Small wind technology diffusion in suburban areas of Sicily

Abstract

Among renewable energy resources, wind energy became more attractive in the last decade. Wind farm 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 plant choices are characterized by lower productivity, there is increasing interest in wind energy production in both urban and suburban areas. 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 the energy production of a small wind turbine can be according to many design and context parameters: wind profiles, installation height, land use, and characteristics of the turbine.