Have wind turbines stop maturing?

With all the work done so far on the design of wind generators and their widespread use throughout the world, it could be assumed that the technology has matured and all of the engineering decisions have been made. However, this is not the case. As knowledge has increased, more questions have been raised and complications realized. This paper examines the recent development of wind turbines, identifies the principle factors behind these and highlights some of the challenges and opportunities for future developments in wind turbines. The largest factor for the wind turbine industry is the market needs. In the 1995, wind turbines had to be robust, simple and low cost. Currently there are pressures for greater flexibility and power capacity. In the future, the greatest challenges will be grid compatibility and integration.