EAWE Small Wind Turbines Technical Committee (SWTC)

Background and vision

The EAWE technical committee on Small Wind Turbines (SWTC) has been established in spring 2020 under the auspices of the EAWE General Assembly. It collects experts from all around the world sharing their knowledge in all the aspects related to the design, operation and construction of small wind turbines. Even if these are defined commonly according to IEC Standards as being of up to 200 m2 swept area, turbines with rated power outputs up to 500 kW are also considered due to the evolving nature of the technology.
Even though it is commonly acknowledged that the great bulk of wind power is provided by large machines clustered in parks, the continuous expansion of wind energy will open new room for smaller installations for distributed production, where small turbines can play an important role. In these applications, however, specific challenges need to be addressed in different fields, from low-Reynolds and turbulent aerodynamics, to structural loads and manufacturing advancements to reduce the LCoE.
The scope of the committee is to serve EAWE in fostering the development of the new generation of small wind turbines by defining research trends, new solutions and innovation actions in the field. By its action, it aims also at encouraging industrial contribution, which is fairly limited for the time being.
The committee also publishes position articles addressing state-of-the-art and development trends over the years. The committee meets virtually every month, while face-to-face meetings are held twice a year, in connection with other planned seminars or conferences of EAWE (for example Torque or WESC conferences).

Membership

The member list can be found on EAWE webpage, which is updated annually. Research institutes and universities in Europe are welcome to join the EAWE Small Wind Turbines Technical Committee. Please contact SWTC chair for further details. Active research institutes and universities outside Europe can join as associate members - upon approval of SWTC group and EAWE board.

Contact

Queries can be directed to EAWE or SWTC chair Dr. Alessandro Bianchini.