NZIOKI KEVIN MWAKO

EN271-0510/2015

Read on wind energy

Types of Turbines

The main types of wind turbines are:

 Horizontal axis turbines

 Vertical axis turbines

Horizontal axis wind turbine

These turbines are the most common type used. All of the components (blades, shaft,
generator) are on top of a tall tower, and the blades face into the wind. The shaft is
horizontal to the ground. The wind hits the blades of the turbine that are connected to a
shaft causing rotation.

The shaft has a gear on the end which turns a generator which then produces electricity and
sends the electricity into the power grid. The wind turbine also has some key elements that
adds to efficiency. Inside the Nacelle (or head) is an anemometer, wind vane, and controller
that read the speed and direction of the wind. As the wind changes direction, a motor (yaw
motor) turns the nacelle so the blades are always facing the wind.

Figure 1: Horizontal axis wind turbine

Advantages
• Blades are to the side of the turbines center of gravity, helping stability
• Ability to wing warp, which gives the turbine blades the best angle of attack
• Ability to pitch the rotor blades in a storm to minimize damage
• Tall tower allows access to stronger wind in sites with wind shear
• Tall tower allows placement on uneven land or in offshore locations
• Can be sited in forest above tree-line
• Most are self-starting
Disadvantages
• Difficulty operating in near ground winds
• Difficult to transport (20% of equipment costs)
• Difficult to install (require tall cranes and skilled operators)
• Effect radar in proximity
• Local opposition to aesthetics
• Difficult maintenance

Vertical axis wind turbines

The shaft to which the blades are connected to is vertical to the ground (see figure 2). All of
the main components are close to the ground. Also, the wind turbine itself is near the
ground, unlike horizontal where everything is on a tower. There are two types of vertical
axis wind turbines which include ;

 Lift based

 Drag based.

Lift based designs are much more efficient than drag, or ‘paddle’ designs.
Figure 2 : Vertical axis wind turbine (lift type)

Advantages

 Lower construction and transportation costs

 Easy to maintain

 Most effective at mesas, hilltops, ridgelines and passes

 Not directional

Disadvantages

 Less efficient.
  Blades constantly spinning back into the wind causing drag.

 Low starting torque and may require energy to start turning.

 Operate in lower, more turbulent wind.

Types of blades

The blades attached to the shaft can either be; flat, bent or curved

Flat Blades
The oldest blade design and have been used for thousands of years on windmills
The flat blades push against the wind, and the wind pushes against the blades. The resulting
rotation is very slow because the blades that are rotating back on the up stroke after generating
power are in opposition to the power output. This is because the blades are acting like huge paddles
moving in the wrong direction, pushing against the wind giving them the name of drag-based rotor
blades.
However, flat blade designs offer significant benefits for the DIY’er compared to other wind blade
designs. Flat rotor blades are easy and cheap to cut from a sheets of plywood or metal ensuring that
the blades have a consistent shape and size.
They are also the easiest to understand requiring less design and construction skills, but their
efficiency and the ease of generating electrical power is very low.
Curved Blades
Curved blades are very similar to a long aero foil which has a curved surface on top. The curved
blade has air flowing around it with the air moving over the curved top of the blade faster than it does
under the flat side of the blade, which makes a lower pressure area on top, and therefore, as a
result, is subjected to aerodynamic lifting forces which create movement.
These lifting forces are always perpendicular to the curved blade’s upper surface which causes the
blade to move rotating around the central hub. The faster the wind blows, the more lift that is
produced on the blade, hence the faster the rotation. The advantages of a curved rotor blade
compared to a flat blade is that lift forces allow the blade tips of a wind turbine to move faster than
the wind is moving generating more power and higher efficiencies.

Curved Blade Air Flow and Performance

But curved blades also suffer from drag along its length which tries to stop the motion of the blade.
Drag is essentially the friction of air against the blade surface. Drag is perpendicular to Lift and is in
the same direction as the air flow along the blade surface. But we can reduce this drag-force by
bending or twisting the blade and also tapering it along its length producing the most efficient wind
turbine blade design.
The angle between the direction of the oncoming wind and the pitch of the blade with respect to the
oncoming wind is called the “angle of attack”. As this angle of attack becomes larger, more lift is
created but as the angle becomes even larger, greater than about 20 o, the blade will begin to
decrease lift. So there is an ideal pitch angle of the rotor blade that creates the best rotation.

