IV - Wind Energy

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

http://www.bwea.com/ref/econ.html
Brunel University 2010, Dr. Z. Dehouche 1
Chapter 4: Power Generation from the Wind
Learning Objectives
•Be familiar with the principles of how
wind energy is converted to electricity

•Have an appreciation of important

aspects of wind conversion to power

•Be able to carry out a preliminary

assessment and power output
calculations for a given wind turbine
Onshore wind farm
•Be familiar with the types of wind
turbines and main components of
horizontal wind turbines

•Have an appreciation of environmental

effects and basic economics of wind
turbines Offshore wind turbines near the
southwest coast of Denmark 2
Wind Energy
• Theenergy that drives
wind originates from the
sun
• Planetary and local wind
patterns are created by
temperature differences
Effect of Coriolis
between the Earth’s Force on Global
Winds
latitudes and by deflection
caused by Earth’s rotation
(Coriolis effect)
• Wind turbines capture the
energy of moving air and
convert it to electricity
3
Wind Energy
• Wind power is currently one of the most developed and cost effective
renewable energy technology (~4 p/KWh in 2007)
• A short repayment period and a high rate of return pushes up the price
of electricity generated
Price Range of Renewable Electricity by Technology (2007)

Offshore wind
18 -cents/kWh

* Average cost will vary according to financing used and the quality of the renewable energy resource available.
Sources: Sandia National Laboratory, Idaho National Lab, Carbon Trust, Simmons Energy Monthly, U.S. DOE EERE,
California Energy Commission, IEA, SolarBuzz LLC
4
• The cost of generating electricity comprises of
 capital costs (the cost of building the power plant and connecting it to the grid)
 running costs (such as buying fuel and operation and maintenance) and
 the cost of financing (how the capital cost is repaid)

The capital cost breakdown of a typical 5 MW onshore project

5
Wind Energy Generation (2006) - Select Countries

•Wind energy is the fastest growing renewable energy technology worldwide, and its generation
quadrupled between 2000 and 2006
• Europe is leading in wind energy with an installed capacity of 65 GW in 2008 (EWEA), corresponding to
60% of the worldwide capacity
•The UK is now a world leader in offshore wind generation, with 584 MW of operational capacity
• In the U.S., installed wind energy capacity increased 6.5 times between 2000 and 2007 and it is the
fastest growing renewable electricity technology
• Installed capacity in Europe is expected to grow by an average of 18% to 129 GW in 2012. However,
Europe will grow more slowly than the Americas (31%) or South East Asia (37%) 6
Turbine Manufacturing
Global Wind Turbine Market Share 2006

Source: BMT Consult, AWEA, EERE

7
Capacity Factor for Renewable Resources (2007)
Capacity Factor is an indicator of how much energy a
particular wind turbine makes in a particular place

Actual energy delivered (kWh / yr )

CF =
PR (kW )X 8760 (h / yr )
PR, the wind turbine power rating

* CSP reaches the upper part of this range when systems are combined with natural gas co-firing
** This range is derived from experimental wave installations
Sources: EERE, GEA, NREL, Idaho National Lab, EPRI, Ocean Power Delivery LTD, Simmons Energy
Monthly
http://www.ceere.org/rerl/about_wind/ 8
Example 4.1:
Suppose you have a generator with a power rating of
1500 kW. Hypothetically if it ran at full power for 24
hours a days for 365 days, that would be:
(1500 kW) x (365 x 24 hours) = 13,140,000 kWh in one
year
Suppose that in fact it made 3,942,000 kWh in one
year
Then in that year, the generator operated at a
capacity factor of:

3,942,000
CF = = 30%
13,140,000
9
 Source: www.inthewakeofthebelgica.com
The Global Wind System Polar cell

Ferrel cell

Ferrel cell

• The solar energy heats the planet’s surface, most intensively at the equator,
which causes air to rise
• This rising air creates an area of low pressure (suction effect) at the surface into
which cooler air (coming from higher latitudes) is sucked, and it is this flow of air
that we know as wind
• Differential heating of Earth produces distinct patterns of rising and descending
air masses, winds, and storms in well-defined cells around the globe
• Within these cells, the flow of air is further impacted by the Coriolis force. The
most significant is the Hadley Cell from which the Trade Winds are the outcome
10
European wind energy resources

