Review of wind/diesel strategies

A large potential demand exists for electricity in areas isolated from grid supply. Diesel generation in these usually remote areas is expensive and wind/diesel systems, with the wind turbine viewed primarily as a fuel saver, can be seen as attractive. Integration of wind energy is not straightforward, and in particular can cause operational problems for the diesel generator set. These difficulties are discussed and various approaches, including a twin diesel system, are presented. The role of energy storage is examined, both to deal with operational problems and to improve wind-energy utilisation. An example of battery storage is developed in some detail. A summary of acturla installations and their performace is included to highlight some of the problems and indicate the approaches being taken to deal with them.