Small Vs Large Wind Turbines

Small Wind Turbines Large Wind Turbines

They are typically less than
50kW but can be as large as
250 kW and are designed for
use in residential, agricultural,
small commercial and some
industrial applications.
Can be grid-connected for
residential or industrial
electricity generation or they
can be used in off-grid
applications such as water
pumping or battery charging .
Are typically installed as a
single unit or in small
numbers. The smallest
turbines (with power ratings
less than 1 kW) are normally
used to charge batteries for
sailboats, cabins, and small
homes
Have rated capacities ranging
from 660 kW to 1,800 kW
(1.8 MW) and are designed
for use in electricity
generating power plants.
Most commonly deployed in
large arrays of multiple
turbines.
They are also installed in
distributed generation
applications that consist of a
single or a few turbines
connected directly to a
distribution line.
 Small Wind Turbines Large Wind Turbines
Gearing system They have to spin at a certain Most large scale wind
speed for producing turbines come with a gear
electricity that is feedable to box.
the gird. When spinning at
slower speeds, they only
produce power that can
trickle charge a battery.
Because of the lack of a
gearing system, the generator
shaft cannot be stepped up to
a higher speed at the expense
of torque.
High speed spin Because small scale wind are designed to spin slow
turbines are designed to spin (about 15 to 20 rpm), thus
at high speed, they clock decreasing wear and tear and
many more revolutions over a increasing longevity
period of time compared to
larger Wind turbines. This
results in a shorter bearing
life and quicker sheering of
blades
Nacelle Yaw System The Yaw systems are passive. The yaw systems are active
A tail blade orients the turbine and are controlled by Yaw
in the direction of the wind motors which are in turn
and is a cost effective controlled by an on board
solution. computer. The algorithms for
Yaw control can even
anticipate wind direction
changes through software or
measured through LIDARs
and can use this information
to increase the productivity of
turbines.

Mast Heights They are mounted on masts Have nacelles sitting at 50

that are about 10 meters long. meters or more, thus cutting
Although certain small into wind at much higher
turbines do come with speeds. As power of the
telescopic masts that give turbine has a cubic
them a relatively higher relationship with wind speed,
height. the output of these larger
machines goes up
proportionally.
Blade Pitch control They do not have They can vary their blade
 mechanisms to turn the blades
.i.e to vary their blade
pitch.They normally apply
brakes and completely stop at
high wind speeds
Evance R9000, a popular domestic 5KW turbine
pitch. The altering of blade
angle can be used to
maximize the lift force on the
blades at different wind
speeds. The blades angle can
also be changed to minimize
lift and drag during gales or
stormy conditions. This
reduction of the angle of
attack in high wind conditions
is termed as “feathering”.
 Large Scale 5 MW turbines by REpower

Cost of Wind (LCOE)

The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is a measure of a power source that allows comparison of
different methods of electricity generation on a consistent basis. It is an economic assessment of
the average total cost to build and operate a power-generating asset over its lifetime divided by
the total energy output of the asset over that lifetime. The LCOE can also be regarded as the
average minimum price at which electricity must be sold in order to break-even over the lifetime
of the project.
The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is given by:

It : investment expenditures in the year t

Mt : operations and maintenance expenditures in the year t

Ft : fuel expenditures in the year t

Et : electrical energy generated in the year t

r : discount rate

n : expected lifetime of system or power station

Advantages of wind energy

Green

Wind energy is a green energy source. Harnessing wind energy does not pollute the environment
nearly as much as fossil fuels, coal and nuclear power do.
It is true that the manufacturing, transportation and installation of a wind turbine contributes to
global warming slightly, but the electricity production itself does not involve any emissions of
climate gases whatsoever.

There are some environmental issues associated with wind energy that we will discuss in the
disadvantages section.

Enormous Potential

As mentioned in the introduction of this article, the potential of wind power is absolutely
incredible. Several independent research teams have reached the same conclusions: The
worldwide potential of wind power is more than 400 TW (terawatts).[1]
Harnessing wind energy can be done almost anywhere. Whether or not a resource is financially
feasible is another question.

