> I'm thinking a shunt regulator is the way to go with a wind turbine. Set = at a voltage above what the solar PV produces > (30.8V @ Vmp), but safely below Vmax allowed for inverter (45V operating,= 55V Abs max), capable of dissipating 300W > or so worst case. Could dump power into a power resistor or incandescent = lamp or heater element, with say a PIC > PWM'ing a MOSFET. Or even use multiple power MOSFET's in linear mode... t= he heat has to go somewhere and could > possibly work out cheaper by not requiring expensive power resistor(s). P= erhaps a fan on the heatsink kicking in as required. Huh? If the wind is blowing to the extent that you are having to waste ener= gy won't the wind itself be enough 'blow' across the heat sink, especially = if using one with long fine fins that have a lot of surface area? Especiall= y with the Southerlies you are likely to get (or are you in a very sheltere= d spot. For a shunt regulator I suspect that a 2N3055 type jelly bean power transis= tor with a bit of smarts driving its base through a zener diode to set the = shunt voltage will be about what you need. May require several transistors,= and may want a resistor in each collector to limit the maximum current dra= w in event of semiconductor failure, or prevent such failure, and even out = the dissipation between transistors. > The wind turbine is rated at 300W, 24VAC 3ph. With a 3-ph bridge rectifie= r plus filter capacitor I'm expecting > in the order of (24 x 1.41) - (2 x 1V) =3D 32VDC, current around 300W/32V= =3D 9.4A. I would be tempted to use Tungsten car headlamps as the load controlled by = transistors as detailed above. However you would need truck ones for 24V, s= o I suspect aluminium bodied resistors mounted on heat sinks will be the wa= y to go - you can select your load resistance more easily and accurately, a= nd the resistors are available at reasonable price in wattage ratings that = will allow you to run them well below rating. --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .