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L. de Santoli et al. / Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments 8 (2014) 42–56 55
estimated. Finally, in order to estimate the annual PV electricity
production, the solar radiation output was used in PVsyst software.
The obtained results are reported in Figs. 18 and 19, which respec-
tively show the direct normal irradiation of Favignana island and
the net electricity produced by the above mentioned PV system.
These data show that considering the whole year, the net elec-
tricity produced by solar technology is about to 3400 kWh. There-
fore, the PV system integration in the AM300 wind turbine
produces an increase of the electric energy production close to 50%.
CO2 savings
In order to calculate the amount of CO2 savings, Eq. (4) was
used.
CO2 sav ¼ E Á CI ð4Þ
where:
CO2sav is the amount of CO2 savings [kg CO2/yr];
E is the total energy produced by the prototype [kWh/yr];
CI is the Italian carbon intensity [kg CO2/kWh] [63].
According to Eq. (4), Table 13 reports the results concerning the
AM300 prototype CO2 emissions performances.
Conclusions
The aim of this research was to develop a micro wind turbine
prototype suitable for low wind sites within natural protected
areas. The preliminary energy results showed how the electricity
production obtained from the prototype proves to be higher than
that produced by a standard generator with the same technical
characteristics. Consequently, a smaller cut-in wind speed for the
power curve was achieved. Both CFD analysis and experimental
measurement results showed how the convergent duct integration
in the H-rotor Darrieus turbine generates benefits in terms of elec-
tricity production. In details, a power percentage increase of
approximately 125% was obtained for wind speed equal to 8 m/s,
while the same performance parameter was close to 30% for wind
speed equal to 15 m/s. Regarding the simulated installation in
Favignana island, the obtained results showed that the turbine
has an electricity production close to 6000 kWh per year. Further-
more, taking into account the PV array contribution to the system,
the electricity production was increased by about 50%.
Considering the AM300 prototype impacts on the surrounding
environment, the preliminary results highlight the feasibility of
its application in natural protected areas. In fact, taking into
account soil and hydrology impacts, environmental conditions
are not significantly altered. Furthermore, regarding the pressures
on biodiversity and ecosystems, during the experimental campaign
birds collisions have not been recorded.
Furthermore, measures to evaluate the AM300 noise emission
levels will be registered; the noise analysis (based on the data pres- [19] Bernal-Agustín JL, Dufo-López R. Hourly energy management for grid-
ent in the literature regarding turbines of equal power) showed
how the prototype installation in natural protected areas does
not provoke significant impacts.
Future project developments will regard further energy tests.
Specifically, the convergent duct influence on the power coefficient
will be assessed. Finally, in order to develop a prototype mass pro-
duction, a cost-effectiveness analysis will be assessed.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Dr. Gianluigi Lo Basso for his techni-
cal support. The General Directorate for Nature and Sea Protection
of the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, in the
person of the Director General, Aldo Cosentino, is gratefully
acknowledged for providing the funding for this work. The authors
are also deeply grateful for the support from COMET Srl and ROPA-
TEC Srl.
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