Renewable
Wind energy is a renewable source of energy. Wind is naturally occurring and there is no way we
can empty the energy resources. Wind energy actually originates from the nuclear fusion
processes that take place on the sun.
As long as the sun keeps shining (don’t worry, according to scientists it will for another 6-7
billion years)?, we will be able to harness wind energy on earth. This is not the case for fossil
fuels (e.g. oil and natural gas), which our society relies heavily on today.
Space-Efficient

The largest wind turbines are capable of generating enough electricity to meet the energy
demand of 600 average U.S. homes.[2] The wind turbines can’t be placed too close to each other,
but the land in-between can be used for other things. This is why many farms would benefit more
from installing wind turbines as opposed to solar panels.
Rapid Growth

Although wind power only accounts for about 2.5% of total worldwide electricity production, the
capacity is growing at an incredible rate of 25% per year (2010).[3] This does not only contribute
in the fight against global warming, but also helps lowering costs:
Prices are Decreasing

Prices have decreased over 80% since 1980.[4] Thanks to technological advancements and
increased demand, prices are expected keep decreasing in the foreseeable future.
Low Operational Costs

It is generally true that operational costs tend to be low once the turbines first have been
manufactured and erected. However, not every wind turbine is created equal – some are more
susceptible to maintenance than others.

Good Domestic Potential

People can generate their own electricity with wind power in much the same manner as people
do with the best solar panels(photovoltaics).
Net metering (currently implemented in more than 40 states across the U.S.[5]) allows
homeowners to receive bill credits for their excess electricity productionThere is good money to
save/earn with residential wind turbines, but maybe the best perks come from not being reliant
the utility for electricity, which can protect you from blackouts as well as fluctuating energy
prices.

Disadvantages of Wind Energy

Unpredictable

Wind is unpredictable and the availability of wind energy is not constant. Wind energy is
therefore not well suited as a base load energy source. If we had cost-effective ways of storing
wind energy the situation would be different.
We can hope for breakthroughs in energy storage technologies in the future, but right now, wind
turbines have to be used in tandem with other energy sources to meet our energy demand with
consistency.
Costs

The cost-competitiveness of wind power is highly debatable. Both utility-scale wind farms and
small residential wind turbines typically rely heavily on financial incentives. This is to give wind
power a fair chance in the fierce competition against already well-established energy sources
such as fossil fuels and coal.
Solar power (PV) is generally regarded as the first choice for homeowners looking to become
energy producers themselves, but wind turbines make an excellent alternative in some
situations. It would take a wind turbine of about 10 kilowatts and $40,000 to $70,000 to become
a net electricity producer. Investments like this typically break even after 10 to 20 years.

Threat to Wildlife

Birds, bats and other flying creatures have slim chances of surviving when taking a direct hit
from a rotating wind turbine blade. However, some environmentalists have blown this issue out
of proportions.
Studies have estimated the number of annual avian fatalities by U.S. wind turbines from 10,000
all the way to 440,000. As a comparison, collisions with buildings may kill up to 976 million
birds.

Noise
Noise is a problem for some people that live in the proximity of wind turbines. Building wind
turbines in urban environments should be avoided. Noise is not a problem with offshore wind
turbines at all. New designs show significant improvements compared to older models and
generate less noise.

Looks

While most people actually like how wind turbines look, there is always some who don’t. Wind
turbines leave a smaller footprint on land compared to the majority of other energy sources
(including solar, nuclear and coal). The problem is mitigated if the wind turbines are built outside
urban areas.

Gear systems for Wind turbines

A gearbox is used in a wind turbine to increase rotational speed from a low-speed rotor
to a higher speed electrical generator. A common ratio is about 90:1, with a rate 16.7
rpm input from the rotor to 1,500 rpm output for the generator.

Planetary gears
The type of gear employed in wind turbines is the planetary gear, known also as an epicyclic
gear. An epicylic gear has certain advantages over other gears that make it more appropriate
for wind turbines as well as other applications.

Consider that in the internal gear, the smaller gear is used as an idler for another gear, as
shown in Figure (a). The result is that the idler gear just transfers motion to the gear in the
middle, whose shaft is alongside the same shaft as the outer (ring) gear. Th e arrangement
is, thus, concise and takes less space. The idler gear shown does not have to be only one.

In fact, there can be any number of idlers, if space permits, as depicted in Figures (b) and
(c). The most common number of idler gears is three.

