Effect of Wind Turbine Classes on the Electricity Production of Wind Farms in Cyprus Island

This paper examines the effect of different wind turbine classes on the electricity production of wind farms in two areas of Cyprus Island, which present low and medium wind potentials: Xylofagou and Limassol. Wind turbine classes determine the suitability of installing a wind turbine in a particulate site. Wind turbine data from five different manufacturers have been used. For each manufacturer, two wind turbines with identical rated power (in the range of 1.5 MW–3 MW) and different wind turbine classes (IEC II and IEC III) are compared. The results show the superiority of wind turbines that are designed for lower wind speeds (IEC III class) in both locations, in terms of energy production. This improvement is higher for the location with the lower wind potential and starts from 7%, while it can reach more than 50%.