Small-Scale Wind Turbine Power Curve Adjustment

As a graduate student at Penn State, I developed a new method of determining power production for a small-scale wind turbine in a turbulent wind regime. An evaluation of power performance field tests for a 2.4 kW Skystream wind turbine (shown on the right) was carried out with respect to turbulent wind regime characteristics. The wind turbine is located at the Sustainability Experience Center on the Penn State University Park campus. A power curve was determined with respect to manufacturer specifications and in situ wind regime data generated from anemometers. This approach was accomplished in comparison to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards and power performance studies for small-scale distributed wind turbines. The site specific data was generated at the Skystream turbine to verify manufacturer specifications and evaluate turbine performance with respect to turbulence. This work was presented on June 8, 2015 at the NAWEA 2015 Symposium (hosted by Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA). The project was also published to the journal Wind Engineering, Vol. 39, Issue 6 and defended for my M.S. degree in December 2015 (both the publication and M.S. thesis are located in the Research section of this site).