Energy saving of a prototype fishing boat using a small wind turbine generator: Practical installation and measured results

This paper presents field-measurement results of a commercial 400-W wind turbine generator (WTG) installed on a prototype fishing boat to achieve a preliminary study on energy saving of the diesel engine in the fishing boat. The Darrieus-type WTG consisting of three blades made of stainless, a coreless permanent-magnet generator (PMG), and a maximum-power point-tracking (MPPT) controller is employed in this study. The output of the PMG is connected to the battery of the fishing boat through an AC-DC converter and a battery charger. A PLC-based monitoring and control system is also properly designed and installed on the fishing boat to effectively capture all measured quantities of the studied WTG on the fishing boat under various wind speeds and sailing conditions. Both Steady-state and transient measured results of the studied WTG system under various wind speeds are also analyzed.