The siting activity carried out by ENEL since 1979 has led to the conclusion that exploitable wind conditions can be found mainly on the ridges of Central and Southern Apennines. Mountaineous areas, on the other hand, are often located above 1000 m a.s.l., where very harsh conditions (heavy icing, snowfalls, high turbulence, high vertical component of wind velocity, etc.) can occur, especially during winter months; furthermore, they generally feature complex profile of terrain. Very little experience has been gained worldwide of operating wind turbines in very hostile conditions. The need for research about the feasibility of wind plants and the viability of present commercial medium-sized wind turbines in such prospective location led to the construction of a mountain test site at Acqua Spruzza on the Apennines, where a thorough testing activity is being carried out, aimed at assessing, among other things, the performances and lifetime of machines. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
