Feasibility and Energy Output of Wind Turbines in New South Wales

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Small wind turbines have proven to be a popular renewable energy source for remote sites and rural areas. Critical parameters influence the aerodynamics performance of small-size horizontal wind turbines (HAWT), such as atmospheric conditions and wind turbine shape. This study aims to optimize the performance of a small HAWT with 20 kW capacity under local wind conditions in 5 rural areas of New South Wales (NSW). Wind energy potential is evaluated to define the feasibility of wind resources in rural and remote areas. This study addresses the gap in our knowledge of combining wind turbine design and the available wind resources in Australia using updated and refined methodologies to maximize wind turbines’ annual energy production. Ansys Fluent (version 18.2, Canonsburg, PA, USA) and HARP_Opt (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA) software have been used in this research. The optimized design variables concerning the shape of the blade-rated rotational speed and pitch angle improved the annual energy production rate by 9.068% compared to the original wind turbine

Optimization of a Small Wind Turbine for a Rural Area: A Case Study of Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia

The performance of a wind turbine is affected by wind conditions and blade shape. This study aimed to optimize the performance of a 20 kW horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) under local wind conditions at Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia. Ansys Fluent (version 18.2, Canonsburg, PA, USA) was used to investigate the aerodynamic performance of the HAWT. The effects of four Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence models on predicting the flows under separation condition were examined. The transition SST model had the best agreement with the NREL CER data. Then, the aerodynamic shape of the rotor was optimized to maximize the annual energy production (AEP) in the Deniliquin region. Statistical wind analysis was applied to define the Weibull function and scale parameters which were 2.096 and 5.042 m/s, respectively. The HARP_Opt (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA) was enhanced with design variables concerning the shape of the blade, rated rotational speed, and pitch angle. The pitch angle remained at 0° while the rising wind speed improved rotor speed to 148.4482 rpm at rated speed. This optimization improved the AEP rate by 9.068% when compared to the original NREL design