How to design wind turbines for cold climates

Cold climes make wind turbines less efficient but there are ways of overcoming at least some of the drawbacks.

March 22, 2010

Cold temperatures present technical issues associated with lower energy production, as well as risks like ice throw, noise, fatigue loading, environmental impact, and site access.

So says the International Energy Agency in two cold-climate reports which can now be downloaded from the website of the IEA Wind program. Recommendations For Wind Energy Projects in Cold Climates (2009 Edition) indicates ways to accelerate growth of wind energy in cold climates and reduce risks. State-of-the-Art of Wind Energy in Cold Climates (2009) focuses on solutions to keep turbine blades free from ice, on indirect and direct icing measurements and an analysis of available icing models.One recommendation: A thorough site measurement, including ice measurements for at least one year with the correct measurement devices. Heated surfaces, for example on heated anemometers and ice detectors, have been shown to melt snow and, as a consequence, create artificial icing conditions during snow fall. Although not yet proven, de- and anti-icing systems based on heated blade surfaces are likely to act in a similar manner during snowfall.

You can get the two reports here:

http://ieawind.org/Publications/19/Task_19_Exp%20Group_Study_090807wcover.pdf

http://ieawind.org/Task_19/State%20of%20the%20Art%20Task%2019/StateOfTheArtOfColdClimate2009.pdf