Design of a wind turbine generator for rural applications

This paper presents a wind‐generation system design for rural applications. In Southern areas of Argentina, there are right conditions for wind energy exploitation. Depending on the characteristics of these areas, the wind‐generation systems can operate either isolated or connected to the grid. This work particularly emphasises the design of a generator to optimise the system performance and achieve its minimum volume. The analytical design is evaluated using finite element analysis and experimentally validated using a 35 kW prototype. The tests reveal that the design procedure is suitable. The initially proposed efficiency aim was exceeded, reaching a maximum value of 94.2%. The generator operating conditions make it particularly suited for the application for which it was designed.