Design Challenges of a Low Speed Wind Farm

Abstract

In Malaysia the use wind energy for electrification is considered not economically viable simply because of its low average wind speed of about 2m/s. This is far below than majority of commercial wind turbines which are designed to operate at above 7m/s. In this paper, we will discuss some challenges in designing a wind farm capable of operating at between 1.5m/s to 3m/s and generating power of 200KWh per day. In general a total revamp to the wind turbine power curve is needed such that it is able to generate usable power at a very low wind velocity region. This paper also reviews some of the recent progress made toward developing low speed vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with a particular reference to the Savonious rotor. We further argue that by using a cluster of optimal vertical wind turbines arranged in specific configuration, total power efficiency can be improved significantly