Articles | Volume 7, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2003-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2003-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
12 Oct 2022
Research article |
| 12 Oct 2022
| 12 Oct 2022
Current status and grand challenges for small wind turbine technology
Alessandro Bianchini
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di
Firenze, 50139 Florence, Italy
Small Wind Turbine Technical Committee, European Academy of Wind
Energy (EAWE), Oldenburg, Germany
Galih Bangga
Institute of Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamics, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Small Wind Turbine Technical Committee, European Academy of Wind
Energy (EAWE), Oldenburg, Germany
Ian Baring-Gould
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, Colorado 80401, USA
Alessandro Croce
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Aerospaziali, Politecnico di
Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy
Small Wind Turbine Technical Committee, European Academy of Wind
Energy (EAWE), Oldenburg, Germany
José Ignacio Cruz
Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y
Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), 28040 Madrid, Spain
Rick Damiani
RRD Engineering, LLC, Arvada, Colorado 80007, USA
Gareth Erfort
Department of Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering, Stellenbosch
University, 7602 Stellenbosch, South Africa
Small Wind Turbine Technical Committee, European Academy of Wind
Energy (EAWE), Oldenburg, Germany
Carlos Simao Ferreira
Delft University of Technology, Wind Energy, 2629HS Delft, the
Netherlands
Small Wind Turbine Technical Committee, European Academy of Wind
Energy (EAWE), Oldenburg, Germany
David Infield
Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department, University of Strathclyde, G11XW Glasgow, Scotland
Christian Navid Nayeri
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Small Wind Turbine Technical Committee, European Academy of Wind
Energy (EAWE), Oldenburg, Germany
George Pechlivanoglou
Eunice Energy Group, 15125 Athens, Greece
Mark Runacres
Faculty of Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Small Wind Turbine Technical Committee, European Academy of Wind
Energy (EAWE), Oldenburg, Germany
Gerard Schepers
TNO Energy Transition, 1755LE Petten, the Netherlands
Institute of Engineering, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, 9747AS Groningen, the Netherlands
Brent Summerville
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, Colorado 80401, USA
David Wood
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University
of Calgary, T2N1N4 Calgary, Canada
Alice Orrell
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA
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Cited
25 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Analysis of urban turbulence intensity observed by Beijing 325-m tower and comparison with the IEC turbulence model for small wind turbines Z. Zhang et al. 10.1016/j.jweia.2023.105511
- An insight on the calculation of aerodynamic polars for stall-controlled wind turbines using CFD: the case of S8XX airfoils A. Venturi et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2893/1/012006
- Assessing the Performance of Small Wind Energy Systems Using Regional Weather Data W. Früh 10.3390/en16083500
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- Selecting the Best Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine Design for Use in a Small Wind Turbine M. Lefik et al. 10.3390/electronics13101929
- Levelized cost of electricity in renewable energy communities: Uncertainty propagation analysis L. Pagnini et al. 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123278
- Bio-mimicry in the aerodynamics of small horizontal axis wind turbines A. Khedr 10.1016/j.seta.2025.104260
- Experimental Assessment of the Poststall Performance of Two Highly Cambered Airfoils B. Emmerson & D. Verstraete 10.2514/1.C037357
- Unscented Kalman filter-based blade-effective wind speed estimation for a vertical-axis wind turbine L. Brandetti et al. 10.1016/j.ifacol.2023.10.1033
- Design and Implementation of an Experimental Test Bench for the Study of Active Flow Control in Scale Wind Turbines J. Franco & G. Salinas-Anaya 10.1115/1.4067504
- NREL 15-kW: An Advanced Horizontal-Axis Reference Turbine for Distributed Wind A. Gupta et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2767/7/072024
- Scaling up small wind turbines in India: Barriers and options for the way forward V. Kumar et al. 10.46830/wriib.23.00086
- Three-Phase Single-Stage AC-DC Converter Using Series–Series Compensation Circuit in Inductive-Power-Transfer-Based Small Wind Power Generation System Y. Moon et al. 10.3390/app14177769
- Development of a novel method for the correction of the nacelle wind speed in stall-controlled wind turbines L. Vivas et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2767/3/032008
- The energy crisis as a challenge of small scale wind energy in urban areas- The case of Greece E. Tzen et al. 10.1088/1755-1315/1196/1/012004
- Multi-objective calibration of vertical-axis wind turbine controllers: balancing aero-servo-elastic performance and noise L. Brandetti et al. 10.5194/wes-9-471-2024
- UNICO: an open-source controller optimized for stall-regulated wind turbines S. Cioni et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2767/3/032004
- Performance Validation of Control Algorithm Considering Independent Generator Torque Control in PCS D. Kim et al. 10.3390/app142411598
