ELC003 Renewable Energy Course Notes

ELC003: Renewable Energy Sources
Course Notes
Simon Watson, Ralph Gottschalg, Richard Blanchard
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources
Contents
1 Wind Power .................................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Wind Characteristics .............................................................................................. 7 1.1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 7 1.1.2 Atmospheric Winds........................................................................................ 7 1.1.3 Summary of Boundary Layer Equations ......................................................... 8 1.1.4 Log Law for Vertical Wind Profile ................................................................. 9 1.1.5 Simplified Power Law.................................................................................. 10 1.1.6 Wind Speed Variation and Averaging .......................................................... 10 1.1.7 The Weibull Distribution.............................................................................. 12 1.1.8 Estimation of Weibull Parameters ................................................................ 14 1.1.9 Calculation of Energy Yield ......................................................................... 15 1.2 Wind Resource .................................................................................................... 16 1.2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 16 1.2.2 Measuring Wind Speed at a Site ................................................................... 16 1.2.3 Estimation of Long Term Site Wind Speed .................................................. 18 1.2.4 Computational Models ................................................................................. 19 1.2.5 Wind Flow over Hills ................................................................................... 20 1.2.6 Initial Site Assessment ................................................................................. 22 1.3 Wind Turbine Aerodynamics ............................................................................... 25 1.3.1 Power Available in the Wind........................................................................ 25 1.3.2 Power Fluctuations ....................................................................................... 25 1.3.3 Extracting Energy From the Wind ................................................................ 26 1.3.4 Aerodynamic Lift and the Aerofoil............................................................... 32 1.3.5 The Tangential Induction Factor................................................................... 34 1.3.6 Relationship between Thrust and Torque, and the Lift and Drag forces ........ 35 1.3.7 Relationship between the Angle of Attack and the Lift and Drag Coefficients 37 1.3.8 Performance of a Wind Turbine ................................................................... 38 1.3.9 Wind turbine types ....................................................................................... 39 1.3.10 Electrical generator options .......................................................................... 40 1.4 Notation and Units ............................................................................................... 41 1.5 References ........................................................................................................... 41 2 Hydro Power ............................................................................................................... 42 2.1 Energy from Water .............................................................................................. 42 2.2 Developing a Hydropower Scheme ...................................................................... 42 2.2.1 Resource and Equipment Requirement ......................................................... 42 2.2.2 Choice of Turbine ........................................................................................ 44 2.2.3 Environmental Considerations ..................................................................... 45 2.2.4 Basic Calculation of Energy ......................................................................... 45 2.2.5 Calculation of Power .................................................................................... 46 2.2.6 A Typical Run of River Scheme ................................................................... 47 2.3 The Measurement of Head ................................................................................... 48 2.3.1 Why is the measurement of Head Important? ............................................... 48 2.3.2 The Variation of Head with Flow ................................................................. 49 2.3.3 Estimation of Net Head ................................................................................ 50 2.3.4 Turbine Setting Losses ................................................................................. 52
2.4 The Flow Duration Curve .................................................................................... 54 2.4.1 Variation of Flow Over a Year ..................................................................... 54 2.4.2 What is a Flow Duration Curve? .................................................................. 55 2.4.3 Q-Values ...................................................................................................... 56 2.5 Glossary .............................................................................................................. 56 2.6 Introduction to Water Turbines ............................................................................ 57 2.6.1 The Development of Water Turbines ............................................................ 57 2.6.2 Specific Speed ............................................................................................. 58 2.6.3 Shape Factor ................................................................................................ 59 2.6.4 Impulse Turbines ......................................................................................... 60 2.6.5 Reaction Turbines ........................................................................................ 65 2.6.6 Draft Tube ................................................................................................... 67 2.6.7 Cavitation .................................................................................................... 68 2.6.8 Selecting a Turbine for a Particular Site ....................................................... 68 3 Electrical System Aspects............................................................................................ 69 3.1 Apparent, Real and Reactive Power ..................................................................... 69 3.2 The Balance of Active and Reactive Power .......................................................... 71 3.3 The Significance of Power Factor ........................................................................ 72 3.4 The Reactive Power of a Capacitor ...................................................................... 73 3.5 P and Q Transfer in Power Networks ................................................................... 74 3.6 The Generator ...................................................................................................... 75 3.7 Comparison of Synchronous and Induction Generators ........................................ 76 3.8 Connection to the Electricity Network ................................................................. 78 3.8.1 Power Factor Correction for an Induction Generator .................................... 78 3.9 Soft-Start Units .................................................................................................... 80 3.10 Power Quality ...................................................................................................... 81 4 Tidal Power ................................................................................................................. 82 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 82 4.2 Causes of Tides.................................................................................................... 83 4.2.1 Tides in the open ocean ................................................................................ 83 4.2.2 Mechanisms for Tidal Enhancement............................................................. 85 4.3 Tidal Barrages ..................................................................................................... 88 4.3.1 Turbines for Tidal Barrages.......................................................................... 88 4.3.2 Operational Strategies .................................................................................. 88 4.3.3 Choice of Barrage Site ................................................................................. 89 4.3.4 Case Study: La Rance .................................................................................. 90 4.3.5 Other Sites ................................................................................................... 93 4.4 Tidal Current Schemes ......................................................................................... 96 4.4.1 Turbines for Tidal Current Schemes ............................................................. 96 4.4.2 The Resource ................................................................................................... 97 4.5 Impacts of Tidal Schemes .................................................................................... 99 5 Wave Power .............................................................................................................. 100 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 100 5.2 Wave Climate .................................................................................................... 101 5.3 Shore Mounted Technology ............................................................................... 108 5.3.1 Oscillating Water Columns (OWC) ............................................................ 108 5.3.2 The OWC device on Islay .......................................................................... 109 5.3.3 Limpet ....................................................................................................... 111 5.3.4 Tapchan ..................................................................................................... 112 5.3.5 Locations for Shore Mounted Schemes ...................................................... 113
5.4 Near Shore Technology ..................................................................................... 114 5.4.1 Osprey ....................................................................................................... 114 5.4.2 The 'Mighty Whale' .................................................................................... 115 5.4.3 FWPV ........................................................................................................ 115 5.4.4 Point Absorber Float Systems .................................................................... 115 5.4.5 Pendulor .................................................................................................... 117 5.5 Offshore Technology ......................................................................................... 117 5.5.1 The Duck ................................................................................................... 117 5.5.2 The Clam ................................................................................................... 117 5.5.3 Pelamis ...................................................................................................... 118 6 Solar Power ............................................................................................................... 120 6.1 Solar Characteristics .......................................................................................... 120 6.1.1 The Solar Spectrum.................................................................................... 120 6.1.2 The interaction between radiation and matter ............................................. 121 6.1.3 The mechanism of absorption..................................................................... 122 6.1.4 Blackbody Radiation .................................................................................. 122 6.1.5 Radiation on earths surface ....................................................................... 123 6.2 Solar Resource ................................................................................................... 126 6.2.1 Geometry of the Sun, the Earth and the Collector Plane ............................. 126 6.2.2 Variation of Extraterrestrial Radiation with Season and Latitude ................ 128 6.2.3 Estimation of the Global Radiation on Tilted Planes ................................... 129 6.2.4 Devices for Measuring Global Radiation .................................................... 132 6.3 Basic principles of Photovoltaic (PV) Cells........................................................ 132 6.3.1 The crystalline silicon cell .......................................................................... 133 6.3.2 The basics of cell operation ........................................................................ 134 6.3.3 Cell spectral response ................................................................................. 138 6.3.4 Equivalent circuit for cell ........................................................................... 139 6.3.5 Maximum Power Point .............................................................................. 141 6.3.6 Effects of changes in irradiance and temperature ........................................ 142 6.3.7 Other types of cell ...................................................................................... 144 6.3.8 Applications ............................................................................................... 144 7 Biomass..................................................................................................................... 146 7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 146 7.1.1 What is Biomass?....................................................................................... 146 7.1.2 Developed Countries .................................................................................. 150 7.2 Conversion Routes for Biomass ......................................................................... 151 7.3 Biomass as a Fuel .............................................................................................. 152 7.3.1 Solar Store and the Carbon Cycle ............................................................... 152 7.3.2 Calorific Value and Moisture Content........................................................ 154 7.4 Biogas ............................................................................................................... 156 7.4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 156 7.4.2 Control of Anaerobic Digestion.................................................................. 157 7.4.3 Biomass to methane ................................................................................... 159 7.4.4 Example Domestic Waste Treatment Wanlip 5MW Biogas Plant ............ 159 7.4.5 Bio-hydrogen Production ........................................................................... 159 7.5 Introduction to Liquid Biomass Fuels, Biodiesel and Bioethanol ........................ 160 7.5.1 Biodiesel .................................................................................................... 160 7.5.2 Transesterification...................................................................................... 160 7.5.3 Bioethanol.................................................................................................. 162 7.6 Conversion of Biomass 1: Pre-treatment and Direct Combustion ....................... 164
7.6.1 Resource Base ............................................................................................ 164 7.6.2 Pre-treatment ............................................................................................. 165 7.6.3 Direct Combustion of Biomass ................................................................... 166 7.7 Conversion of Biomass 2: Gasification and Pyrolysis ........................................ 171 7.7.1 Gasification................................................................................................ 171 7.7.2 Pyrolysis .................................................................................................... 174 7.8 Power Generation from Biomass Fuels .............................................................. 179 7.8.1 Steam Systems ........................................................................................... 179 7.8.2 Combined Heat and Power ......................................................................... 188 7.9 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 190 7.10 References ......................................................................................................... 190 8 Integration of Renewables ......................................................................................... 191 8.1 Integrating renewables - the issues ..................................................................... 191 8.2 The operation of power systems ......................................................................... 192 8.2.1 Required Characteristics ............................................................................ 192 8.2.2 Power system hardware .............................................................................. 193 8.2.3 Demand forecasting ................................................................................... 194 8.2.4 Generation scheduling and spinning reserve ............................................... 195 8.2.5 Contingency analysis ................................................................................. 196 8.2.6 Optimum economic dispatch ...................................................................... 197 8.3 Plant generation costs and capabilities ............................................................... 199 8.4 Aggregation ....................................................................................................... 201 8.5 Penetration levels from variable sources ............................................................ 202 8.6 Cycling costs ..................................................................................................... 204 8.7 Reserve costs ..................................................................................................... 205 8.8 Discarded Energy .............................................................................................. 206 8.9 Penalties due to increasing penetration ............................................................... 206 8.10 100% Renewable Energy Generation ................................................................. 208 8.10.1 Combining different renewable energy sources .......................................... 208 8.10.2 Energy Storage........................................................................................... 209 9 Electricity Trading and Renewable Energy in the UK ................................................ 210 9.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 210 9.2 The State Owned ESI......................................................................................... 210 9.3 The Electricity Pool ........................................................................................... 211 9.3.1 Overview ................................................................................................... 211 9.3.2 The Operation of the Pool and Pool Prices ................................................. 211 9.4 Hedging Your Bets ............................................................................................ 212 9.5 Deregulation ...................................................................................................... 213 9.6 The Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation and Renewable Obligation ............................... 213 9.7 The Climate Change Levy ................................................................................. 214 9.8 The New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA) ......................................... 215 9.8.1 Background................................................................................................ 215 9.8.2 Buying and Selling Power under NETA ..................................................... 215 9.8.3 System Sell and System Buy Prices ............................................................ 215 9.8.4 The Balancing Market ................................................................................ 216 9.8.5 The British Electricity Transmission and Trading Arrangements ................ 217 9.9 The Impact on Renewable Energy Sources ........................................................ 217 9.9.1 Overview ................................................................................................... 217 9.9.2 Mitigating the Effects of NETA ................................................................. 217 10 Tutorial Questions ................................................................................................. 219
10.1 Wind Power ....................................................................................................... 219 10.1.1 Wind Characteristics and Resource ............................................................ 219 10.1.2 Wind Turbines ........................................................................................... 220 10.2 Hydro Power ..................................................................................................... 221 10.3 Tidal Power ....................................................................................................... 224 10.4 Wave Power ...................................................................................................... 225 10.5 Solar Power ....................................................................................................... 227 10.6 Biomass Power .................................................................................................. 229 10.7 Integration ......................................................................................................... 230 10.8 Electricity Trading ............................................................................................. 231
1 Wind Power
1.1 Wind Characteristics
1.1.1 Introduction
These lectures deal with the wind resource in general. In particular they will cover the nature of atmospheric winds with emphasis on the lower boundary layer, the long-term probability distribution of wind speeds, and techniques for wind resource assessment. The latter include computational models and measurement based approaches.
1.1.2 Atmospheric Winds

Wind is the large-scale movement of air masses in the earth's atmosphere. It is caused primarily by pressure gradients arising from differential heating of the earth's surface. In a sense therefore it is another form of solar energy. Centripetal and Coriolis forces (see Figure 1 below), arising from the earth's rotation also effect the air movement.
X X
On a weather map, contours representing a common pressure are called isobars (given in millibars where 1 mbar = 100 Pa and a standard atmosphere is 1013.25 mbar). Clearly, the pressure gradient is perpendicular to the isobars. Because of Coriolis forces and centripetal forces caused by strongly curved isobars, the wind will be deflected from a direction along that of the pressure gradient. The resulting wind is called the gradient wind. For straight or slightly curved isobars, it is also called the geostrophic wind. In the northern hemisphere, winds rotate anti-clockwise into low pressure regions (cyclones), and clockwise out of high pressure regions (anti-cyclones). The discussion so far has ignored the influence of the earth's surface and the whole issue of turbulent mixing which can be mechanically or thermally driven. The characteristics of this lower layer of the atmosphere, known as the boundary layer, are critical to the exploitation of wind energy. The wind near the ground is significantly affected by such things as the topography of the ground, including buildings, and the differential heating between land and sea.
Figure 1: The Coriolis effect: the two curved lines are of constant latitude, with point B located directly south of point A. A parcel of air is moving south from A towards B. If we ignore air friction, the speed of the air will remain constant with respect to the ground. The direction will change, however, because the of the earths rotation under the parcel.
1.1.3 Summary of Boundary Layer Equations

Wind speed increases steadily with height, and according to the 'no slip' condition, is zero at ground level. This increase with height is known as wind shear. The wind shear profile depicted in Figure 2 is to some extent, dependent on atmospheric stability. Three stability states are defined: stable, neutrally stable and unstable which are dependent on surface heating and cooling.
X X
If a volume of air is displaced vertically (and adiabatically) it will tend to return to its original location if the atmosphere is stable normally caused by cooling of the underlying ground. If it stays at its displaced location the conditions are said to be neutrally stable. In an unstable atmosphere with a significant amount of surface heating, it will continue to move, due to buoyancy forces, in the direction in which it was displaced. The more unstable the conditions, the greater the mixing with the result that the velocity gradients are lower.
Figure 2: The lower boundary layer.
1.1.4 Log Law for Vertical Wind Profile

A stability dependent form of the wind shear profile with height is given by a log law of the form:
U(z) =
U* 1n(z/ z0 ) + k
(z/ Ls )
z z0
(1)
where U* is the friction velocity (proportional to the square root of the turbulent shear stress, which is assumed constant in the lower boundary layer); k is the von Karman constant (~0.4); z is the elevation above the ground level; and zo is the surface roughness length. The stability, s is a function of z/Ls where Ls is known as the Monin-Obukhov length. For neutral stability which is usually taken to apply to the higher wind speeds associated with wind turbine operation 1 , this equation reduces to:
F F
U(z) =
z U* .1n k z0
(2)
Since U* is difficult to evaluate, this formula is usually rewritten in terms of a reference wind speed U(zr), at reference height, zr:
U(z) = U( zr )
1n(z / z0 ) 1n( zr / z0 )
(3)
1 At relatively high wind speeds turbulent mixing of the air tends to neutralise any changes in vertical temperature gradient created by surface heating or cooling. Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources
Guidance in evaluating zo can be found in Reference 1. A useful approximation is: zo = /30 (4)
where is the average height of roughness elements. Alternatively, reference can be made to a look-up table such as Table 1 .
X X
Type of terrain Mud Flats, Ice Calm Sea Sand Mown Grass Low Grass Fallow Field High Grass Forest and Woodland Built up area, Suburb City
Z0 10 to 3x10-5 2x10-4 to 3x10-4 2x10-4 to 10-3 0.001 to 0.01 0.01 to 0.04 0.02 to 0.03 0.04 to 0.1 0.1 to 1 1 to 2 1 to 4
-5
0.01 0.13 0.19 0.32 (see
Table 1: Typical values of surface roughness length z0 and power law exponent later), for various types of terrain
1.1.5 Simplified Power Law

For neutral conditions, present when wind speeds are high, a simple power law has been found to provide a reasonable fit to the data. This expression is widely used by engineers, for example when looking at peak wind loads on tall buildings.
U(z) = U( zr )(z / zr )
where depends on the surface roughness.
(5)
Over the height range of 10m to 30m the following expression relating proposed.
to zo has been
= 1/ -1n(Zo / 15.25)
(6)
For zo in the range 0.0001m and 1m, accuracy, in determining , of the order of a few percent can be expected. Unlike the log law, there is no physical basis and in general it is not recommended.
1.1.6 Wind Speed Variation and Averaging

Wind speed at a given location is always varying. There are changes in annual mean from year to year; variations with season, with passing weather systems (synoptic), on a daily
10
basis (diurnal) and from second to second (turbulent). The Van der Hoven spectrum ( Figure 3 ) shows features corresponding to these different time scales. The spectrum represents the strength of the wind speed variation at different timescales. It can be seen that there is significant amount of variation at the 1-minute timescale (turbulent) and at the 4-day timescale (synoptic). A spectral gap, separating turbulent variation from slower variations, is apparent in the range of 10 minutes to 1 hour. This is why the analysis of long term variations and wind statistics are based on 10 minute or 1 hour mean wind speed values.
X X
Figure 3: The Van der Hoven Spectrum showing the amount of variation in wind speed on a particular time-scale. Time averaged wind speed values over a time interval T are defined by:
U 1/ T
t0 T / 2 t0 T / 2
U (t )dt
(7)
where U(t) is the instantaneous wind speed at time t. Despite inter-annual variations, it is conventional to work with annual statistics based on hourly (or ten minute) averaged values. Frequency distributions are calculated based on small wind speed intervals. In Figure 4 , a typical wind speed distribution is presented; in this instance 0.5m/s intervals have been used. Three features are obvious: the relative frequencies are only positive for wind speeds greater than or equal to zero (by definition wind speed cannot be negative); there is a peak in the distribution at somewhat less than the mean of the distribution; and there are occasional occurrences of very high winds.
X X
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Frequency distribution of Wind Speed

0.06
0.05
Relative Frequency
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
10.25 11.25 12.25 13.25 14.25 15.25 16.25 17.25 18.25 19.25 20.25 21.25 22.25 23.25 24.25 25.25 26.25 27.25 28.25 29.25 0.25 1.25 2.25 3.25 4.25 5.25 6.25 7.25 8.25 9.25
Wind Speed (m/s)
Figure 4: A typical wind speed distribution
1.1.7 The Weibull Distribution

It has been found that the frequency distribution of wind speeds at most sites can be well represented by the two parameter Weibull probability density function. The probability of the wind speed having a value U is given by
p(U) = (k/C)(U/C )k -1 exp[-(U/C )k ]
(8)
where k is known as the shape parameter and C the scale parameter.

Weibull Distribution with C = 9.3m/s and k=1.8
0.1 0.09 0.08 0.07
Probability
0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
Wind Speed (m/s)
Figure 5: Example Weibull distribution

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Figure 5 shows an example distribution. The cumulative probability distribution associated with this is obtained by integration of the function between zero and some value, V. This gives the probability Q, that the wind speed is less than V as:
X X
Q(U < V) = 1 - exp[-V / C )k ]
(9)
Since this equation is easily evaluated it should be used to calculate the probability of the wind speed lying in a particular range by applying it twice at the two values defining the range of interest and differencing the results. Sometimes (1-Q) is plotted; this can be viewed as the reverse cumulative distribution. An example is given in Figure 6 .
X X
If the shape parameter, k, takes the value of 2, the Weibull distribution reduces to the well known, one parameter, Rayleigh distribution. There is some physical basis to this simpler form in that it can be derived by assuming wind to be isotropic and uniformly distributed with no prevailing direction and that wind speed variations in orthogonal directions are independently normally distributed. In general sites do exhibit a prevailing direction and the more flexible, but not physically based, Weibull distribution is applicable. If the parameters k and C are known for a given site the annual mean wind speed U a can be calculated from: 1 (10) U a = C. (1+ ) k where is the gamma function, defined to be
(y) =
o
e-x x y-1 dx
Reverse Cumulative Weibull Distribution (C=9.26 and k=1.77)
(11)
1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7
Probability
0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
Wind Speed (m/s)
Figure 6: Reverse cumulative distribution

13
1.1.8 Estimation of Weibull Parameters

From the cumulative distribution it is clear that the probability, Q (inverse cumulative) that the wind speed exceeds V is given by:
Q(U > V) = exp[-(V / C )k ]
(12)
Care should be taken since this is sometimes also referred to as the cumulative Weibull distribution. Taking logarithms twice on both sides gives
1n(-1nQ)= k1n(V) - k1n(C)
(13)
Hence if 1n(-1nQ) is plotted against 1n(V), where Q is calculated from the data for a wide range of values of V, then the result should be approximately a straight line with k as the gradient and an intercept at -k.1n(C). Linear regression can be used to find the best straight line fit to the data. Figure 7 shows the result of such an analysis showing that the Weibull distribution is a reasonable fit to the data.
X X
ln(-ln(Q)
ln(V)
Slope = k
Intercept = -k ln(C)
Figure 7: Linear regression for Weibull parameter fitting Although widely used, linear regression applied to logarithms and double logarithms of the dependent and independent variables will not provide the best choice of parameters k and C. A more rigorous approach to parameter estimation uses maximum likelihood techniques. These are recommended if it is important to have great accuracy. In many situations however rough estimates of k and C will suffice. In these circumstances the following approximate relations are very useful. From work by Bowden and others we have the results:
14
2U /
1/2
for (1.6
3.0)
(14)
and
3C3
1/2
/(2U 3 ) for (1.8
2.3)
(15)
Provided the ranges indicated are adhered to the accuracy of these formula is within 1%. Another approximate relation, which does not depend on knowing the mean of U3, is:
-1.086
(16)
But note that the standard deviation here is the long-term (say annual) value, and not that associated with turbulence intensity. In special cases the wind speed at one point will be approximately proportional to the wind speed at another point. For example if the points are two heights at a given location for which the simple log law (neutral stability) applies, then if U1 = aU2, then k1 = k2 and C1 = aC2.
1.1.9 Calculation of Energy Yield

It is straightforward to calculate the energy yield from a wind turbine to be placed on a given site, using the Weibull parameters and the wind turbine power curve. The average power from the wind turbine, assuming 100% reliability, is given by
P =
u=0
p(U) P(U) dU
(17)
where P(U) is the power output from the wind turbine at wind speed, U and p(u) is the probability given by distribution function. This integral will in general have to be evaluated numerically. If the record of hourly mean wind speeds from the site is available this can be used directly with the power curve to calculate the energy yield which would have occurred had the turbine experienced that specific wind history.
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1.2 Wind Resource

1.2.1 Introduction
Prediction of the wind resource at a given site is a crucial part of the development of commercial wind energy generation. Without an accurate assessment of the available wind resource no meaningful evaluation of a particular wind generation proposal can be attempted. There are increasing demands for accuracy as project developers' plans will be scrutinised by the banks and other organisations involved in project finance. At different stages of project development different levels of assessment are appropriate. At the early stages a superficial and low cost appraisal of a site is often undertaken to see if sufficient potential exists to justify a time consuming and potentially costly measurement campaign. Smaller installations, such as those contemplated by individuals, cannot afford expensive site assessment exercises. Greater reliance is therefore placed on predictions based on computer modelling or other information such as local knowledge. In all cases, what is being attempted is an estimate of the long-term wind resource; ideally the wind resource over the expected lifetime of the wind turbine/s which could be up to 20 years. Usually it is the long-term past wind resource that is being estimated at the site; the assumption being that the long-term wind resource is not changing.
1.2.2 Measuring Wind Speed at a Site

1.2.2.1 Mast
If a site is being assessed for its long term wind power potential, it is common for a developer to erect a mast on the site instrumented to measure wind speed and direction. Normally anemometers are placed on at least two heights up the mast. This is to allow for an instrument breaking down and also to give some information about the wind speed profile or wind shear (see Section 1.1.3 ). This allows a more accurate extrapolation of wind speed with height. It is also preferable to ensure that at least one of the anemometers is placed at the hub height of the wind turbines to be erected at the site. The axis of the wind turbine rotor is at the hub height. You will learn more about wind turbines in Section 1.3 . Wind direction is normally measured using a wind vane at at least one height on the mast. A guyed lattice or tubular mast is usually used with the measuring instruments mounted sufficiently far from the mast itself (on booms or otherwise) so as not to be influenced by the mast aerodynamically. A data logger is then used to record measurements at regular intervals, typically 10 minute averages.
X X X X
1.2.2.2 Instrumentation
For wind site assessment purposes the key parameters to be measured are wind speed and direction. In some instances ambient air temperature and atmospheric pressure are also measured. The standard transducer for measuring wind speed in wind site assessments is the cup
16
anemometer. There are more sophisticated transducers for specialist wind speed measurement, such as hot wire and doppler anemometers, but their particular characteristics are not required for site assessment. Cup anemometers have the advantage of being robust and relatively cheap. Rotation of the cup is sensed and the instrument can be configured to produce either an analogue output (proportional to wind speed) or a pulse train with each pulse representing a fixed amount of rotation, equivalent to a fixed run of wind. The rate of pulsing gives the wind speed. Counting pulses is an attractive approach because the ideal integrated values of the wind run are directly measured. The time response of cup anemometers is specified in terms of a distance constant, d. This is the length of wind run for the output, in response to a step change in wind, to reach within 1/e of its final value. For a given change in wind speed, v this gives a time constant equal to d/v seconds. Unfortunately, cup anemometers respond more rapidly to increases in wind than decreases, as shown in Figure 8 . This results in the so-called over-speeding effect which means an overall overestimate of the wind speed. In order to limit this effect a sufficiently fast response anemometer should be used. Generally a 5m distance constant is considered acceptable. A further source of measurement error arises because the cup also responds to some extent to vertical wind components.
X X
Figure 8: Anemometer dynamic response Because cup anemometers do not respond to changes in the direction of the horizontal component, a separate instrument is required to measure wind direction. This is normally done using a wind vane. A wind vane can either be a potentiometer device where a change in continuous voltage is measured as the vane turns and its resistance changes or by a series of reed switches to give discrete voltage measurements. Ambient temperature has traditionally been measured using a platinum resistance thermometer or a thermocouple, although simple semiconductor devices can now be used which are sufficiently accurate. Suitable signal conditioning circuitry is supplied with proprietary instruments. Compact commercial pressure transducers are available for the measurement of atmospheric pressure. They come supplied with appropriate signal conditioning. Nowadays a range of low cost commercial data loggers suitable for data collection are available. These are battery powered and store data in ram or on storage cards ready for downloading to a PC at regular intervals. Some loggers are available with modems for data transmission.
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There are many ways of presenting wind data. The wind rose indicates at a glance the strength and directional dependence of long term wind. An example is shown in Figure 9 . This figure shows that the wind at this site blows most frequently from the 240-degree direction of the compass. It is normal conventional to talk about the direction from which the wind blows, so that a south-westerly wind is blowing FROM the south-west TOWARDS the north-east.
X X
Strong prevailing South West w ind rose

