Wind diesel systems - design assessment and future potential

Diesels are the obvious form. of back-up electricity generation in small to medium sized wind systems. High wind penetrations pose significant technical problems for the system designer, ranging from component sizing to control specification and dynamic stability. A key role is seen for proven system models for assessing both dynamic characteristics and overall performance and economics. An introduction is provided to the Wind Diesel Engineering Design Toolkit currently under development (for implementation on PC) by a consortium of leading wind diesel experts, representing six European countries. Support for this work is being provided by the CEC's JOULE programme. Experience gained from a wide range of designs is drawn on to illustrate the problems and point to more attractive solutions.