European wind turbine standards
The European Commission, DG XII, has published a book presenting the results of the "European Wind Turbine Standards" (EWTS) project, carried out within the Community's specific RTD programme in the field on non-nuclear energy (JOULE II). In various Member States of the European Union, specific standards for wind turbines are being developed, together with conformity assessment systems, in order to guarantee the safety and quality of installed wind turbines. The variety of regulations in each country is, however, a major impediment to the free trade of wind turbines within Europe. In 1993, a number of leading European wind energy institutes recognized the need to speed up the process on international standardization and harmonization of European standards and criteria. Under the umbrella of the EUREC agency, the institutes decided to implement the EWTS-project with the general and long-term objective of removing vital constraints and bottle-necks in the technical harmonization of the European wind turbine market. The Commission publication presents the results of this project. The first part of the book addresses the many technical issues which, at the beginning of the project, were not properly covered by existing wind turbine standards. It also provides recommendations, based on recently obtained research results and experiences, for improving the currently used wind turbine standards and certification criteria. The second part of the book addresses the process of mutual recognition of measurement results between the European wind energy institutes. As a first step, uniform and quality procedures for measuring wind speed, mechanical loads and electrical power quality, agreed on the by institutes, are described. An action plan for continuing the process of mutual recognition is also set out.