Low-Maintenance Wind Power System

IPP Project ID: LBNLT2-0203-RU

Daryl Oshatz
Engineering Division

October 30, 2003

BERKELEY LAB • INITIATIVES FOR PROLIFERATION PREVENTION • ENGINEERING DIVISION

 Low-Maintenance Wind Power System

• NIS Partner: Makeyev Design Bureau State Rocket Center

(SRC)
• Industrial Partner: Empire Magnetics
• National Lab: LBNL Engineering Division

• Outline
– Project Partners
– Project Overview
– Achievements
• SRC
• Berkeley Lab
• Empire Magnetics
– Project Spending
– Key Challenges
– Plans for Year 2
– Conclusions
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 Project Partners
• Makeyev Design Bureau State
Rocket Center (SRC), Miass,
Russia
– Leading developer of submarine-launched ballistic
missile systems. Several generations of these systems
constitute the core of the Russian naval strategic force,
as they did during the cold war.
– Since the early 1990’s has begun to apply aerodynamic
modeling, testing capabilities, and engineering and
manufacturing expertise to the development of wind
power systems.

• Empire Magnetics, Inc., Rohnert

Park, CA
– Develops and commercializes specialty electric motors.
Has expertise in the design and production of electro-
mechanical systems that are durable in extreme
climatic conditions.
– Uralmet, a Russian company located in Chelyabinsk,
has provided engineering services to Empire for several
years. Uralmet acts as a liaison to SRC on a daily
basis and will commercialize the wind turbines in
Russia in collaboration with SRC Vertical (new JSC)
and Empire.
BERKELEY LAB • INITIATIVES FOR PROLIFERATION PREVENTION • ENGINEERING DIVISION
 Overview
• Project Goal – Design and prototype a small wind
power system (< 100 kW capacity) suitable for mass
production and subsequent commercialization.
• Design goals:
– High reliability with minimal maintenance.
– Optimal design for high volume manufacturing methods to
minimize cost.
– Emphasis on overall system economics, not just
aerodynamic efficiency.
• Roles:
– SRC: Rotor, structure, integration, and system testing.
– Empire: Project management, alternator, bearings, power
electronics, and control system.
– LBNL: Overall project management, system engineering
and technical review.
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 Overall Achievements
• Design studies and simulations
• LBNL market research
• Airfoil and alternator prototypes
• Collaboration Meeting at LBNL in
June 2003

EMPIRE MAGNETICS PROPRIETARY

The alternator is centered in the rotor Design concept for a 1-3 kW turbine
and contains the mechanical bearings
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 Achievements - SRC

• Engineering conceptual design studies have

been performed for several turbines up to 30
kW in size.

1 kW folding concept 3 kW concept 30 kW concept

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 Achievements – SRC (cont.)
• Prototype airfoils
– 5 airfoil sets with unique profiles have been designed and
fabricated (fiberglass and plastic, 320 mm length).
– Hydrodynamic testing at SRC and wind tunnel testing is
planned at Kazan State University, Tatarstan, Russia.

Prototype airfoils (1 kW design) Hydrodynamic tunnel testing of airfoil

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 Achievements – SRC (cont.)
• Numerical simulations for 1, 3, and 30 kW systems indicate
aerodynamic efficiencies of approximately 37 percent.

A typical power curve for a 1 kW turbine includes airfoil

performance, drag effects, and speed control algorithms.
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 Achievements – SRC (cont.)

• Global patent search

– No significant IP obstacles for the VAWT designs
now under development.
– No competing manufacturers in Russia.
• SRC Vertical, LLC has been established
– Jointly owned by SRC and Uralmet.
– Will commercialize the wind turbines in Russia.

BERKELEY LAB • INITIATIVES FOR PROLIFERATION PREVENTION • ENGINEERING DIVISION

 Achievements - LBNL
• LBNL market research:
– Global demand for small wind turbines is growing.
• $140 million/year in 2002
• $750 million/year by 2005 (150 MW/year).
– Economically optimal wind power product, given the
capabilities of SRC and Empire:
• Demand will increase dramatically below $4 / watt (installed).
• Target the grid connected, residential consumer market.
• Turbine capacity less than 10 kW.
– Investor and industry skepticism about VAWT vs. HAWT
technology must be overcome.
• Demonstrate successful operation of a prototype and obtain
certification.
• System must be delivered with adequate efficiency and low
enough cost to achieve a five-year payback period.
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 Achievements – LBNL (cont.)