Below figure shows complete arrangement of planetary gear

In a planetary gear, the gear in the middle is called the sun gear, the idlers are called planet
or planet gear, the outer gear with internal teeth is called the ring gear, and the bracket
holding the planet gears is called the arm or the carrier. If there is only one planet gear,
there is insufficient balance in the system as far as forces are concerned. If there are too
many of them, then there is a lot of loss due to friction. Th e best design has three planet
gears. The name planetary gear stems from the fact that the planets rotate around the sun
gear. One advantage of planetary gears, which makes them more attractive for wind
turbines, is that the input and output shaft s are coaxial. In practice, however, if a planetary
gear is combined with other gears, then the positional relationship between the input and
output shaft s depends on the way the gears are put together. One of the aspects of a
planetary gear is that except for the planet gears any of the three other components (sun,
ring, and arm) can be used as input or output. More interestingly, we may have two inputs
and one output. For example, we can turn the ring at a given rpm and turn the arm at
another desired rpm, and the sun gear turns accordingly.

Type of gear usually depends upon gear ratio :

Where , nm=(1-s)ns. Defining nM as rotor rated speed

With s=-.01, p=4, nM=15, then

rgb=121.2.

Gear ratios range

from 50 to 300.

These are parallel shaft gears. First is Spur gear with external contact and next is Spur gear
with Internal contact
This is the Worm gear

Helical Gear

Planetary Gear

Parallel (spur) gears can achieve gear ratios of 1:5.

Planetary gears can achieve gear ratios of 1:12.

Wind turbines almost always require 2-3 stages of gear arrangement.

For more analysis and equations, problems, just ping me, I will share the details.

Cut in and Cut out Speeds

The cut-in speed is the point at which the turbine starts generating electricity from turning.

The cut-out point denotes how fast the turbine can go before wind speeds get so fast that it risks
damage from further operation. The primary safety issue with wind turbines comes from over
speeding, so some sort of stall or brake mechanism is needed to shut down the turbine before it
reaches this danger zone.

Most turbines have a rated peak speed - that is, a wind speed at which they'll return the optimal
amount of power. Wind speeds both lower and higher than this speed are likely to produce less
energy.

PF control

DC Vs AC wind generation

Read on Inverter and Battery charger Systems

Principle of operation

A battery charger is basically a DC power supply source. Here a transformer is used to step
down the AC mains input voltage to the required level as per the rating of the transformer.
This transformer is always a high power type and is able to produce a high current output as
required by most lead-acid batteries.
A bridge rectifier configuration is used to rectify the low voltage AC into DC and is further
smoothed by a high value electrolytic capacitor.
This DC is fed to an electronic circuit which regulates the voltage into a constant level and is
applied to the battery under charge, where the energy is stored through an internal process of
chemical reaction.
 In automatic battery chargers a voltage sensor circuit is incorporated to sense the voltage of
the battery under charge. The charger is automatically switched OFF when the battery
voltage reaches the required optimum level.

Inverter working principle: An inverter is an electronic device that changes direct current to
alternating current. We should remember that inverter never produces any power, the power is
provided by the DC source.

In most of the cases, the input DC voltage is usually lower. We can’t use lower voltage in the
home appliance. This is why we need to use inverter when we use solar power panel.

There are, broadly speaking, two kinds of inverters: modified square wave inverters and sine
wave inverters. The modified square wave inverters is actually a square wave where the voltage
is periodically 0

During the conversion process, the voltage is increased. In Ohm’s law, we know that an
increased voltage also leads to a decrease in current. So the overall current is decreased when
the DC signal is converted into an AC

Single vs three phase

Principles of Inversion (PWM vs MPPTor any other)

Pulse width modulated (PWM) inverters are mostly used power electronic circuits in

practical applications. These inverters are able to produce ac voltages of variable magnitude

and frequency. The quality of the output voltage of PWM inverter is better as compared to

square wave inverters. The PWM inverters are commonly used in variable speed ac drives.

Wide speed variation of drive can be obtained by varying the frequency of the applied ac

voltage. There should be linear relationship between applied voltage and frequency. The

PWM inverters could be implemented for use in single phase and three phase types. There

are different kind of PWM techniques, depending on the methods of implementation.

However, in all these techniques, the generated output voltage after filtering, obtain a good

quality sinusoidal voltage waveform having desired fundamental frequency and magnitude
respectively.

PWM inverters are used to control the voltage and to reduce the harmonic contents in the

output voltage. In case of PWM inverters, the width of the output pulses are modulated to

achieve the desired voltage control (Lavanya et. Al., 2012).