• Due to a combination of its latitude (at the boundary of the Ferrel and Polar
Cells) and the lack of landmass, The UK has the best wind resources in
Europe
• UK has some 40% of the Europe’s total wind resource (BWEA)
• Despite this the UK currently has only 4% of Europe’s total wind capacity
• Wind power is expected to play an important role in meeting the UK's
renewable energy targets 11
History of Wind Energy
• Since early recorded history,
people have been harnessing
the energy of the wind
Ancient Egyptian sailing boat
•One of the oldest uses of wind
energy is transportation
• The wind power was used to
sail ships in the Nile some 5000
years ago
• Windmills were used in many
places in Europe over the last
centuries to turn heavy granite
disks (millstones) for grinding
dry grains (food production)
Windmills in The Netherlands 12
History of Wind Energy
• In the late 19th century, people began using
windmills to pump water from an aboveground
source for farms and ranches (the site must has
access to reliable winds)
• About one million windmills are pumping water in
the world today

Illustrations courtesy of Iron Man Windmill Co. Ltd. ©1977 Iron Man Windmill Co. Ltd. 13
History of Wind Energy
• In 1888, the world first electricity producing wind turbine was built by Charles
Brush in USA and the Danish meteorologist Paul Lacour (12 kW DC windmill
generator).
• Brush Electric in 1892 was merged with Edison General Electric under the name
General Electric Company (GE)
• In 1974 NASA led the U.S Wind Energy Program for large wind horizontal-axis
turbines (the predominant systems used today)
• NASA constructed and operated its first experimental 100 kW wind turbine at the
Plum Brook facility in Sandusky, Ohio 2-Blade Generator

NASA's first experimental wind

turbine in Sandusky, Ohio 14
Average Installed Turbine Size

Source: AWEA/GEC Project Database, Sandia, EERE

• Average turbine size in 2007 was 1.65 MW, some 50 kW above the 2006 level
• In 2008 there are 176 UK grid-connected wind farms containing 2033 wind
turbines with the capacity to generate 2547 MW
• On average, 1 MW of wind power produces enough electricity to power 250
to 300 homes
•With the utilisation of 5-MW turbines, the energy output of wind turbines
grew 7-fold in just 10 years
Megawatt (MW): One million watts of electricity 15
Wind Turbine
The 6.0 MW offshore
turbine, which is
under development,
must dramatically
reduce the Cost of
Energy – price per
MWh – compared
with all known
competing products

Source: Vestas 16
Advantages of wind power
• Free fuel source
• Environmentally clean: produce no waste or air pollutants
• Wind power systems are well-established and proven
• Can mass produce wind machines in a factory (cuts costs)
• Wind power relies on a resource that will never run out
• A good method of supplying energy to remote areas
•The land beneath can usually still be used for farming
•In UK, the seasonal variation matches electricity demand
• Saves conventional fuels
• Wind farms can be tourist attractions
Disadvantages of Wind power
• Wind farms are somewhat land intensive
• Wind doesn't always blow
• Winds require shutdown
• Risk of blade failure
• Wind towers are noisy and unsightly
• Suitable areas for wind farms are often near the coast, where land is
expensive. Unsuitable for urban areas
• electromagnetic interference if metal rotor used and kill birds
17
Wind Turbines
• Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in wind into
mechanical energy which is then converted to electricity
• Turbine are available in range of sizes and designs and can
either be free-standing, mounted on a building or integrated
into a building structure
• There are two basic groups of wind turbines: horizontal-
axis design and vertical-axis design
• Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT) are the most common
type and can range in size from a few hundred Watts to
several megawatts

Castle House London

“Architectural Wind” - AeroVironment, Inc. 18
Wind Turbines
• HAWT are either upwind or downwind machines
• VAWT accept the wind from any direction:
This ensures wind power even in areas where there
is low wind speed

