RenewableEnergy Vol. I, No. 5/6, pp. 713-722, 1991 0960-1481/91 $3.00+ .00 Printed in Great Britain. © 1991 Pergamon Press plc DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPROPRIATE WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES C. V. NAYAR and F. P. THOMAS Power Electronics Research Unit, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6001 and S. J. PHILLIPS and W. L. JAMES Murdoch University Energy Research Institute, Murdoch University, South St, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150 (Received 20 October 1990 ; accepted 4 December 1990) Abstract--This paper discusses design considerations of small scale wind energy systems and presents results from some Australian remote area power supply systems. Small scale wind energy systems have the potential for considerable improvement in the standard of living of individuals in rural areas in the developingcountries. A commerciallyviable design should consider factors such as : proper siting, assessing the present and future energy needs of people living in the rural areas and using appropriate technology to fulfil these needs. Australia can contribute advanced and proven technology in this area based on the experience from several remote area power supply programmes undertaken by Federal and State Governments. !. INTRODUCTION More than two billion people, mostly living in rural areas in the developing countries, are not served by electrical power. Much of their energy needs are being met by traditional and non-electric sources such as human and animal muscle power, firewood, kerosene and animal waste. Most of the developing countries are poor in con- ventional fossil fuel resources and have to import them at the expense of their meagre foreign exchange reserves. Small scale wind energy systems have the potential for considerable improvement in the stan- dard of living of individuals in rural areas in the devel- oping countries. However, the utilisation of renew- ables in rural electrification in these countries has been quite limited because of a number of factors such as lack of proven technology, institutional inertia and low fuel prices. The energy needs of small rural communities fall into three main categories [I] : (i) energy to improve living conditions (ii) energy to improve agricultural productivity (iii) energy for small scale industries. Implementing a large number of small scale stand alone rural area power supply systems to meet the above energy needs will require careful planning, feasibility studies, demonstration programmes, infra- structure building and technology transfer spread over a period of time. Australia can contribute advanced and proven tech- nology in this area based on the experience from sev- eral remote area power supply programmes under- taken by Federal and State Governments. Experiences have shown how the Aboriginal communities living in remote areas of Australia have improved their own services in several key areas such as communication (for example, radio and television), water pumping and purification, refrigeration for storage of vaccine and basic foods. In many regions in the developing countries, wind energy can provide electricity or pump water at costs below that of other renewable energy technologies or stand alone diesel alternators. This paper presents an overview of the wind energy technology available in Australia for use in the rural areas in the developing countries. A discussion on regional co-operation through technology transfer is also included. 2. WIND RESOURCE EVALUATION The fundamental problem in the utilisation of wind power is to determine how much power is available, 713