Analysis of the Efficiency Improvement in Small Wind Turbines when Speed Is Controlled

This paper analyzes the efficiency of three small commercial wind turbines, from different manufacturers and with different technology. Their actual energy production is compared with the case where they use turbine speed control to follow the wind speed variations. The simulation uses a Weibull probability distribution for the wind speed. A fixed pitch turbine with permanent magnets generator is simulated to demonstrate the wind turbine efficiency reduction when the speed is not controlled.