0 40% 330 30% 300 60 30
> 20 m/s
20%
15 - 20 m/s
10%
270
0%
90
10 - 15m/s
5 - 10 m/s
240 120
0 - 5 m/s
210 180 150
Figure 9: A typical wind rose for the UK
1.2.3 Estimation of Long Term Site Wind Speed

Data collected at a site can only tells us about the wind over the period of data collection. In order to make estimates of long-term resource some approach to extrapolation is required. The standard approach used by the wind energy developers is known as Measure-CorrelatePredict (MCP). Data collected at the candidate site is correlated with data over the same time period available from a nearby site for which long term records exist. Usually this is an official meteorological site. There are a number of varying approaches which fall under the category of MCP, many of them involving linear regression. Once the relationships (correlations) between the two sites have been calculated, these are used to appropriately scale the long-term data from the met site. If possible 10 or more years of data is used. The accuracy of the MCP approach is dependent on the quality of the data at the candidate site and the met site, and the duration of the measurements at the candidate site. Figure 10 shows a schematic of the procedure.
X X
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Figure 10: The Measure-Correlate-Predict procedure. It is generally agreed, due to seasonal variations in the correlations, that at least 8 months of data collection is required for accurate predictions (see Reference 2). Often developers will collect data over one year.
1.2.4 Computational Models

A number of computational models are available to the wind energy analyst to help in site evaluation. These are now available as commercial software packages. These methods perform some transformation of data available from reasonably nearby met sites so as to map it onto the site of interest so as to account for variations in the topography and major surface features of the two sites. A common approach is to use an MCP analysis to produce the longterm prediction at the measuring mast on a site and then to use a computational model to produce an area map of the wind speeds around the mast in order to find the best places to put the wind turbines in a wind farm. WAsP (Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program) which was developed as part of the European Wind Atlas, is perhaps the best known of the computational models. MS-Micro developed by the Canadian Atmospheric Environment Office has a similar basis. Both models solve the equations of conservation of mass and momentum with several simplifying assumptions for the flow of air over terrain. As mentioned above, a significant amount of energy can be stored in the turbulent part of the wind. The generation and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy is not trivial to model. The two models mentioned above use a simple parameterisation of turbulence known as a first order turbulence closure model. Mass consistent models such as NOABL have been used in the past, but as these contain no turbulence model and only solve the equation for conservation of mast they are not as accurate. NOABL has been used to produce a wind map of the UK on a 1km grid. In WAsP, a flow model is used to calculate the effect of topography and ground level roughness,
19
including roughness transitions. It is applied to both the candidate site and the reference site. For a range of directional sectors the solutions are used to extrapolate the reference data upwards through the boundary layer to give the local geostrophic wind regime. This is then transported to the candidate site and then transformed down to the candidate site using the characteristics calculated from the flow solution. Account is also taken of local obstacles. More complicated models for solving the flow of wind over terrain have been developed in recent years such as CFX and FLUENT. Many of these models solve the full set of NavierStokes equations for fluid flow and can provide fairly accurate results for specific sites. However, to produce these results required specialist knowledge to set up the boundary conditions. In addition, these types of models need a significant amount of input data and computing time to produce the wind flow field. Models such as WAsP and MS-Micro, though less accurate, nonetheless produce reasonable results in gentle terrain and are userfriendly. These tend to be favoured by wind farm developers at the present time. During the project based around the use of WindFarm, you will have the opportunity to see MS-Micro used in conjunction with an MCP analysis of a potential wind farm site.
1.2.5 Wind Flow over Hills

1.2.5.1 Introduction
The computational models above can be used to calculate the effect of wind flowing over non-flat topography. In theory such models can calculate the wind speed at a given point in quite complex topography but need a lot of input data and a certain amount of computing time. Generally, wind farms are placed on the top of hills to take advantage of the speed-up of the wind that occurs. This is basically due to conservation of mass flow. If you assume the upper level wind is unperturbed by the flow, then the mass flow is restricted by a hill. Therefore the parcel of wind must flow faster over the hill to conserve mass flow (see Figure 11 ). There are rough rules of the thumb that can be used to calculate the wind speed on top of geographical features (Reference 3).
X X
20
Speed-up of wind on top of hill
Slow-down of wind in valley
Figure 11: CFX calculation of wind speed-up over a hill and wind slow-down in a valley.
1.2.5.2 Simple Guidelines for Wind Speed Changes Over Hills

Consider a hill as shown in Figure 12 with height h and half-width measured at half-height of L. An anemometer is placed on a mast at height zp above the ground a certain distance away from a hill on flat ground. The anemometer measures a wind speed U0. An estimate is required of the wind speed UT at the same height above ground at the top of the hill.
X X
Figure 12: Hill-top for which an estimate of wind speed is required. Ut can be considered as the sum of the undisturbed wind speed U0 plus a factor due to the effect of the hill:
UT zp U0 z p UT
(18)
21
The factor due to the hill is given by:

UT SU0 z p
(19)
which is expressed as a speed-up factor S multiplied by the undisturbed wind. The speedup factor is then expressed as:
S Smax exp A zp / L
(20)
and Smax is given ny:

S max Bh / L
(21)
where A and B are empirical constants which depend on the type of topographic feature. Approximate values are proposed in Table 2 .
X X
Terrain Type 2D hills (ridges) 3D hills 2D escarpments 2D rolling terrain 3D rolling terrain
A 3.0 4.0 2.5 3.5 4.4
B 2.0 1.6 0.8 1.55 1.1
Table 2: Approximate values for A and B constants used in guideline equations for wind speed changes over topographic features. This is only a simple guideline and assumes: Gentle slopes (<0.35) Moderate/strong winds (>6m/s) Horizontal length scales ~1km Uniform roughness Neutral stability
1.2.6 Initial Site Assessment

Before a wind farm developer goes to the expense of erecting a mast to measure wind speed or running a numerical model to get a detailed wind map for a specific area, s/he can turn to regional wind speed maps to get an estimate of the expected wind speed over a wide area. The developer can then concentrate efforts on the area with the largest potential wind power resource. Large scale maps of wind speed have been produced for areas around the world. In the UK, the NOABL model has been used to produce a wind map on a 1km grid using data from a number of Met. Office stations (see Figure 13 ). The WAsP model has been used to transform site specific wind speed measurements at meteorological stations to regional wind speed maps known as the European Wind Atlas (see Figure 14 ).
X X X X
22
Figure 13: A wind speed map of the UK at 10m agl on 1 1km grid.
23
Figure 14: The European Wind Atlas.
24
1.3 Wind Turbine Aerodynamics

1.3.1 Power Available in the Wind
The power PW in the wind flowing at right angles through an area A can be shown (see Box 1) to be proportional to the cube of the wind speed and is given by:
Pw 1 3 AU 0 2
(22)
where
is the density of air, and U0 is the undisturbed wind speed.
This equation also shows that power is proportional to the density of the air, varies slightly with height and temperature (for 15 C at sea level = 1.225kgm-3), and is proportional to the swept area A. Box 1. The derivation of Power Contained in the Wind. A parcel of air of mass m, moving with velocity U 0 has kinetic energy given by mU02. If the density of the flowing air is , then the kinetic energy per unit volume of air is given by U02 . If we consider an area A perpendicular to the wind direction, as shown below, the volumetric flow rate through A is U0 A.
U0
The power contained in the wind is the kinetic energy of the air that flows per second through A, ie volumetric flow rate x energy per unit volume: 1 3 Pw AU 0 2
1.3.2 Power Fluctuations

The cubic relationship between wind speed and power has important consequences for the variability in the power output from a wind turbine. Figure 15 shows the variation of wind speed and corresponding power output from a 30kW wind turbine over a 5 minute period. We can see that the variations in the wind speed due to turbulence result in extremely large power fluctuations.
X X
25
Figure 15: Wind speed over a 5-minute period (measured at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)
1.3.3 Extracting Energy From the Wind

A wind turbine is a device for extracting kinetic energy from the wind. To a first approximation, only that mass of air which passes through the rotor disc is affected. If we assume that the affected mass of air remains separate from the air which does not pass through the rotor disc, a boundary can be drawn between the two. This can be extended upstream as well as downstream, Figure 16 , forming a long stream-tube of circular crosssection.
X X
The stream-tube is an important idea and is used as a model in deriving many important equations regarding the extraction of energy from the air. No air flows across this boundary and so the mass flow rate (i.e. the mass of air flowing through an area per second) will be the same all along the stream-tube. Therefore, as the air slows down the cross-sectional area of the stream-tube must expand to accommodate the slower moving air.
26
Figure 16: Energy extracting stream-tube of a wind turbine The turbine first causes the approaching air gradually to slow down which results in a rise in the static pressure. Across the turbine swept surface there is a drop in static pressure such that, on leaving, the air is below the atmospheric pressure level. As the air proceeds downstream the pressure climbs back to the atmospheric value causing a further slowing down of the wind. This is illustrated in Figure 17 .
X X
Thus, between the far upstream and far wake conditions, no change in static pressure exists but there is a reduction in kinetic energy. The changes in velocity and pressure can be explained by considering the energy within the system via the Bernoulli equation.
27
Turbine
Pressure
Atmospheric Pressure
Distance
Wind Speed
Distance
Figure 17: The pressure distribution and wind speed along the streamtube.
1.3.3.1 The Betz Limit

Wind turbines are capable of converting only a fraction of the kinetic energy contained in the wind into mechanical energy. With a wind turbine there is a wind speed change between the entry and exit of the stream tube of figure 2 for which the conversion efficiency is a maximum. The calculation of this maximum point uses the idea of an actuator disc which is a disc partially transparent to wind flow. If there were no change in wind speed, the actuator disc is completely transparent and no energy would be extracted and the power from the wind turbine would be zero. If all the kinetic energy of the wind were abstracted by an opaque actuator disc, the wind velocity downstream would be zero. This is clearly an impossibility since a constant mass flow must be maintained within the stream tube. Thus, a wind turbine cannot completely obstruct the flow of air, and so it can only extract a proportion of the kinetic energy from the wind.
28
We define the Power Coefficient, CP, for a wind turbine as the power, P, extracted by the wind turbine divided by the power in the wind, P W contained in an area swept by the rotor if the turbine had not been there i.e. P (23) Cp Pw Substituting PW from Eq. 22 we obtain
X X
Cp
1 2
P 3 AU 0
(24)
The theoretical maximum fraction of wind energy that can be converted into useful energy by a wind turbine is known as the Betz Limit. This turns out to be 59.3%. The Betz Limit, was first formulated in 1919 by Albert Betz a German aerodynamicist. It applies to all types of wind turbines and represents the maximum theoretical limit of power that can be extracted from the wind. See Box 2 for its derivation. Modern designs of wind turbines for electricity generation operate at C P values of about 0.4 although values approaching 0.5 have been reported. No wind turbine has been designed which is capable of exceeding the Betz limit. Other losses in efficiency for a real turbine arise from the aerodynamic drag on the blades, the swirl imparted to the airflow by the rotor, and power losses in the transmission and electrical systems. The Betz limit can be derived by considering changes in energy along the stream tube and therefore uses the equation for energy conservation in fluids known as the Bernoulli equation.
29
Box 2. The Derivation of the Betz Limit using Momentum theory The analysis of the energy extraction process begins by using simple momentum theory. In this analysis, the wind turbine aerodynamics are modelled by an actuator disc. This is a disc which extracts energy from the wind flux by providing a resistance but not fully obstructing the flow of air. Hence a pressure drop is developed across it.
As air velocities are relatively low, changes in air density are negligible and so the air flow can be regarded as incompressible. Since kinetic energy has been extracted from the wind by the turbine, the velocity is reduced, and hence the stream-lines must diverge as they pass through the rotor disc i.e. the flow through a stream-tube containing the disc has a crosssectional area smaller than that of the disc upstream and an area larger than the disc downstream. This is because the mass flow rate must be constant within the stream tube far upstream (0), at the rotor (1) and far downstream (2), hence
MassFlowRate A0U 0 A1U 1 A2U 2
(25)
This is known as the continuity equation and is one of the fundamental equations in aerodynamics. We now introduce a quantity called the axial flow induction factor (or inflow factor), a, which is defined as the fractional decrease in wind velocity from far upstream to the rotor plane i.e. the velocity at the rotor is reduced by a factor aU0. Therefore a is given by
U 0 U1 (26) U0 The air which passes through the disc undergoes an overall change in velocity, (U 0 U 2 ) and the rate of change of momentum is equal to the overall change of velocity multiplied by the mass flow rate i.e. The force along the streamline on the rotor disc is given by the rate of change of momentum i.e.
U 1 (1 a )U 0
or
Rateof changeof momentum (U 0 U 2 ) A1 U 1 (U 0 U 2 ) A1 (1 a)U 0
(27)
The force causing this change of momentum comes entirely from the pressure difference across the actuator disc because the stream tube is otherwise entirely surrounded by air at atmospheric pressure.
30
Therefore:
( P1
P1 ) A1 (U 0 U 2 ) A1 (1 a)U 0
(28)
Where P1 and P1 are the pressures on the two sides, at the disk. We now introduce a second fundamental equation of aerodynamics, the Bernoulli Equation, which is a restatement of the law of conservation of energy. It states that, under steady conditions, the total energy in the flow of a fluid, comprising of kinetic energy (KE), static pressure energy (PE) and gravitational potential energy(GE), remains constant provided no work is done on or by the fluid. Thus for a unit volume of air: KE + PE + GE = constant (29)
The Bernoulli Equation is applied separately to the upstream and downstream sections of the streamtube. Separate equations are necessary because the total energy is different up-stream and down stream. Applying the equation upstream we obtain
1 2 0 2 U0
P0
g z0
1 2
U 12
P1
g z1
(30)
where P0 is the upstream pressure (atmospheric pressure). Assuming the flow to be incompressible ( (
1 2 2 U0
0 1
) and horizontal ( z 0 z1 ) we obtain
P0
1 2
U 12
P1
(31)
Similarly downstream
2 U 2 P2 1 U 12 P1 2 where P2 is the downstream pressure (atmospheric pressure). 1 2
(32)
Subtracting Eqs. ( 31 ) and ( 32 ) noting that P0=P2, we obtain

X X X X
P1
X X
P1
1 2
2 2 (U 0 U 2 )
(33)
Combining equation ( 33 ) with equation ( 28 ) we obtain

X X
U 2 (1 2a )U 0
(34)
This shows that half the axial speed loss in the streamtube takes place upstream of the actuator disc and half downstream. The force on the air becomes
F ( P1 P1 ) A1
1 2 2 A1 U 0
(1 2a)U 0
2 2 A1 U 0 a(1 a) (35)
As this force is concentrated at the actuator disc, the rate of work done by this force (power) is given by force multiplied by the velocity at the disc, hence
3 P FU1 2 A1U 0 a(1 a) 2
(36)
31
The Power Coefficient is:

Cp
1 2
P 3 A1U 0
(37)
where the denominator represents the power available in the wind, in the absence of the actuator disc, hence
C p 4a(1 a) 2
(38)
CP can be maximised by differentiating CP with respect to a and setting equal to zero:
4(1 a)(1 3a) 0 da The meaningful solution of equation ( 39 ) gives a = equation ( 38 ) gives
X X X X
dC p
(39)
1 3
. Substituting this value of a into
Cp
16 27
0.593
(40)
In practice good performance can be obtained for values of a between 0.2 and 0.5.
1.3.4 Aerodynamic Lift and the Aerofoil

When air flows over an aerofoil two forces are generated; lift and drag. Drag is measured parallel to the airflow. The lift force is measured perpendicular to the air flow and it is the lift force that gives rise to shaft torque in a wind turbine to generate power. The lift coefficient is defined as:
CL
Lift Force perUnit Span 1 U 2c 2
(41)
The drag coefficient is defined as:
CD
Drag Force per Unit Span 1 U 2c 2
(42)
where c is the chord length (distance from the blades leading edge to its trailing edge see Figure 20 ).
X X
An important quantity defining how well a particular shape can extract energy from the wind is the ratio of the lift force to the drag force. For good extraction efficiency we want to maximise the lift force and minimise the drag force i.e. we require a high lift to drag ratio. An aerofoil is a specially designed shape to generate lift forces when moving relative to a
32
fluid. An aerofoil cross-section is shown in Figure 18 .

X X
An important consequence of the Bernoulli Principle is that areas where the wind speed is high are at low pressure, whereas areas where the wind speed is low are at high pressure. The air hitting the aerofoil flows above and below the aerofoil and meets again at the trailing edge (the sharp point at the back of the aerofoil). The air flowing over the top of the aerofoil is accelerated and this increase in speed causes a decrease in pressure. It is this pressure difference across the aerofoil which produces the lift force perpendicular to the aerofoil and is related by the equation: Lift Force = Pressure difference x Surface Area.
Figure 18: The Lift and Drag forces on a stationary aerofoil By convention the lift and drag forces are defined as being perpendicular and parallel to the wind direction (not the aerofoil). The air moving over the aerofoil also produces a drag force in the direction of the air flow. This is an undesirable effect and is minimised as much as possible in high performance wind turbines. Both the lift and drag forces are proportional to the air density, the surface area of the aerofoil and the square of the incident wind speed. Suppose now we allow the aerofoil to move. This motion will combine with the motion of the air to produce a relative wind direction (i.e. relative to the aerofoil) shown in Figure 19 . The lift and drag are perpendicular to and along the relative wind direction.
X X
The useful work that can be extracted from the wind and turned into rotational motion of the wind turbine rotor is due to the force in the direction of the aerofoil motion, which must be maximised. The force perpendicular (i.e. in the direction of the undisturbed wind) is a loading force on the wind turbine and therefore makes no contribution to the power of the turbine and needs to be minimised. We calculate these forces by resolving the lift and drag components into the tangential force F1 and the force F2 in the direction of the undisturbed wind. These forces and the overall performance of the wind turbine depend on the construction and orientation of the blades.
33
Figure 19: Lift and drag forces on a moving aerofoil We therefore need to look in greater detail at the blade aerofoil geometry and define two angles: a) The pitch angle is the angle between the chord of the blade and the plane of rotation as shown in figure 6. The pitch angle is a static angle, depending only on the orientation of the blade. b) The angle of attack is the angle between the chord line of the blade and the relative wind direction. It is a dynamic angle (i.e. prone to change), because it depends on both the wind speed and the speed of the rotating blade. Any given point on a rotating blade, with angular velocity , will have a speed of r, where r is the distance of that point from the hub. It is clear therefore that the angle of attack for a straight blade will vary along its length.
Figure 20: Definition of pitch angle , and angle of attack .
1.3.5 The Tangential Induction Factor

34
We have already seen that the wind turbine blades generate lift and drag forces. We now want to know the relationship between these forces and the corresponding thrust (i.e. the axial force on the wind turbine) and the torque (i.e. the useful force in the tangential direction turning the rotor). Although the axial force has only nuisance value, it is important because it defines the strength of the blades and the support structures Upstream of the turbine there is no tangential velocity component of the air, since the air flow is purely normal to the wind turbine. However, the forces generated cause the rotor to rotate and hence, due to the conservation of angular momentum, an equal and opposite tangential momentum in the air flow is induced. This appears as a helical wake shown in Figure 21 .
X X
Figure 21: Helical wake induced in the air flow. The change in tangential velocity of the air is expressed in terms of a tangential flow induction factor a . This has a relatively minor effect on the angle of attach and is ignored in a simplified analysis.
1.3.6 Relationship between Thrust and Torque, and the Lift and Drag forces
With information about how the aerofoil characteristic coefficients C L and CD vary with the angle of incidence, it is now possible to determine the forces on the blades for a given values of the axial a. The axial force on the blades is equal to the rate of change of axial momentum of the wind Consider a turbine with N blades of radius R each with chord c and set pitch angle measured between the aerofoil zero lift line and the plane of the disc. Both the chord length and the pitch angle may vary along the blade span. Let the blades be rotating at angular velocity and let the wind speed be U 0. Figure 22 shows the velocities relative to the blade chord line at radius r.
X X
35
Figure 22: Blade element velocities and forces. The resultant relative velocity W at the blade (ignoring the term a) is:
W U 02 (1 a ) 2 ( r)2
(43)
which acts at an angle
to the plane of rotation, such that
sin( )
U0 (1 a) W
(44)
and
cos( )
r W
(45)
The angle of incidence is then given by = - . The lift force per unit length on each blade, L, normal to the direction of W is therefore L 1 W 2 cC L and the drag force per unit 2 length on each blade, D, parallel to W is therefore D length.
1 2
W 2 cC D , where c is the chord
Resolving along and at right angles to the plane of rotation we obtain: Tangential force Loading force (thrust) F1 = L sin - D cos = L sin( + ) - D cos( + ) (46) (47)
F2 = L cos + D sin = L cos( + ) + D sin( + )
Theses are the two fundamental equations from which the loadings on the wind turbine and the torque given to the turbine rotor can be calculated for a given wind speed, rotor speed and pitch angle. F1 represents the force turning the rotor (this force acting at a given blade radius produces a moment known as the torque) and F2 is the axial thrust. The torque produces useful work, whereas the axial thrust will try and overturn the turbine and must be resisted by
36
the blades, tower and foundations.
1.3.7 Relationship between the Angle of Attack and the Lift and Drag Coefficients
From Figure 23 it can be seen that, for angles of attack less than about 13 , the coefficient of lift is proportional to the angle of attack, . It can be shown theoretically that the relationship between CL and is CL = 2 .
X X
In practice CL = a0
, where a0 , called the lift-curve slope
dCL , is about 0.1/degree, giving d
a value slightly less than 2 . The lift force depends on two parameters, the angle of attack and the relative velocity between the wind and the blades The variation of CL and CD with the angle of attack is shown in figure 9 for a typical aerofoil. Such aerofoil characteristics are obtained from wind tunnel tests.
1.6 1.4 1.2
CL
Coefficient
1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
CD
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34
Angle of Attack (Degrees)
Figure 23: Experimental data of the variation of the lift and drag coefficients with angle of attack for a particular aerofoil. A high lift to drag ratio CL/CD is essential for a high efficiency rotor. The peak lift to drag ratio indicates the optimum value of for maximum efficiency of a turbine blade. The peak value generally occurs at values of around 4-6 . The lift and drag will have optimum values for a single angle of attack only, for a given value of W. It is for this reason that wind turbine blades are twisted so as to maintain a nearly constant angle of attack from hub to tip. All modern blades of large wind turbines are twisted although some smaller blades are not because straight blades are easier and cheaper to
37
produce and the cost reduction may more than offset the loss in performance. It can be seen that for small values of , CL increases linearly with and CD is very small. However, for this aerofoil, at an angle of attack of about 13 there is a sudden drop in the value of CL and a sharp rise in the value of CD. This is due to sudden flow separation from the suction side of the aerofoil; this is called stall. If the angle of attack exceeds a certain critical value (10 to 16, depending on the Reynolds Number), separation of the boundary layer on the upper surface takes place. This causes a wake to form above the aerofoil, reduces the lift and increases the drag. The flow past the aerofoil has then stalled. A diagram of a stalled aerofoil is shown in Figure 24 . A flat plate will also develop lift but will stall at a very low angle of attack because of the sharp leading edge. Arching the plate will improve the stalling behaviour but a much greater improvement can be obtained by giving thickness to the aerofoil together with a well rounded leading edge.
X X
Figure 24: Diagram showing stalled flow around an aerofoil
1.3.8 Performance of a Wind Turbine

The actual performance of a wind turbine is defined by its power characteristics which are usually presented as the normalised power coefficient, CP plotted against tip speed ratio. This has the advantage of reducing a family of power-rotational speed curves to a single curve. The power coefficient will depend on the relationship between wind speed and speed of rotation of the turbine rotor. The speed of rotation for a WT ranges from a few hundred rpm for small sub-kW machines to a few tens of rpm for very large machines. The tip speed ratio is defined as:
Speedof bladetip R Wind Speed U0
(48)
where is the rotational speed in rads -1, R is the rotor radius and U 0 is the undisturbed wind speed.
38
The usual method of presenting the performance of a wind turbine is through the C P - curve as this gives a dimension-less graph i.e. the performance of a design will be approximately independent of the size of machine. The performance of a typical modern three bladed turbine is given in Figure 25 , showing the type of losses that arise and how they contribute to the departure from the ideal. We note that the maximum value of CP is only 0.47, significantly less than the Betz limit of 0.59. The difference is caused by drag and tip losses at higher values of and stall losses at lower values . However, even if none of the above losses are included the analysis, the Betz limit is not reached because the rotor design will not be act as a perfect actuator disc.
X X
0.6
0.5
Power Coefficient
0.4 No Losses Included 0.3 Tip Losses Only All Losses Included 0.2
0.1
Stall Tip Losses Drag Losses Losses
0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Tip Speed Ratio
Figure 25: A Cp - curve for a modern wind turbine showing losses.
1.3.9 Wind turbine types

