The significance and the problems of wind generator development in Antarctica experimented by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition

Abstract

Wind generators have been used and tested by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE), to supply power for unmanned observatories and for heaters at the stations. A solar battery is also effective as a heat source of the thermally insulated box for unmanned observation, but the battery fails to work for about two months in winter. Therefore, a wind generator is necessary to make up for the powerless winter months. Even a small power of the wind generator less than 10W is sufficient for this purpose. The use of a wind generator as a domestic power source at an inland station will reduce amount of fuel to be transported to the station over a long distance. The expected power of the wind generator at Syowa Station (69°00′S, 39°35′E) and Mizuho Station (70°42′S, 44°20′E), Antarctica, was calculated by using the wind utilization curves at the two stations. The troubles of many wind generators JARE used in Antarctica were found to have resulted not from severe weather conditions but from fundamental matters such as vibration of blades. Studies of the wind generator itself are required in the first place, before it is put to use in Antarctica.