Wind-diesel and distributed diesel co-generation in remote communities

One of the most popular and feasible strategies to reduce costs for electrical and other energy supply in remote communities is the development of wind-diesel systems. In these systems, a significant share of the electrical energy requirements of a community can be provided by wind turbines connected to the community electrical distribution system. One of the characteristics of the systems having a relatively large ratio of wind turbine capacity to community load, called High Penetration Wind-Diesel Systems (HPWDS), is that during high wind periods there will be electrical energy available in excess of the net load on the system. An important concept of the HPWDS strategy is that this excess energy can be directed to a practical use, such as heating. The concept of HPWDS was shown to be economically and technically feasible in communities having no heat recovery on the diesel plants. It proved to be even more attractive as a strategy for self sufficiency of electrical supply in communities with waste heat recovery. 1 fig., 1 tab