WI

NDENERGY
Windsarecausedbypressuredif
fer
encebetweendif
fer
entregi
ons.Theycar
ryenormousquant
it
yof
energy
.Theregi
onswherestrongwindsprev
ailforasuf
fi
cientt
imeduri
ngtheyearcanprof
it
abl
yuse
windener
gyfordif
fer
entpurpose.

Windener gyisrenewablesour
ceofener gyandav ai
l
ableallaroundt heglobeinabundance.Soto
harnessthisnat
uralresour
ceinthebestpossibl
ewaywi ndt
urbinesar edesi
gned.Windturbi
necan
operatef
rom 14km/ hrto90km/hrofwindspeed,andar ebei
ngv ast
lyusedal lar
oundtheworl
d.The
windpowerpl antisusedf ort
hegener at
ionofelectr
icit
yinhighwi ndar eawiththehelpofwind
tur
bines.

Princi pl
eofel ectr
ici
tygenerationwi t
hthehel pofwi ndenergy:
Thepr ocessofwi nd-pr
oducedel ectri
calgener ationbegi nswhent heforceofthewindpushesagai nst
thet urbinesblades,causing t hem tor otate,cr eati
ng mechani calenergy.Thespinning blades,
attachedt oahubandal ow- speedshaf t,turnal ongwi ththebl ades.Ther ot
ati
nglow-speedshaf tis
connect edtoagear boxthatconnect stoahi gh-speedshaf tont heopposi t
esideofthegear box.This
high-speedshaf tconnectstoanel ectr
icalgener atorthatconv ertsthemechanicalenergyf r
om t he
rotationoft hebladesintoel ectri
calener gy.Spi nningbet ween11and20t imespermi nute,each
turbinecangener ateamaxi mum 1. 5megawat tsofel ect
rici
tyenought opower,onav erage,mor e
than500r esi
denti
alhomes.

Sel
ect
ionofsi
te:

Someofthei
mpor
tantcr
it
eri
aforsel
ect
ionofasi
tef
orwi
ndener
gyconv
ersi
onsy
stem (
WECS)ar
e
asunder
:

 WindSpeed:TheWECSshoul
dbel ocat
edwherehi
ghav
eragewi
ndv
eloci
ti
esav
ail
abl
ear
ein
t
herangeof6m/ st
o30m/ st
hroughoutthey
ear
.

 WindObstacl
es:TheWECSmustbel ocat
edf
arawayf
rom ci
ti
esandf
orest
ssi
ncebui
l
dings
andfor
est
sofferresi
stancet
owi
nd.

 Hei
ghts:Wi
nd veloci
ti
es mustbe measur
ed atsev
eralhei
ght
s as t
he v
eloci
tyofwi
nd
i
ncr
easeswi
thheight.

 TowerDesign:Towerdesi
gnmustbeadequatet
owi
thst
andmaxi
mum wi
ndspeedsobser
ved
i
nthelastf
ewy earsi
ntheareaofi
nst
all
ati
on.

 Dist
ancetoroadorrai
lways:Thi
sisanotherfact
orthesyst
em engi
neermustconsi
derfor
heavymachi
nery
,st
ruct
ure,mater
ial
s,bl
adesandotherappar
atuswil
lhav
etobemov edinto
anychosenwi
ndpowerplantsi
te.

 Nearnessofsitetolocalcent
re/
users:Thisobviouscr
it
eri
onmi ni
mizestransmissi
onl i
ne
l
engthandhencelossesandcost.Aft
erapplyingallt
heprev
iousstr
ingcri
teri
a,hopeful
l
yas
onenarrowsthepr
oposedwindpowerplantsi
testooneortwotheywouldberelat
ivel
ynearto
theuseroft
hegenerat
edelect
ri
cener
gy .

 Nat
ureofgr
ound:Gr
oundcondi
ti
onshoul
dbesucht
hatt
hef
oundat
ionf
orwi
ndt
urbi
nesi
s
 secur
ed.Gr oundsurf
aceshoul
dbestabl
e.Erosi
onproblem shouldnotbether
e.Landcost
shoul
dbef avorabl
easthi
sal
ongwi
thothersi
tt
ingcost
s,ent
ersintothet
otal
windpowerpl
ant
syst
em cost.

Const
ruct
ionofwi
ndt
urbi
ne:

Maj
orPar
tsofWi
ndTur
binear
e:
 Tower :Towerisv er ycr ucialpartofwi ndt urbinet hatsuppor tsal ltheot herparts.I tnotonly
supportstheturbinebutr ai
sest heturbinetosuf fi
cientheightsot hatitsbladest ipswoul dbe
atsafehei ghtduringr otati
on.Notonl ythat,wehav etomai ntaint heheightoft het ower,so
thatitcangetsuf ficientlyst r
ongwi nd.Thehei ghtoft owerul timat el
ydependsont hepower
capacityofwindt urbines.Thet oweroft het ur
bi nesincommer ci
alwi ndpowerpl ant susuall
y
rangesf r
om 40met er sto100met ers.Theset ower smaybeei thert ubul
arst eeltower s,l
atti
ce
towers,orconcr et
et ower s.Weuseat ubularst eeltowerf oral argewi ndt urbi
ne.Thesear e
normallymanuf acturedi nasect i
onof30t o40met ersinlengt h.Eachsect i
onhasf langeswith
holes.Suchsect i
onsar ef i
ttedtogetherbynutbol tsatthesi tet oform acompl etet ower.

 Nacel le:Thenacelleisabig
boxorki oskthatsit
sont he
towerand houses al lthe
component s of a wi nd
turbine. I t houses an
electricalgenerator,power
conv erter,gearbox,turbi
ne
cont roll
er,cables,a y aw
drive.
 RotorBl
ades:Bladesar
ethemainmechanical
partsofawi ndturbine.Thebl adesconv ertwind
energyi
ntousablemechani
calener
gy.Whenthewi ndst ri
kesont heblades,thebl adesr otate.
Thi srotati
ont ransfersit
smechani calener gy
tot he shaf t
.We desi gn t he bl ades l i
ke
airplanewi ngs.Thewi ndt urbi
nebl adescan
be40met er
st o90met erslong.Thebl ades
shoul d be mechani cal
lyst rong enough t o
withst andstrongwi ndev endur ingt hest orm.
Att hesamet ime,thewi ndt ur binebl ades
shoul d be made as l i
ghtas possi blet o
facilit
atesmoot hrotati
onoft hebl ades.For
that ,wemaket hebladeswi thfiber gl assand
car bonf i
berlayersonsy ntheticr einf orce.

I
namoder nt ur
bine,nor
mallyt
hreei
denti
calbl
adesaref i
ttedtoacentr
alhubusingnutbol
ts.
Each i
denti
calblades ar gned at120o t
e al
i o each other.The pr
ocess makes a bet
ter
di
str
ibut
ionofmassandgi vesthesy
stem moresmoothr otat
ion.
 Shaft:Theshaf tdi
rect
lyconnectedtot hehubi sal ow-speedshaft.Whent hebladesrot
ate,
thisshaftspinswiththesamer pm ast herotatinghub.Wecoupl ethisshaftdir
ectl
ytothe
elect
ricalgener
atorincaseofal ow-speedgener at
or.Buti nmostcases,thelow-speedmai n
shaftisgearedwithahigh-speedshaftthroughagear box.Inthi
sway,t
herotorbladestr
ansfer
i
tsmechani calenergyt
ot heshaftwhichulti
mat el
yent ersintoanel
ectr
icalgener
ator.
 Gearbox:Thewi ndturbinedoesnotr ot
ateathi ghspeedr at
heritrotatesgentl
yatl owspeed.
Butmostoft heel ect
ricalgenerat
orsrequirehigh-
speedr otat
ion,togener at
eelect r
icit
yata
desi
redvolt
agel evel
.Sot heremustbesomespeedmul t
ipli
cati
onar rangementtoachi evethe
highspeedoft hegener atorshaft.Thegear boxoft hewi nd turbinedoest his.Gear box
i
ncreasesthespeedt omuchhi ghervalue.Forexample,ifthegear boxr at
ioi
s1:80andi fthe
rpm ofalow-speedmai nshaf ti
s15, t
hegear boxwil
lincreasethespeedofgener atorshaftto
15×80=1200r pm.
  Gener ator:Thegener atorisanel ectr
icaldevicet hatconvertsmechani calenergyrecei
ved
from t heshafti ntoelectr
icalenergy.Nor mally
,weusei nductiongeneratorsinmoder nwind
turbines.Pr eviously,synchronous gener ator
s wer e popularf orthi
s pur pose.Permanent
MagnetDCgener at
oralsousedi nsomewi ndt ur
bines.Thespeedoft heshaftcanbemade
highbyusi nggear boxassembl y,butwecannotmaket heshaftspeedconst ant
.Theremaybe
af luctuat
ioninshaf tspeedsincei tdependsonwi ndspeed.So,t hespeedoft herot
oralso
var i
es.Thi sv ariati
onaf f
ectst hef requency,v ol
tageoft hegener ated elect
ricpower.To,
ov ercomet hesei ssues,wenor mallyuseani nducti
ongener atorfort
hepurpose.
 PowerConv er
ter
:Becausewi ndi
snotalwaysconst
ant,soelectr
icalpot
ent
ialgeneratedfr
om
ageneratorisnotconstant,butweneedav erystabl
ev ol
taget ofeedthegr i
d.A power
conver
terisanel
ect
ricaldev
icethatst
abi
li
zestheal
ternat
ingoutputvolt
agetransf
erredtothe
gri
d.
 Turbi
neControl
ler:Tur
binecont
rol
l
erisacomputer(PLC)thatcont
rol
stheent
iretur
bine.I
t
st
artsandst
opst hetur
bineandr
unssel
fdi
agnost
icincaseofanyerr
orint
hetur
bine.

 Anemometer:I
tmeasur
esthewindspeedandpassest
he
speedi
nfor
mati
ont
oPLCt ocont
rol
thet
urbi
nepower
.

 WindVane:Itsensesthedir
ecti
onoft
hewi ndandpasses
t
hedirect
iont
oPLCt henPLCfacest
hebladesi
nsuchaway
t
hatitcut
sthemaximum wind.

 Pit
chDr i
ve:Pi
tchdr i
vemotorscontrolt
heangleofblades
wheneverthewindchangesitrot
atestheangleofbl
adesto
cutthemaximum wind,whi
chiscall
edpit
chingofbl
ades.

 YawDr ive:Bl
adesandot hercomponent si
nwindturbineare
housedi nanacell
e,whenev eranychangeinwinddir
ect i
onisthere,thenacel
l
ehastof acein
thedir
ectionofthewindtoext r
actthemaximum energyfrom wind.Forthi
spurposey
awdr ive,
amot ori sused tor ot
atet henacel l
e.I
tiscont r
olled byPLC t hatusest hewind vane
i
nformat i
ontosensethewi nddirect
ion.

Wor
kingofWi
ndTur
bine:

Whent hewi ndst ri

kest her otorbl ades, bladesst artrot at i
ng.Thet urbiner otori sconnect edt oahi gh-
speedgear box.Gear boxt r
ansf ormst her otorr otationf r om lowspeedt ohi ghspeed.Thehi gh- speed
shaf tf r
om t hegear boxiscoupl edwi t hther ot oroft hegener atorandhencet heel ect ri
calgener ator
runsatahi gherspeed.Anexci terisneededt ogi vet her equiredexci t
at i
ont ot hemagnet iccoi loft he
gener at orfi
eldsy stem sot hati tcangener atet her equir edel ect r
icity.Thegener atedv ol t
ageatout put
termi nalsoft heal t
er natorispr opor t
ionalt obot hthespeedandf ieldf luxoft heal ternat or.Thespeed
i
sgov ernedbywi ndpowerwhi chi soutofcont rol
.Hencet omai nt ainuni formi t
yoft heout putpower
from t heal ternator,excitat
ionmustbecont r
ol l
edaccor di ngt otheav ail
abi l
it
yofnat ur alwindpower .
Theexci t
ercur renti scont roll
edbyat urbinecont r
ollerwhi chsensest hewi ndspeed.Thenout put
voltageofel ectri
calgener ator( alt
ernat or)isgi vent oar ectifi
erwher et heal ternatorout putget s
rectifi
edt oDC.Thent hi
sr ect i
fi
edDCout putisgi ventol ineconv er teruni ttoconv ertitintost abili
zed
ACout putwhi chi sul t
imatel yfedt oei therel ect ri
caltr ansmi ssionnet wor kort ransmi ssi ongr idwi th
thehel pofst epupt ransformer .Anext rauni tsi susedt ogi vet hepowert ointernalauxi l
iari
esofwi nd
turbine( l
i
kemot or,batteryet c.)
, t
hisiscal ledI nternal Suppl yUni t.
Therear
eothertwocont
rol
mechanismsatt
achedt oamoder
nbi
gwi
ndt
urbi
ne.
 Cont
roll
i
ngtheori
entat
ionoft
hetur
bineblade.
 Cont
roll
i
ngtheori
entat
ionoft
hetur
bineface.

Theor i
entat
ionoft urbinebladesi sgov er
nedf r
om t
hebasehuboft heblades.Thebl adesar e
attachedtot hecentr
alhubwi tht hehelpofar otati
ngarrangementt hroughgearsandsmal lelectri
c
mot ororhy draul
icr otar
y system.The sy stem can be electr
icall
y ormechani call
y controll
ed
dependingoni tsdesi gn.Thebl adesareswi vel
eddependingupont hespeedoft hewi nd.The
techniqueiscalledpit
chcont r
ol.Itprovi
desthebestpossi bl
eor i
entati
onofthet urbi
nebladesal ong
thedirecti
onoft hewindt oobtai
nopt i
mizedwi ndpower.

Theor ientati
onofthenacelleortheenti
rebodyoft het ur
binecanf ol
low t
hedi r
ecti
onofchangi ng
winddi recti
ont omaximizemechanicalenergyhar v
estingfrom thewind.Thedi rect
ionoft hewind
alongwi thitsspeedissensedbyananemomet er(automaticspeedmeasur i
ngdev ices)withwind
vanesat tachedtothebacktopofthenacelle.Thesignalisfedbackt oanelectr
onicmi cr
oprocessor-
basedcont r
oll
ingsyst
em whichgovernsthey awmot orwhichrotat
estheent i
renacellewit
hgear i
ng
arrangementt ofacetheairt
urbi
nealongthedi r
ecti
onoft hewind.

Bl
ockdi
agr
am ofwi
ndpowerpl
ant
:

Appl
icat
ions:

 Utili
tyint
erconnectedwindturbinesgener at
epowerwhi chi
ssy nchronouswiththegri
dandar e
usedt oreduceut il
i
tybil
l
sbydi splacingtheuti
li
typowerusedint hehouseholdandbyselli
ng
theexcesspowerbackt otheel ectr
iccompany .
 Wi ndturbi
nesf orremotehomes( offthegri
d)generateDCcurrentforbatt
erychargi
ng.
 Wi ndturbi
nesf orremotewaterpumpi nggenerate3phaseACcur r
entsuit
ablefordr
ivi
ngan
electri
calsubmer si
blepumpdi rectl
y.Windturbinessuit
abl
eforresident
ialorvi
l
lagescalewind
 powerr
angef
rom 500Wat
tst
o50ki
l
owat
ts

Adv
ant
ages:

 I
tisafr
eeandun-exhaust
ibl
esourceofenergy.
 I
tisacl
eanandnon-poll
uti
ngsour
ceofener gy
.
 I
thasalowmaintenancecost.
 I
thasalowcostofpowergenerat
ion(aboutRs.2.
25/
kWH)
.

Di
sadv
ant
ages:

 Atpresentcapi t
al costofwindpowerpl antsishigh.ItisaboutRs.3.
5crores/MW.
 Windener gyisv eryfl
uctuati
ngi nnatur e.Iti
sv erydif
ficul
ttodesignawindenergysyst
em due
tothesefluctuations.Thi
spr oblem alsor equiresthepr ovi
sionofasui
tablestor
agedevi
ceto
ensurecontinuouspowersuppl y .
 Largevariat
ionsi nwindspeeddur ingst ormsmaycausedamaget owindmil
ls.
 Theeffi
ciencyoft hesystem isinther angeof35t o44%.
 Windmillcausessoundpol l
ut i
on.Al argeuni tcanbehear dfewkil
ometersaway.

