Applications for wind systems in developing countries

There is no significant difference in the technology for applying wind energy in developing countries than there is in the industrialised ones. The main differences relate to the nature and the number of end uses; some applications which are rare in the industrialised countries are commonplace in developing countries (e.g. small-scale pumping of drinking water) and vice-versa. Another difference arises where the technology can be locally manufactured in the developing countries as a means to reduce the need for scarce foreign currency. Few energy technologies lend themselves so well to small-scale manufacture as wind energy, and some good examples of the successful commercial production of wind turbines in developing countries now exist. This paper focuses primarily on the two main kinds of wind stand-alone systems which are actually in the most widespread use in developing countries, namely mechanical windpumps and small wind-electricity generators for battery charging