Laboratory Manual

ERGY8020: Photovoltaic and

Wind off-grid

Lab 1 (5%)

Rev: Sep 2020

 Table of Contents

Contents
Table of Contents..................................................................................................................................1
Practice LAB 1 (5%): Wind energy system feasibility study....................................................................2
Objective...........................................................................................................................................2
Apparatus..........................................................................................................................................2
Required Preparation........................................................................................................................2
Procedures.........................................................................................................................................2
Task 1: Comparing available wind turbine options to feed a given list of loads.........................2
Expected Outcomes...........................................................................................................................3
Report Submission Instructions.........................................................................................................4

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 Practice LAB 1 (5%): Wind energy system feasibility study
Objective
Understanding the wind turbine selection criteria and undertaking a rough pre-feasibility study for a
wind energy system.

Apparatus
 MS-Excel
 Canada wind atlas
 Global wind atlas

Required Preparation
Review the lecture materials for week 3, 4 and 5. What are the most important wind turbine
parameters you consider while conducting a pre-feasibility study for installation of a wind turbine at
a site with a given reference wind speed?

Your Answer:
1. Wind speed/ Wind direction
2. Wind shear
3. Wind rose diagram.
4. Wind turbine power curve
5. Grid availability/ connection
6. Site location

Procedures
Task 1: Comparing available wind turbine options to feed a given list of loads.
You are provided with an Excel worksheet that includes a list of consumers, their rated power and
hours of operation. You first need to enter your student number in the indicated cell. Loads power
consumption, hours of operation and the hub height will be generated based on your unique
student ID number.

Now go to this link: https://www.atlantissolar.com/turbine_400w.html

Here you can find the specification of wind turbine with different power rating. You need to evaluate
the performance of 5kW, 10kW, 20kW and 30kW wind turbines by extracting data from their
specification table as well as their power-speed curve and inserting those data in corresponding cells
in your Excel sheet. There are some cells in the Excel sheet in which you need to write a correct
formula to automatically calculate the value that is asked by the table. Complete the table and
compare the performance of the turbines. Assume that the installation site is Conestoga College
Doon campus. You may use Canada wind atlas and/or global wind atlas to extract required wind
data.

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Now what happens if we install the best performed and the underperformed turbines at the same
hub height at latitude of 55.73206°, and longitude of -120.44483 near Dawson Creek, BC, instead of doon
campus, with same energy demand?

Task 2: Prepare a Report and Answer the Following Questions:

Question 1: Which one of the turbines works best for this site with the given energy demand?
Justify your selection

Answer:

The most economical approach would be to use a single 10 kW wind turbine. With 6.48 turbines
operating, it will produce about 23 kwh per day, which is sufficient to meet 12 kw of energy
usage.

Question 2: Is there any turbine that may not work at all for this site? Why?

Answer:

A 30kW wind turbine might not be appropriate for all sites, according to the data and
calculations presented, as the wind energy efficiency factor is rather low in both locations.
Additionally, compared to the actual capacity, the daily generation capacity is substantially
lower. As a result, my analysis indicates that it would be unnecessary to erect a 30kW wind
turbine at this location.

Question 3: Based on your observation, what are the most important criterions in selecting a site
as well as a turbine for a given site

Answer:

Energy Demand Daily Energy Production

Wind speed at hub height No. turbine needed to meet energy demand.
Wind turbine power curve
Wind shear
Wind turbine utilization

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Expected Outcomes

By following the procedures listed above you should be able to undertake a rough pre-feasibility
study for a wind energy system and select the most suitable wind turbine for any given site

Report Submission Instructions

Submit your lab report (all reports combined in one file) on eConestoga under Evaluation, Lab 1
assignment. Your report for this lab is due just before the start of Lab session in week 6.

Assignments are due on their due dates. Late assignments will be given a mark of zero unless
otherwise discussed.

While you may discuss with others how to approach the assignments, the work you submit must be
your own. Please note that your submissions will be checked for originality by Turnitin. Submitting
an unoriginal work and plagiarism is an academic offence that will not be tolerated. A range of
penalties may be applied based on whether it is a first or subsequent offence and on the severity
from a grade deduction to suspension from the College. Please review the College's Academic
Integrity Policy for more information. 

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