 kWh/m2 swept area, the majority of which were less than 25 kWh/m2. Good rural sites had an annual generation of between 100 and 280 kWh/m2, far less than the nominal 360 kWh/m2 (10% load factor for a typical turbine) that is often assumed. In the light of these findings, the potential impact of the UK’s latest policy instrument, the 2010 micro-generation tariffs, is considered for both micro-wind and photovoltaics.

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Published date: October 2010
Keywords: micro-generation, tariffs, micro-wind
Organisations: Civil Engineering & the Environment

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 184639
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/184639
ISSN: 0301-4215
PURE UUID: 097505d5-6187-4fc5-a605-debcf0f64da5
ORCID for P.A.B. James: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2694-7054
ORCID for L.E. Myers: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4724-899X
ORCID for A.S. Bahaj: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0043-6045
ORCID for Arif A. Anwar: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3071-3197

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 09 May 2011 09:05
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:12

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Contributors

Author: P.A.B. James ORCID iD
Author: M.F. Sissons
Author: J. Bradford
Author: L.E. Myers ORCID iD
Author: A.S. Bahaj ORCID iD
Author: Arif A. Anwar ORCID iD
Author: S. Green

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