Recently, hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) have emerged as an alternative technology in order to overcome the disadvantages of traditional renewable energy systems by integrating various energy sources to supply a stable and continuous electricity supply, as shown Fig. 66.1. The main energy sources of such HRES are wind and solar energy. The availability of wind energy greatly differs depending on location, topography, altitude, and season. In the case of South Korea, most regions have very low wind speeds, except for some eastern mountainous areas (refer to Fig. 66.2). So, most sites in the country have favorable wind conditions for small vertical-axis wind turbines, rather than large horizontal-axis wind turbines. The small vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) has been attracting attention as a key component of hybrid renewable energy systems due to their many advantages, such as the low cut-in wind speed, low cost, low noise output, and high site flexibility. For these reasons, the research on small vertical wind turbines is increasing.
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