ABSTRACT
The objective is to show the interest of utilizing wind energy in an isolated site in order to save fuel. Amsterdam island, located South of Indian Ocean, at 2 880 km from La Reunion island, presents the required conditions for this purpose: good wind resources, diesel plant, technical people of TAAF in place. Main characteristics of the machine: 3-bladed, solidity 0.18, constant speed 93 rpm, rated electrical power 30 kW at 13.5 m/s can reach 36 kW for higher wind speeds. Carried by ship "Marion-Dufresne" the wind mill D10-2 was erected at Martin de Vivies base by a joint team CEA-TAAF in fall 1986 and then coupled to the diesel plant Dec. 19th 1986. It has been working during 1987 under supervision at a reduced power, becauseofadeficiency in the braking system. A new braking device redundant and more powerful, including emergency brake has been installed Dec. 1987 in place of the previous one. Thus, experimentation will proceed normally. Yet, fuel saving is of the order of few percent but, it is expected to reach 17% of the yearly consumption.
