Wind Power For Remote Sites

Generating electricity for use at remote locations is becoming increasingly popular as solar and wind power technology improves. It is now becoming more common to use wind and solar (usually a hybrid of the two for remote sites) to generate electricity not served by a grid connection. These systems are tried and tested and are very reliable.  

Solar Panels and Wind Turbine mounted on a pole.

Naturally, the more remote the site the greater the need to obtain power from wind and solar sources.

It is very common to combine a solar and wind system (hybrid) as the combination work together to provide energy year round. Other than the odd bit of maintenance the system will work well under pretty much all conditions.

Wind and solar energy cannot be guaranteed at all times so a back-up system is necessary, usually a Back-up battery or generator of some kind.

For very small consumption ( approx 50W) solar panels rated up to 50-80 watts are a good solution for continuous power.

For continuous loads from > 50 - 300 watts, a hybrid system with wind, solar, and a 3-10 day battery bank can power a site without need for a back-up generator. Using both wind and solar will reduce the battery bank size and the total cost compared to solar-only or wind-only systems.

For larger loads, a hybrid system with a back-up generator will generally be more cost-effective. As the load size increases the relative size of the solar array shrinks due to the higher cost of solar, compared to wind.

Remote sites usually have good wind resources because they have high local elevation and good exposure.

Wind turbines can be pole mounted and where possible, raise and lower towers should always be used.

Obviously, it doesn't make sense to install a hybrid system in a very difficult location - think about transporting the equipment across tough terrain!

Bright Green Energy offers a design, supply and installation service of off-grid solar and wind power systems. Call us for more details.