Wind Energy and Wind Power

System
Renewable Energy Sources and
Management

“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only
of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein”
 Introduction to wind power

• Global cummulative installed wind capacity 2001

- 2016, from Global Wind Energy Council
 Introduction to wind power

• The primary causes of wind is are the

uneven heating of the earth and its
atmosphere by solar radiation and the
earth's rotation
• Types of wind: global wind, local wind
• In local wind, we also have sea breeze
and land breeze
• For mountainous areas: valley breeze and
mountain breeze
 Introduction to wind power

• Utility-scale turbines range in size from 50

to 9000 kW. Small turbines, up to 50 kW,
are used for homes, telecommunications
stations, or for water pumping
• Many technologies are available to apply
in a wind energy system: fixed-speed
generator, variable-speed generator, and
full-rated converter
 Wind turbine

• A wind turbine is used to convert

translational movement of the air into
rotational movement of the turbine, then
drive a generator
• Types of wind turbine: vertical axis wind
turbine (VAWT) Savonius, VAWT Darrius,
horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT)
• HAWT can also be upwind or downwind
 Wind turbine

• VAWT can have many variations

Source: www.mechanicalbooster.com
 Wind turbine

• Turbines can have 1, 2, 3 or more blades

• Yaw can be passive with vane, or active

Source: www.wikiwand.com
Source: www.alternative-energy-tutorials.com
Wind turbine

Source: www.power-eng.com
 Wind turbine

• Wind turbine power curve

Source: energy.gov
 Wind turbine

• Between cut-in speed and rated speed,

power is proportional to the cube of wind
speed
• Between rated speed and cut-out speed,
power is regulated to its rated value
• Technical problems:
– Passive or active yaw control
– Pitch control
 Wind turbine efficiency

• Betz limit: maximum extractable power is

16/27 (59.3%) of the total wind power
• There is also an efficiency for the
conversion from mechanical to electrical
power in the generator
 Wind turbine economic

• There are capital costs and annual costs

in wind power systems
• Capital costs per kW are being reduced
gradually, due to higher turbine ratings and
better sites with higher hub heights
• Labor required to build a larger turbine is
slightly higher than for a smaller one, and
cost of electronics are moderately different
 Wind turbine economic

• Also, the cost of a rotor is roughly

proportional to diameter while power
produced is proportional to diameter
squared; taller towers increase energy
faster than costs increase; and so forth
• It is more economic if larger turbines are
used, instead of smaller ones
 Wind turbine economic

• Annual costs are used for operations and

maintenances through the turbine lifetime
• Annual costs per kW for turbines in a wind
farm is lower than that of a single turbine
• Larger turbines are also newer-generation
machines, that require less maintenance
• Annual costs for current turbines are just a
few per cent of the capital cost
 Wind turbine economic

• In the evaluation of levelized cost of

energy (LCOE) for wind farms, a 20-year
loan is normally assumed
• In the 2015 Cost of Wind Energy Review
(by NREL), a land-based 200 MW wind
farm would have LCOE in the range of 4.8
to 10.8 cent/kWh, while a 600 MW
offshore wind farm may have LCOE in the
range of 18.1 to 22.9 cent/kWh
 Environmental impact assessment

• Positive impacts: replacing other, more

polluting energy systems (no greenhouse
gas emission)
• Negative impacts: bird kills, noise,
construction disturbances, aesthetic
impacts and pollution associated with
manufacturing and installing the turbine
• Modern large wind turbines now spin so
slowly that birds can easily avoid them
 Environmental impact assessment

• Aesthetic impacts can be reduced by

arranging same-size turbines in simple,
uniform rows and columns, and painting
with light grey color to blend with the sky
• Modern turbines have been designed to
control the noise, so that at a distance of
just a few rotor diameters away from the
turbine, the sound level is comparable to a
person whispering