The simplest method of control is stall regulation. The rotor is kept at a nominally fixed speed (through the connection to the grid) and as the wind speed increases the value of falls towards zero, and so therefore does the efficiency of the rotor. In this way the output of the turbine is limited. The pitch angle of the blades does not change and so no moving parts are required. Stall regulation is also able to response to sudden changes in wind speed such as gusts. It has the disadvantage that it leads to a high starting torque and the characteristics of stall are not well understood so that at rated power there can be some degree of variation in the power output. Another common method of control for fixed speed turbines is to pitch the blades when the maximum output of the turbine has been reached, so as to produce a less efficient characteristic. It should be clear from the Cp- curve that for a fixed speed rotor, wind speed variations will
39
give rise to variations in aerodynamic efficiency. In order to maximise the output from the turbine when it is operating below rated power, variable speed operation can be considered, aimed at keeping the operating point as near as possible to Cp max. In practice, the rotor speed will not be able to follow all the turbulent wind speed variations. The tracking performance will depend on the nature and the rating of the electrical/power electronic connection. Variable speed operation can also have the advantage of reducing transient drive train loads caused by turbulence. Instead of torque variations due to wind variation being felt directly by the gear box, they are smoothed to some extent through the acceleration and deceleration of the rotor inertia. Above rated power, the most common control approach is to use blade pitch control to limit the rotor speed. This has the advantage that a fairly slow blade pitch control rate is all that is required. Variable speed operation of stall regulated wind turbines is, in principal, possible. It is however far from straightforward and so far is not available commercially.
1.3.10
Electrical generator options
For fixed speed operation the two obvious candidate electrical machines are the synchronous generator and the asynchronous or induction generator. The advantages and disadvantages of the two in the context of wind generation, are detailed below. synchronous generator advantages : reactive power can be controlled, high efficiency disadvantages: synchronising equipment required, intolerant of torque fluctuations, transient stability can be a problem asynchronous (induction) generator advantages : synchronising not required, small variations in rotor speed are allowed, rugged cage rotor design disadvantages: reactive power must be supplied by network Overall the ability of the induction generator to allow, through variation of slip, small changes of rotor speed which dramatically alleviate transient drive train loads means that this is the favoured choice. Indeed, synchronous machines are never used for fixed speed applications. Pole switching is sometimes employed to give two speed operation. For variable speed operation the choice of electrical machines is basically the same, although both the cage and the wound rotor variants of the asynchronous generator are considered, and permanent magnet synchronous generators can be used in addition to the more conventional brushless machines. Many different arrangements are possible. Wound rotor induction generators have been used with slip energy recovery (either Kramer or Scherbius arrangements). The advantage of these
40
approaches is that the rating of the power electronic path can be a small fraction of the overall machine rating. This has not prevented straight application of power electronic variable speed drives to cage machines and synchronous machines. Some large multi-pole synchronous generators have been specially designed for wind turbines. When combined with a variable speed drive, it has been possible to remove the gear box from the wind turbine altogether. DC machines are not used in wind turbines due to their cost and maintenance requirements. Whether fixed or variable speed operation is preferable depends on a range of issues, but noise generation and power quality (related to the strength of the grid connection) are two of the most important.
1.4 Notation and Units

Symbol U0 PW P A m CP a a Q W p CL CD Quantity Undisturbed Wind Speed Density of air = 1.225 Kgm-3 Power contained in the wind Power Area Mass Power Coefficient Axial Flow Induction Factor Tangential Flow Induction Factor Torque Rotational Speed of Turbine Wind velocity relative to plane of rotation Pressure Lift Coefficient Drag Coefficient Angle of Attack Pitch Angle Angle of relative wind speed ( + ) Rotational turning force on a turbine Axial Thrust on a turbine Viscosity Reynolds number Aerofoil Chord Length Units ms-1 Kgm-3 Watts Watts m2 Kg None None None Nm Rads-1 ms-1 Nm-2 None None Degrees Degrees Degrees N N kgm-1s-1 None m
F1 F2 Re c
1.5 References
1. Wind Structure and statistics, by U. Hassan and D M Sykes, Chapter 2 in Wind Energy Conversion Systems, ed L. L. Freris. 2. William Lloyd; Wind Resource Assessment Using Measure-Correlate-Predict Techniques; CREST MSc thesis, 1995. (available in CREST library). 3. J L Walmsley, P A Taylor, J R Salmon, Simple Guidelines for Estimating Wind Speed Variations due to Small-scale Topographic Features An Update, Climatological Bulletin 23(1), 1989, pp 3-14.
41
2 Hydro Power
2.1 Energy from Water
Figure 26: The Water Cycle Approximately 70% of the Earths surface is covered with water. Much of this is seawater, which is part of the water cycle. Weather patterns driven by solar energy take up water from lakes, rivers and the sea and deliver it as precipitation (rain, snow, hail etc.). A large proportion of this precipitation falls on moderate to high ground and either enters the watercourse or becomes runoff, which returns to the sea as rivers. Figure 26 shows this water cycle.
2.2 Developing a Hydropower Scheme

2.2.1 Resource and Equipment Requirement
Hydropower is the extraction of energy from water by the use of turbines to capture the downward flow of water from a high level to a low level and convert it to motive power. Hydro electricity schemes which use the motive power to drive a generator are generally categorised as either large-scale (>5MWe) or small-scale (<5MWe). Table 3 illustrates the typical scales with the associated head of water. The total installed capacity of large-scale schemes in the UK amounts to l,360 MWe (1.36GW) with the majority of viable schemes having already been developed.
X X
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Table 3: Typical values of schemes Output >5MW <5MW 10-100kW 10-100kW Head 50-1000m 10-1000m 5-30m 1-5m
Large Scale Small scale Micro Low head
A hydro scheme will consist of: A suitable rainfall catchment area A river with a suitable drop in level (vertical distance gives the HEAD) A water intake above a weir or behind a dam A pipe, channel or barrage to convey water to the turbine A turbine, generator and electrical connection A tailrace to return the exhaust water to the main flow. Hydroelectric schemes extract energy from water in one of two ways, depending on the geographical location of the water source. These are described below:
Figure 27: Run of the River Scheme 1. Run-of-river (Figure 27) where the flow of water in the river is used directly and since there is no storage, energy can only be extracted as the flow permits. In periods of low flow, the available output is limited.
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Figure 28: Large Scale Hydro Scheme 2. Using a dam (Figure 28) which captures and stores most of the water until the energy output is needed, or until water is drawn off if the reservoir also serves as a water supply reservoir.
2.2.2 Choice of Turbine

The choice of turbine machine depends upon the head and flow available: In hilly or mountainous areas where there is a high hydraulic head of water (perhaps up to 1000m), high-speed impulse turbines are used. In river valleys and low-land areas where there is less head of water (medium heads are usually less than 100m, but sometimes heads can be as low as 2-3m), high speed reaction turbines are more suitable. High-head schemes will involve the installation of a pipe or penstock either from a reservoir or at high level above natural waterfalls. This will divert part of the river flow through an impulse turbine installed in a plant room at the lower level before being returned to the river. These schemes can incur high civil engineering costs and may require extra measures in relation to land restoration, tree screening and the preservation of visual amenity of the natural waterfall. Medium-to-low head schemes will generally be developed near to existing weirs on rivers whereby a part of the water flow is diverted by a channel to a turbine situated on one side of the riverbank before being returned to the river at the lower level. Barrage schemes, however, will involve the installation of a turbine or pipe within the wall of the weir with the majority of the water (except in extreme flood conditions) being directed through the turbines.
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The capacity of the generation plant installed will be determined by the net head of water available, the turbine discharge rate, friction losses in any pipework and the efficiency of the turbine and generator. The energy extracted will in turn reflect the variation in flow of water throughout the year in relation to the turbine discharge capacity.
2.2.3 Environmental Considerations

Hydropower schemes need to be developed sensitively to avoid any detrimental environmental effects and would be subject to environmental controls, primarily imposed by the Environment Agency, which has responsibility for the environmental protection of watercourses in England and Wales, covering water resource management, fisheries, conservation, flood defence, navigation and recreation. In certain circumstances, other organisations, such as the Countryside Commission, also have powers of regulation. These relate specifically to the conservation of species or habitats. Non-water related aspects, such as buildings and transmission line construction would be regulated by the local and regional planning authorities where appropriate. Further allowance may need to be made for environmental mitigation measures, such as replanting any ground, hedgerows and trees disturbed during construction and possible screening of any pipes or water channels installed above ground level. It may be necessary to construct approved fish passes/ladders to allow fish migration and to fit fish screens and/or fish guidance systems to ensure that fish are not inadvertently drawn into the water intake of the turbines installed. It is very unlikely that a hydropower scheme will be allowed to use the entire river flow for generation. A portion of the flow, termed the compensation flow will need to by-pass the turbines to maintain the ecology and aesthetic appearance of the river, to keep the river bed wetted over the majority of its width, and to maintain a visible flow over any waterfalls or weirs. Hydropower schemes can have a beneficial effect in that they aerate the water passing through them and increase the quantity of air in the water downstream. It may be necessary to make some provision to reduce noise levels if water channels or turbines are installed in near proximity to occupied premises. There are potential drawbacks to some schemes, particularly when the impounding of water behind a dam leads to flooding of a valley. This will affect farming, industry, forestry, wildlife etc as well as displace population. The latter often leads to social and cultural decline of the population involved. There are many examples of population displacement but the largest impact is that of the Three Gorges scheme in China which will involve over one million people. One of the case studies examines the Three Gorges scheme in detail.
2.2.4 Basic Calculation of Energy

Imagine that we wish to raise one litre of water through a vertical height of one metre. The energy or work required to do this is given by the equation
Energy = mgH Joule

m = mass of water g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 ms -2
(49)
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H = vertical lift in metres V= volume of water = density of water in kgm-3 Since the mass of one litre of water is given by V for fresh water is about 1000 kgm-3 (or as 1m3 = 1000 litres, = 1.00 kgl-1 ) and for sea water is about 1025 kgm-3 (1.025 kgl-1 ) Then we can say that the energy to raise our litre of water is either mgH or V gH That is 1/1000*1000*9.81*1 = 9.81 Joules
This simple calculation is fundamental to calculated energy from, water flow, be it related to hydro or tidal power generation. It enables us to calculate how much energy is available in a reservoir, hydro scheme or tidal barrage. For example, if we know that a reservoir holds 25,000 cubic metres of water at a height of 17 metres above a river then the amount of energy needed to lift the water into the reservoir is calculated using: V gH = 25,000 * 1000 * 9.81 * 17 = 4169250000 Joules or 4.169 GJ This energy needed to fill the reservoir with water may have come from rainfall in the catchment area filling the reservoir or it may have come from pumping water during times of surplus energy to use the reservoir as an energy storage system. Whatever the means of the water entering the reservoir, the exploitation of the potential energy stored in the reservoir is the same. The water is allowed to flow from the reservoir through pipes to a turbine. The passage of water causes the turbine to spin, and this in turn drives an electrical generator at several hundred rpm to generate electricity. The overall process is reasonably efficient provided the following: the pipes are internally smooth, without too many bends and have large enough diameters, the turbine is correctly chosen as the right type and specification to suit the head and flow, and the generator is of high efficiency. If all of these conditions are satisfied, then net efficiencies of 80-90% are achievable.
2.2.5 Calculation of Power

We talked about the energy needed to raise one litre of water by one metre. If we release this water at a flow rate of Q m3s-1, then the water power, P, is given by Power = Q gH
(50)
So, for example, if we release all of our water in one second, then the flow would be 1ls -1 or 1 m3s-1 and the power would then be 1000
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1 1000
* 1000* 9.81*1 = 9.81 Watts
Of course, this power would only last for one second before we ran out of water. On a more realistic scale, if we release the water from our reservoir at five cubic metres per second (a cubic metre per second is often called a cumec), then the water power would be 5* 1000* 9.81* 17 = 833850 Watts 2.2.6
A Typical Run of River Scheme

X X
A typical scheme is illustrated in Figure 29 . The water supply to the turbine is first collected at a weir and carried along a channel with little loss of head into a forebay or holding tank. The penstock then delivers the water under pressure to the turbine. After passing through the turbine, the water returns to the river course via the tailrace. Inside the penstock, the water loses potential energy (mgH) and gains kinetic energy ( 0.5mv 2 ). At the end of the penstock, we can equate potential and kinetic energies if we assume that there has been no loss of energy in the pipe.
0.5mv 2 mgH
(51)
and so we can calculate the velocity of the water leaving the pipe at its lower end as
v 2 gH
(52)
Figure 29: A typical run-of-river hydro scheme.
A plan view of a scheme is shown in Figure 30 , and this raises some important practical issues. Note the inclusion of spillways and silt basins. The variability of rivers in mountainous regions can be very great and in periods of extreme flood, the flow can be ten or one hundred times the average flow. These high flows will carry boulders in addition to the sand/grit that is normally contained in a rapidly flowing river. Obviously, the grit can damage
X X
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turbine blades and so silt basins are incorporated in the scheme to avoid it reaching the turbine. The larger boulders and other debris are carried downstream at the weir and do not enter the channel. A trash rack is generally employed to prevent floating items such as logs from entering the penstock.
Figure 30: Civil Works of a Run of a River Scheme
2.3 The Measurement of Head

2.3.1 Why is the measurement of Head Important?
The gross head is the vertical distance that the water falls through in generating power, i.e. between the upper and lower water surface levels. This is shown in Figure 31. The power generated from a hydropower scheme is given by Power = Where: is the water to wire efficiency typically (70-80% for a small scheme) is the density of water (1000kg/m3) g is acceleration due to gravity (9.81m/s2) Q is the flow through the turbine (m3/s) H is the Net Head (m) i.e. including head losses Therefore, we can see that the power is proportional to the head and the flow. In general, the physical size, and hence to a large extent cost, of the turbine is governed by its design flow, rather than the hydraulic head. For example, a 100kW scheme at 300m head will require about 40litres/s whilst at 3m head will require a flow of 4,200litres/s (assuming 80% efficiency). gQH (53)
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Therefore, it is clear that a high head scheme is preferable to a low head scheme and head is, generally speaking, more important than flow (although clearly flow is also important!). The revenue generated by a scheme is proportional to the energy capture which is proportional to the head. Therefore, an accurate measurement of the head is essential to predict the annual energy capture from a scheme. This measurement is particularly critical for low head schemes. Figure 31: The hydraulic head
2.3.2 The Variation of Head with Flow

It is found with many low head sites that the weir can literately disappear under flood conditions. This gives rise to the paradoxical situation of generating no power at all at very high flows since the head becomes low or disappears. There is generally a decrease in head at high flows since the tailrace tends to rise at a faster rate that the headrace. The variation of head with flow will depend on the actual geometry of the weir and river system. This loss of head with increased flow, and hence loss of power at high flows, must be taken into account when estimating the annual energy capture at a potential site, otherwise the annual energy capture could be significantly lower than predicted. However, this problem will generally only be significant on low head schemes . Figure 32 shows an actual measured head-flow data from the Dulverton site. We can see that at very low flows, which are usual during the summer months the gross head is about 3.4m. However, as the flow increases we can see that the level of the tailrace rises to a greater extent than the headrace and for the majority of the time the head is between about 3.2 and 2.8m. At high flows (say greater than 15m3/s) the tailrace begins to rise very quickly and under flood conditions the tailrace comes up almost to the weir crest and the weir itself is hardly visible anymore.
X X
49
Head-Flow Curve for a Small-Scale Hydropower Scheme
4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40
Gross Head (m)
Flow (m3/s) Figure 32: Variation of head with flow for the low head site at Dulverton.
2.3.3 Estimation of Net Head

Having established the gross head available, it is necessary to allow for the losses arising from trash racks, pipe friction, bends and valves. In addition to these, certain types of turbine must be set to discharge to atmosphere above the flood level of the tail race and therefore all of the head cannot be utilised.. The gross head minus all these losses is the net head, which is the head available to drive the turbine.
2.3.3.1 Pipe Losses

The greater the water velocity in the pipe, the higher the frictional losses. In general, assuming the pipe is flowing full, the head lost (hf) is given by:
hf
Lv 2g D
(54)
Where
L = length of pipe (m) v = mean velocity in the pipe g = the gravitational constant = 9.81m2/s D = pipe diameter (m) = pipe friction factor, which depends on the roughness of the internal pipe surface, the pipe diameter and the flow velocity.
It should be noted that the head losses due to pipe friction increases with increased velocity and decreases with the pipe diameter. However, it should also be noted that as D increases v will decrease for a given flow (since Q = ( D2/4)v).
50
Therefore, the frictional losses will be strongly dependent on the diameter of pipe used to transport the water from intake to powerhouse.
2.3.3.2 Turbulence Losses

Water velocity is an important parameter in frictional losses; it is also critical in the turbulence losses associated with trash racks, pipe bends, sudden enlargement or contraction of pipes, valves etc. These losses are denoted by ht and are given by the general equation:
ht
K v2 2g
(55)
In this way we can quantify the value of K for each loss in the components which will impede water flow (e.g. trash rack, bends etc.). We can then simply add all the losses together and arrive at a total loss of head and hence calculate the net head. Here we will only deal with turbulence losses by the trash rack. Other losses such as pipe bends and valves which maybe placed in a system are also of great importance but are not covered here.
2.3.3.3 Head Loss at a Trash Rack

For the loss of head due to the flow of water through a trash rack is calculated from a formula by Kirchmer.
ht
2 K ( t / b) 3 ( v0 / 2g) sin
4
(56)
Where
ht = head loss (m) t = bar thickness (mm) b = width between bars (mm) vo = approach velocity (m/s) g = the gravitational constant = 9.81m2/s =angle of inclination from the horizontal
X
Figure 33 illustrates the parameters v0 and in Equation 4. It should be noted that as the angle of inclination is decreased, i.e. the bars become more horizontal, the effective surface area will increase and hence the water velocity perpendicular to the trash rack will decrease. This will significantly reduce the overall frictional losses due to the trash rack.
X
Figure 33 also shows a range of K values for different types of bars that can be used in construction of the trash rack. It can be seen that a significant improvement in head loss can be made by using round or profiled bars.
X X
51
Figure 33: The head loss through a trash rack. Source: [ESHA 1994].
2.3.4 Turbine Setting Losses

As we shall see in the next unit, turbines are fundamentally of two kinds, impulse and reaction. In the former case (e.g. Pelton and Turgo) the flow converts all of its kinetic energy into power through jets striking buckets or blades. The spent water then flows away at atmospheric pressure. Accordingly the turbine itself must be kept clear of the tailwater which would otherwise exert a drag on the turbine wheel if a small part of the turbine was submerged. It is therefore necessary to keep the turbine above the highest flood level. However, this clearly means that some of the available head cannot be utilised. This loss of head is referred to as the turbine setting loss and must be added to the other minor losses to determine the true net head on a reaction turbine. This is shown schematically in Figure 34. Note that this loss does not occur with reaction turbines which operate fully submerged.
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Figure 34: Setting-loss on an impulse turbine To summarise, all losses with the exception of setting losses are strongly influenced by the water velocity. A general principle is slow moving water is good. Keep water velocities low. However, there will clearly be a compromise between reducing velocities and cost since, for example, large diameter pipes are more expensive. In general the velocity of water in pipes should be between 1 and 3m/s. However, an iterative process should yield an optimum solution between minimising losses and the extra cost involved.
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2.4 The Flow Duration Curve

From Eq. 50 we have seen that the two critical parameters in determining the potential power from a site are the hydraulic head and the flow in the river. However, the flow in the river will tend to vary, and often substantially vary, on a day by day basis. It is of great importance to know what kind of variation there is over a year period. This data is often shown in the form of a flow duration curve. This can be determined:
X X
By purchasing flow data from the Environment Agency Using a software package such as HydrA Measuring the flow yourself
2.4.1 Variation of Flow Over a Year

The flow in a given river will vary greatly throughout the year, generally having high values during the winter months and low values during the summer months in Europe. In general, a small scale hydropower scheme in the UK correctly sized will not be expected to have sufficient water to run continuously throughout the summer months. Figure 35 shows the mean daily flow for the river Barle in Somerset for the particular year 1980 from January through to December. We can make the following observations:
X X
1. For a couple of months in the summer the flow dropped to very low values, less than 1m3/s. 2. The river flooded (over 20m3/s for this river) on several occasions. 3. The river level tends to rise fairly quickly but this level reduces gradually i.e. there is a sharp leading edge followed by a slow decay. This is a general characteristic of all rivers.
Mean Daily Flow on River Barle (Somerset) Jan - Dec for 1980
35 30 25
Flow m3/s
20 15 10 5 0
Figure 35: The mean daily flow on the river Barle at Dulverton (Somerset) in 1980.
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Since the flow is continually varying we require some method of representing and quantifying this variation. The usual form that this data is presented is in a flow duration curve and is explained below.
2.4.2 What is a Flow Duration Curve?

A flow duration curve represents the flow as a function of percentage of time that a flow is exceeded. This is best explained by looking at an example. The flow duration curve in Figure 36 is generated by the computer program HydrA.
X X
The Y-axis is the flow in m3/s and the X-axis is percentage exceedance probability. For example, from this graph we can see that a flow of 0.5m3/s is exceeded about 95% of the time, a flow of 2.41m3/s is exceeded 50% of the time, the mean flow is 4.83m3/s which is exceeded just under 30% of the time, and flows of more than 20m3/s are exceeded about 1% of the time. This particular FDC is for a rather flashy river in Somerset, England. By the term flashy we mean that the river is prone to large variations in flow and the river level can rise very quickly in a short period of time.
Figure 36: A typical flow duration curve calculated from HydrA

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2.4.3 Q-Values
When we refer to the percentage of time that a flow is exceeded we called it a Q-value For example the flow which is exceeded 95% of the time is referred to as the Q 95 value. The flow which is exceeded 40% of the time is called the Q40 value etc. Clearly the lower the Qvalue the higher the flow e.g. the Q10 flow will be much greater than the Q95 flow. Historically in the UK several Q-values have had particular significance. Q95 In general, a reserve flow imposed on a particular hydropower site was historically set at Q95 i.e. the licensing authority in the UK (previously the National River Authority, now the Environment Agency) would insist that a flow equal to the Q 95 value must remain in the river at all times. That is to say this amount of water would not to available to the hydropower scheme but must remain flowing over the weir (for example) at all times when natural flows allow. This restriction was perfectly reasonable and ensured that a minimum level of water remained in the river to allow fish passage and protected wildlife. However, this simple rule appears not be relevant anymore and more stringent and more complex restrictions are often imposed by the Environment Agency. Q40 Since the flow in a river is continuously varying, the determination of the optimum size of turbine for a particular site is not trivial. A large turbine will give a higher maximum power, but will only operate at full power on a small number of days. Conversely a very small turbine will operate throughout most of the year but will not be able to take advantage of the larger potential power capture at higher flows. Clearly there will be an optimum somewhere between the two. It was found that, in general, taking a turbine design flow equal to the Q40 value would give a solution close to this optimum (assuming a Q95 reserve flow). However, since more complex abstraction regimes are being imposed on developers and the fact that the economics of small scale hydropower is generally more difficult, this is no longer really satisfactory.
2.5 Glossary
Compensation flow: water flow that does not pass through the turbine, usually to maintain some flow in the river or over a weir. Control System: controls the speed of the turbine or the electrical output. Draft tube: a gently increasing diameter tube returning water to the river but recovering some energy from it. Forebay: a tank or area where water enters the penstock. Gearbox: changes speed between turbine and generator (not always needed). Generator: produces electricity due to the rotation of the attached turbine. Guide vanes: direct the flow of water onto turbine blades. Leat: a channel that conveys water in open flow i.e. the water is not under pressure. Penstock: a pipe that conveys water under pressure.
56
Runner: the rotating part of a turbine that includes the turbine blades. Settling tank or area: allows sediment to sink under gravity rather than entering the penstock and turbine. Spillway: allows excess water to return to the river. Tailwater/tailrace: water leaving the turbine to return to the river. Trashrack: a crude filter to avoid rubbish entering the turbine. Turbine: device-extracting energy from the flow of water. Weir: an artificial waterfall.
2.6 Introduction to Water Turbines

2.6.1 The Development of Water Turbines
In 1832, a French Engineer, Benoit Fourneyron, patented a more efficient water-wheel: in fact, this was the first successful water turbine. The novelty of Fourneyron's design was the vertical axis, the use of guide vanes to direct the water radially outwards onto the runner blades and the fact that the turbine functions completely submerged. The turbine operates because of the reaction of the runner blades. Machines of this type are termed Reaction Turbines. All these features lead to a large flow of water through the turbine, through many guide vanes, and hence a large power capacity, with conversion efficiencies of up to 80%. The runner rotates at high speed and so can be readily used for electrical generation. Having given up its energy, the water falls away into the outflow. The power is controlled by raising or lowering a ring between the guide vanes and the rotor blades. Another water wheel where it is possible to apply multiple streams or jets of water is the Pelton Wheel (Pelton Wheel Turbine), named after the American Lester Pelton, who patented the concept in 1880. Figure 37 shows the typical arrangement for a Pelton Wheel. The water feeding the wheel is at high pressure due to the head of hundreds of metres, and it is directed onto the buckets at high velocity through a jet. In this case, we are not concerned with capturing energy from the fact that the water loads one side of the wheel and causes it to rotate but we are able to capture the kinetic energy from the impulse of the water jet on the blades. Hence the generic term of Impulse Turbine for this kind of turbine. The water will give up most of its energy to the buckets and
reservoi
r runner
head
Spear valve
deflecto
Figure 37: Typical arrangement for a Pelton Wheel.
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therefore drive them at high speed. The difficulty of limited space for water flow can be overcome in the Pelton by using two jets instead of one. This can be further extended to three or four jets to accommodate greater flow. Another American engineer, James Francis, experimented with inward flow radial machines and this resulted in the modern machines known as Francis turbines which have supplanted the Fourneyron design because of the advantage of collecting the tailwater in the centre and allowing it to exit under gravity. Francis turbines generally operate in the mid pressure range, that is, somewhat lower pressures or heads than the Pelton turbines. Lower pressure reaction turbines have axial flow with large flow cross sections and resemble a ship propeller.
2.6.2 Specific Speed