• Reports
– Market study by Ryan Wiser and Mark Bolinger of
the LBNL Environmental Energy Technologies
Division
• Domestic and Global Wind Power Markets for Large and
Small Wind Turbines, LBID-2459, 2003
– Global Energy Concepts, an engineering
consulting firm specializing in wind energy,
• Market, Cost, and Technical Analysis of Vertical and
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines, 2003

BERKELEY LAB • INITIATIVES FOR PROLIFERATION PREVENTION • ENGINEERING DIVISION

 Achievements - Empire
• Has built several versions of 6
and 9 inch diameter alternators
to refine the design,
mathematical models, and
production processes.
• A 60 cm alternator for the 1 kW EMPIRE MAGNETICS PROPRIETARY

wind turbine has been

mechanically designed and is
nearing prototype fabrication.
• Empire has developed a unique
coil geometry and winding
techniques and plans on
patenting the IP. EMPIRE MAGNETICS PROPRIETARY

BERKELEY LAB • INITIATIVES FOR PROLIFERATION PREVENTION • ENGINEERING DIVISION

 Achievements – Empire (cont.)
• Empire’s CEO and another staff member visited SRC
in July of 2002 to initiate agreements and project
plans.
• Staff of partner company, Uralmet have provided
daily communication between SRC, Empire, and
LBNL.
• Because of difficulties transferring IPP funds through
ISTC to SRC staff, Empire and Uralmet have
expended considerable effort and funds to keep the
project moving forward
– Legal services
– Translation services
– Software, CAD modeling and training
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 Project Spending as of 9/15/03

IPP Funding
LBNL Year 1 Year 2
T2-0203 Budget Costs Balance Budget Costs Balance
LBNL $177,000 $161,622 $15,378 $228,000 $0 $228,000
SRC $475,000 $254,787 $220,213 $470,000 $0 $470,000
Total $652,000 $416,409 $235,591 $698,000 $0 $698,000

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 Key Challenges
• Primary challenge – Difficulty in paying grants,
purchasing equipment and materials, and placing
contracts through ISTC.
– Although IPP funding was available in May of 2002, the
project was not initiated through ISTC until January of 2003 -
first funds were transferred to SRC in June of 2003.
– In addition to strictly limiting the number of authorized
suppliers, ISTC has been slow to make partial advance
payments to subcontractors for fabrication of hardware and
procurement of materials.
– ISTC funding delays substantively limited SRC’s progress in
the first two quarters of 2003.

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 Key Challenges (Cont.)

• Empire still seeks investment funding to fulfill

its role in the project and ensure a path to
profitability in this venture.
– Funding delays caused by ISTC have slowed
prototype development of the turbine.
– Investors want proof of minimal, if any, technical
risk and require demonstration of performance
claims.
– Since the initiation of the IPP project in 2001, the
investment climate has worsened throughout the
U.S.

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 Key Challenges (Cont.)
• Breaking the $4 / watt price barrier.
– Competitors in the small wind industry are now offering
turbines at $4 – $8 / watt (installed) and shipping 100 to
1000 units per month.
– No matter how simple and reliable, turbines must be
designed for mass production and target a market niche with
enough demand to sustain high volume sales in order to
compete.
– After successful prototype testing, additional investment in
tooling and manufacturing facilities will be required to lower
unit costs.
– The artist Jerome Kirk is bringing his expertise in the
aesthetics of wind driven sculpture to the collaboration to
help the turbines compete in the residential consumer
market.
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 Plans for Year 2
• Detailed design and construction of prototype
turbines between 1 and 30 kW in capacity.
– Rotor prototype testing to verify mathematical simulations.
– Alternator and bearing prototype testing.
– Power electronics design and testing.
• Final design and fabrication of preproduction
prototypes.
– Field testing and incorporation of refinements based on
results.
– Fatigue testing and durability assessments.
– Design of tooling and manufacturing engineering
optimizations for mass production.
– Documentation, patenting, begin certification process.

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 Conclusions
• Despite bureaucratic and funding challenges,
significant technical and business progress
has been made in Year 1.
• Market studies indicate a promising global
opportunity for a grid connected wind power
system less than 10 kW in capacity.
• Well developed simulations and conceptual
designs are in place for turbines up to 30 kW
in size.
• Airfoil and alternator prototypes have been
built and testing is under way.

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