MPPT stands for Maximum Power Point Tracking.

MPPT is basically an algorithm and implemented through a combination of software

and electronics hardware in any inverter or solar controller.

It helps in ensuring that the output from the solar panel or array or solar string is at its
peak / maximum. This is done by a continuous power tracking methodology so as to
settle at the most optimal power point from the solar panels.

The Maximum power of a solar module varies with solar radiation, ambient temperature
and cell temperature. Solar cells have a complex relationship between temperature and
total resistance that produces a non-linear output efficiency based on the I-V curve. The
objective of the MPPT system is to sample the output of the PV modules and apply the
proper resistance to obtain maximum power for any given solar radiation and overall
environmental conditions.

The basic principle of MPPT is to separate the greatest accessible power from PV module by
influencing them to work at the most proficient voltage. The voltage at which the PV module can
produce maximum power is called maximum power point. Maximum power varies with solar
radiation, ambient temperature, and solar cell temperature. It can also supply power to a DC
load, which is connected directly to the battery.

Power and frequency control

Connecting solar panels in arrays and strings for inverters

Solar Photovoltaic Array, also known simply as a Solar Array is a system made up of a group of
solar panels connected together. A photovoltaic array is therefore multiple solar panels electrically
wired together to form a much larger PV installation (PV system) called an array, and in general the
larger the total surface area of the array, the more solar electricity it will produce.
A complete photovoltaic system uses a photovoltaic array as the main source for the generation of
the electrical power supply. The amount of solar power produced by a single photovoltaic panel or
module is not enough for general use. By connecting many single PV panels in series (for a higher
voltage requirement) and in parallel (for a higher current requirement) the PV array will produce the
desired power output.

String inverters
Solar panels are installed in rows, each on a “string.” For example if you have 25 panels
you may have 5 rows of 5 panels. Multiple strings are connected to one string inverter.
Each string carries the DC power the solar panels produce to the string inverter where
it’s converted into usable AC power consumed as electricity. Depending on the size of
the installation, you may have several string inverters each receiving DC power from a
few strings.

String inverters have been around for a long time and are good for installations without
shading issues and in which panels are positioned on a single plane so do not face
different directions. If an installation uses string inverters and even one panel is shaded
for a portion of the day reducing its performance, the output of every panel on the string
is reduced to the struggling panels’ level. Though string inverters aren’t able to deal with
shading issues, the technology is trusted and proven and they are less expensive than
systems with microinverters. String inverters are commonly used in residential and
commercial applications. Also, as technology improves allowing string inverters to have
greater power density in smaller sizes, string inverters are becoming a popular
alternative over central inverters in small utility installations smaller than 1 MW.

String inverters can also be paired with power optimizers, an option that is gaining
popularity. Power optimizers are module-level power electronics meaning they are
installed at the module level, so each solar panel has one. Some panel manufacturers
integrate their products with power optimizers and sell them as one solution known as
a Smart Module. This can make installation easier. Power optimizers are able to
mitigate effects of shading that string inverters alone cannot. They condition the DC
electricity before sending it to the inverter, which results in a higher overall efficiency
than using a string inverter alone. Power optimizers offer similar benefits as
microinverters, but tend to be less expensive and so can be a good option between
using strictly string inverters or microinverters.
A Photovoltaic Solar Array

Photovoltaic cells and panels convert the solar energy into direct-current (DC) electricity. The
connection of the solar panels in a single photovoltaic array is same as that of the PV cells in a
single panel. The panels in an array can be electrically connected together in either a series, a
parallel, or a mixture of the two, but generally a series connection is chosen to give an increased
output voltage. For example, when two solar panels are wired together in series, their voltage is
doubled while the current remains the same.
The size of a photovoltaic array can consist of a few individual PV modules or panels connected
together in an urban environment and mounted on a rooftop, or may consist of many hundreds of PV
panels interconnected together in a field to supply power for a whole town or neighbourhood. The
flexibility of the modular photovoltaic array (PV system) allows designers to create solar power
systems that can meet a wide variety of electrical needs, no matter how large or small.
It is important to note that photovoltaic panels or modules from different manufacturers should not be
mixed together in a single array, even if their power, voltage or current outputs are nominally similar.
This is because differences in the I-V characteristic curves of the panels as well as their spectral
response are likely to cause extra mismatch losses in the array reducing its efficiency.

Single phase Vs three phase distribution systems in mini grids