The speed of the runner blade relative to the water striking it is critical for the efficiency of the turbine. Propeller type turbines run best when their blade tips move faster than the water. In the case of the Kaplan, the blades should move at twice the water velocity, whereas the skirted Francis is most efficient when the two speeds are roughly equal. The Pelton theoretically performs best when its blades are moving at half the water velocity. When selecting a turbine for a specific situation, factors like head, flow and power must all be considered, but a valuable tool for selecting the most appropriate turbine type is specific speed (Ns). This is related to the output power (P in kW), effective head (H in metres) and rotational speed (n revolutions per minute).
Ns n P H5/2
(57)
The turbine rotational speed is dictated by the generator speed, and would usually have to be adequate to drive the generator at 1500 or 3000 rpm (with the appropriate number of pole pairs 2 and 1 respectively in these cases) through a gearbox. Equally, the specific speed can be calculated from the equation,
Ns
where
r = radius of water jet or flow R = radius of runner vB = velocity of blade vW = velocity of water
r v 500( )( B ) R vW
(58)
Essentially, then, it is the ratios of water/blade ( r / R ) radii and blade/water ( vB / vW ) velocities that govern the specific speed and hence lead to the choice of turbine type. The size of the turbine will be determined by the power requirements. Table 4 shows the specific speed ranges for different types of turbine.
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Type of Turbine Pelton one jet Pelton two jets Turgo Cross-flow Francis Kaplan Propellor
Specific speed range 10-35 10-45 20-80 20-90 70-500 350-1000 600-900
Table 4: Specific speed range for different types of turbine
2.6.3 Shape Factor

Another, but equivalent, way of looking at specific speed is the shape factor. The shape factor of a turbine is defined as
P1 / 2 1 / 2 gH 5 / 4
(59)
= density of water =1000 kg m-3 = angular velocity of the runner P = Power in kW g = acceleration due to gravity =9.81 ms-2 H = effective head m
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2.6.4 Impulse Turbines

2.6.4.1 The Pelton Wheel
Impulse turbines are most suited to high pressure situations where the water head might be hundreds of metres. The Pelton wheel is a wheel with a set of double cups or buckets mounted around the rim (see Figure 38 and Figure 39). Water is projected onto the buckets at high velocity. As it hits each pair of buckets in turn, the water jet splits into two, half passing round each of the curved bowls or buckets. In doing so, the water gives up some of its kinetic energy to drive the wheel. Under ideal conditions, almost all of the water kinetic energy is converted to mechanical energy to the wheel: the theoretical optimum condition is when the bucket velocity is half of the water jet velocity. This type of turbine is called an impulse turbine because the energy is delivered to the wheel in a series of short impulses to a sequence of buckets. Impulse turbines usually run at high speed in air at normal atmospheric pressure.
Figure 38: Small Pelton Runner Figure 39: Commercial Pelton Runner
60
The power input to a Pelton wheel is determined by the usual product of effective head and flow rate of the water together with the constants for water density and gravity.
H gQ
(60)
But we know that the water velocity is governed by the head since kinetic energy = potential energy.
0.5mv 2 mgH
(61) and so we can calculate the velocity of the water leaving the pipe at its lower end as
v 2 gH
(62) If the area of the water jet is A m2 Then Q=A v
So
Q = A 2 gH
The power is then P = Hg A

2 gH
Or approximately P (kW) = 45A H 3 (63) It is desirable for the water to reach each pair of buckets without interference from other buckets. A small cutaway in each bucket helps with this but it is also important to space the buckets to minimise such interference and this is done by ensuring that the wheel diameter is ten times the diameter of the water jet. Greater power can be achieved by utilising more jets ( j= 2,3 or 4 jets) P (kW) = 45 j A H 3 (64)
2.6.4.2 Optimum Speed for a Pelton Wheel

61
The optimum speed of a Pelton wheel can be calculated from the change of momentum of the water when it strikes the bucket. If the buckets are stationary, then no energy will be transferred from the water to the turbine, but energy will be dissipated in splashing. If the buckets move at the water velocity, then the water never catches up with the bucket and so cannot give up any of its energy to the bucket. It is possible to show using conservation of momentum principles that the theoretical maximum energy transfer occurs when the buckets are moving at half the water velocity.
2.6.4.3 Performance of Pelton Wheels
92 91 90 89
TURBINE EFFICIENCY (%)
88 87 86 85 84 83 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
PERCENTAGE OF TURBINE FLOW
Figure 40: Twin Jet Pelton Turbine Efficiency Curve
2.1 2.2 2.3 Figure 4: Twin Jet Pelton Turbine Efficiency Curve 92
91 90 89 88
TURBINE EFFICIENCY (%)
87 86 85 84 83 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
PERCENTAGE OF TURBINE FLOW
Figure 41: Single Jet Pelton Turbine Efficiency Curve
1.1 1.2 1.3 Figure 5: Single Jet Pelton Turbine Efficiency Curve
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Figure 40 and Figure 41 show typical efficiency curves for a Pelton wheel as a function of water flow rate for one and two jet operations. Note that the efficiency is reasonably high and does not fall particularly rapidly with flow. Pelton Wheels have to withstand high velocity water impacting on the buckets and so the buckets must be manufactured from a very durable material such as aluminium, steel or phosphor bronze. Although they are designed for very high head applications, Pelton wheels are also employed in small-scale schemes with lower heads. The simplicity of the design and the fact that the runner is in air and rotates at high speed makes them suitable for electrical generation. Remote sites across the world are often fitted with Pelton wheels for these reasons. Other reasons for using Pelton wheels include: Greater tolerance to sand and other particles in water Ease of fabrication Allow easier access to working parts Less subject to cavitation Display flatter efficiency curves if a flow control device is fitted.
2.6.4.4 Other Impulse Turbines

The Turgo turbine was developed from the Pelton in the 1920s. Single shallow cups replace the double ones so that water enters on one side where it strikes the cups in turn. As with the Pelton, it is at its most efficient when the rotating blade velocity is about half of the water velocity. The shape of the cups accommodates larger water flows than the Pelton, giving the Turgo the advantage of higher generating capacity. Cross flow (also termed Mitchell,Banki or Ossberger) turbines (see Figure 42 ) consist of a cylindrical shaped runner on a horizontal axis. The Pelton and Turgo axes can be horizontal or vertical. A rectangular nozzle directs the jet onto the full length of the runner, the water strikes the blades and gives up most of its kinetic energy. As the water falls through the cylinder, it strikes the blades again on exit thereby imparting a small additional amount of energy to the runner before leaving the turbine. The effective head can be increased by using a draft tube to draw a partial vacuum inside the casing.
X X
The cross flow machines can accept large flows of water, and in principle can be made with long enough cylinder lengths to take larger and larger flows. Naturally, there will be a practical limitation to this as the blades will be prone to flexing and have short lives if they are too long. Cross flow machines are attractive because they are suitable for a wider range of heads and flows. Control of the water flow is possible with a partition device, which cuts off supply to either 1/3 or 2/3 of the runner.
63
Figure 42: A cross flow turbine.
64
2.6.5 Reaction Turbines

Reaction turbines are suited to lower heads than the impulse machines. A significant distinction between impulse and reaction turbines is that impulse machines run in air whereas reaction machines are submerged and in general will rotate faster than impulse machines. If the rotational speed is high enough, then the electrical generator may be coupled directly onto the shaft of the runner, removing the need for a speed-raising gearbox. Reaction turbines are more geometrically complex and hence are likely to be more expensive, but their high speed and efficiency often compensate for this.
2.6.5.1 The Francis Turbine

As discussed earlier, the Francis turbine was developed to permit a large flow of water onto the runner blades, and this is done using a scrolled casing to deliver the water. Water passes through guide vanes which turn the flow radially inwards and onto the runner blades. The runner blades extract most of the energy from the water, which leaves along the axis via a draft tube. The guide vanes are used to regulate the water flow as it enters the runner. They can therefore be used as part of a control system to match the flow to the turbine loading. Figure 43 shows a schematic view of a Francis turbine. Internal View External View
Figure 43: Cross-section of a Francis and its draft tube.
2.6.5.2 Propeller and Kaplan Turbines

For very low heads, propeller turbines are used. They are so called because they are similar to a ship's propeller. However, they work by being driven by water rather than driving the water past a ship. The runner consists of three blades in the case of very low heads or six blades for
65
other conditions, and is located inside a tube in such a way that its shaft can be taken out where the tube changes direction. The generator can thus be outside the water chamber. A set of guide vanes, swivelling gates or wicket gates regulate the flow to the propeller. Propeller turbines have fixed runner blade geometries, and tend to show poor performance in part flow. Where it is possible to spend more money, such as large scale hydro sites, a variable pitch or Kaplan version of the propeller can be used (see Figure 44 and Figure 45). This means that the runner blades can be swivelled, which, together with the wicket gate adjustment, has the benefit of maintaining high efficiency under part flow conditions.
Figure 44: Kaplan Turbine
Figure 45: Photograph of a Kaplan Turbine
66
2.6.6 Draft Tube

The draft tube concept applies to all reaction turbines and to the partially evacuated crossflow turbine. It is used to increase the performance by means of energy recovery. As the water has to exit the turbine with some velocity in order to get away from the turbine, it still possesses a significant amount of kinetic energy. To recover most of this energy, the water velocity must be reduced gradually without incurring heavy friction losses. This recovery of velocity head is usually achieved by using a draft tube with a gradually increasing cross sectional area so that the final exit of water takes place through a area of twice that of the inlet. The angle of the expansion of the walls is typically 7 degrees.
Consider area A1, the kinetic energy = 0.5mV12 And at A2 the kinetic energy is = 0.5mV22 Since the flow of water is the same through both areas Q = A1 V1 = A2 V2 Therefore, if the area reduces by a factor of two in the draft tube. V2 = A1/A2 V1 = 0.5 V1 V2 2 = 0.25 V12 And so the kinetic energy is reduced to a quarter of its value at inlet, thereby minimising the loss of energy, without the draft tube being too long.
67
2.6.7 Cavitation
Cavitation arises in turbines during operation at low pressures. As water passes over the runner, the pressure may decrease to the point where the water vaporises, forming bubbles. When these bubbles are subjected to greater pressure elsewhere in the system, they can collapse violently producing miniature explosions which can fatigue and erode nearby surfaces. Cavitation leads to pitting of the runner blades, reducing turbine efficiency and shortening their lives. It also leads to poor part load flow characteristics. One design feature to reduce this problem is to ensure that the height of the turbine above the tail water is not too great as this will lower the working pressure and encourage cavitation.
2.6.8 Selecting a Turbine for a Particular Site

If we know the head and annual water flow, then we can suggest how much power we could expect from our site. To decide on the best turbine, we can calculate the specific speed, which will lead us to a small choice of possible turbines, and we can then use the look up chart shown in Figure 46 as a final check.
Figure 46: Turbine selection charts for small to large scale turbines.
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3 Electrical System Aspects

3.1 Apparent, Real and Reactive Power
Power systems are designed to transfer energy from a generator to a consumer with maximum efficiency and to deliver this energy at virtually fixed voltage. Over the years techniques have been developed to analyse power systems based on the concepts of active and reactive power. A brief review of the techniques will be provided here/ Electrical networks consist of sources of energy, which can be considered as active elements and passive elements such as resistors, capacitors and inductors. The vast majority of electrical consumption equipment (whether industrial, domestic or commercial) consist basically of inductive-resistive components. Overhead cables have some limited capacitance, the higher the voltage the more pronounced the capacitive component. Underground cables however, contain substantial capacitance. The circuit in Figure 47 , which consists of resistance R, and inductive reactance X L, represents a typical consumer connected to the electrical grid. The grid voltage phasor V
X X
impressed across the consumer terminals results in a current phasor I which when flowing through R and XL results in voltage drops across these components of V R and V L respectively.
VR VL
XL
I
V
a
P
Q
Energy Source
Figure 47: A inductive-resistive network representing a typical consumer.
69
a
V
b
S VI
Q VL I
VL
I
VR
P VR I
Figure 48: a) Voltage triangle phasor diagram from figure 1and b) power triangle showing apparent real and reactive power for an inductive-resistive network. S is the Apparent Power, P is the Active Power and Q is the Reactive Power. According to Kirchhoffs Voltage law the phasorial sum of voltage drops is equal to the applied voltage i.e.
V VR VL
(65)
The phasor diagram illustrating this equality is shown in Figure 48a where V R is in phase with I and V L is leading I by 90 . The angle is the angle by which the current lags the voltage in this circuit. By multiplying the sides of the voltage triangle in Figure 48a by I , the result is the power triangle shown in Figure 48b. The product VR I represents the power that is irreversibly converted from electrical into other energy forms. e.g. heat or mechanical power. This is known as Active Power and is denoted by P. It is measured in Watts (W), kilowatts (kW = 103W) or megawatts (MW = 106W). The product V L I does not represent irreversible energy conversion (because inductors are storage devices) but is energy which flows backwards and forwards between the the energy source and the inductor. This fluctuating power is denoted by Q and is known as Reactive Power. It is measured in Reactive-Voltamperes (VARs) or kVAR or MVAR. The product VI is known as S, the Apparent Power with units of Volt-amperes (VA), kilovolt-amperes (KVA) and Megavolt-amperes (MVA). The active and reactive power are obtained from the volt-amperes through the following expressions:
P VI cos
Q VI sin
where cos is known as the circuit Power Factor and
(66) (67) is known as the power factor angle.
70
3.2 The Balance of Active and Reactive Power

In Figure 49 the consumer imports or is a sink of active power P given by equation 66 . This concept can be extended to reactive power so that the consumer can also be considered as importing or being a sink of reactive power Q given by equation 67 .
X X X X
If at the interface aa , shown in Figure 47 , we were to look into the terminals of the energy source we may conclude that as P and Q are coming out of the terminals the source is exporting or generating P and Q.
X X
This way of looking at P and Q is of great benefit to power systems engineers who analyse energy networks in terms of these quantities. As P and Q are scalar quantities they can be added at any node on the network as shown in figure 3.
Generator P1 Q1 P2 Q2
Large Interconnect System
P3 Q3 Consumer Q4
P4
Consumer
Figure 49. Active and Reactive Power balance. At the node of Figure 3 the incoming P and Q are equal to the outgoing P and Q respectively i.e. P 0 and Q 0
at a node at a node
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3.3 The Significance of Power Factor

Figure 50 represents a basic circuit of energy transportation from a generator to a consumer through a transmission line, which is simply represented by a series inductance and resistance. The consumer is conveniently modelled by an inductive resistive impedance. Following the reasoning in section 3.1 the consumer or load absorbs both PL and QL. The generator or the utility has to supply both the P of the load and the loss in transmission given by I 2 Rt where R t is the resistance of the transmission line. The transmission loss is strongly influenced by the load QL.
X X
To appreciate this, assume that the load consists solely of an inductor, which absorbs Q but not P. In this case the energy meter at the consumer premises which records kilowatt-hours (i.e. energy purchased) indicates zero but the finite current in the transmission system results in I 2 Rt which has to be supplied by the utility. Clearly this is a most undesirable scenario which the utility endeavours to discourage through special tariffs which penalise the absorption of Q by large loads. Additionally, the utility has the legal obligation to supply power to the consumer at a more or less fixed voltage. It can be shown that for transmission lines, with X t Rt , the voltage VL at the consumer terminals is particularly sensitive to changes in Q rather than P. It is now obvious that the utility is keen to encourage consumers to draw P at minimum Q i.e. with cos close to unity.
a Xt Rt
b I QC
PL
XL C
VL QL RL
Generator a
Transmission Line b
Consumer (load)
Figure 50: Single transmission system
72
3.4 The Reactive Power of a Capacitor

Redrawing Figure 48b) for a resistive capacitive circuit results in Figure 51. QC is now negative therefore the reactive power associated with a capacitor is exported or generated.
P VR I
I
VI
QC
VC I
Figure 51: Apparent, Real and Reactive power for a resistive/capacitive circuit Capacitors are used extensively in power systems to generate or inject reactive power at strategic points of the network. Their importance is illustrated in the transmission circuit of Figure 50. If a capacitor C is connected across the load terminal and C is sized to generate QC locally so that QC = QL, and Reactive power absorbed by the load, then the consumer will Figure 5: Apparent, Real the reactive power for a resistive/capacitive circuit appear to the utility as having a unity power factor. The utility will be truly satisfied with such an arrangement as this will minimise losses in the transmission line resistance Rt and will ensure little variation in consumer voltage.
73
3.5 P and Q Transfer in Power Networks

-
VA
VA
Transmission Line
VB
VB 0
VA VB
Figure 52: Transmission line characteristics In Figure 52 a typical transmission line is shown which consists of inductive reactance X and resistance R. Typically the voltages at the two extreme ends of such a line are somewhat different in magnitude and slightly out of phase. This is illustrated by the two sine waves in Figure 52, which show, V A VB and that V A leads V B by an angle . The ratio of inductive reactance X to resistance R varies from over 20 in very high voltage lines to less than 2 in low voltage distribution lines. To simplify matters in this unit we will consider only the extreme case of X >> R when the resistance can be legitimately neglected. For this condition obtainable in the high voltage network and to a good approximation, the active and reactive power can be shown to be given by:
P V AVB sin X VA (V A VB cos ) X
VB (VB X V A cos )
(68)
QA
(69)
QB
(70)
74
For reasons beyond the scope of this unit, in a well run power system the angle (known as the load angle) is of the order of a few degrees. The effect of this on equations 68 to 70 is to make the active power P very sensitive to changes in but much less so to changes in V. The converse is true for reactive Power Q which is sensitive to changes in V but not to changes in
X X X X
We can conclude that at the high voltage network, active power is mainly transported by virtue of the angular displacement between voltages at adjacent nodes, but reactive power is transported through voltage magnitude differences. As the grid transmission line voltage is transformed down to the primary and secondary distribution level the ratio of reactance to resistance decreases and equations 3 to 5 become progressively less accurate.
3.6 The Generator

All grid connected wind turbines drive a three phase alternating current (AC) generator to convert mechanical power to electrical power, usually at an output voltage of 690V. Generators are divided onto two classes; Synchronous and asynchronous. Both have a nonrotating part, the stator, which is similar for the two types of generator and consist of a threephase winding on a laminated iron core; the currents which result when the stator is connected to the grid produce a magnetic field rotating at constant speed. Although the stators are similar, the rotors (the rotating part of the generator) are quite different. The rotor of a synchronous generator (also known as an alternator) has a field winding carrying a direct current supplied through slip rings. The field winding creates a constant magnetic field, which locks onto the rotating field created by the stator winding currents. Thus the rotor always rotates at a constant speed in synchronism with the stator field and the network frequency. In some designs the rotor magnetic field is produced by permanent magnets, but this is not common for large machines. The rotor of an induction machine consists of a squirrel cage of bars, short-circuited at each end and embedded in an iron cylinder. There is no electrical connection onto the rotor, and the rotor currents are induced by the relative motion of the rotor with respect to the rotating field of the stator. If the rotor speed is exactly equal to the speed of the rotating field produced by the stator, there is no relative motion and so there are no induced rotor currents. Therefore an induction generator always operates at a speed that is slightly higher than the speed of the rotating field stator. The difference in speed is known as the slip and is between 1 to 3% when the WT is producing its rated output. Induction generators are not common compared to synchronous generators (for example all utility power systems generators are of synchronous type) however there are many millions of induction motors in service throughout the world. An induction generator is essentially an induction motor with torque applied to the shaft, which endeavours to run the rotor above synchronous speed. Conversely, in an induction motor the torque endeavours to slow down the rotor below synchronous speed.
75
The performance of an induction machine can be described by the torque-slip curve of Figure 53 where slip is defined by:
X X
s s
(71)
where s is the synchronous speed of the rotating magnetic field and r is the rotor speed. Slip is the normalised speed difference and is positive for motoring and negative for generation. The slip is plotted along the x-axis and the torque on the y-axis. A slip of zero corresponds to the rotor speed being in synchronism with the stator field of the stator and so no torque or power is generated. The small variation of speed with increments of torque inherent in the induction generator of a wind turbine are of considerable advantage in suppressing surges of torque in the drive-train and of electrical power into the network, during gusts.
motoring
max
generating
SM 0 no load normal generating

s
-SM 2
s
slip,s
min
Figure 53: Operating Characteristic of an induction generator
3.7 Comparison of Synchronous and Induction Generators

The majority of generators used throughout the world are of synchronous type. However, for
76
fixed speed wind turbines induction generators are normally used. Synchronous generators are slightly more efficient than induction machines and have a major advantage in that their reactive power flow can be controlled. In a synchronous generator the direct current flowing in the field windings is independently controllable. By increasing it, reactive power may be exported to the network. By reducing it, reactive power may be drawn from the network. Adjustments in the flow of reactive power provides control over the voltage of the network at the point of connection of the synchronous generator. The advantages and disadvantages of each machine are given in Table 5 .
X X
Table 5: The advantages and disadvantages of synchronous and induction generators
Synchronous Generators
Advantages
More efficient Reactive power flow can be Controlled Suitable for variable speed operation through an electronic interface Suitable for connection to very weak networks
Induction Generators
Advantages
Less expensive More rugged and robust Responds to gusts in a non-oscillatory way Small change of speed with applied torque reduces stress in drive-train and spikes in power fed into network Can be simply synchronised to the mains
Disadvantages
More expensive Responds to gusts in an oscillatory manner Requires precise synchronisation to the mains May lose synchronism under severe network transients Never used now for fixed speed operation
Disadvantages
Consumes Reactive Power Requires power factor correction Not suitable for connection to very weak electrical networks
77
Overall the ability of the induction generator to allow, through variation of slip, small changes of rotor speed which dramatically alleviate transient drive train loads means that this is the favoured choice. Indeed, synchronous machines are never used for fixed speed applications. Pole switching or two separate induction machines is sometimes employed to give two-speed operation. Additional compliance at above rated wind speed, when it is most required since the magnitude of the turbulent variations increase with wind speed, can be achieved by increasing the generator slip. The Vestas Opti Slip system increases the generator slip at, and above, rated power by switching in additional resistance to the generator rotor winding circuit. For variable speed operation the choice of electrical machines is basically the same, although both the cage and the wound rotor variants of the asynchronous generator are considered, and permanent magnet synchronous generators can be used in addition to the more conventional field winding excited machines. In all cases a power electronic converter has to interface the variable frequency, variable voltage generator to the fixed frequency and fixed voltage grid. Such converters consist now of power electronic transistors which are switched in such a way (pulse width modulation switching) that only small amount of harmonics are inject into the grid. Some large multi-pole synchronous generators have been specially designed for wind turbines. When combined with a variable speed drive, it has been possible to remove the gear-box from the wind turbine altogether. DC machines are not used in wind turbines due to their cost and maintenance requirements. Whether fixed or variable speed operation is preferable depends on a range of issues, but noise generation and power quality (related to the strength of the grid connection) are two of the most important.
3.8 Connection to the Electricity Network

The voltage at the point of connection of a WT is usually 690V. A transformer at the base of the each tower is used to increase the voltage to, say 11kV, for transmission to the utility network. Induction generators require power correction capacitors and these are usually located in a cabinet at the base of the tower together with protective switchgear and control equipment.
3.8.1 Power Factor Correction for an Induction Generator

Even when the real power output from an induction generator is zero it will still draw considerable reactive power to magnetise its iron core. As torque is applied and real power is exported to the network more reactive power is absorbed. The relationship between active and reactive power for an induction generator is shown in Figure 54 .
X X
78
Q Import (MVAR)
Effect of PFC
P export (MW)
Figure 54: The relationship between active and reactive power for an induction generator. The induction generator power factor will vary from zero at A to say 0.9 at B. In order to improve the power factor it is convenient to fit local Power Factor Correction (PFC) capacitors at the generator terminals. These have the effect of shifting the overall characteristic downwards to A B. Capacitors that generate a reactive power not exceeding 80% of the no-load induction generator import (0A) are usually fitted. If connection to the mains is lost and the WT accelerates then a larger compensation may lead to self-excitation and higher voltages from the induction generator, This is known as islanding.
79
3.9 Soft-Start Units

When induction generators are connected to an electrical network, there is a large inrush of current as the iron core is magnetised to establish normal operating conditions. This is similar to the direct-on-line starting problems of induction motors. Wind turbines use the same soft start equipment used to start large induction motors. This is shown schematically in Figure 55 .
X X
A soft-start unit works by inserting two thyristors back-to-back in each phase of the supply. When an induction machine is connected to the mains, the thyristors are used to control the voltage applied to the stator and hence will limit the inrush current. They effectively allow the iron core to be magnetised over a longer period of time. Soft-start units absorb a small amount of electrical power which would reduce the output from the turbine. For this reason they are usually bypassed by a contactor as soon as the generator is fully magnetised.
Generator
Network
Bypass Contactor
Figure 55: A wind turbine soft start unit (only one phase is shown).
80
3.10 Power Quality

Wind farms embedded into distribution networks will influence the power quality. Power quality is defined in terms of the steadiness of the frequency and the purity and steadiness of the sine wave voltage supplied to the consumer. Embedded generation such as a wind farm will have no effect on the frequency of a large interconnected system but may well have a detrimental effect on local system voltage. The usual cause of concern are i. transient network voltage disturbances referred to as flicker because of their effect on lighting and ii. harmonic distortion of the voltage waveform. Voltage flicker may be caused either by the connection and disconnection of generators onto the grid or by transient torque pulsations from the wind turbine rotor being translated into network voltage variations. Standards are in place to control the connection of loads likely to degrade the power quality of the distribution network and these are also applied to wind farms. The prediction of voltage flicker from wind farms is difficult and either data is required from installations already in service or very detailed simulation modelling of the local system is necessary. Wind turbines can contribute to flicker because tower shadow and turbulent winds can cause rapid variation in torque and hence in real and reactive power. Pitch regulated wind turbines are generally worse than stall-regulated and variable speed generation produces less flicker than fixed speed. Switching wind turbines on and off can cause step changes in line voltage but this can be minimised through the soft-start units described earlier. With wind farms, it is normal to connect turbines one at a time. The severity of flicker will depend on how frequently switching occurs, the gustiness of the site, the size, design and operating mode of the wind turbine and the strength of the local grid.
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4 Tidal Power
4.1 Introduction
Tidal power has a long history. Records indicate that tide mills were being worked on the coasts of France, Spain and Britain prior to 1100 AD. These consisted simply of a storage pond, which was filled during the flood tide through a sluice and emptied during the ebb tide through a waterwheel. The technology used in these mills and the applications of the mechanical power were much the same as in hydropower water wheels. The tidal mills captured seawater at high tide and released it to provide low speed high torque output to grind corn etc. These mills remained in common use for many centuries: they were gradually displaced by the cheaper and more convenient fuels and machines made available by the Industrial Revolution.
X
Figure 56 shows a good example of this in Saint Suliac in La Rance estuary in France.
X
Figure 56: Saint Suliac in La Rance estuary in France
82
4.2 Causes of Tides

4.2.1 Tides in the open ocean
The Moon and the Suns gravitational fields cause the natural rise and fall of coastal tidal waters. Since the Moon is closer to Earth, albeit much less massive, it has a dominant effect upon tides. The Moon is 2.2 times more influential than the Sun. We could consider tidal energy to be mostly a form of lunar energy! The Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours. In the Earths frame of reference the Sun appears to orbit the Earth once every 24 hours. The Moon orbits the Earth once every 29 days approximately. In the Earths frame of reference, the Moon appears to orbit the Earth once every 24 hours and 50 minutes. This difference in periods between the apparent orbits of the Sun and Moon leads to phase changes with larger spring tides (See Figure 57 ) during in phase behaviour and smaller neap tides (see Figure 58 ) when the Sun and Moon are out of phase. Spring tides can be twice as large as neap tides.
X X X X
Figure 57: Spring tides when gravitational effects of Sun and Moon are in phase. This occurs twice per month.
Figure 58: Neap tides when gravitational effects of Sun and Moon are out of phase. This occurs twice per month. The Moon and the Earth can be considered, due to their mutual gravitational attraction as two objects orbiting a common centre of gravity, which is far closer to the centre of the Earth than the centre of the Moon as the Earth is far more massive than the Moon. The pair orbit this common centre of gravity once every lunar month (about 29 days). The effect of the Moons
83
gravity is stronger on the Earths surface facing the moon and weaker at the surface facing away from the Moon than at the centre of the Earth. Because of this difference in gravitational pull, the Earths oceans will tend to bulge towards the Moon when facing the Moon and bulge away when facing away from the Moon. This leads to two high tides per day across the Earths surface as the Earth rotates and the high tides have period of approximately 12h25m. When the bulge is at its greatest height at a point on the Earths surface this gives rise to the flood tide (high tide). When it is at its least, 6h12m later, this is known as the ebb tide (low tide). Figure 59 shows this Earth-Moon system. The Earth of mass E and Moon of mass M, rotate about the their common centre of mass with angular velocity . The centre of mass is a distance l from the centre of the Earth. The Earth and Moon are separated by a distance R. The Earth rotates on its own axis with angular velocity . The radius of the Earth is r.
X X
Figure 59: The Earth-Moon system and effect on tides The radial force, F1, on a mass of water m on the surface of the Earth closest to the Moon is given by:
F1
GEm r2
GMm R r
2
r l
(72)
where G is the gravitational constant. If the mass m is on the opposite side of the Earth the radial force, F2, is then:
F2
GEm r2
GMm R r
2
r l
(73)
The centrifugal forces on the Earth and Moon must balance the gravitational forces between them so:
GEM R2
As R
R l
(74)
r, Eq. 72 can be written to a good approximation as:

X X
84
GEm GMm r 1 2 m 2 r l 2 2 R r R Similarly, Eq 73 can be written as: F1

X X
(75)
F2
GEm r2
GMm r 1 2 2 R R
X X X X
r l
(76)
Substituting Eq 74 into Eqs 75 and 76 gives:

X X
F1
F2
GEm r2
GMmr R3
(77)
Hence the radial force on the oceans facing towards and away from the Moon are the same. This shows that the magnitude of the flood tide is the same on the opposite sides of the Earth. By integration of Eq 77 and by making various assumptions it is possible to show the maximum (spring) tidal range, h, is given to a good approximation, by:
X X
Mr 4 ER 3
(78)
For the Moon this gives h=0.35m and for the Sun this gives h=0.16m. The combined height of around 0.5m gives the expected tidal range for deep oceans away from land.
4.2.2 Mechanisms for Tidal Enhancement

Over much of the surface of the oceans, the tidal range (the vertical rise and fall) is rather small, less than one metre, but in certain places, there is an enhancement of the range. Enhancement may be due to: 1. Funnelling (as is the case of Figure 60, Severn Estuary) The tide is gradually constrained from the sides and so increases in height - or the reverse, later in the cycle.
85
Figure 60: Severn Estuary 2. Resonance (as is also the case in the Severn) The estuary has a resonant period equivalent to the tidal period. The length and depth of the estuary are very important for Resonance: they should approximately satisfy the expression: L/h 0.5 = 35000 m 0.5
Resonance occurs when the length of the estuary corresponds to a quarter of a wavelength. Velocity of the tidal wave = (gh)0.5 Where h = water depth T = period =12h25m =44700s For L= quarter wavelength = (gh)0.5 44700/4 Then L/h 0.5 = 35000 m 0.5
Estuary Length, L
3. Coriolis Effect (e.g. La Rance, see section 4.3.4 ) The spinning of the Earth leads to the Coriolis effect (the effect that causes weather systems). The tide is influenced by this and so tends to increase in height at high tide on the northern French coast and be drawn away from this coast at low tide, with the net effect of enhancing the tidal range. For the equivalent coast in Southern England, the effects are in the opposite sense creating a lower tidal range. Figure 61 is a photograph of Mont St Michel in France. This indicates a tidal range of up to 14m.
X X
86
4. Atmospheric Pressure Changes in atmospheric pressure can depress or elevate the sea level by tens of centimetres. 5. Storms Storms can push water onto a coastline. The first three of these enhancements are highly predictable, and so permit us to largely determine the output from a tidal scheme years ahead. The last two are unpredictable except in the short term.
Figure 61: Mont St Michel, France - tidal range of up to 14m
87
4.3 Tidal Barrages

Constructing a barrage across an estuary and allowing tidal waters alternately to fill the estuary through sluice gates and then to empty it through turbines can generate energy. In the modern version of the tidal mill, a barrage constructed across an estuary is equipped with a series of gated sluices and the waterwheel is simply replaced by a bank of low-head axial turbines. Where it is necessary to maintain navigation to the upper part of the estuary, a ship-lock may be required.
4.3.1 Turbines for Tidal Barrages

Electricity is generated using large axial flow turbines of diameters up to 9m. In view of the continuously varying head of water that drives them, it is necessary to regulate the blade angle of the guide vanes or of the turbine runner, or both, for maximum efficiency. If the turbine is also to be used in both directions for generation, or in reverse for pumping, variable control of both the guide vanes and the turbine runner (i.e. double regulation) may be advisable. The conventional bulb turbine containing the generator in a pod located in the water passage directly behind the turbine runner is generally recommended for tidal schemes.
4.3.2 Operational Strategies

Ebb generation is the most simple mode of operation for a tidal barrage scheme. The operating cycle consists of four steps: 1. Sluicing on the flood tide, to fill the basin. 2. Holding the impounded water until the receding tide creates a suitable head. 3. Releasing the water from the basin to the sea via turbines, on the ebb tide, until the tide turns and rises to reduce the head to the minimum operating point. 4. Holding until the tide rises sufficiently to repeat the first step. Ebb generation with flood pumping is a modification of this mode which allows increased energy output. By using the turbines in reverse as pumps, the basin level and hence the generating head can be raised. The energy required for pumping must be imported but since the pumping is carried out against a small head at high tide and the same water is released later though the turbine at a greater head, this can produce a net energy gain with some limited ability to re-time output. The energy gain through pumping could be small but useful and typically in the range 3-13%. Flood generation is the reverse of ebb generation and is rarely suggested alone, possibly because it offers little storage opportunity and the basin is often being filled by a river which would then reduce the total energy capacity. Two-way generation (ebb and flood) is possible with reversible turbines and is used at La Rance (together with flood pumping). The additional energy recovered may not justify the extra cost and complexity of the turbines. Tidal energy barrages are expected to have very long lifetimes. Their design life could be about 120 years but with normal maintenance and replacement of turbine generators at 40Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources
88
year intervals, their lifetime could effectively be unlimited.
4.3.3 Choice of Barrage Site

Barrages are expensive and so a careful analysis of potential sites is needed. If the tidal range is reasonably large, then to some extent, a simple view of the length of the barrage needed will be that the basin should be as large as possible and the barrage as short as possible. The parametric equation below was deduced by Baker from the data for about 20 prospective tidal barrage site: it is a useful method of making a preliminary evaluation of a new site.
L0.8 H AR 1 2
2 2
logU
k log
(79)
where
U = cost of electricity (p/kWh) L = barrage length (m) H = barrage height (m) A = basin area (km2) R = tidal range (m) K = constant say 0.69
89
4.3.4 Case Study: La Rance

The tidal scheme at La Rance was constructed during the 1960s and fully operational by 1967 (see Figure 62). The northern French coast benefits from the Coriolis force, the spinning of the Earth giving an enhanced tidal range to France compared with that of southern Britain.
Figure 62: Tidal scheme at La Rance, France. The scheme consists of a barrage across the river Rance. Water from the high tide is trapped, permitting generation once the tide has retreated. This is ebb generation, but an unusual design at La Rance incorporates reversible turbines and so energy can also be derived from the incoming (flood) tide. The characteristics of single action and double action systems are shown in Figure 63 below. In the photograph in Figure 62, the sluice gates are open, allowing seawater to flood into the basin. Note also the benefit of using the turbines to pump water when the tide is fully in.
Figure 63: Operational strategies utilising the reversible turbines at La Rance. The turbines can also be used in pumping mode.
The major specifications in relation to the La Rance site are given in Table 6 .
X X
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Maximum tidal range Barrage length Barrage height Basin area Water volume 24 Bulb type turbines
13.50m 750m 13m 2,200Ha 184,000,000 m3 Each is a 4 bladed Kaplan, see Figure 64, 5.35m diameter, running at 93.75rpm and producing up to 10MW from a max flow of 275cumecs. A cross section of one the turbines is shown in Figure 65 .
X X
Availability 96 to 97%. Each turbine can also be used as a pump, using 10MW to pump 225cumecs with a head of 1m. This enables the operators to effectively store energy at high tide if it coincides with low demand on the grid, for example, between 0100 - 0600 hrs. Table 6: Barrage specification at La Rance, France
Figure 64: A blade and a complete bulb turbine at La Rance
The total output of 600 GWh per year represents about 3% of the electricity consumed in Brittany, at a cost of 0.02/kWh: this is the same cost as nuclear generated electricity.
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Figure 65: Cross section of a bulb turbine unit at La Rance. Note that the turbine is placed as low as possible to minimise cavitation.
Contact details: La Direction De L'Usine Maremotrice de La Rance E.D.F. France 02 99 16 37 14
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Figure 9: A map of La Rance Barrage Figure 66: A map of La Rance barrage. The map in Figure 66 shows the location of the scheme at La Rance, (marked as EDF Usine Maremortrice) and illustrates why it is such a good site: the barrage length is short compared to the area of the basin. This gives a relatively low capital cost for large potential energy. A road runs along the barrage, giving added value. The basin had a history of ancient tidal malls, including one at Saint Suliac (see section 4.1 ).
X X X X
4.3.5 Other Sites

A very large potential resource exists in the UK due to the high tidal range along the west coast of England and Wales where there are many estuaries and inlets available. Potential schemes range widely in size, from 30MW (e.g. Conwy) to 8.6GW (the Severn barrage). It has been estimated that exploitation of all practicable estuaries in the UK could lead to electricity generation of up to around 20% of demand in England and Wales. A map and list of the most important sites is given in Figure 67.
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Figure 67: Important UK sites for tidal potential. barrage schemes.
The barrage at La Rance in France, with an installed capacity of 240MW, is the only significant tidal barrage power scheme in Europe and is - by a considerable margin - the largest in the world.
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A 1991 study commissioned by the EU estimated that the technically feasible energy resources from tidal barrages across the EU could be as much as 105TWh/year (from 64GW of installed capacity). This resource is unevenly distributed across Europe with the UK (47.7%) and France (42.1%) sharing the bulk of the resource and Eire (7.6%) accounting for most of the rest. Worldwide, other examples of barrage schemes include: Canada: 1984 - a 17.8MW plant at Annapolis. Tidal range 6.4m, basin area 6 km2 Russia: 1968 - a 0.4MW experimental plant at Kislaya Guba. Tidal range 2.4m basin area 2 km2 China: 1980 - the 3.2MW Jiangxia station. Tidal range 7.1m, basin area 2 km2
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4.4 Tidal Current Schemes

Useful energy has been obtained from the flow of water currents for centuries in the form of waterwheels in rivers and estuaries. However, the production of electricity from tidal streams is a relatively new concept. It relies on a different approach to conventional tidal barrage schemes, and does not have the large capital commitments that are necessary for the barrage schemes. Tidal stream technology extracts energy from the flow of the currents, which are produced by the rise and fall of the tides. These currents usually have a low velocity (1ms -1) but this can be modified by the local topography. In particular, the velocity can be magnified greatly in straits between islands or between islands and the mainland. The tides can be predicted with high accuracy; hence after measurements at a site, the energy available for conversion can be forecast with confidence.
4.4.1 Turbines for Tidal Current Schemes

The technology is conceptually simple: a rotor (tidal mill) is placed in a suitable tidal flow, which turns the rotor and (using a gearbox) a generator. It is similar to a submerged wind turbine, except that the greater specific gravity of seawater results in much higher energy densities in tidal streams than is found in winds of the same velocity. However, the water velocities available in tidal streams (typically rated velocities of 2-3m/s on good sites) are much less than the air velocities used by wind turbines. Since power output is proportional to the cube of the velocity, tidal stream rotors do not generally produce significantly greater output than wind turbines of the same size. Figure 68 shows the prototype 1.2 MW Seagen device developed by Marine Current Turbines Ltd. This particular prototype is located in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland and consists of two rotors either side of a monopile. The advantage of this device is that the turbine can be winched out of the water for maintenance.
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Figure 68: The 1.2MW Seagen tidal current turbine at Strangford Lough, Northern Island (courtesy of Marine Current Turbines Ltd).
4.4.2 The Resource

The UK has some of the best sites for the exploitation of tidal currents. The major factors that determine the size of the resource are the velocity of the tidal current and the volume through which it flows. This resource was evaluated at several locations around the UK. The power contained in tidal currents (P) is given by: P
AV 3 2
where A is the area swept by sea water of density at a velocity V. This cube law relationship indicates that areas of high tidal current velocities are the most suitable for development. Tidal stream data is provided in Admiralty Tidal Stream Atlases. A survey of these identified the promising areas for tidal stream exploitation as: Area 1 - Pentland Firth, north east Scotland Area 2 - Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland Area 3 - Mull of Galloway, south west Scotland Area 4 - Barry Island, Bristol Channel Area 5 - Portland Bill, southern England Area 6 - Alderney, Channel Islands. These locations had maximum tidal stream velocities ranging from ~6m/s in the Pentland
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Firth to ~2.5m/s in the Mull of Galloway and Rathlin Island. There were numerous small sites which had high tidal current velocities (e.g. around islands in the Orkneys or to the west of Scotland) but there was insufficient data to assess these sites accurately. The annual electrical output was evaluated for each scheme assuming the characteristics of current designs for horizontal axis turbines and using the following approach, the separation of turbines was assumed to be twice the diameter of the blades for a row of devices. For an array of devices, the separation of rows was taken to be ten times the rotor diameter in order to avoid wake interaction effects. In addition, allowance had to be made for access of repair ships and to maintain normal shipping routes, which resulted in a density of 37 turbines per square kilometre of seabed. The rating of turbines was assumed to be 60% of the available power in a swept area The efficiency of the turbine varies with the ratio of the tip speed to current speed and can have a theoretical limit of 59% (the Betz limit). The assumed efficiency for this turbine was based on efficiency performance curves with a maximum of 40% for the best designs for current technology - higher efficiencies could result from further R&D or use of different turbines The availability was taken to be 90%. The accessible tidal stream resource for the most suitable sites in the UK (including the Channel Islands) is estimated to be approximately 36TWh/year. The actual resource is higher but the current velocities in the remaining areas are so low that their exploitation would be hopelessly uneconomic.
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4.5 Impacts of Tidal Schemes

Tidal barrage schemes have a number of potentially detrimental impacts which have to be balanced against their overall environmental benefit of helping to avoid greenhouse gas emissions: They have a visual impact as they significantly change the appearance of the estuary. The shipping lanes are obviously blocked by the barrage and so provision has to be made for locks to facilitate navigation of the barrage by vessels. This may have an economic impact. They may influence the build up of silt and sediment, but they are believed to raise the barrage water level by half a metre or so. In the case of the Severn, this is likely to permanently flood marshland where birds live and nest (see Figure 69). An interesting aspect for the Severn is the possibility that the resonance effect that gives rise to the large tidal range may be reduced by the construction of the barrage. The structure will shorten the length of the estuary and so resonance may be reduced. At La Rance, a road was incorporated into the design and it may be possible to gain some benefit from roads in UK schemes.
Figure 69: Wading birds in the Severn Estuary.
The environmental disruption caused by tidal stream devices in the shoreline/nearshore areas (e.g. through electrical transmission lines and changes to shipping lanes) would not be so dramatic.
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5 Wave Power
5.1 Introduction
Following the OPEC oil crises of the early 1970s, the UK Department of Energy invested millions of pounds in wave energy research and development. The UK wave energy resource is amongst the greatest in the world, thanks to the countrys geographical position, lying as it does at the NE comer of the Atlantic Ocean. That is where it receives wind and thus waves generated across several thousand kilometres of the Atlantic. Wave energy research and development has been taking place for about 25 years, with some progress towards exploiting the large energy potential of the world ocean wave climates. Such an environmentally benign source of energy is highly desirable in that it could contribute significantly to a sustainable energy future. Ocean waves are often powerful, but with extremely low frequencies, of about 0.1 Hz (equivalent to 6rpm or to periods of around 10s), and the success in generating electricity demands that this frequency is raised to 500 1500rpm.
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5.2 Wave Climate

The passage of wind over the surface of the sea will result in the gradual transfer of energy into the water to produce waves. Solar insolation (with a power density of typically less than one kWm-2) produces the weather patterns and hence wind (wind power densities of 1.2 to 1.8 kWm-2). As the wind goes on to produce waves (power density 50 kW per metre of wavefront or crestlength), we can regard wave energy as a concentrated form of solar energy. The distance over which this process occurs is called the "fetch and longer fetches produce larger, more powerful waves as do stronger winds and extended periods of wind. Sea waves are characterised by their waveheight (H), period (T) and crest length (see Figure 70). A particular wave climate will consist of many monochromatic waves, each with its own T and hence wavelength, velocity and power per metre of crestlength ( , V and P).
Wave Period T=9s
2
Wave Height (H = 3.8m)
10 -2 Figure 70: Wave Characteristics. In deep water:
20
gT 2
ms-1 m
(80) (81)
gT 2 2
In shallow water, where the water depth is somewhat less than the wavelength,
V gD ms-1
(82)
For all depths, the power density is given by:
g 2 H 2T kWm-1 32
(83)
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This is very nearly exactly P
H 2T kWm-1
Note here that the deep water waves are dispersive, that is to say that their velocity is dependent on the period, whereas in shallow water, the velocity is only a function of depth, D (V gD ). In deep water, usually taken to be at least half of the wavelength, the longer period waves will arrive at a given location before their shorter and less energetic counterparts. In shallow water, the dependence on depth leads to refraction of waves which accounts for the tendency of waves to approach beaches with crests almost parallel to the seashore. This phenomenon can be used to identify the most energetic locations for shore or floor mounted devices by ray tracing. In the complex pattern of real waves, H and T are replaced by significant waveheight, Hs = 2Hrms, (where Hrms=H/ 2 for a sinusoidal wave) and energy period (T e). See Figure 71 below.
X X
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Figure 71: Surface level against time for waves with different Hs
The power density is then e.g. Hs = 3.7m Te=9.5s,
1 2 H s Te kW per metre of crestlength. 2 then P = 65 kWm-1
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Another important feature of waves in water is the attenuation of power density as waves run into shallow water. They gradually lose energy because of the interaction with the seabed and so become less powerful. Figure 72 below shows the wave power density as a function of depth for the Atlantic west of the Hebrides.
Figure 72: Wave power against water depth for the Atlantic - west of the Hebrides. Figure 73 below shows a typical scatter diagram taken from an offshore Atlantic location. Each number on the chart indicates 1/1000 part of a year and gives the average H s and T s for that unit of time. Ts is the so-called mean zero crossing time defined as the duration of a number of wave height readings divided by the number of upward crossings of the mean water level. Typically, Te 1.12Ts. From the above equation we could calculate the power density for each interval of time in Figure 4. Although not frequent, it can be seen that wave heights over 10m, and periods above 13s, do occur and these represent severe storms with power densities 600-1500 kWm-1. Wave device structures have to be designed to withstand such storms.
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Figure 73: Significant wave height Hs against zero crossing Ts
Energy is transmitted by the wave activity but there is no net movement of water. Instead, the water particles stay almost in one place executing orbital paths. These orbits are large near to the surface and smaller, declining exponentially beneath the surface. The fraction of energy between the surface and depth d is given by:
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F 1 exp
(84)
Figure 74 below illustrates this orbital behaviour in a time lapse photograph of a scale model single Edinburgh Duck. The waves are travelling from the right and a dye marker indicates the orbital activity. The time lapse is responsible for the blurred upper surface of the water at the wave crests and troughs. The duck is also blurred but note that the water behind the duck is not blurred because it is still: all of the incident wave energy has been absorbed by the duck!
Figure 74: Model Edinburgh Duck
Figure 75: 20 Duck Tested on Loch Ness
This image was instrumental in convincing the UK government that wave energy was worth funding in the 1970s. It shows the elegance of the duck concept, with a shape that matched the orbital characteristics of the waves. Technically, it shows good impedance matching. There are some important features to pick out here: 1. The Duck pivots about a fixed axis which is attached to the sides of the tank. In a fullscale version, the Duck will have dimensions of tens of metres and will be deployed in deep water where it cannot be supported in this way. To permit floating devices to work in deep water, a number of units are usually arranged on a common spine. In this way, the spine provides a reasonably stable frame of reference for the units to move against. The common spine is freely floating but because it spans a number of wave crests, it does respond significantly to small waves. Figure 75 above shows a 20 duck test on Loch Ness. The spine is 50m long, enough to span 5 to 20 crests. The model is at 1:10 scale, so that a full-scale spine would be 500m long. Note how calm the water is behind the spine. 2. The power take off from the Duck has to convert seemingly random, low speed, high torque movement into steady, high speed, low torque activity to drive a generator. 3. The photograph in Figure 75 shows virtually perfect wave energy capture. This is possible if the device intercepts all of the wave flux, and is tuned to the particular wave frequency (or equivalently, period). As real waves are complex and consist of a spectrum
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of wave heights and frequencies, the device will respond well to frequencies near the tuned frequency but will have lower efficiencies at other frequencies. Optimising the design for a selected location requires that the tuned frequency is carefully chosen by taking note of the annual distribution of wave frequency/period.
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5.3 Shore Mounted Technology

5.3.1 Oscillating Water Columns (OWC)
Oscillating Water Columns are the most popular first generation devices. They are usually designed as shore mounted structures having fixed frames of reference. The OWCs operate in response to the incoming wave activity. They are essentially resonant devices.
Figure 76: Diagram of a Typical Oscillating Water Column An incident wave crest will increase the pressure of the water inside the column, forcing the internal water level to rise and in turn pushing air out from the top of the column (see Figure 76 above). An air turbine extracts energy from this air flow. The air flow reverses to refill the column when the wave trough appears at the mouth of the device. The natural frequency of the OWC is determined by its physical size. For example, a path length l (which couples the wave surface to the internal water surface) of 28m will have a resonant period of about 9s
X X
using T
l 2g
and so will respond best to waves in the period range of 8 to 10s.
A critical feature of OWC has been the development of the Wells self-rectifying air turbine, Figure 77 below, which avoids the need for rectifying valves. Apart from being able to extract energy from air flows both out of and into the column (hence the self
X X
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rectifying characteristic), the Wells has other valuable attributes. With its symmetrical aerofoils arranged with a zero angle of attack, the Wells has a low drag and can be driven at high rotational speeds of several hundreds of rpm and thus can be coupled directly onto the shaft of an electrical generator without the need for a gearbox.
Figure 77: Wells Turbine
For example, a two-pole pair machine could be driven at 1500rpm in order to generate electricity at 50Hz. A Wells rotor operates most effectively when the pressure drop across it corresponds to 2 or 3 m of water, which is typical of ocean wave heights. As this pressure drop is proportional to flow, the Wells has a linear power characteristic, making it ideally matched to wave activity. There have been a number of prototype OWCs built around the World, including Japan, India, Portugal and Norway. A Norwegian device, the Multi Resonant Oscillating Water Column (MOWC), was designed and manufactured in 1985 by Kvaerner Brug. The oscillating water column chamber is set back into a cliff face which falls vertically to a water depth of 60m. Setting back the column produces two harbour walls which broaden the frequency response curve by effectively providing a range of resonant frequencies, hence the term 'multiresonant'. The oscillating air flow is fed through a 2m diameter Wells turbine rotating within the speed range 1000-1500 rpm. This turbine is directly coupled to a 600kVA generator, and the output passed through a frequency converter before being fed to the grid. Performance exceeded predictions and provided energy at about 0.04/kWh. Two successive severe storms in December 1988 tore the column from the cliff and to date the scheme has not been replaced, although future designs would be much more robust.
5.3.2 The OWC device on Islay

A prototype OWC was commissioned on Islay in Scotland in 1991 by the Queens University Belfast team. This consisted of a concrete chamber with a footprint of 4m by 9m. It was fitted
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with a 1.2m diameter biplane Wells turbine directly coupled to a 75kW wound rotor induction motor operating as a generator above its synchronous speed of 1500rpm. This was the first UK OWC and was built in a natural gully on Islay (Scotland) in 1991. The photograph (Figure 78 below) show this prototype being subjected to storm waves.
Figure 78: The prototype OWC commissioned on Islay in Scotland
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5.3.3 Limpet
Following the extensive work on the first Islay OWC, a second OWC, termed LIMPET, was commissioned in November 2000 (see schematic in Figure 79 ). Rated at 0.5MW, this also benefits from significant improvements over the original design:
X X
Purpose excavated gully rather than using a natural gully Three chambers each with a Wells turbine Shaped floor of the structure to turn water flow through 90 degrees.
Figure 79: The LIMPET oscillating water column
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5.3.4 Tapchan
This is a shore-mounted device that contains some inherent energy storage. As waves approach the mouth of the channel, they become compressed in width and so build up in height. "TAPCHAN" stands for Tapered Channel, and it is the design of this tapered channel which enables the scheme to harvest energy from the ocean waves which arrive at the mouth of the channel, see Figure 80.
Figure 80: Typical Tapchan Scheme
The 350kW prototype built in 1985 in Norway had a mouth which was a 40m wide horn shaped collector capable of accepting energy from waves with a range of frequencies and directions. Waves entering the collector are fed into the wide end of the tapered channel where they propagate towards the narrow end with increasing wave height. The channel walls on the prototype are 10m high (from -7m to +3m) and 170m long. Because the waves are forced into an ever narrowing channel, their height is amplified. However, their overall energy content is slightly diminished because the 'width' of the wave crest is reduced, until the crests spill over the walls into the reservoir at a level of 3.5m above the mean sea level. The wave energy has been converted into potential energy and is subsequently converted into electricity by allowing the water in the reservoir to return to the sea via a low head hydroelectric Kaplan turbine system where a 350kW induction generator delivers electricity into the Norwegian grid. The Tapchan concept is both elegant and simple. With very few moving parts, it has a low maintenance cost, and high reliability. The storage reservoir also helps to 'smooth' the electrical output. Tapchan 'collects' waves in the reservoir and so the output from the Kaplan turbine is dependent on the relatively steady water level in the reservoir and this is only slightly affected by the arrival of individual waves. Tapchan therefore has an integral storage capacity which is generally not found in other wave energy converters.
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Indonor AS is building a 1.1MW Tapchan on the Indonesian island of Java (see Figure 81 ). This consists of a 7m wide, 7m deep channel, which narrows down to 25cm over its 60m length. The bay has its own natural basin with an area of 7500m2 capable of holding water 4m above sea level. The total cost is expected to be about 6M and the predicted cost of electricity exported from the plant is 0.05/kWh. Tapchan represents an ideal wave energy converter where a suitable site can be found, as, for example, on Java, with a natural basin and a low tidal range.
X X
Figure 81: Proposed Tapchan for Indonesia.
5.3.5 Locations for Shore Mounted Schemes

The Tapchan concept has many beneficial attributes; it is relatively cheap, simple, reliable and easily maintained and has a small inherent amount of storage which facilitates the smoothing of electrical output from the wave energy scheme. In view of these attributes, there would be merit in deploying many Tapchan schemes but the consideration of site requirements leads us to the constraints on available locations. The Kaplan being significantly reduced compromises the efficiency of the scheme. High tidal ranges also compromise the performance of OWCs. The number of possible sites for shore mounted Tapchan and OWC around the world is thus limited by tidal ranges and shoreline constraints, and consideration of other wave conversion technologies is therefore necessary if we are to harness a significant proportion of the large potential resource. Figure 82 below shows the potential UK sites for shore-mounted schemes.
X X
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Figure 82: Potential UK Sites for Shore Mounted Schemes
5.4 Near Shore Technology

Near shore locations in water of depths from 10 to 25m can exploit the greater power density of the waves that are found in shallow water (see Figure 72). There are many more potential sites and hence a greater degree of resource accessibility.
5.4.1 Osprey
OSPREY could be classed in this category. A 2MW OWC wave energy plant equipped with four Wells turbines, Osprey I, was launched in August 1995 by Applied Research and Technology (ART) off the north coast of Scotland at a total cost of 4M. This was intended to be the World's first commercial scale near shore wave energy device. The plant was prefabricated and towed to its station. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by the tail end of
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hurricane Felix before it could be secured at its chosen location. A replacement incorporating a 1.5MW wind turbine on the top is planned.
5.4.2 The 'Mighty Whale'
Figure 83: The 'Mighty Whale' The Mighty Whale (see Figure 83 ), a Japanese floating OWC 50m long, 30m wide, with three chambers fitted with air turbines rated at 50,30 and 30 kW and has been deployed 1.5 km from the mouth of Gokasho Bay in 40m of water.
X X
5.4.3 FWPV
A floating Swedish version of TAPCHAN has already been tested as a prototype in the form of a floating vessel FWPV - Floating Wave Power Vessel. It is equipped with a sloping front ramp which collects the waves and stores the water temporarily on board before returning it to the sea via a turbine. A larger model will be deployed in Scottish waters under the Scottish Renewables Obligation (SRO).
5.4.4 Point Absorber Float Systems

Float systems, with a body floating on the surface but slack or tight moored to the sea bed via a pump, are attracting some attention. These can act as point absorbers which draw in energy from a greater width of water than their own physical diameter (i.e. have capture width ratios greater than one). Capture width is the ratio of effective width to actual device width, and is often used in place of efficiency.
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Figure 84: Hose Pump Wave Energy Converter The Hose pump wave energy converter (see Figure 84) has been developed over 15 years by Technocean in Sweden and is intended to pump sea water from an array of hose pumps fixed to the sea bed. The hoses consist of rubber tubes reinforced with spirally wound cording. By carefully choosing the spiral angle, it is possible to develop significant volume reduction/pressure increase by stretching the tube along its axis. The reinforcing cords retain their length by reducing the diameter of the tube, and hence the contained volume. A Pelton wheel extracts energy from the water as it is released from an upper reservoir back to sea. A hose-pump lightbuoy is undergoing pre-production tests, and evaluation of wave power plants in Ireland, Spain, Sweden and the USA have been carried out. The Swedish Government has halted research funding because it does not envisage wave energy as a major contributor to Sweden's energy system despite the low cost/kWh predicted for such schemes. The potential along the Swedish coast is about 5-10TWh/year (at an average power of 0.571.1GW, representing 3-7% of demand) but the potential along the Norwegian coast is estimated at around 3.0-3.5GW, which could contribute 12-15% of Sweden's electricity demand via the Nordic grid. A five phase project to build a semi-commercial hybrid wave/hydro power plant at Amorgos in Greece is in preparation and the subject of bids for funding to the EU. The first phases would have a mean rating of 6MW from an average wave climate of 89kW/m, with the ultimate goal of a 50-100MW plant. A small lkW float scheme was installed in 25m of water 2.5km offshore of Hanstolm, Denmark in January 1996. The converter demonstrated a reliable performance over a ninemonth period, surviving a storm with waves of 9.6m. A 300MW scheme in the Danish North Sea is estimated to produce electricity at a cost of 0.11-0.18/kWh, with possible reduction to 0.08-0.13/kWh, from a climate averaging 15 to 23kW/m. Transmission over 100km would represent approximately 20% of the cost. The Interproject Service (IPS) converter was developed in the early 1980s and tested at 1:10 scale in a lake and at full scale prototype at sea. It consists of a tall buoy with a tube open at both ends attached underneath. A piston inside the tube is linked to the buoy and power is
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extracted by the interaction of the buoy and the water in the tube. A new configuration, the sloped IFS, embodies a number of attractive features, and offers reliable power for small electricity networks on small islands.
5.4.5 Pendulor
A shore-mounted concept, the Pendulor, has been tested over 15 years in Japan. A concrete chamber with a length corresponding to a quarter of a typical wavelength is open at the sea end and is fitted with a hinged plate.
Figure 85: Pendulor
The wave activity in a normal sea state thus stimulates maximum or resonant response and causes the plate to execute maximum amplitude oscillations which are damped by the hydraulic power take-off mechanism. Costs are estimated at 0.07/kWh. Figure 85 shows a proposed four chamber, 250kW, Pendulor planned for the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
5.5 Offshore Technology

5.5.1 The Duck
The Edinburgh Duck was described earlier (see section 5.2 ); it may ultimately be capable of delivering electricity at around 0.10/kWh.
X X
5.5.2 The Clam

The SEA-Coventry Clam (see Figure 86) is an 80m diameter rigid toroid, rated at 3MW, delivering an average of 1MW, and floating in deep water. Twelve air cells are arranged around the circumference of the toroid and these cells are all coupled together by an air ducting which contains twelve Wells turbines. Thus the air forced from one cell will pass
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through at least one turbine on route to other cells.
Figure 86: The Clam
Each cell is sealed against the water by a flexible rubber membrane. Performance measurements, together with mathematical modelling, full scale component testing and outline design and costing, led to a team estimated cost of delivered electricity of about 0.05/kWh. A full scale experimental prototype is needed to prove the concept, to refine the design and optimise costs. A major consideration for all design teams is then to obtain the best performance from a range of wave heights and periods, and to design structures to survive the worst storms. Arrays of many floating devices in water 50m or so deep will be a few kilometres offshore and will constitute wave farms, capable of delivering MW or GW to the main land via subsea cables. As they will be moored to the sea bed, they will be able to swing to face the principal wave direction in order to maximise the total energy capture in a particular sea state. Both device teams have made considerable progress in design and technology, further developments of the Clam and Duck are necessary before the wave farm concept can be realised. Large-scale offshore devices will be deployed in deep water to exploit the higher wave power density to be found there. Since these systems will have to float, they are designed to be large enough to span several wave crests. In this way, the wave forces on the structure are averaged at an acceptably low value, permitting the structure to survive and moreover to provide a reasonable stable frame of reference. Arrays of such devices could form wave farms and transmit substantial amounts of electricity to the Irish, UK and Norwegian grids, with the long term prospect of feeding into a European supergrid. The collective output from an array will be smoother than individual devices. Offshore devices would transmit electricity via subsea cables. Modular construction methods should keep permitted the minimisation of capital costs and ensure rapid deployment and early operation.
5.5.3 Pelamis
Pelamis Wave Power Ltd have developed the Pelamis wave power generation device which is based on a spin off of the duck design, exploiting the hinges used to connect the ducks together (see Figure 75). Figure 87 shows a picture of a Pelamis device. The device consists of four large floating sections connected by hinges. As the sections move with the waves, the movement is resisted by hydraulic rams which pump hydraulic fluid through hydraulic
X X
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turbines via smoothing accumulators. These turbines are connected to generators which produce power which is fed via a cable to a point on the sea bed which is in turn connected to a transmission line which runs to shore. Each device can produce 750kW and a farm consisting of the three of these devices has been commissioned off the northern Portuguese coast at Aguadoura (see Figure 88 ).
X X
Figure 87: The Pelamis wave power generator (courtesy of Pelamis Wave Power Ltd).
Figure 88: The three Pelamis device wave farm near Aguadoura, northern Portugal (courtesy of Pelamis Wave Power Ltd).
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6 Solar Power
6.1 Solar Characteristics
6.1.1 The Solar Spectrum
Figure 89: Spectral irradiance outside atmosphere and on

earth's surface
The energy of an individual photon corresponds to the wavelength of the photon which is related to the frequency . The shorter the photon wavelength, the higher is its energy. This relation is described by:
h c
(85) 108m/s).
where h is Plancks constant (6.625 10-34 Js) and c the speed of light (3
Solar radiation consists of photons of differing energy. The distribution of the photons according to their wavelength or energy is called a spectrum; the height of the curve indicates the relative contribution by photons of a given wavelength. In passing the earths atmosphere solar radiations interacts with atmospheric particles (gas, molecules, dust etc.) so that the spectrum as well as the energy of radiation reaching earths surface differs from that outside atmosphere. Figure 89 shows the spectrum of solar radiation outside atmosphere and on earths surface. The differences between the two curves are due to the interaction of the radiation with the atmosphere. The entire energy Etot contained in radiation can be obtained by adding up the contributions of the individual wave ranges of the spectrum:
X X
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Figure 90: Colours in the visible range of the solar spectrum
Etot
E d
(86)
Figure 90 shows how colours in the visible part of the spectrum relate to wavelength.
X
The energy range beyond the visible part of the solar spectrum is called ultraviolet (UV). Radiation with photons of lower energy, is called infrared radiation (IR). Table 7 gives the relative proportions of the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared ranges of the solar spectrum.
X X
Table 7: Contributions of different spectral ranges to the total energy of the solar spectrum Spectral range ultraviolet visible infrared wavelength < 380 nm 380 780 nm > 780 nm portion [%] 8 46 46
6.1.2 The interaction between radiation and matter

When a photon interacts with the atoms of a material, either the photon transfers its energy completely to the atom or it does not transfer any energy at all. If the energy is transferred, the photon ceases to exist. There are various forms of interaction (see Figure 91 ).
X X
photon annihilated
interaction absorption transmission
conserved
reflection scattering
Figure 91: Types of interaction between radiation and matter

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The reflection of radiation at a surface of the material can be specular or diffuse. When the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, the reflection is called specular, whereas when the reflected radiation is uniformly distributed in all directions, it is called diffuse. When radiation strikes a body, a part of it is reflected, a part is absorbed and, if the material is transparent, a part is transmitted. The fraction of the incident radiation reflected is defined as the reflectance , the fraction absorbed as the absorptance , and the fraction transmitted as the transmittance . In general, the proportions depend on the wavelength and the incidence angle . These three components must sum to unity: + + =1 (87)
6.1.3 The mechanism of absorption

The energy transmission from a photon to the absorbing matter can happen in two ways, which have different effects on the condition of the matter and which underlie the thermal or non-thermal utilisation of the radiation. These are illustrated in Figure 92 .
X X
Figure 92: Atomic mechanism responsible for the absorption of photons On the one hand, the energy of the photon can lead to an increase in the kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules, which becomes evident through an increase in temperature at macroscopic level. In the second process, the internal energy of the atom changes in that an electron assumes a higher energy level called an excited state through energy transmission, or may even no longer be bound to the atom, so that it exists, for example, in a solid as a free charge carrier. This process changes the chemical or electrical properties of a material and forms the basis of the non-thermal utilisation of radiation, e.g. in the generation of electrical energy with solar cells or in the conversion into chemical energy through photosynthesis in plants.
6.1.4 Blackbody Radiation

Materials which absorb all radiation are described as black bodies or blackbody. definition a blackbody is a perfect absorber and emitter of radiation. By
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A remarkable property of the blackbody radiator is that the spectrum of its radiation, and thus the energy contained in the radiation, depends on its temperature alone. The dependence of the spectral irradiance E that is the energy at a certain wavelength radiated by a black body having absolute temperature T, is described by Plancks equation:
2 hc 2
1
5
hc / kT
(88)
where k is Boltzmanns constant (1.38 10-23 J/K). Figure 93 shows the spectrum of a black body at different temperatures. The higher the temperature, the greater the energy contained in the radiation field; this energy is given by the Stefan-Boltzmann law, obtained by integration over all wavelengths:
X X
E
where
T4
8 2 4
(89)
is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 10 Wm K ).
Figure 93: Spectral irradiance of a black body at various temperatures
A further characteristic is that the maximum of the spectrum (obtained by differentiating Plancks equation and equating to zero) shifts towards shorter wavelengths as temperature rises.
max
2898 T
(90)
6.1.5 Radiation on earths surface

The amount (and the spectrum) of radiation incident at a certain location and its daily and seasonal variation depend on several factors. The geometry of sun and earth and the earths orbit around the sun cause the seasonal differences of insolation, the length of day and the highest position of the sun above horizon. The rotation of the earth around its axis results in
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the daily course of the sun. The extraterrestrial radiation (radiation measured outside atmosphere) is more or less constant. Passing through the atmosphere, the radiation interacts with components of the atmosphere. The major factors are scattering from molecules and dust particles, absorption by the atmosphere, and refraction. The resulting intensity and the spectrum is strongly influenced by the local climate and weather conditions.
6.1.5.1 Terms and Quantities

That portion of the incident solar radiation which comes directly from the apparent solar disc, without without having been scattered or reflected, is called direct or beam radiation. Diffuse radiation is the result of scattering by the atmosphere. The sum of the direct and the diffuse solar radiation on a surface is called the total solar radiation. The term global radiation is used for the total solar radiation on a horizontal plane on the earths surface. The instantaneous radiation intensity incident on a surface per unit area is called irradiance and is measured in W/m2. The irradiation or, as usually used with solar energy, insolation is the incident energy per unit area, found by integration of irradiance over a specified time, usually an hour or a day. Table 8 gives the symbols used for various quantities.
X X
Table 8: Symbols for various irradiation and insolation quantities instantaneo us (irradiance) (W/m2) radiation outside the atmosphere (extraterrestrial) referred to a horizontal surface global radiation (horizontal) on the earth's surface direct beam radiation on a horizontal surface diffuse radiation on a horizontal surface Go hourly average (irradiation (W/m2) Io daily sum (kWh/m2 ) Ho monthly average of daily sums (kWh/m2)
HO
Gb Gd
Ib Id
Hb Hd
Hb Hd
6.1.5.2 Extraterrestrial Radiation

The characteristics of the radiation reaching the earth are determined by the physical processes occurring in the sun and the distance from the earth. The sun is a sphere of intensively hot gaseous matter with a diameter of 1.39 106 km. The energy produced in the interior of the solar sphere is transferred out to the surface and then radiated into space. While the temperatures in the centre reaches several million degrees, the surface of the sun has a temperature of about 5780 K. Because of the thermal origin of solar radiation, the sun can be approximated as a blackbody at 5780 K.
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The radiation reaching the earths atmosphere depends on the diameter of the sun, the distance between the earth and the sun and the suns total emission of radiation. The last quantity varies slightly and changes with the occurrence of sun spots in cycles of roughly 9 to 11 years but in general, these small variations are not relevant for the utilisation of solar energy. As the earth rotates round the sun in a elliptical orbit, the distance r between sun and earth is changing rather periodically. The deviation from the average distance r 0 of 1.496 108km is described by the eccentrity E0
E0 r0 r
2
(91)
whose variation in the course of one year is approximated by
E0
1 0.033 cos
360 n 365
(92)
where n = day number of the year {1,...,365}. The extraterrestrial radiation G on measured on the plane normal to the radiation varies around 3% as:
Gon E 0 G sc
(93)
In December/January the distance is at its minimum and therefore the extraterrestrial radiation reaches its maximum of 1412 W/m2 while in June/July the earth is at the point of maximum distance to the sun and a minimum of 1322 W/m2 may be received from the sun outside the earths atmosphere ( Figure 95 ).
X X
The average intensity Gsc of extraterrestrial solar radiation is called the solar constant. Attempts to determine the value of the solar constant have been made regularly since 1900. The actual value based on satellite measurements is 1367 W/m2 ( 4 W/m2 measurement uncertainty). The variation of Gsc due to variable sun activity (sunspots etc.) is less than 1%.
6.1.5.3 The influence of the atmosphere
Figure 95: Monthly variation in extraterrestial radiation Figure 94: Annual variation of the normal extraterrestrial solar irradiance G on [Duffie 91]
T T
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The interaction between the radiation and the atmosphere leads to changes in the quantity and quality of the radiation. The absorption and scattering processes vary with wavelength. Parts of the ultraviolet radiation are absorbed in the stratosphere, the outer layer of the atmosphere. In the upper troposphere, water molecules and carbon dioxide absorb parts of the infrared radiation. Aerosols lead to the scattering of visible light, mainly in the blue visible part of the solar spectrum. This diffuse radiation can be seen on sunny days as the blue sky. In the lower and upper troposphere, clouds reflect part of the radiation back into space. The remainder is transmitted or reflected down to the earths surface. In addition to these processes, the solar spectrum at the earths surface is determined by the amount of air that the radiation has passed through. With lower sun positions, the direct fraction decreases because more and more photons may be absorbed or scattered away from their direct path. The distance that radiation covers while passing the atmosphere is measured in the unit of air mass (AM). The conditions outside atmosphere correspond to air mass zero (AM0). Solar radiation that has passed the atmosphere vertically has an AM1 spectrum. AM 1.5 corresponds to a sun shining from an elevation angle of 42 above the horizon and is internationally chosen as a reference spectrum for solar cell characterisation. Figure 96 shows the spectral distribution at various values of the air mass.
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Figure 96: Spectra of solar radiation for various air mass values, definition of air
mass
6.2 Solar Resource

6.2.1 Geometry of the Sun, the Earth and the Collector Plane
A general task with the utilisation of solar energy is the calculation of the available radiation falling on a given receiver plane. The calculations of the direct and the diffuse fraction must be carried out separately, as beam radiation comes from a specific direction, changing with time of day and season, whereas the diffuse radiation is incident more of less uniformly from all directions. Table 9 illustrates the variability in global radiation for different weather
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conditions and what proportion of the global radiation is diffuse. Table 9: Radiation intensity for various weather conditions weather clear blue sky hazy/cloudy, sun visible as whitish yellow disk 200 400 W/m2 20 80% overcast sky, dull day
global radiation 600 1000 W/m2 diffuse fraction 10 20%
50
150 W/m2
80 100%
The following terms and quantities are used to determine the suns position in the sky and the position of the receiver plane ( Figure 97 ):
X X
the location of the receiver on earths surface is given by the geographical latitude (north positive, south negative) and the geographical longitude (0 Greenwich) the declination is the angular position of the sun at solar noon with respect to the plane of the equator, i.e. the zenith angle at solar noon at the equator (north positive, south negative). As the earths axis of rotation is not parallel to the axis of the earths orbit around the sun, but tilted by 23.45 , varies in the course of the year between 23.45 and +23.45 .
23.45 sin 360
284 n 365
the hour angle is the angular displacement of the sun east or west of the local meridian due to rotation of the earth around its axis. It is equal zero, when the sun reaches its highest position above the horizon; so, is a measure of the time of day. A displacement of 15 corresponds to a period of one hour (negative in the morning, positive in the afternoon). 0.25 Ts 180 where time is given in minutes (0 < TS < 1440). The true solar time Ts is obtained from the standard zone time Tzone as Ts Tzone 4 zone Et loc where zone is the longitude of the relevant time zone. The additional correction E t (time equation) considers that the speed of the earth on its elliptical orbit is not constant: n 81 Et 9.87 sin(2B) 7.53 cos(B) 1.5 sin( B) with B 360 364 the zenith is the direction in the sky vertically above the zenith angle z is the angle between the zenith and the sun vector equal to the direction of the beam radiation the elevation angle (90- z) is the angle between the earth-sun vector and the horizon the tilt angle is the angle between the horizontal and the receiver plane respectively the angle between the surface normal to the receiver plane and the zenith ( =0 for horizontal planes, =90 for vertical planes)
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the azimuth angle describes the orientation of tilted planes (normally South=0, East negative, West positive) solar azimuth angle s is the angular displacement from south of the projection of beam radiation on the horizontal plane the incidence angle is the angle between the normal of the receiver plane and the direct radiation. the basis for computations of the radiation incident on a receiver is the calculation of the incidence angle that describes the position of the sun relative to the receiver plane. The position of the sun at a certain time, and so the incidence angle, depends on the day within the course of the year, the time of day and the location of the receivers site on earths surface. The zenith angle is expressed by the following relation: cos sin sin cos cos cos z and the incidence angle: cos = (sin cos - cos sin cos ) sin + (cos cos + sin sin cos ) cos cos + cos sin sin sin Some special cases frequently occurring lead to simplified expressions: With horizontal surfaces ( = 0 ) the incidence angle equals the zenith angle: cos = cos z
z
South inclined surfaces with tilt angle equal to geographical latitude ( =, = 0 ): cos = cos cos
6.2.2 Variation of Extraterrestrial Radiation with Season and Latitude

The extraterrestrial radiation Got on an arbitrarily oriented surface is given by
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Figure 97: Geometry of the sun, the earth and the collector plane
Got
Gon cos
Go
cos cos
(94)
z
For the radiation falling on a horizontal surface, this equation reduces to:
Go Gon cos
z
(95)
or
Go
Gsc 1 0.033 cos
360 n 365
sin
sin
cos
cos
cos
(96)
The highest annual average of extraterrestrial solar radiation occurs at the equator. Seasonal changes at the equator are only small because the day length is almost the same throughout the year, only the angle of incidence varies from season to season. At the poles, the daily extraterrestrial solar input varies between winter and summer between zero and more than 12 kWh/m2 which is the highest value of daily extraterrestrial irradiation. At mid-latitudes (between the polar circles and the tropics) this effect is less pronounced. However, strong seasonal variations complicate the effective utilisation of solar energy.
6.2.3 Estimation of the Global Radiation on Tilted Planes

The radiation incident on an arbitrarily orientated receiver consists of the direct radiation Gbt, the diffuse radiation from the sky Gdt and another diffuse fraction Grt reflected by the ground (albedo). In order to estimate the radiation on tilted planes (Gt), information about these three different components is required.
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Gt
Gbt
Gdt
Grt
(97)
The direct radiation incident on the receiver Gbt is calculated as
Gbt
Gbn cos
Gb
cos cos
,
z
(98)
where Gbn is the normal beam radiation intensity. The fraction of the diffuse radiation Gdt reaching the tilted surface from the sky can be estimated as
Gdt
Gd
1 cos 2
(99)
if the diffuse fraction is considered to illuminate the receiver homogeneously from all directions of the sky dome This equation is based in an isotropic model of the diffuse fraction which assumes the diffuse radiation to be equally intensive from all parts of the sky. In reality, however, the area of a small disk of approximately 10 radius around the sun is much brighter than the average sky (circumsolar radiation) and the horizon also supplies a higher than average intensity (horizon brightening). The third fraction of solar energy reaching a tilted plane (Grt) is mainly determined by the ground reflectance (albedo). Grt may be expressed as
Grt
1 cos 2
(100)
where the ground is assumed to be homogenous and diffusely reflecting. Considering all three components the global radiation intensity on tilted planes is expressed as
Gt Gbt G Gd Gdt Grt Gd
z
cos cos
1 cos 2
1 cos 2
(101)
In general, an orientation towards south is favourable (in the northern hemisphere), as then the radiation can be received equally well during the morning and the afternoon. Tilting the receiver has different effects on the collecting of direct and diffuse radiation. The usable diffuse fraction is smaller for a tilted receiver than for a horizontal one, as it then sees only part of the sky; the larger the tilt angle, the smaller is the diffuse fraction ( Figure 98 ).
X X
Figure 98: Diffuse radiation on a tilted receiver

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Optimum use of direct radiation is only achieved when the receiver surface is always perpendicular to the incident radiation. The more oblique the incident angle, the smaller is the amount of useful energy. At higher latitudes, as the sun is low in the sky in winter even at noon, a large tilt angle is advantageous, whereas in summer, a smaller tilt angle is better. Figure 99 shows a receiver tilted for optimum capture during winter and what this translates to in summer.
X X
Figure 99: Direct radiation on a tilted receiver.
7.00
Effect of tilting the receiver plane
solar insolation [kWh/mday]
6.50
6.00 5.50 5.00 global 25 tilt tracking
4.50 4.00
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Figure 100: Radiation gains due to tracking If for constructional reasons the receiver must face eastward or westward, then in this case it should be tilted less than it were directed south.
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Even higher amounts of solar energy may be gained if the receiver plane is not installed at a fixed angle but mounted such that it always faces towards the sun. Tracking of the receiver enables one to receive 20% to 50% more energy compared with a fixed installation. In most cases, however, it is cheaper to increase the converter size by this amount than to install the whole system on a tracking device. In Figure 100 the long-term monthly averages (at San Juan) for global radiation on horizontal plane, fixed plane at 25 tilt and a plane which always faces the sun normally (tracking) are given.
X X
6.2.4 Devices for Measuring Global Radiation

The basic device for measuring global radiation is called a pyranometer. A typical pyranometer (see Figure 101 ) is a thermopile where the difference between the heating of a black surface (which absorbs most radiation) and a white surface (which reflects most radiation) produces an output in mV which when calibrated will give a reading of the global radiation. Both surfaces are normally shielded from wind and temperature The device is normally mounted on a level surface free from obstructions to diffuse and direct radiation. It should also be mounted to avoid any significant reflections which are not representative of the surroundings.
X X
Figure 101: A Middleton EP08 pyranometer.
6.3 Basic principles of Photovoltaic (PV) Cells

The photovoltaic effect was first observed in 1839 with developments resulting in the current crystalline silicon cells starting in the 1950's. More recently there have been developments in amorphous silicon technology, and other thin films which hold the promise of perhaps the cheapest cells in the future.
132
The high performance end of the market is currently dominated by the crystalline silicon cell and so these notes will concentrate on this particular device.
6.3.1 The crystalline silicon cell

A typical n-on-p silicon solar cell ( Figure 102 ) is made from a wafer of pure silicon crystal doped with a minute quantity of boron to make it what is call "p-type". Phosphorus is diffused into the front surface to form a highly-doped n-layer, with the p-n junction a fraction of a micron below the surface. The negative contact is a fine metallic grid on the front, while the positive contact usually covers the whole of the back. An antireflective coating is applied to the front surface. Most modern cells are 10cm x 10cm square but they can be longer or smaller and of any shape.
X X
Figure 102: Section through a typical crystalline silicon solar cell
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6.3.2 The basics of cell operation

The principle is similar to the photo-electric effect in that photons incident on the cell material excite electrons thereby dislodging them from the valence band to the conduction band. The subtlety of operation of the semiconductor cells such as the crystalline silicon cell relate to the fact that the photon energies are often less than the energy gap, or bandgap, between the valence and conducting bands of the natural material (1.12 eV for silicon). Crystal lattice structures are attractive as the bandgaps tend to be low and the electrons and holes can move fairly freely. (Note that 1 eV is the energy of a photon of wavelength approximately 1.24 m). The cell consists of a junction of n-type and p-type silicon, ie a typical semi-conductor junction. The doping of the n-type silicon is with phosphorus, which having five valence electrons compared to silicon's four creates and extra electron to appear in the conduction band. The p-type silicon is doped with the acceptor boron (three valence electrons), creating a deficit of one electron (hole) per atom. Figure 103 show the effects of doping.
X X
n-type semiconductor with phosphorus atoms
Key
Electron Moving Electron Silicon Atom Phosphorus Atom Boron Atom
p-type semiconductor with boron atoms Figure 103: the Effect of doping silicon with phosphorous and boron
134
The concentrations of electrons, n, and holes, p, depend on temperature and are given by: np = ni2 = NcNvexp(-Eg/kT)
(102)
where n = p = ni and Eg is the bandgap energy and the Boltzmann constant, k = 1.38x10-23 JK1 . Nc and Nv are the density of states in the conduction and valance bands respectively and ni is known as the intrinsic carrier density. These can be written in terms of the Fermi energy, E F, as: n =Nc exp-(Ec-EF/kT) and p = Nv exp-(EF-Ev/kT) . (104) (103)
Note that for n-type material the Fermi level (the average energy of the charge carriers) is very close to the conduction band, whilst for a p-type material it is close to the valence band. Figure 3 shows what happens to the energy levels at the junction. In practice, a shallow junction is formed by diffusing phosphorus onto a boron doped silicon base. At the junction, conducting electrons from the n-region diffuse into the p-region where they combine with the holes at the acceptor atoms to give the impurity atom an overall negative charge. Correspondingly holes migrate from the p-region to the n-region creating a layer of positively charged impurity atoms. The result is the creation of a reverse electric field at the junction (positive on the n-side and negative on the p-side. The area in which this field is established is known as the depletion area or depletion zone (since no free electrons and holes exist there) or the barrier layer (because of the reverse field) as shown in Figure 104 . It is the existence of this build-in field which helps the electrons to reach the conduction band when excited by a photon. Each electron liberated to the conduction band leaves a corresponding hole so the photons are said to create electron-hole pairs. The more energetic photons (shortest wavelengths) are absorbed close to the surface of the cell, longer wavelength photons penetrate further, most being absorbed within 10 -4 m.
X X
135
p-type
n-type
Conduction Band Fermi Level
Valence Band
Figure 104: Charge depletion and band bending in a p-n junction.
136
p type
qVbi n type EF
W The built-in voltage is given approximately in terms of the doping concentrations N A and ND: qVbi = kT ln(NAND/ni2) (105)
If an external bias voltage is applied to the cell, this will act to reduce or increase the built in potential/field, and current will flow as a result.
e-ve +ve Forward bias e+
e+ve -ve e+ Reverse bias In the n-region, just below the surface, the average energy of the charge carriers (the Fermi level) is near the top of the bandgap where many electrons are in the conduction band and only a few hole in the valence band. Conversely, in the p-region, the Fermi level is near the bottom of the bandgap. The electrons and holes diffuse through the crystal, driven to produce an even distribution. Some end up recombining after a very short period of time (of the order of 1 ms). This neutralisation results in heat generation. Others manage to reach the junction, where they are separated by the reverse field, the electrons being accelerated towards the negative contact, and the holes towards the positive contact. When the cell is connected across a load, the electrons will be forced from the negative through the load (conductor) to the positive contact where they recombine with the holes there.
Detailed analysis shows the current to follow the diode equation:

137
Idark = Io [exp(qV/kT)-1]
(106)
where Io is the reverse bias saturation current. There is a strong rectifying potential due to the built-in potential. However, under sufficiently high reverse bias, junction breakdown will occur. The photo-current works in the opposite direction to the dark current.
forward bias
V reverse bias
6.3.3 Cell spectral response

Not all photons have sufficient energy to liberate electrons to the conduction band. The limit on wavelengths is given by
max
= hc/Eg = 1.24/Eg (eV) m
(107)
Semiconductors are transparent to radiation with > max. Losses associated with these photons are called non-absorption losses. The absorption coefficient ( ) is clearly very dependent on wavelength. Even for wavelengths of sufficient energy, the coefficient is finite and some photons will pass right through the device without being absorbed. The losses associated with these are called transmission losses. So far we have considered the radiation that has penetrated the surface of the cell, but a certain proportion of the incident radiation will be reflected at the surface. These losses are called reflection losses. The optical absorption coefficient of the device takes into account these three sources of loss. Good design will minimise reflection losses through use of anti-reflection surfaces finishes and minimise transmission losses by providing sufficient depth of material and sometimes by the use of photo trapping techniques. For a particular junction, non-absorption losses are fixed. Not all liberated electrons contribute to useful current generation. This is because, even if no external voltage exists across the devise, some of the charge carries are created at a distance from the junction (where they can be separated by the built-in field) and so must travel towards the junction before they can be separated. As already mentioned, some of them will re-combine before they reach the junction. The performance of a cell in this regard is given by its quantum efficiency. This is the average number of electrons extracted from a cell for each incident photon under short circuit conditions. The terms internal and external quantum efficiency are distinguished by whether the radiation intensity already takes into account
138
reflection losses or not. Quantum efficiency represents the combined effect of photogeneration and the collection of carriers. Overall it is clear that the generated current is made up of contributions produced by photons of various wavelengths. If the current generated at a particular wavelength by a unit of irradiance is plotted as a function of wavelength, the resulting curve is called the absolute spectral responsivity or, more commonly, the spectral response of the cell. In terms of the quantum efficiency this is: s( ) = q /hc x Quantum Efficiency
I G = s( ).E(
).d
(109)
The current generated by a solar cell in radiation of known spectral composition can be computed thus:IG is the generated current density (A.m-2) is the absolute spectral response at wavelength (A.W-1) is the absolute spectral irradiance of the incident radiation at wavelength (W.m-2 . m-1).
where: s( ) E( )
As both the spectral response and the solar spectral irradiance curves are sharply peaked, a slight change in either can significantly affect the generated current. A typical spectral response for silicon is shown in Figure 105 .
X X
Figure 105: Absolute spectral response in Amps per Watt
6.3.4 Equivalent circuit for cell

The solar cell can be depicted as a constant current generator shunted by the p-n junction ( Figure 106 ), which, as we have seen, acts like a positively-biased diode. RS is the lumped
X X
139
internal series resistance and capacitance can usually be neglected.
Figure 106: Cell equivalent circuit The load current IL is the difference between the generated current (photo-current) IG and the junction (dark) current IJ:
I L = IG - I J
= I G - I O exp
q (V + I L . RS ) - 1 AkT
where: Eg/kT)
IO is the dark reverse saturation current of the diode, proportional to exp(q k T A V is the charge on an electron (1.6 x 10-19 C) is the Boltzmann Constant (1.38 x 10-23 J.K-1) is the absolute temperature of the cell (K) is the constant between 1 and 2 (varies with type of cell) is the terminal voltage (V).
3 2.5
Current (Amperes)
2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Voltage (Volts)
Figure 107: IV characteristic of a typical cell
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This gives the characteristics I-V (current against voltage) curve for a PV cell as shown in Figure 107 . In the short circuit condition, when there is no voltage across the terminals of the cell, IJ is very small, so practically all of the generated current passes through the external link. The short-circuit current ISC is therefore a useful measure of the generated current.
X X
From the expression for IL, we can deduce the following expression for the open-circuit voltage VOC at IL = 0:
V OC =
AkT .ln ( I G / I O + 1) q
(110)
6.3.5 Maximum Power Point

Figure 108 hows the current-voltage characteristic of a typical modern crystalline silicon solar cell under Standard Test Conditions (STC), which are:X X
Irradiance Spectral in distribution Cell temp.
1000 W.m-2 The reference distribution for AM1.5 total sun-light, as defined IEC 904-3. 25 2 C.
The relationship with IG and IJ is indicated by broken lines. Points A and B indicate ISC and VOC respectively. Maximum power PMAX is represented by the area of the largest rectangle that can be fitted under the curve. In this case, it is 1.2 W at 0.48 V. The power output at the rated voltage, which is usually at or near the maximum power point, is commonly referred to as the rated or "peak" power. It is expressed in "peak" watts (Wp).
PMAX (W. m 2) x 100% Irradiance (W. m- 2)
Conversionefficiency =
In the case illustrated in Figure 108 , the conversion efficiency at STC, based on the total surface area of the cell (including front grid and contact) is 12.0%. Most commercial crystalline silicon cells lie between 12 and 18% at present.
X X
141
3 A 2.5
Current (Amperes)
2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 0.1 0.2
maximum power point point
B 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Voltage (Volts)
Figure 108: I-V characteristics of a typical silicon PV cell under standard test conditions (10cm by 10cm square) showing maximum power point.
For modules (encapsulated assemblies of solar cells), conversion efficiencies are lower (10 17%), because of the non-productive areas between and around the cells.
Fill factor = PMAX I SC .V OC

Most modern crystalline silicon cells have fill factors exceeding 0.72. In this case, it is 2.5 x 0.48/(2.75 x 0.6) = 0.73.
6.3.6 Effects of changes in irradiance and temperature

Changes of irradiance ( Figure 109 ), such as one would experience in the course of a day, affect the short-circuit current proportionally but have little effect on V OC, because of the logarithmic relationship.
X X
In concentrated sunlight, ISC remains proportional to the irradiance up to extremely high values, provided the temperature is controlled at a constant value. As the V OC also increases, albeit only slightly, one would expect the conversion efficiency to rise as the concentration ratio is increased. So it does, up to a point, but the effect of series resistance progressively reduces the fill factor, offsetting the gain in efficiency and limiting the improvement that can be achieved. In practice it has been found that concentration ratios (by using a lens, for
142
example) of about 20 are optimal from the point of view of efficiency.
Crystalline silicon cells respond very rapidly to sudden changes in irradiance, their time constant being about 20 s.
Figure 109: The effect of temperature and irradiance To understand the effect of temperature we can for simplicity assume the constant A in the equation for the cell current to be unity. This then gives V OC as:
V OC =
kT .ln ( I G / I O + 1) q
(111)
The, photo-current IG increases slightly with temperature, partly because of increased diffusion lengths for the minority charge carriers, and partly because of a small narrowing of the bandgap which allows photons of lower energy to be absorbed. However these effects are small and can be initially ignored. This leaves two effects, the explicit dependence on T, and also the fact that I O is a function of T. The reverse bias current can be expressed as: IO = B x T3 exp(-Eg/kT) (112)
Lecture Notes for Course ELC003 Renewable Energy Sources
143
where B is a constant which is independent of temperature. Combining (and simplifying) these equations gives the following approximate relation: VOC = Eg/q (kT/q) ln(B x T3/IG) (113)
The rate of change of open circuit voltage with temperature is approximately given by: dVOC/dT = -(1/T)[Eg/q VOC(T)] (114)
which has a value of 2.3 mV/oC for silicon cells at ambient temperature. This decrease in VOC (plus a slight reduction in fill factor) easily outweighs the slight increase in IG. and there is a reduction of cell performance with temperature. This is also shown in Figure 109 and can be approximated as a 0.4% reduction in efficiency per degree C temperature rise.
X X
6.3.7 Other types of cell

Although crystalline silicon makes up most of the cells used for terrestrial applications, a large number of different cells are currently under investigation which could result in lower costs. The most popular alternative at present to mono-silicon and multi-crystalline cells are the amorphous silicon cell and the polycrystalline thin film cells such as cadmium telluride and copper indium diselenide. BP Solarex and Siemens have recently launched thin film modules onto the market. Very recently, work has started to commercially develop dyesensitised devices for electricity generation
6.3.8 Applications
PV cells are normally connected together to form units called modules. PV modules are widely used for battery charging. Electronic interfaces provide charge control, protection, and sometimes maximum power point tracking. More recently there has been interest in the grid connection of PV. There are three basic types of PV plant Stand alone Hybrid Grid-connected Stand-alone systems are generally used in remote locations which have no access to a public utility grid. A PV plant has one or more inverters if it supplies AC power or operates with an
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auxiliary power source such as a utility grid or a diesel/wind generator. Stand alone PV systems are often called solar home systems, especially in developing countries where they are most common. Figure 110 shows such a system where a PV panel is charging a battery via a control unit. The control unit regulates the PV array and charging/discharging of the battery. Electricity from the battery is drawn off via the inverter which converts DC to AC for powering domestic appliances.
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A hybrid system includes a PV array, one or more auxiliary power sources such as wind or diesel generator, and often batteries. Although it requires a more complex controller than the stand-alone or the grid-connected systems, its overall reliability is superior to the other two systems.
PV Module Control Unit
Battery
Inverter Invertor
Figure 110: A solar home system In a grid-connected system, the inverter must be capable of accepting the full range of solar array voltage and power excursions, and must be capable of operating at the array peakpower point instantaneously. In this case, the utility network acts as an infinite energy sink and accepts all available power from the PV system. It also provides any local system load at times when the PV output is insufficient. Two-way metering is usually required and this can add to the system costs. Regulations for the grid connection of PV are starting to emerge. The working standard in the UK is G77, although this is yet to be included in the Distribution Code which controls the connection of all generators to the electricity distribution network.
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7 Biomass
7.1 Introduction
7.1.1 What is Biomass?
Biomass energy is: recent organic matter originally derived from plants as a result of the photosynthetic conversion process or from animals, and which is destined to be utilized as a store of chemical energy to provide heat, electricity , or transport. (Sims 2002 p1-2). Biomass was the first fuel used for energy by humanity. Wood was burnt for warmth and cooking. Evidence of the first use of controlled fire has been found at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site near Johannesburg, South Africa, dating from 1 million years before present (BP). At 40 000 BP animal oils were used in oil lamps in France. Biomass predominated throughout history as our chief energy resource In 19th Century USA 90% of energy was derived from wood. In the early 20 th Century some 40% of agricultural land in the UK was devoted to producing grass and oats to feed horses. This was an energy crop as horses were the power of the economy (cars are still rated in horse power). Figure 111 shows changes in patterns of energy use with suggestions on future patterns.
X X
100 90 80 70
Biomass Coal Oil Gas
Water & Wind

Other Renewables
% Share
60 50 40 30 20 10 0
1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
2020
2040
2060
Figure 111: changing patterns in energy consumption
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But the rise in the global consumption of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution has seen a decline in the use of biomass as a primary resource in the developed world. Fossil fuels have higher energy values per kilogramme. Only 3% of energy use in USA comes from biomass at the beginning of the 21 st Century. In rural areas outside industrialised nations traditional wood fuel is still one of the most important fuel resources around the world. It is often the main source of energy in developing countries. In the Sub-Sahara this can be over 90% of the fuel available for heating and cooking. An estimated 2.4 billion people rely on non-commercial biomass for fuel. Figure 112 shows the percentage contribution to world energy resources. It can be seen that biomass, or the Combustible and Renewable Wastes contribution has remained approximately the same percentage but has increased in absolute amounts.
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i Figure 112: World Primary Energy 1973-2001, Source IEA 2002.

What reasons can you think of for the dramatic increase in energy use since 1973?
In terms of the contribution of biomass renewable energy to global energy, Figure 113 illustrates the relative percentages.
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Figure 113: Global contribution of energy resources. However, there are differences between the contributions in developed countries and developing countries as shown in Figure 114 .
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Bioenergy Hydro 3% 6% Nuclear 6%
Oil 36%
Natural Gas 24%
(a)
Solid Fuels 25%
Oil 23% Bioenergy 35%
Solid Fuels 28%
Nuclear 1% Hydro 6% Natural Gas 7%
(b) Figure 114: Contribution to primary energy in (a) Developed and (b) Less
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7.1.2 Developed Countries

Can you suggest reasons why there are differences between the amounts of different energy resources used in developed and less developed parts of the world?
This is further illustrated with the relationship between income and biomass use as shown in Figure 115 .
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100 Nigeria 90 India Pakistan 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Russia Costa Rica Algeria Poland Romania Brazil Mexico Bolivia Columbia Peru Paraguay Bangladesh Indonesia Senegal Guatemala El Salvador
Zambia
Percentage of Population below $2 per day
Nepal Mozambique Zimbabwe Kenya Tanzania
Ecuador
China
Sri Lanka
Thailand South Africa Chile Tunisia Panama
Turkey Uruguay
Morocco
100
Percentage of Domestic Biomass Use
Figure 115: The relationship between income ($2 per day) and Domestic use of Biomass. Biomass can be illustrated to be of major importance as an energy resource. It is estimated that perhaps as many as 2.4 billion people rely on biomass for their primary energy resources. With future population growth predictions, this number of people is likely to grow.
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7.2 Conversion Routes for Biomass

There are three main groupings of the methods of converting biomass to energy namely Thermo-chemical conversion (Combustion Gasification and Pyrolysis) Enzymatic (Anaerobic Digestion, Fermentation and Bio-Hydrogen) Chemical (Esterification) Biomass is a fuel in the same sense as coal, oil or gas. Indeed, biomass conversion technologies mean that biomass can be used as a solid, liquid or gaseous fuel. Figure 116 shows examples of the range of biomass fuels and their conversion to end products.
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Principal Fuels
Poultry litter/straw bales, Wood energy crops, forest and wood wastes, chips/pellets
Animal wastes/sewage sludge/biodegradable wastes
High energy sugar/ starch crops
High energy oil crops, animal fats
Conversion Processes
Combustion
Pyrolysis
Gasification
Anaerobic Digestion
Fermentation
Esterification
Intermediary Products
Bio oils/ fuel gas
Producer gas
Methane
Methanol
Ethanol
Bio diesel
End Use Technologies
Wood stove/ boiler
Steam boiler/ CHP plant
Gas turbine
Spark ignition engine
Compression ignition engine
End Products
Heat
Electricity
Motive power for transport
Figure 116: Energy from biomass, fuels to end-uses Sources: Biomass is Forever, article in Energy Wise News April/May 2002: Power Plants - Biofuels made simple, Centre for Alternative Technology 1996: Renewable Energy Resources, Twidell and Weir, E&FN Spon 1986:
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7.3 Biomass as a Fuel

