Urban wind potential analysis: Case study of wind turbines integrated into a building using on-site measurements and CFD modelling

Abstract

Energy solutions based in renewable energy sources are needed to overcome fossil fuel crisis due to supply uncertainties, increasing prices and climate changes. Innovative energy solutions for a sustainable and resilient energy system for the cities is required, special attention should also be paid greenhouse gases emissions. Wind energy systems integrated in to building in urban areas are a promising technological alternative. In this work an assessment of wind energy potential in a typical building in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was performed. The main idea is establish a methodology to explore how small wind turbines can be integrated in building to contribute to the energy sufficiency in urban areas. For this purpose, was developed a simple but robust framework to provide a city-environment assessment of the wind energy potential considering roof-mounted turbines. An especial distinction was made to capture the effect of the building geometry in the electricity generation using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modelling and the related in the energy production. The framework is based on seven main steps: (1) site selection, (2) resource prospecting/analysis including CFD, (3) turbine selection, (4) estimation of currently produced energy, (5) Environmental evaluation, (6) Resilience and Economic Analysis, and (7) System Installation. The urban wind energy potential was assessed considering one small two-blade Darrius H-type vertical axis wind turbines on the roofs of a 29 m high-rise buildings, yielding an annual energy production in the best site of about 1030 kWh with a potential CO2 emission reduction of 0.64 Ton/yr. It was also found that the wind speed decrees significantly downstream the wind flow direction due to the building geometry, this means that the average speed could decrees in about 100% from the site of the wind flow incidence to the opposite, with the consequent impact in the energy generation.