EFFECTS OF HOSTILE TERRAINS ON WIND TURBINE PERFORMANCES AND LOADS - THE ACQUA SPRUZZA EXPERIENCE

The siting activity carried out by ENEL since 1979 has led to the conc lusion that exploitable wind conditions can be found mainly on the rid ges of Central and Southern Apennines. Mountaineous areas, on the othe r hand, are often located above 1000 m a.s.l., where very harsh condit ions (heavy icing, snowfalls, high turbulence, high vertical component of wind velocity, etc.) can occur, especially during winter months; f urthermore, they generally feature complex profile of terrain. Very li ttle experience has been gained worldwide of operating wind turbines i n very hostile conditions. The need for research about the feasibility of wind plants and the viability of present commercial medium-sized w ind turbines in such prospective location led to the construction of a mountain test site at Acqua Spruzza on the Apennines, where a thoroug h testing activity is being carried out, aimed at assessing, among oth er things, the performances and lifetime of machines. (C) 1998 Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.