Small Wind: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

This chapter investigates the challenges that small wind market would face, in order to exploit its potential possibilities to keep growing, becoming a relevant asset for the energy production sector worldwide. Despite its name, small wind market is actually large and relies on several different possibilities for energy production through different types of devices (from the ‘classic’ horizontal-axis wind turbines and vertical-axis wind turbines to ‘retrofitting innovative designs’ such as the cross-axis wind turbines or building augmented wind turbines). The scope of application of this market is also wide, from small-scale ‘classic’ wind turbines in semi-urban areas to the installation of different designs in the domestic sector (building rooftops and surroundings) or integrated in the building design. The different possibilities for energy production of the small wind market and its scope of application are reviewed through this chapter, so as to gather enough information to assess the maturity of this technology and its match with the energy consumption needs. The objective is to test the possibilities of the small wind market in now and in near future. An open-source wind turbine calculation software, QBlade, was used to describe the relationship between the design of the airfoil and its performance, under the specific conditions that usually small wind market devices are exposed to.