- Intelligent Control of an Experimental Small-Scale Wind Turbine M. Borunda et al. 10.3390/en17225656
- Advanced multimaterial shape optimization methods as applied to advanced manufacturing of wind turbine generators L. Sethuraman et al. 10.1002/we.2911
- Accuracy assessment of Beddoes-Leishman and IAG dynamic stall models for wind turbine applications O. Mohamed et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2767/5/052053
- Bioinspired Trailing Edge Serrations for Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Blades in Urban Environments: Performance Effects L. Santamaría et al. 10.1007/s42235-025-00660-5
- Load Characteristics and Extreme Response of Straight-Bladed Floating VAWT Using a Fully Coupled Model W. Luo et al. 10.3390/jmse11010185
- Wind Turbines for Decarbonization and Energy Transition of Buildings and Urban Areas: A Review K. Ismail et al. 10.21926/aeer.2501013
- Design Loads in Small Wind Turbines: a Detailed Comparison Between Pitch and Stall Regulation F. Papi et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2385/1/012120
24 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Analysis of urban turbulence intensity observed by Beijing 325-m tower and comparison with the IEC turbulence model for small wind turbines Z. Zhang et al. 10.1016/j.jweia.2023.105511
- An insight on the calculation of aerodynamic polars for stall-controlled wind turbines using CFD: the case of S8XX airfoils A. Venturi et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2893/1/012006
- Assessing the Performance of Small Wind Energy Systems Using Regional Weather Data W. Früh 10.3390/en16083500
- A case for supporting distributed wind energy deployment in commercial-scale potato production based on field measurements in Ireland R. Byrne et al. 10.1016/j.cles.2025.100186
- Selecting the Best Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine Design for Use in a Small Wind Turbine M. Lefik et al. 10.3390/electronics13101929
- Levelized cost of electricity in renewable energy communities: Uncertainty propagation analysis L. Pagnini et al. 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123278
- Bio-mimicry in the aerodynamics of small horizontal axis wind turbines A. Khedr 10.1016/j.seta.2025.104260
- Experimental Assessment of the Poststall Performance of Two Highly Cambered Airfoils B. Emmerson & D. Verstraete 10.2514/1.C037357
- Unscented Kalman filter-based blade-effective wind speed estimation for a vertical-axis wind turbine L. Brandetti et al. 10.1016/j.ifacol.2023.10.1033
- Design and Implementation of an Experimental Test Bench for the Study of Active Flow Control in Scale Wind Turbines J. Franco & G. Salinas-Anaya 10.1115/1.4067504
- NREL 15-kW: An Advanced Horizontal-Axis Reference Turbine for Distributed Wind A. Gupta et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2767/7/072024
- Scaling up small wind turbines in India: Barriers and options for the way forward V. Kumar et al. 10.46830/wriib.23.00086
- Three-Phase Single-Stage AC-DC Converter Using Series–Series Compensation Circuit in Inductive-Power-Transfer-Based Small Wind Power Generation System Y. Moon et al. 10.3390/app14177769
- Development of a novel method for the correction of the nacelle wind speed in stall-controlled wind turbines L. Vivas et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2767/3/032008
- The energy crisis as a challenge of small scale wind energy in urban areas- The case of Greece E. Tzen et al. 10.1088/1755-1315/1196/1/012004
- Multi-objective calibration of vertical-axis wind turbine controllers: balancing aero-servo-elastic performance and noise L. Brandetti et al. 10.5194/wes-9-471-2024
- UNICO: an open-source controller optimized for stall-regulated wind turbines S. Cioni et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2767/3/032004
- Performance Validation of Control Algorithm Considering Independent Generator Torque Control in PCS D. Kim et al. 10.3390/app142411598
- Intelligent Control of an Experimental Small-Scale Wind Turbine M. Borunda et al. 10.3390/en17225656
- Advanced multimaterial shape optimization methods as applied to advanced manufacturing of wind turbine generators L. Sethuraman et al. 10.1002/we.2911
- Accuracy assessment of Beddoes-Leishman and IAG dynamic stall models for wind turbine applications O. Mohamed et al. 10.1088/1742-6596/2767/5/052053
- Bioinspired Trailing Edge Serrations for Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Blades in Urban Environments: Performance Effects L. Santamaría et al. 10.1007/s42235-025-00660-5
- Load Characteristics and Extreme Response of Straight-Bladed Floating VAWT Using a Fully Coupled Model W. Luo et al. 10.3390/jmse11010185
- Wind Turbines for Decarbonization and Energy Transition of Buildings and Urban Areas: A Review K. Ismail et al. 10.21926/aeer.2501013
1 citations as recorded by crossref.
Latest update: 23 Apr 2025
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Short summary
The paper is part of the Grand Challenges Papers for Wind Energy. It provides a status of small wind turbine technology in terms of technical maturity, diffusion, and cost. Then, five grand challenges that are thought to be key to fostering the development of the technology are proposed. To tackle these challenges, a series of unknowns and gaps are first identified and discussed. Improvement areas are highlighted, within which 10 key enabling actions are finally proposed to the wind community.
The paper is part of the Grand Challenges Papers for Wind Energy. It provides a status of small...
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