Distributed wind energy generation

European efforts to fight climate change, to improve the security of energy supply, and to drive innovation and competitiveness in the next decade will make distributed generation (DG) develop and grow considerably. DG growth is an integral component of a new vision of an effective and highly responsive “European Smart Grid” in which the actions of all stakeholders are fully integrated. However, there are a number of existing barriers that prevent the spread of DG in the European market. These barriers range from simple commercial issues, such as the fact that the energy produced is currently not cost-effective in comparison to the electricity generated on a large scale, to complex regulatory reforms. In this book, several comparisons are made regarding different solutions already adopted in European countries for low power distributed generation, thereby providing possible solutions to the budding energy situation in Europe, as well as an overview of trends and growth forecasts for distributed generation and smart grid (SG) projects. Since several processes working with solar energy are available, a study to know which technology is more suitable considering the primary energy consumption and economy is necessary. This book analyses existing wind farms to quantify and characterise the market suitable for repowering. We discuss whether repowering is a valid alternative from the point of view of feasibility to enable the continuation of the integration of wind energy in the Spanish energy mix and whether this feasibility is enough when the energy generated is charged at the electricity market price in terms of grid parity. The results support that repowering is a profitable alternative and is often even better than the construction of new wind farms under certain conditions. Finally, in this book, the problems that have motivated the development of wind control centres are presented, highlighting the Spanish case. This book describes typical telecontrol architecture from the local wind farm level to inter-control centre connectivity, with special emphasis on differences compared with other control centres and the functionalities that can be implemented in this architecture. A study on the use of virtual machines in wind control centres is also included for the purpose of shedding light on this modern trend, despite the strong inertia in the use of conventional servers.