Developing wind-concentrator systems for the use of wind turbines in areas with low wind-speed potentials

Abstract

The ability to supply energy in rural areas and in agricultural plants with renewable energy technologies, especially wind energy, is advantageous in terms of a sustainable environment and the increasing cost of energy. Today, wind turbines are used actively in many areas, some of which are for commercial purposes. Small-scale wind turbines that produce electricity directly have the necessary characteristics for use in agricultural plants. In this study, wind-concentrator systems for small-scale wind turbines that can be used in agricultural electrification applications have been designed for geographical areas where the wind-speed potential is low. Three different concentrator systems have been designed to make use of low wind-speed potentials and obtain high power values with relatively small rotor diameters. The three different designs have been produced as prototypes, and power values of 324-503 Wm(-2) (at 5 ms(-1) wind speed) can be obtained by concentrating the wind. The efficiency, power, energy production capacity, and economic elements of the models were determined, and the possible results for agricultural plants have been assessed. According to these assessments, the efficiency values are 71 and 90% for wind speed and 410 and 600% for wind power. The energy production capacities are a maximum of 6462, 5193, and 8226 kWhm(-2) per year for the conical wind-concentrator system, the wind-concentrator system with a panel, and the wind-concentrator system without a panel, respectively. If the energy production cost per unit of these systems is considered, these systems are not economical. Therefore, these systems must be produced on a large scale to become economical, and their size must be enlarged to reduce the cost. Consequently, the potential power values per unit area and the potential energy values per unit produced by the wind-concentrator systems will contribute to the production of more energy than that achieved by current wind turbines.