Commercial availability of the new IEC3A wind turbine models, which have been specifically designed for high productivity in low and light wind conditions, opens new opportunities for onshore wind power development worldwide. An open question is whether the price of electricity delivered from wind farms using this type of wind turbine will be competitive with the cost of kilowatt-hours (kWh) from conventional power plants and/or from electricity markets. The analysis proposed in this article by Bernard Chabot shows that there are good prospects for cost competitiveness; meaning that power produced in these low and light wind conditions will soon be one of the most competitive energy technologies able to deliver clean electricity in the vast majority of countries.
swept area
Newcomers to wind energy and even some old-timers who should know better often equate the size of a wind turbine to it’s generator rating. A Vestas V80 for example is rated at 1.8 MW; a V82 is rated at 1.65 MW. While this is may be a useful shorthand among those unfamiliar with wind energy, the use of generator size leads to a host of problems when evaluating the technology.