Task 41: Distributed Wind
The Task 41 extension proposal is in development. If you would like to join Task 41 and the next work plan, please contact an operating agent.
IEA Wind Task 41 is an international group of researchers from numerous member countries and associations dedicated to advancing wind technology as a cost-effective and reliable distributed energy resource.
Our objectives are to:
- Coordinate international distributed wind energy research
- Facilitate collaboration on priority research topics
- Increase the visibility of wind technology as a distributed energy resource.
What is distributed wind?
Wind technology, of any size, can be a distributed energy resource. Distributed wind systems are often used to generate electricity for remote communities or offset a portion of energy costs for grid-connected customers. As a result, distributed wind systems can be part of an isolated grid or a grid-connected microgrid, or they can be connected at the distribution voltage level of a grid system either behind the meter for self-consumption or on the distribution grid to serve local loads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to questions about distributed wind.
What is distributed wind?
Small wind, most typically defined as wind turbines up to 100 kW in nameplate capacity, is one segment of the distributed wind market. Rather than nameplate capacity, small wind can also be defined by rotor swept area, with 200 m2 being the size limit recognized by international small wind standards.
Can wind turbines be installed with other distributed energy resources (DERs)?
What are distributed wind hybrid power plants?
Co-located and co-operated energy resources are what most typically come to mind when one is asked to define a hybrid power plant. A distributed wind hybrid power plant is wind in combination with another or multiple technologies that are co-located and controlled by an owner/operator behind a point of interconnection on a distribution grid and offered to the market or system operator as a single resource at that point of interconnection.
What are microgrids?
What are isolated grids?
What is a behind-the-meter distributed wind installation?
What is a front-of-the-meter distributed wind installation?
What is an off-grid distributed wind installation?
Off-grid distributed wind is typically deployed with a battery or other forms of energy storage because the wind turbine is not connected to a local grid that could provide backup energy or a sink for excess energy. An off-grid wind turbine can also be deployed with solar PV or another DER.
What are typical conditions for a behind-the-meter small wind turbine installation?
- You live on at least 4840 square meters (1 acre) of land free of obstacles such as trees and buildings in an area with average annual wind speeds of at least 4.5 meters per second (10 miles per hour).
- The cost of the generated wind energy would be cost-competitive with your local retail electrical rate.
- The utility’s requirements for connecting your system to its grid are not prohibitively expensive.
- Local building codes and ordinances allow you to erect a wind turbine on your property without undue burden.
- You are comfortable with long-term investments.
What is the current market potential for DERs across the globe?
How can I become involved in Task 41?
Can I put a wind turbine on my roof?
What equipment does a small wind installation typically include?
What are the priority research areas Task 41 has identified in advancing wind technology as a cost-effective and reliable distributed energy resource?
IEA Task 41 Operating Agent Alice Orrell
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
902 Battelle Boulevard
P.O. Box 999, MSIN J5-10
Richland, WA 99352
United States
Contact Alice Orrell
Phone:
+1-509-372-4632
9 a.m.–5 p.m. Pacific Time
Email:
alice.orrell@pnnl.gov
IEA Task 41 Operating Agent Ian Baring-Gould
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
15013 Denver W Pkwy
Golden, CO 80401
United States
Contact Ian Baring-Gould
Phone:
+1-720-244-1444
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mountain Time
Email:
ian.baring-gould@nrel.gov