Full Description

This document applies to all small wind turbines (SWTs) with a swept area smaller than or equal to 200 m2, and designed for supplying electrical power to isolated sites used in systems as described in IEC TS 62257-2.

This document is not an exhaustive resource for the design, installation, operation or maintenance of small wind turbines and wind power systems, but is more focused on recommendations to provide strategies on selection and criteria which may affect the use of a small wind power system (SWPS) in a rural electrification project.

Only the hybrid collective electrification system (microgrid, isolated microgrid) including SWT(s) is considered in this document. SWT in an isolated microgrid can be a single wind turbine or multiple wind turbines. Isolated microgrid using only wind power generation is not discussed in this document. General functional configuration of SWT(s) in an off-grid hybrid power system is shown in Figure 1.

The aim of this document is to provide users with the appropriate levels of reliability and safety of the equipment during its estimated service lifespan.

It describes the minimum safety requirements and does not claim to be an exhaustive instruction manual or design specification.

Compliance with this document does not exempt any person, organization, or corporation from the responsibility to comply with all other relevant regulations.

This document gives recommendations for the single SWT with a swept area smaller than or equal to 200 m2, or multiple SWTs with other power sources of total capacity up to 100 kW in an off-grid hybrid power system.

The design life of a good quality modern wind turbine is 20 years. The real lifetime of a SWT is subjected to quite extreme loads throughout its life. This mostly depends on its designed structure and reliability of moving parts, because the power in the wind increases with the cube of the speed.