Protobreeze – Measurement campaign at a small wind turbine system

Project period 01.08.2015 – 31.12.2015

Small wind turbines (SWT) play a merely ancillary role in Germany due to reduced income and high costs. Due to the increasing importance of decentralized energy supply with respect to rising electricity costs, the use of small wind turbines will become more attractive. SWT, however, are generally at a disadvantage caused by their low hub heights and therefore reduced wind speeds. The small wind turbine manufacturer enbreeze, for this reason, designs their turbines for weak wind conditions. The company has developed a small wind turbine, including a rotor with a diameter of 11 m at a rated output of 10 kW. Additionally they designed a new pitch system for limiting the power and making operation more reliable as well. The RLI supports enbreeze by measuring their prototype. The campaign is based on an extensive measurement system containing a wind measuring mast up to a high of 20 m and a self-developed modular measurement system for revolution, pitch angle, power analysis and so on.

The measurement campaign lasts for about 6 months. Based on the industry-standard policies, the power and the sound measurement will be performed, which leads to statements about the reliability of the control system and the overall performance of the system. These findings will support the further development of these and the next plant generations.