Cold climate wind energy co-operation under the IEA

An increasing number of wind turbines are being installed at sites where atmospheric icing and low operating temperatures have a significant effect on the operation of standard equipment. International Energy Agency; IEA R&D Wind, started an annex XIX; "Wind Energy in Cold Climates" in 2002. This international collaboration has gathered information about wind turbine operation cold climates ever since. The starting point of the first Annex XIX period was to collect and identify the information available for those parties interested in deploying wind turbines to cold climate sites. Database of wind turbines operating in cold climate conditions was collected in order to gain access to needed information. In the course of the three year period, cold climate wind potential, measurement issues, project planning and economics and construction all the way to decommissioning of a cold climate wind turbine plant were considered. The results were published in two reports, State-of-the-art of wind energy in cold climates and Wind energy projects in cold climates, both available at the project web page at arcticwind.vtt.fi. The results of the first three year period revealed the need to better understand those challenges that are linked to cold climate sites in order to achieve the situation where the vast cold climate areas with promising wind potential could be harnessed economically. The second three year Annex XIX period, 2005-2007, will tackle the barriers that hamper the cost effective cold climate wind energy production. The topics of the ongoing period include such items as anti- and de-icing technology survey, market study for cold climate technology, icing as a source of production losses and icing in standards that relate to wind turbine development and usage. The aim is to reduce the risk that originate from cold climate and thereby reduce the cost of wind electricity produced in cold climates.