Micro-Aeolic in Residential Districts: A Case Study in Sant’Arsenio (South-western Italy)

Abstract

Renewable energies are sources of energy derived from inexhaustible natural resources. In other words, they are regenerated at the same speed at which they are consumed, and they are freely available. In the new millennium, we find multiple typologies of renewable energies, such as the sun and wind. The latter has undergone tremendous development and evolution owing both to economic and financial incentives and the increased concern with environmental protection. Initially, the integration of wind power into daily life was very difficult because the first power plants were very large, which caused great anxiety around the world – the so-called Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) problem. For this reason the idea of a wind plant evolved into a softer idea which has brought both change in daily life and the respect for morphology, urbanism and city architecture. In Europe, wind energy has increased in use and quality more than in the USA. Germany and Denmark are the largest producers of wind energy, thanks to the quantity of the available rural spaces but also to effective policies, including permanent government subsidies. In Italy, in contrast, the wind energy boom occurred in the late 1990s. However, the country is reaching the standards of other European countries through widespread installations in Puglia, Sicily and Campania. But so far, we have made reference only to megawatt or multi-megawatt plants which are installed outside urban areas or in sufficiently hilly plains. A micro wind plant is different because it can be installed in an urban setting and inside buildings thanks to the advanced technology and reduced dimensions. A case study of micro wind power in the new scenario is the case proposed here of Sant’Arsenio in Campania. It is a small and uninhabited village which would allow the installation of equipment because of the open green spaces. The experimental work described here is aimed at promoting the return of citizens to the village.