Das Projekt "WECO: Windenergieproduktion in kaltem Klima" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Alteno AG durchgeführt. General Information : Objectives: There is a growing interest and need to install wind turbines in cold climate at sites with very high wind speed; good wind climates but occasions with icing occur both in Europe and other countries. Severe icing occurs over a large part of very windy sites of Europe. Icing of the wind turbines and anemometers causes a loss in the production, errors in the wind energy potential assessment and may lead to severe structural overloads during operation of a wind turbine. Ice occurs on the blades and tower and it can also appear inside the nacelle and other structures. For optimum and safe exploitation of wind energy in these icing regions, often with annual wind speed from 7 to 10 m/s, it is necessary to improve the wind turbine and WECS technology as well as to find suitable wind gauges for cold climate.To be able to produce the maximum energy and to avoid the severe damage in icing conditions, improvements in WECS include: - an ice detection gauge and improved control system, - the use of ice free anemometers and vanes, - coated or heated blades to increase the production and decrease damages - development of stall or pitch regulated blades, - improvement of brakes and gear box with de-icing or heating systems - heating or use of waste heat for different moving parts in the nacelle - tower design etc. Also safety of the public must be taken into consideration at sites with heavy icing. The main objective is to derive major gaps in knowledge and to give manufacturers and utilities information and tools to improve the WECS to suit different types of icing conditions in Europe. Expected Achievements and Exploitation: Creation of an icing map over Europe. An improved method to estimate the amount of ice upon structures at elevated sites: Experimental data from wind tunnel tests on ice-deformed profiles Improved codes for performance calculation of ice-loaded wind turbine blades: Experimental data and analysis on, - operation of WECS in icing conditions, - power curve during icing events, - load measurements on iced WTs, - heated blades. Intercomparison of different wind gauges used in icing conditions: Proceedings of papers presented in the conferences: - BOREAS III in 1996, - BOREAS IV in 1998, - Manufacturers Workshop in 1997, - Scientific publications on various activities. The final report will also contain guidelines and recommendations.