State-of-the-art of wind energy in cold climates

Wind turbines in cold climates refer to sites that have either icing events or low temperatures outside the operational limits of standard wind turbines. International Energy Agency, IEA R&D Wind has started a new annex, Wind Energy in Cold Climates. This is an international collaboration on gathering and providing information about wind turbine icing and low temperature operation. The goal is to monitor reliability of standard and adapted technology and establish guidelines for applying wind power in cold climates. In this report, the state-of-the-art of arctic wind energy is presented: knowledge on climatic conditions and resources, technical solutions in use and operational experience of wind turbines in cold climates.