Evaluating the Performances of Small Wind Turbines: A Case Study in the South of Italy

Among renewable energy resources, wind energy became more attractive in the last decade. Wind farms installations dramatically increased in areas where climatic conditions, topography and environment have allowed their development. The installation of wind turbines, usually carried out in remote areas, recently began to cover areas identified by a complex terrain such as urban and suburban zones. Although these new sites' choices are characterized by lower productivity there is increasing interest in wind energy production in both urban and suburban area. In this work the authors have carried out an energy analysis developed from a sample of small wind turbines available on the market. This study shows how variable can be the energy production of a small wind turbine according to many design and context parameter: wind profiles, installation height, land use, characteristics of the turbine. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of International Materials Science Society.