ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the technology, its performance and cost, and provides case studies from community water supply projects in Morocco, Brazil, and Bolivia. It discusses supporting information on modem small wind turbines and wind resources, rules-of-thumb for determining applicability and feasibility, a roadmap for project implementation, and sources for technical assistance. The best situation for developing a new community water supply system occurs when the water source is higher in elevation than the community. Wind-electric pumping systems is an emerging technology that combines modem high-reliability small wind turbines and standard electric centrifugal pumps to provide a reliable and cost-effective alternative to diesel pumping for community water supplies. The foundations of wind-electric pumping technology are the ability of standard 50 or 60 hertz induction motors to be operated at variable speed and a fortunate match between the power needs of a centrifugal pump and the power availability from a wind turbine.
