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 turbinesβ 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
