Jonathan Whale

Wind resource assessment (WRA) is the process of estimating a wind turbine's future energy production and is a key factor in the successful installation, operation, and performance of a small wind turbine (SWT). The definition of SWTs varies from country to country. For example, the US Department of Energy and Japan's NipponKaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) define SWTs as having a power rating less than or equal to 100 kW and 20 kW, respectively. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) SWT design standard IEC61400-2 considers parameters other than power rating and defines SWTs as having a rotor swept area smaller than or equal to 200 m2, generating electricity at a voltage below 1,000-V AC or 1,500-V DC for both on-grid and off-grid applications. The level of detail and analysis in WRA typically increases with turbine size and cost. On the upper end of the SWT range, a simplified WRA might be followed by a more detailed analysis and feasibility study that includes on-site data collection to reduce risk.

This chapter consists of introduction, the potential of wind energy in Australia, and history of wind energy in Australia. The various wind farms and their technologies used are discussed followed by the environmental and social impact of wind energy and policies, regulations, guidelines, and rules with regard to installing wind machines in Australia. The progress of wind energy research is outlined followed by future prospects. Finally a conclusion and references are provided.

Community renewable energy projects are contributing diverse sustainability benefits in a transforming energy landscape, but in Western Australia, projects are few and far between, and the state is being left behind in national policy discussions. Drawing upon a socio-technical framework which conceptualises the context of innovation journeys according to patterns in the context, we investigate Western Australia and its major electricity network as a site for community-driven renewable energy development. Our case study analysis suggests that project development in Western Australia to date has survived in niche pockets, which have been unusually conducive to community energy development, in a context otherwise riddled with political, technical and regulatory hurdles.

Rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in urban communities have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. The reasons for this include: • rapid urbanisation of the world’s population, • the advantages of decentralised, clean power competing with the retail price of conventional electricity, • uncertainty in grid electricity delivery, and • the rise of affordable batteries. The worldwide rooftop solar PV market is very large, with California currently having over 670,000 PV systems with a combined capacity over 4.5 GW [1]. Singapore is noteworthy for its high density of rooftop PV, with a number of large capacity systems, between 1 and 10 MW [2] on the rooftops of 15-25 storey commercial and industrial buildings. Australia has the highest percentage of residential PV systems in the world (16.5%) with over 5 GW of installed PV in systems less than 10 kW in rated power [3]. Over the next 5 years, the greatest growth in rooftop solar PV systems is expected to be in the Asia Pacific region, in countries such as China, Japan and India.