Windmill types considered suitable for large scale use in India

The paper states briefly the economic, climatic and human factors peculiar to India on which the use of wind power dzpends. It is shown that the urgent need of power is for water in the widely distributed villages of India for drink13; ing and minor irrigation purposes. Considering the various sources of energy and the rapid technical developments now taking place, any programme in the employment of wind as a source of power may also undergo rapid changes and as such a vast country like India with its technological development can afford only simple and cheap equipment. The conventional multibladed wimimill is, therefore, considered most suitable at present and it has been designed to operate 5-6 miles per hour; it is also capable of being constructed indigenously. The paper discusses briefly the future developments in windmill design to suit Indian conditions.Since India is not a place of very high winds such as, Northern Europe or the north of England it is felt that a national approach would be to experiment with small wind electric generators of about 1-5 KW capacity and develop their use in rural areas, the primary need being pumping water. the paper also states some of the special problems of windmill design in connection with the occurrences of cyclic storms and squalls associated with thunderstorms. the programme of research and development proposed to be undertaken in connection with wind power are stated