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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Wind power stations: 1984 performance and reliability

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5751040

The objective of this report is to present the results of an assessment of field experience at a number of wind turbine sites. Operational information was collected and assessed from six commercial wind power stations and four experimental test sites. The data covers eight different wind turbine types and a total of 372 machines. The results are presented for the current experience, and projections are developed for future large wind power stations. Most of the commercial wind power stations assessed had average availabilities above 0.90, and several achieved average availabilities of 0.97 to 0.98. Direct operation and maintenance costs for the commercial stations averaged $0.02 per kWh, with a potential to reduce costs to $0.01 after incorporation of additional product improvements (1984 dollars, not levelized). Additional work is needed to improve wind turbine siting. The large experimental wind turbines with ratings of 2.5 to 4.0 MW had average availabilities below the levels required for commercial service. Although these machines have the potential to achieve satisfactory performance levels, their reliability growth has been slow.

Research Organization:
Lynette (R.) and Associates, Inc., Bellevue, WA (USA)
OSTI ID:
5751040
Report Number(s):
EPRI-AP-4199; ON: TI85920805
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English