Power limits of wind turbines in the energy transition scenario

The future huge requirement of ’green’ power to implement the countries’ energy transition programs, foresees a consistent contribution of wind turbines in electric energy generation. Beside of evaluation of the wind potential, it is technically essential to understand the marginal gain of electrical power potentially deliverable by the single turbine unit and hence the maximum power attainable under the expected technology development. In this study the concept of power is analysed through the compositional factors of the specific work, the efficiency, and the mass flow. This approach allows us to deduce the areas of potential improvement at the current technology level. The giantism of the turbines is hampered by several factors, like as the aerodynamic efficiency, the structural resistance of some components, and the availability of the necessary wind energy fluxes, that set an upper limit to the deliverable power. This limit plays a fundamental role in determining the future need of onshore and offshore locations to achieve the massive power levels connected to energy transition goals.