Review and application of micromachines for wind energy integration

Wind power installations are on the increase, globally and in South Africa. Several research areas are affected by this uptake of wind energy systems, which include wind generator performance and power system stability studies. Dimensional analysis is a very powerful tool. It allows machines and systems to be down-scaled in order to get a preliminary result before constructing a prototype by establishing laws of similitude between the original and its model. Studies using micromachines, a more accurate means of generator simulation, can be used to investigate issues of grid integration and dynamic performance of wind systems. Scaling methodologies are reviewed for use of the techniques for developing micromachines for wind generators.