High Power Density in Wind Turbines (.PDF Download)

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Fundamental physical limits exist as to how much energy can be extracted from renewable resources for a given area of land. There is a wind power density (WPD) definition, not to be confused with power density of system power supplies such as dc-dc converters and dc-ac inverters.

WPD is a quantitative measure of wind energy available at any geographic location. It’s the mean annual power available per square meter of swept area of a wind turbine and is typically calculated for different heights above ground level. To rigorously quantify this, we can calculate an energy source’s power density in watts per square meter (W/m²).