IEA Wind International Labeling Guide Forthcoming
An international team is working to forge agreements in the use of common methodologies for testing small wind turbines. The group’s intent is to define a globally standardized product label for small wind turbines and establish minimum requirements for the accepted testing process that would allow the label to be placed on products. The National…
An international team is working to forge agreements in the use of common methodologies for testing small wind turbines. The group’s intent is to define a globally standardized product label for small wind turbines and establish minimum requirements for the accepted testing process that would allow the label to be placed on products. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Trudy Forsyth and the Small Wind Certification Council’s Technical Director Brent Summerville are part of this team.
The team, all participants of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind agreement, began working in 2009 to define the state of the art regarding small wind turbine testing and reporting and contribute to the development of quality labeling of small wind turbines. The label is for use in conjunction with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard 61400-2 for small wind turbines. The final outcome of the task will be the production and publication of an international sector guide, Recommended Practice for Consumer Labeling of Small Wind Turbines.
The team will work collaboratively to develop peer reviewed task activities such as a data analysis exchange, common test protocols and methodologies, comparison of test results and strategies, establish equipment standards, independent validation of each other’s results, and publication of the small wind turbine trial results. The group will develop testing and labeling strategies for other small wind turbine applications such as water pumping and water desalination. The team is also charged with creating international testing and data analysis protocols specifically directed at urban building-integrated small wind turbines.
The Small Wind Certification Council and the American Wind Energy Association will consider how to implement new internationals standards and label protocols in the U.S.
In addition to Forsyth and Summerville, representatives from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Spain, Sweden, UK, Germany, Italy, and the Republic of Korea participate in this work, which is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2011.
Source:
