ENPE XXX

Wind Energy Engineering

Lecture 1

Bill Zeng, PhD, P.Eng.

Course information

 Course code: ENPE XXX

 Course name: Wind Energy Engineering

 Instructor: Bill Zeng, PhD, P.Eng.

 Office: PTRC 202

 Phone: 306-581-4648

 Email: fanhua.zeng@uregina.ca

 Office hours:

If you want to meet outside of these hours, please send me an email to set up an appointment.
Course information

 Lecture schedule and location: 26 lectures (1.15 hrs/lecture)

 Course contents:

① Introduction (1 lecture)
② Properties of Wind (2 lectures)
③ Wind resources assessment (2 lectures)
④ Fundamentals of Aerodynamics (4 lectures)
⑤ Aerodynamics of Wind Turbine (3 lectures)
⑥ Wind Turbine: Types, Components and Design (5 lectures)
⑦ Energy Production Estimation for Wind Farm (3 lectures)
⑧ Wind farm design and constructability (3 lectures)
⑨ Introduction to offshore wind power (2 lectures)
⑩ Economics of wind power, environmental impact and regulations (1 lecture)
Course material and references

 Course Material:
Syllabus and lecture notes (posted on UR Courses)
Assignments (posted on UR Courses)

 References:
Course evaluation

 Course evaluation scheme:

Assignments 10%
Midterm exam 40%
Final exam 50%

 Assignments:
 The assignments are to be submitted in PDF format and are due one week after the day of posting.
 Please upload your solutions via the provided link on UR Courses. Late submissions will be penalized by
10% for each day.
 Assignment submissions will not be accepted after discussing the solutions in the classroom.
Course evaluation

 Midterm exam date:

 Xxx
 Final exam:
 Xxx
 Midterm and final exams cover the material presented in the classroom; therefore class participation is
strongly recommended.
Academic integrity and student behaviour

 From the Undergraduate Calendar:

 “Students of the University of Regina are expected to conduct themselves responsibly and with
propriety both in their studies and in their general behavior and are expected to abide by all policies
and regulations of the University of Regina. Misconduct, which may be academic (that is, in academic
studies) or nonacademic (in general behavior), is subject to disciplinary action.’’

 Please refer to sections 5.14.2 and 5.14.4 of Undergraduate Calendar for more information on University
of Regina’s rules on academic integrity and student behaviour.
Wind Energy Engineering

Chapter 1: Introduction
1 Introduction

 What is wind?

Wind is the stabilization movement of air between areas of high and low atmospheric pressure, created
by the uneven heating of the Earth's surfaces: land, water, and air. The greater the pressure difference
between these areas, the harder the wind blows. Wind also exists as the circulation of air around a high-
or low-pressure area.
 What is wind energy?

 Wind energy is the converting of wind power to

electrical power using windmills or turbines.
 Electricity produced is sent to transformers where
voltage is increased and sent to the power grid via
transmission lines. https://www.irena.org/Energy-Transition/Technology/Wind-energy
1 Introduction

 History of wind energy development

 After the oil crisis in the 1970s, wind energy was vigorously developed by the United States, Denmark and
Germany.
 By the early 1980s, the incentives for alternative energy sources in the United States had disappeared and
development had shrunk. But investment in Europe continues, leading the way internationally.
 In early 2000s, wind power installations began to pop up in the United States, China, and India.

https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2015/04/wind-energy-timeline-%E2%80%93-from-persian-
windmills-crushing-grains-to-vesta%E2%80%99s-wind-turbines-churning-out-8-mw-of-output/19496
1 Introduction

 Worldwide Business of Wind Energy

Figures 1-1 and 1-2 show the worldwide total installed wind capacity and new installed capacity, by year. The pace of
growth of new installed capacity has increased. Between 2001 and 2014, the installed wind capacity has grown by an
average of about 16% per year.

Global Wind Energy Council. Global Wind Statistics 2014, February 2015. Global Wind Energy Council. Global Wind Statistics 2014, February 2015.

Figure 1-1 Total installed capacity of wind power worldwide. Figure 1-2 New installed capacity of wind power worldwide.
1 Introduction

Figure 1-3 illustrates the total wind capacity by country. China leads in wind capacity installations with a total of 114.8 GW
and average annual growth rate in the past 5 years of 34.6%. The United States has the next highest wind capacity
installations with 65.9 GW, followed by Germany at 39.2 GW. The United Kingdom leads in offshore installations, with a
total capacity of 3.68 GW followed by Denmark at 1.27 GW, see Fig. 1-4.

Global Wind Energy Council. Global Wind Statistics 2014, February 2015. Global Wind Energy Council. Global Wind Statistics 2014, February 2015.

Figure 1-3 Total installed capacity of wind power (GW) by country for top 12 countries. Figure 1-4 Total installed capacity of offshore wind power (MW) in the top five countries.
1 Introduction

 Cost of Wind Energy

Table 1-1 compares the range of costs and components of costs of various source of electricity generation in the
United States, as projected by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) for the year 2019.
Table 1-1 Projections for Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) from Different Sources for New Power Plants Built in 2019

U.S. Energy Information Administration. Annual Energy Outlook 2014. DOE/EIA-0383, April 2014.
1 Introduction

Data compiled by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, see

Fig. 1-5, indicates that in the United States, the national
average levelized power purchase price (PPA) of
electricity from wind has been in decline from 2009
when it was $68.19/MWh to 2013 when it was
$25.59/MWh, a historic low.
Wiser, R., and Bolinger M. 2013 Wind Technologies Market Report, Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, August 2014.

Figure 1-5 Generation-weighted nationwide average levelized wind PPA price in the

United States in 2013 dollars.
1 Introduction

 Benefits of Wind Energy

 Environmental : Wind energy production results in zero emissions. Compared to fossil fuel–based
energy generation, no pollutants are produced. According to the DOE's 20% Wind Energy by 2030
Technical Report, overall, 25% of CO2 emissions from the electricity production sector can be reduced in
the United States if 20% of electricity is produced by wind energy.
 Cost: Wind energy is among the cheapest sources of renewable energy. The cost of electricity
production using wind in regions with good wind resources is comparable to fossil fuel–based
electricity production. In most cases, the cost is lower or about the same when cost of GHG emissions
are considered.

 In addition to the aforementioned benefits, wind energy provides income to farmers, ranchers, and
landowners that have sufficient wind resources on their property. The income is in terms of land lease
payments, while majority of the land is still available for other uses.
1 Introduction

 Wind Energy Is Not a Panacea

 Variability and Uncertainty

Wind energy production depends on wind conditions. Even in areas with abundant wind resources, there is a high
degree of diurnal and seasonal variability, and unpredictability. When the wind is not blowing, there is no energy
production and other sources of electricity must be deployed. 
Large initial investment
 Wind resource cannot be transported, and long-distance transmission is required, which requires expensive
transmission lines.  Other disadvantage of wind energy is significantly higher cost of small wind projects. Small winds
projects (< 100 kW), especially wind projects of size 15 kW or less, are expensive. The capital cost per kilowatt may be
three to five times the cost per kilowatt of a large wind farm. 
Environmental impact
From an environmental perspective, wind farms can cause harm to birds, bats, and other wildlife, although most
studies suggest that the harm is minimal.