Wi
ndpowerpl
ant
sinI
ndi
a:

Powerpl
ant Pr
oducer Locat
ion St
ate MWe

Muppandal
WindFar
m[35] Muppandal
Wind Kany
akumar
i Tami
lNadu 1500

Jai
sal
merWi
ndPar
k[36] Suzl
onEner
gy Jai
sal
mer Raj
ast
han 1064

Br
ahmanv
elwi
ndf
arm[37] Par
akhAgr
oIndust
ri
es Dhul
e Mahar
asht
ra 528

Kay
athar Si
emensGamesa,
ReNewPower Tut
cor
in Tami
l
nadu 300

Dhal
gaonwi
ndf
arm[38] Gadr
eMar
ineExpor
ts Sangl
i Mahar
asht
ra 278

VankusawadeWi
ndPar
k Suzl
onEner
gyLt
d. Sat
araDi
str
ict
. Mahar
asht
ra 259

Vaspet ReNewPower Vaspet Mahar

asht
ra 144

Tul
j
apur Si
emensGamesa,
ReNewPower Osmanabad Mahar
asht
ra 126

Bel
uguppaWi
ndPar
k Or
angeRenewabl
e Bel
uguppa Andhr
aPr
adesh 100.
8
 Powerpl
ant Pr
oducer Locat
ion St
ate MWe

Mamat
khedaWi
ndPar
k Or
angeRenewabl
e Mamat
kheda Madhy
aPr
adesh 100.
5

Anant
apurWi
ndPar
k Or
angeRenewabl
e Ni
mbagal
l
u Andhr
aPr
adesh 100

Damanj
odi
WindPowerPl
ant Suzl
onEner
gyLt
d. Damanj
odi Odi
sha 99

Jat
h ReNewPower Jat
h Mahar
asht
ra 84

Wel
tur
i ReNewPower Wel
tur
i Mahar
asht
ra 75

Acci
onaTuppadahal
l
i Tuppadahal
l
iEner
gyI
ndi
aPv
tLt
d Chi
tr
adur
gaDi
str
ict Kar
nat
aka 56.
1

Dangi
riWi
ndFar
m Oi
lIndi
aLt
d. Jai
sel
mer Raj
ast
han 54

Ber
chaWi
ndPar
k Or
angeRenewabl
e Rat
lam Madhy
aPr
adesh 50

CapeComor
in AbanLoy
dChi
l
esOf
fshor
eLt
d. Kany
akumar
i Tami
lNadu 33

Kay
atharSubhash SubhashLt
d. Kay
athar Tami
lNadu 30

Jasdan NTPCLTD. Jasdan Guj

arat 25.
0

Ramakkal
medu SubhashLt
d. Ramakkal
medu Ker
ala 25

Gudi
mangal
am Gudi
mangal
am Wi
ndFar
m Gudi
mangal
am Tami
lNadu 21

Shal
i
vahanaWi
nd Shal
i
vahanaGr
eenEner
gy.Lt
d. Ti
rupur Tami
lNadu 20.
4[39]

Put
hlurRCI Wescar
e(I
ndi
a)Lt
d. Put
hlur Andhr
aPr
adesh 20

LamdaDani
da Dani
daI
ndi
aLt
d. Lamba Guj
arat 15

Chennai
Mohan MohanBr
ewer
ies&Di
sti
l
ler
ies Chennai Tami
lNadu 15
 Powerpl
ant Pr
oducer Locat
ion St
ate MWe

ShahGaj
endr
agar
h MMTCL Gadag Kar
nat
aka 15

Jamgudr
ani
MP MPWi
ndf
armsLt
d. Dewas Madhy
aPr
adesh 14

Jogmat
tiBSES BSESLt
d. Chi
tr
adur
gaDi
str
ict Kar
nat
aka 14

Per
ungudi
Newam Newam PowerCompanyLt
d. Per
ungudi Tami
lNadu 12

Ket
hanurWi
ndFar
m Ket
hanurWi
ndFar
m Ket
hanur Tami
lNadu 11

ShahGaj
endr
agar
h Sanj
ayD.Ghodawat Gadag Kar
nat
aka 10.
8

Hy
der
abadTSRTC Tel
anganaSRTC Hy
der
abad Tel
angana 10

Muppandal
Madr
as Madr
asCement
sLt
d. Muppandal Tami
lNadu 10

Pool
avadi
Chet
ti
nad Chet
ti
nadCementCor
p.Lt
d. Pool
avadi Tami
lNadu 10