Source: Renewable and Efficient Electric Power Systems, By Gilbert M. Masters

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Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines
• Depending on the number of the blades, HAWT are further
classified as single bladed, two bladed, three bladed and
multi bladed
• Most of the present commercial turbines used for electricity
generation have three blades

Classification of wind turbines 20

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT)
•The oldest design of wind rotors features rotors with a vertical axis of rotation
•There are many types of these turbines, including: Darrieus turbine, Savonius turbine
and Lenz turbine (H-Rotor) and Maglev wind turbine (uses permanent magnets to run)
• Advantages: VAWTs have the generator and gearbox assembled near the ground
instead of these parts being supported by a tower (no yaw system)
• They are able to use winds with starting speeds as low as 1.5 m/s
• They are less likely to break down and collapse during high winds
• Disadvantages: VAWTs require energy to start the turning of blades due to their low
starting torque (low tip-speed ratio)
• They are not able to control power output or speed by pitching the rotor blades

Rotor concepts with a vertical axis of rotation Maglev wind turbine 21

Novel concept of Offshore Vertical Axis WT

Offshore Aerogenerator concept image by Grimshaw Architects. Image WPL/Grimshaw 2008

22
Electricity generating wind turbine
•The major components of this device are the blades, shafts,
gearbox and generator
•On large machines, additional controllers and drive motors
ensure that the machine is positioned for optimal capture of
the wind

23
Horizontal Wind Turbines
• Most turbines have three large
blades that are aerodynamically
designed to turn as easily as
possible when the wind blows on
them
• As the wind blows over the turbine’s
blades
blades they create lift, much like an
airplane’s wing, and begin to turn
• These turning blades spin a shaft,
which connects to generator that
produces electricity
• The spinning rotor blades turn this
shaft some 30 to 60 times every
minute
Low-Speed Shaft
24
Horizontal Wind Turbines

Gears box High-Speed Shaft Generator

• The gears in this box connect the low-speed shaft with a
high-speed shaft that drives the generator
• The gears also boost the rotation speed of the high speed
shaft up to 1800 rotation per minute (RPM)
•This rapidly spinning shaft drives the generator to produce
electric power
•The generator’s electrical output is connected to the
electrical grid 25
Wind Turbine Generating Power
Four main variables determine
how much electricity a turbine
can produce:
1- Wind Velocity
• Wind speeds are not constant
and stronger winds produce
more energy, but only up to a
point
• Turbines usually don’t operate
if wind speeds are below 3.5
m/s (8 mph) Wind speed

• Between about 11.2 and 24.6 m/s (25 to 55 mph) a wind

turbine generates electricity at its peak power
• Most turbines shutdown at about 24.6 m/s (55 mph) because
they can be damaged by higher winds 26
Wind Turbine Generating Power
2- Blade Radius
• The vertical disk created by the
rotating blades, the swept area, is one
of the factors that determines how
much electricity the turbine can
produce
• Doubling the blade, or the rotor Swept area
diameter can result in four times more
power
3- Tower Height
• Turbines come in a variety of sizes
but larger ones are usually more
efficient
• Tall turbines are able to reach the
greater winds found at altitude and are
Tower Height
less subject to turbulence 27
Wind Turbine Generating Power
4- Air Density
• The amount of kinetic energy
the wind applies to a rotor is
affected by air density
• Heavier air exerts more lift on
a rotor.
• Air density is often a function Air Density
of altitude

• High-altitude locations have lower air pressure

and lighter air so the turbines are less productive
• The dense, heavy air near sea level drives
rotors relatively more effectively
28
Main components and materials used in a wind turbine (%)
• Wind turbines are built in many sizes and configurations, with a wide range of
materials used in manufacturing large turbines
• Reducing the weight and cost of the turbines is the key to making wind energy
competitive with other power source
• The most important resources are steel, fibreglass, resins (for composites and
adhesives), blade core materials, permanent magnets, and copper

Notes: Tower includes foundation. Core= End-grain balsa wood (balsa trees) is used in blade construction. GRP = glass-
fibber-reinforced plastic. CRP = carbon fibber reinforced plastic. Source: NREL & Sterzinger and Svrcek (2004) 29