7.3.1 Solar Store and the Carbon Cycle
Biomass is the only source of renewable fixed carbon. It has low sulphur content and for every 2 tonnes of biomass, 1 tonne of oil and 1.5 tonnes of coal can be left in the ground. While it is growing biomass produces oxygen and absorbs the same amount of carbon dioxide as it releases when it is burnt. The energy contained in biomass comes directly from the sun, by the process of photosynthesis, and therefore, if properly managed, will always be available unlike coal, oil and natural gas, which will eventually run out Biomass grows by using solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates (sugars, starches, cellulose etc) and oxygen represented as follows: CO2 + H2O + (solar) energy [CH2O] + O2
When the biomass decays or, more importantly, is burnt then the energy is released as heat: [CH2O] + O2 CO2 + H2O + (heat) energy
Therefore it can be seen that biomass acts as an energy store in a similar way to other fuels such oil, gas and coal. It is also important to know that the production of energy from biomass is almost a closed cycle, see below.
Based on El Bassam 1998.
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) is taken from the atmosphere and used by biomass to grow. Approximately 200 billion tonnes of carbon is fixed by plants annually. This is 10x the energy equivalent used by people every year. About 800 million tonnes or 0.4% are used to feed the human population. When plants die and decay or, more importantly, are burnt then CO2 is released back into the atmosphere. As long as there is sufficient biomass left growing to absorb all the CO 2 released from the decaying or burning biomass then the cycle can be said to be CO2 neutral. If biomass fuels are grown in a sustainable way, for example in sustainable managed woodlands or plantations, then the CO 2 released by its conversion as a fuel will never be more that the CO2 taken up by new growth. In considering the conversion of biomass to energy it is important to consider the scale of the plant and volumes of biomass required. This is shown in Table 10 .
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Table 10: Relative sizes of energy conversion plants with volumes of biomass fuels consumed in oven dry tonnes (odt). Source Sims, R. (2002). Plant capacity Propertie s served Annual fuel deman d 3-5 odt firewoo d 80-120 odt wood or straw 15002000 odt wood, straw 20,00030,000 odt of a range of biofuels 120,00 0140,00 0 odt using dry Vehicle Conversion Physical Investmen movement technologie size t costs s s 2-3 trailer Wood loads/yr burner or boiler 30-40 Wood / small truck straw burner loads/yr / boiler and fans 5-6 Gasifier or medium boiler and lorries/wee gas engine k or steam engine 40-50 large Gasifier or lorries/wee boiler and k gas engine or steam engine 120-150 large lorries/wee k Steam turbine or gas turbine or small combined cycle Large suitcase 100s
Domestic heating (15 kW) Small business heating (350 kW) Small electricity generatin g plant (250kW) Medium electricity generatin g plant (5MW)
Family dwelling School or a small factory 200-300 houses or a small industry
Garage 10,000s for one car Small house and garden Petrol service station and forecourt Large church and graveyar d 100,000s
40006000 houses or a small industrial estate Large 25,000electricity 35,000 generatin houses or g plant industrial (30MW) estate
1,000,000 s
10s of millions
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biomas s fuels Combine >500,000 800 d cycle houses or Mm3 gas a large natural turbine or industrial gas or pulverise site 1Mt d coal coal fired station (500MW)
Pipeline or 400-500 large lorries/wee k
Gas turbine and or steam turbine
Tower of 100s of London million or Sydney Opera house
7.3.2 Calorific Value and Moisture Content There are two critical elements when describing biomass usefulness as a fuel: calorific value (energy content) and moisture content. A fuels calorific value is the measure of its available (i.e. stored) energy, usually given in Joules (J) per unit mass (kg) or volume (m3). Table 11 shows typical caloric values for different biomass fuels and conventional fuels.
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Table 11: Average calorific values for different biomass and conventional fuels Fuel Wood (oven dried, 0% moisture content) Wood (air-dried, 20% moisture content) Paper Straw Rice husk Bagasse (sugar cane fibre, air-dried) Ground nut shells Natural gas (supply pressure) Oil (petroleum) Coal (UK average) Calorific value MJ/kg GJ/m3 20 13 15 10 17 9 14 1.4 15 14 10 20 55 0.04 42 34 28 50
However the useful energy in a fuel will be affected by the amount of water or moisture present in the fuel. Moisture contributes nothing to the stored energy of a fuel and will reduce its useful energy. For example Table 2 shows that dry wood has an average calorific value of 20 MJ/kg but only 15 MJ/kg when containing 20% moisture
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In addition if the biomass fuel is sold by weight then the amount of moisture present can affect the economics. It can be seen from table 2 that 1 tonne of dry wood has a higher calorific value than 1 tonne of wood containing 20% moisture (i.e. 200kg). However, transporting 1 tonne of dry wood will cost the same as transporting 1 tonne of wet wood and so there will be a cost associated with transporting water that reduces the fuels useful fuel. There are two methods used to calculate the moisture content, the Wet Basis and Dry Basis. The moisture content of a single piece or sample of biomass will be different using the two methods and so care must be taken to be clear which method is being used. Generally speaking the Wet Basis is used as a norm and so all figures quoted in these notes refer to Wet Basis. To determine the moisture content, a sample or a number of samples of the biomass is/are weighed wet then oven dried to expel all the moisture. The oven-dried weight is subtracted from the wet wood weight to determine the amount (mass) of water that was present. In the wet basis, the mass of the water is divided by the mass of wet biomass. In the dry basis the moisture content is then calculated by dividing the mass of the water by the mass of the oven dried biomass. The following calculation demonstrates the difference between the two methods: Example: A quantity of wood has a mass of 10kg. It is dried to an oven-dried condition, and then it has a mass of 8kg. What is its moisture content on a) a Wet basis and b) a dry basis? WET BASIS Mass of wet wood (10kg) mass of oven dried wood (8kg) = mass of water (2kg)
Mass of Water (2kg ) Mass of Wet Wood (10kg )
0.20M .C. ( wet basis) i.e. 20%
DRY BASIS
Mass of Water (2kg ) Mass of Dry Wood (8kg )
0.25M .C. (dry basis) i.e. 25%
In many respects the wet basis is more natural as values under the dry basis can go over 100% (if more water is present than solid matter).
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7.4 Biogas
7.4.1 Introduction
Biogas production from waste is very widely used. There are about 1,000 plants in the UK generating methane from sewage and industrial effluents. There are probably another 250 generating biogas from refuse in landfills. In Europe as a whole there are well over 7,000, including some in Denmark taking mixtures of wastes and dedicated to energy production. The advantages over other biomass sources are that the raw material has negative value so gasification attracts an environmental tax premium. The disadvantage, like liquification, are the side streams, leachate, effluents and solids which need further treatment and can often be up to 50% of the original mass. Disposal or recycle routes for these wastes are difficult and becoming more expensive. Recent problems with the food chain in the UK for example have undermined confidence in processed waste as a soil conditioner. The process by which biogas is produced is known as anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion has been used for waste treatment for over 100 years. There is considerable experience and most large sewage treatment works have anaerobic digesters. Energy recovery has always been part of the process. Anaerobic digestion can be defined as Organic matter broken down by bacteria in the absence of air, producing a gas (methane) and solid (digestate). The by-products can be useful, for example biogas can be used in a furnace, gas engine, turbine or gas-powered vehicles, and digestates can be re-used on farms as a fertiliser. www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/professionals/en/1115310681665.html
H
Anaerobic digestion is unusual biotechnology because it uses some of the first organisms to have evolved 4 billion years ago when the emerging biosphere was a completely different place. Much of what is known about the microbiology and biochemistry of anaerobic digestion has been unravelled in the last ten years. It has evolved in parallel with the rapid improvements in the understanding of molecular biology and genetics. A new group of bacteria have been identified and characterised as responsible for the generation of methane. They are known as the Archaebacteria; they have very special biochemical characteristics and were some of the first organisms to evolve. They played a key role in shaping the present environment. There are differences between aerobic and anaerobic processes that are summarised below in Table 12 .
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Table 12: Simple contrast of the features of aerobic and anaerobic process engineering (process intensitivity). Aerobic Capital cost Energy or running costs By-products Low High Large amounts and need further treatment Difficult but well known High Low Small well stabilised Anaerobic
Control
Simple at low rates understanding still developing Some ddour a problem. More corrosive.
Environmental
Seasonal
Odour can be a problem at low energy. Can be noisy, can be fly problems Can be difficult but understood
Can be completely switched off out of season with rapid restart. Not possible in reduced state Rarely necessary except start up
Treated effluent
Suitable for discharge to environment Need to be added for industrial effluent
Nutrients
7.4.2 Control of Anaerobic Digestion

Unlike aerobic treatment anaerobic digestion is a sequential process which relies on a synergistic consortium of different micro-organisms for each stage. These activities need to be closely coordinated for the successful breakdown of biomass/sludge. The digestion of sludge and other solid organic polymers are the most difficult and take place in four successive steps: hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis ( Figure 117 ). The operation of anaerobic digestion is further complicated by these different microorganisms involved having different preferred environments and rates of growth. The stages can therefore become unbalanced with each other. The rate limiting reaction is usually the hydrolysis step although under stress methane generation can be slowed down by excessive quantities of undesirable intermediates.
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The digestion of solid organic matter involves 4 sequential steps involving 4 different
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types of bacteria : 1. 2. 3. 4. Hydrolysis which involves the enzymatic conversion of solid organic matter to soluble organic matter. Acidogenesis which is a fermentation stage. Acetogenesis Methanogenesis, in which methane is formed. biogas
methane and carbon dioxide 4.METHANOGENESIS Hydrogen
acetate
3. ACETOGENESIS
INTERMEDIATES, HIGHER ORGANIC ACIDS, BUTYRATE, LACTATE ETC.
2. ACIDOGENESIS Amino acids, sugars

LARGE CARBOXYLIC ACIDS AND ALCOHOLS
1. HYDROLYSIS protein carbohydrate lipid
Complex organic material Figure 117: Stages in Anaerobic Digestion
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7.4.3 Biomass to methane

The conversion of organic materials including biomass to methane is achieved by the bacterial decomposition of organic matter in the absence of air or oxygen to produce a mixture (biogas) of methane and carbon dioxide in a roughly 2:1 volumetric ratio (biogas). The carbon dioxide can be removed to leave Substitute Natural Gas (SNG) of pipeline quality, while the residual sludge retains its nitrogen to yield a fertiliser. It is a versatile process which can convert a wide range of raw material inputs including sewage sludge, farm wastes, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), algae, water weeds and crop residues; its reaction temperature can be maintained in the mesosphilic region of 35-37 C or at 55 C for faster thermophilic rates; the type of fermentation selected may be batch, semi-continuous or continuous. It includes digesters for large urban sewage works with reactor tanks up to 10,000 m3 capacity down to the 3-4 m3 Gobar vessels of rural India.
7.4.4 Example Domestic Waste Treatment Wanlip 5MW Biogas Plant

Wanlip Sewage Treatment Works treats domestic and industrial waste water from Leicester and a number of satellite villages. Industrial waste includes Walkers Crisps, Everards Brewery and Nestl. The volume of effluent treated is equivalent to 600,000 people about 185 million litres per day. The sewage and industrial effluent goes through settling to remove some water so that the total solids content of the waste stream up to 5-7% dry solids. The sludge is then mesophilically anaerobically digested for between 12-15 days. This converts approximately half the solids to biogas this is most of the easily biodegradable carbon and the residue is able to be recycled as a soil conditioner. The biogas is used in a CHP plant with 5 1MW engines.
7.4.5 Bio-hydrogen Production

It has been discovered that certain types of algae such as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii can produce hydrogen instead of oxygen under certain conditions such as a sulphur free environment. Current research has produced small quantities of hydrogen, 2% conversion of sunlight, but this is a rapidly evolving a subject. The possibilities of algae pond farms in unproductive desert areas yielding hydrogen are not beyond the realms of fantasy.
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There is a requirement for 5% of road transport fuel to be derived from biomass by 2012
7.5 Introduction to Liquid Biomass Fuels, Biodiesel and Bioethanol

7.5.1 Biodiesel
Since Rudolf Diesels demonstration of groundnut oil as a diesel fuel at the Paris exposition of 1900, many others have emerged with various other alternatives. Today, there are a number of vegetable oils that have been tried as diesel alternatives but, with the exception of a few, none of them can be classed as satisfactory. They include sunflower, soybean, peanut, palm oil, linseed, rapeseed, winter rape, cottonseed, and canola oil. All vegetable oil and animal fats consist primarily of triglyceride molecules as shown below in Figure 118 .
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O CH2 - O - C - R1 O CH - O - C - R2 O CH2 - O - C - R3
Figure 118: Molecule of Triglycerol. R1, R2, and R3 in Figure 118 above represent the hydrocarbon chain of the fatty acid elements of the triglyceride. There is a three-carbon chain called the glycerol backbone that runs along the left side of the molecule. Extending away from this backbone are the three long chain fatty acids.
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7.5.2 Transesterification
To make biodiesel with similar chemical and physical properties to fossil diesel requires the separation of the glycerol backbone from the long chain fatty acids. This can be achieved by a number of processes. However, the process known as transesterification where the vegetable oil is reacted with methanol and a catalyst salt such as sodium hydroxide is a viable method. The chemical bonds between the glycerol and long chain fatty acids are broken and the methanol combines the long chain fatty acids to form what is called a fatty acid methyl ester or biodiesel. This is shown in Figure 119
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160
H H H H C C C COOR
/ COOR + 3CH3OH
H H H H C C C H Glycerol + Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (Bio Diesel) OH RCOOCH3
OH + R/COOCH3 OH R//COOCH3
COOR
//
H Oil + Alcohol
Figure 119: The Chemistry of Biodiesel Transesterification The glycerol bi-product can be extracted by settling as it is denser than the biodiesel, as shown in Figure 120 . Glycerol has many uses in the chemical industry.
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161
Biodiesel
Glycerol
Figure 120: Biodiesel separation from Glycerol Biodiesel can be blended with fossil diesel or even used as pure biodiesel, as it has very similar chemical and physical properties. Car and engine manufacturers are certifying that biodiesel can be used for compression ignition engines.
7.5.3 Bioethanol
The production of ethanol (C2H5OH) is nothing new, its being going of for six millenia. The microbiology of the brewing process is relatively uncomplicated - at the heart of the process is yeast which converts soluble sugars to ethanol and carbon dioxide. By and large the yeast belong to a small number of closely related genera, principal amongst these is the genus Saccharomyces. As far as ethanol-producing yeast are concerned, ethanol is a waste product of anaerobic energy metabolism. The yeasts can only breakdown a small range of short-chain soluable sugars such as glucose and fructose also known as six carbon atom-containing monosaccharides (C6H12O6) and also a small number of di-saccharides such as sucrose. Starch is the only polymeric material hydrolysed to provide fermentable sugars in conventional ethanol fermentations; this requires an enzyme called amylase or by
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heat treatment. Following fermentation the following values of ethanol are typically produced. Theoretical yield: 1.00g(C6H12O6) > 0.51g (C2H5OH) + 0.49g (CO2) Practical yield: 1.00g (C6H12O6) > 0.46g (C2H5OH) + 0.44g (CO2) + 0.10g (Biomass) The fermentation process, depending of the type of yeast used will yield a solution containing between 4-12% ethanol to water. To make use of the ethanol in engines requires dehydration known as distillation. Certain countries, most notably Brazil, have embarked on a programme of setting up what are in effect energy plantations. There are areas of land in which crops are grown solely for conversion to fuels. In Brazil the principal fuel crops are sugar cane, sorghum and cassava. Brazil has a favourable combination of land resources and climate to permit a sizeable proportion of its liquid fuel requirements to be met by this strategy. Most countries do not; in most countries land given over to fuel plantations would adversely affect food production. Although there are numerous programmes throughout the world in which various crops are under development for cultivation in marginal or poor quality lands, there have been no truly dramatic breakthroughs. The US has embarked on a programme of ethanol production using corn as the substrate. The use of conventional substrates has certain implications for the cost of the ethanol produced by the fermentation of such substrates. Typically, up to 80% of the cost of the ethanol product is attributable to the cost of the substrate in such cases. This reduces greatly the impact which technological innovations might have on the process. Ethanol can be blended with petrol in a ration of 20:80. This requires no modification of the engine. Ethanol has a lower energy content than petrol, but oxygen in ethanol improves the combustion process in the combustion chamber.
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7.6 Conversion of Biomass 1: Pre-treatment and Direct Combustion

7.6.1 Resource Base
Wood is the main solid biomass resource in the UK that is suitable for thermochemical conversion for electricity generation. Wood is available from a variety of sources including energy crops, forestry residues and sawmill wastes such as shavings and sawdust. Energy crops are plants, which are grown specifically for energy purposes, see Table 13 As well as the environmental advantages (i.e. CO 2 neutral) already referred to, an important driver in European countries is the need to find new agricultural enterprises, since the problems of overproduction of food and surplus agricultural land increase. In northern European countries, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC), the production of fast growing trees, which are planted, maintained and harvested in a manner, which is closer to agricultural crop production than conventional forestry, has received much attention recently. This technique has given rise to a number of pilot projects in Britain but is much more commercially developed in countries like Finland and Austria.
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Table 13: Comparative content of some energy crops Species Heating value (MJ/kg) 18.75 19.35 18.0 18.27 Annual production rate ODT/ha
Poplar Eucalyptus Miscanthus Giant Reed (Arundo donax)
12-15 (UK) Up to 50(E.grandis in Brazil) 16 (UK) 30 (S Europe) 25-35 (S Europe)
The wood produced by SRC may be treated as a solid fuel and simply burned in a combustor to produce heat or steam. To produce a fuel, which is more easily stored, transported and used, wood may be briquetted or pelletised. Alternatively, it may be fed to a gasifier or pyrolyser to transform it into a gaseous fuel, the active constituents of which are hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This may in turn be used to drive a reciprocating engine or turbine which, if attached to a generator, will produce electricity. (In fact, electricity systems like this usually make simultaneous use of the heat produced as well this is called Combined Heat and Power or CHP). The same options are available for forestry and wood industry wastes. Forestry residues are the branches and tops of trees which are removed on felling
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the so-called lop and top which is normally left on the forest floor. This amounts to about one third of the tree and constitutes a large, free and generally neglected resource. Problems of harvesting, transport and utilisation are exacerbated by the low bulk density of the material; and to address these difficulties, the residues could be converted to wood chips or pellets. It has been estimated that a further one third of the wood is transformed to waste in sawmills and other wood processing operations and this material may be similarly treated.
7.6.2 Pre-treatment
7.6.2.1 Drying and Grading
The drying requirement depends on the combustor feed specification. Wet biomass at typically 50 Wt % (wet basis) is generally considered too wet. It would affect combustion temperatures, gas quality, and giving rise to condensation problems and lower efficiencies. This, however, depends on the conversion technology used as 50 Wt % may be suitable for some combustors (i.e. space heating plant) and some gasifiers and 5 Wt % for a pyrolysis plant. However, some gasifiers will not work unless you dry the feedstock. Drying may be carried out in the field and in the storage pile, but this is slow, unreliable, causes loss of material from biological degradation and can cause fires. Rotary kilns are widely specified as dryers using waste heat and/or combustion of biomass feed. The feed used for the latter may be that rejected as screenings or fines, again depending on the gasifier feed specification. Fluid bed, silo and steam dryers have all been used successfully for biomass. None is very efficient, however, and the energy and economic costs are high. These are outweighed, however, by the higher downstream gas cleaning requirements consequent on not drying. The operation is well established with extensive experience to draw on. Different combustors and reactors (gasifiers and pyrolysis) have different feed stock requirements. In most cases the burner will be designed for a particular type and grade of feedstock (i.e. logs, straw bales, wood chips, wood pellets etc) and changing the feedstock specification can result in poor performance or damage to the combustion or reactor plant. Automatic fuel handling and feeding systems can also be sensitive to the grade of feedstock. Screw feeders for instance tend to deliver a pre-determined volume of fuel, which is a function of the screw pitch and diameter, rather than a mass of fuel. Small regular shaped particles will pack more tightly than larger irregular shaped particles effectively delivering a greater mass of fuel per revolution of the screw feeder. This could lead to more or less fuel being delivered than the combustor or reactor is designed. Over feeding could result in damage to the combustor or reactor plant (e.g. refractory lining, heat exchangers etc.) while underfeeding could result in
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reduced efficiency.
7.6.2.2 Densification
Many biomass materials (i.e. saw dust, straw, rice husk) are available as the by product of agricultural, industrial, or food processing activities. Many of these materials can, after drying to appropriate moisture content, be used directly as fuel in combustors and reactors. However, these materials are light and have a low bulk density making them difficult to burn in a controlled manner and expensive to transport. Therefore they need undergo some form of densification to convert them into a more useable form. There are a number of proven densification technologies available including baling, briquetting and pelletising.
7.6.3 Direct Combustion of Biomass

The different types of conversion technologies used in the direct combustion of biomass are shown in Figure 121 .
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7.6.3.1 Combustion Process

The combustion process for different biomass fuels is basically the same consisting of three main stages; drying, pyrolysis and oxidation (see Figure 122 ). The effect of each stage on the overall efficiency of the combustion process will depend on the biomasses:
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Moisture content Calorific value of dry matter Content of volatile matter Ash content Ash melting point Particle size and size variation
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Figure 121: Conversion technologies
Figure 122: Process of biomass combustion
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The first stage of the process is the evaporation of moisture from the fuel. The moisture content and particles size of the biomass are important during this stage. High moisture content and large particle size requires a long drying time due to the relatively low surface to volume ration of the fuel. The heat for drying is supplied by radiation from the flames and from the refractory materials used for the furnace walls. In addition heat can be supplied from preheated primary air, of up to 400 oC, obtained via a heat exchanger located in the furnace flue. As biomass gets close to being fully dry the temperature increases until at around 200oC pyrolysis starts and the volatile matter in the form of mixed vapours or vaporised tars and oils starts to be released. With further heating above 400 oC, the fuel begins to oxidise and combustion of solid material starts. From now on the heat is supplied from the combustion itself. Combustion of the solid material will raise the temperature above the fuel bed igniting the volatiles, which are often seen as the yellow flame burning above the fuel. The final stages of combustion involve particles of char arising from the disintegration of the biomass. As surface area to volume ratio of the char is much higher than the original biomass, high combustion intensity and temperatures are achieved. Char is composed mainly of carbon and burns to produce CO 2. The inert matter is made up of materials that are non-combustible and becomes clinker, slag or ashes. Three quarters or more of the energy of biomass fuels is in the volatile matter compared to less than half for coal. Any stove, furnace or boiler should be designed to ensure that these vapours burn. Air must reach all of the char for its complete combustion and so the fuel should be in as small particles as possible. This has the disadvantage of producing finer particulates that need to be removed from the flue gases. Airflow needs to be carefully controlled to ensure that there is sufficient oxygen for complete combustion of the fuel. Too little air will lead to in incomplete combustion resulting in low efficiency and high emissions of pollutants (i.e. carbon monoxide, smoke, particulates etc). Too much air can have a cooling or quenching effect reducing combustion temperatures resulting in incomplete combustion and high emissions of pollutants. Therefore the amount of air for a given amount of fuel is critical to efficient combustion. The relationship between the amount of air and the amount of fuel is known as the air to fuel ratio and is expressed as the mass (kg) of air to the mass (kg) of fuel. For example an air to fuel ratio of 35:1 means that 35 kg of air is required for every 1 kg of fuel. The air to fuel ratio will vary according to the type and grade of fuel being used. Efficient combustion also depends on the achievement of the so-called Three Ts: Temperature, Time and Turbulence. Obtaining full oxidation of the fuel especially
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the volatiles requires the fuel to be exposed to a minimum temperature for sufficient time to ensure that all necessary reactions are completed. Finally, the gases in the combustion chamber must be turbulent so that are thoroughly mixed in with and exposed to combustion air to ensure that they are fully oxidised. High turbulence enables this to be achieved without the need for excess amounts of air to be introduced into the combustion chamber and thereby cooling the process and reducing its efficiency
7.6.3.2 Types of Combustors

Biomass can be burnt in a furnace or combustor to provide power usually by raising steam (see Figure 123 ). Although shown separately in Figure 123 , the furnace and boiler unit are usually built into a single unit known as the boiler. Furnaces can vary from simple log burners to much more complex fluidised bed technology, which was developed for coal.
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Figure 123: Power generation from direct combustion Furnaces can be categorised into three main types: grate burners, suspensions burners and fluidised bed. Grate burners have two main sub-categories; pile burners and stoker burners. Suspension burners and fluidised bed are more efficient than great burners but tend to have much higher energy requirements to operate ancillary equipment.
Grate burners Pile burners are the most simple with the fuel lying in a pile on a fixed bed or grate through which combustion air flows and ash falls. This type of grate is simple but restricts the airflow resulting in low combustion efficiency, low burning rates and relatively low temperatures being achieved. However, pile burners are able to burn wet fuels, require little operator attention and can cope with minor interruptions in fuel supply, fluctuations in a moisture content and particle size.
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Stoker burners facilitate the movement of the fuel on the grate and the removal of ash resulting in increased combustion efficiencies (around 90%), high burning rates and relatively high temperatures being achieved. There are number of proven designs available including the underfed cone grate, moving sloping grate, travelling gate and the spreader stoker. Suspension burners Suspension or cyclone burners are suitable for small chips and fines. The combustion chamber is cylindrical with primary air entering from below and secondary air entering tangentially at very high velocities. This creates a cyclonic flow of air over the fuel bed and most of the fuel becomes airborne. Therefore most of the combustion process takes place in suspension. This gives very good fuel to air mixing resulting in high combustion efficiencies and high heat release rates (750+ MJ/m3 of furnace volume). However, compared with grate burners suspension burners are expensive, are sensitive to particle size and moisture content and have high energy demands to operate ancillary equipment and are therefore unsuitable for small scale applications. Fluidised beds Fluidised beds were originally designed for burning pulverised coal but can be used with any solid fuel. The solid fuel particles are burnt in a bed of inert material such as sand or ash through which combustion air is forced. As the gas passes upwards through the packed bed of particles a pressure drop is formed across the bed. This pressure drop increases as the gas velocity increases until the bed of solid particles expands slightly. At this point the individual particles become supported in the gas stream with freedom of movement relative to one another. The bed is then said to be fluidised and has the appearance of a boiling liquid with a well-defined free surface. Higher gas velocities result in entrainment of the solid particles and the surface loses its well-defined interface. This fluidisation of the biomass allows for a high degree of mixing and high rates of heat transfer compared to a grate or suspension burner.
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7.7 Conversion of Biomass 2: Gasification and Pyrolysis

7.7.1 Gasification
7.7.1.1 Gasification Processes
Thermochemical gasification is the conversion, by partial oxidation at elevated temperature of a carbonaceous feedstock such as biomass or coal into a gaseous energy carrier. Partial oxidation takes place when there isnt enough oxygen present for full oxidation to occur i.e. when less than the stoichiometric amounts of oxygen needed for complete combustion are present. As a result of this, partially oxidised products are formed. If the temperature is sufficient, then the primary products from the gasification of biomass are gases. These gases are: carbon monoxide (CO) carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrogen methane trace amounts of higher hydrocarbons such as ethane and ethene water nitrogen (if air is used as the oxidising agent) Various contaminants such as small char particles, ash, tars and oils are also present with the gases. At high temperatures, charcoal and liquids are either minor products or not present in the product mixture. The partial oxidation can be carried out using air, oxygen, steam or a mixture of these. There are three basic gasification techniques: air gasification, oxygen gasification and pyrolytic gasification. Air gasification involves direct contact of biomass feedstock and air which produces a gas with a low calorific value of 4-12 MJ/m3. (low compared to methane) This is due to the dilution of the product gases with nitrogen from air during the gasification process. The gas is suitable for boiler, engine, and turbine operation. Low energy value means not economic to store, so used immediately. Oxygen gasification results in the production of a medium calorific value gas of between 12-27 MJ/m3 and is suitable for pipeline distribution and as synthesis gas
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for conversion, for example, to methanol and gasoline. Pyrolitic gasification (from indirectly heated biomass gasifiers when air is used and heat transfer occurs via an inert solid medium) or steam gasification will also produce a gas with a similar calorific value as oxygen gasification. Gasification with air is a much more widely used technology. This is because oxygen production and usage incurs an extra cost and hazard. It also involves the complexity of having multiple reactors. The feedstock will contain a certain amount of moisture and so steam will always be present during the gasification even if it isnt added. This causes a type of reforming to take place. For biomass gasification, reforming refers to gasification in the presence of another reactant e.g. steam, steam-oxygen or steam-air. Steam reforming processes involve reactions of biomass and steam and of the secondary products formed from biomass and steam. Steam-oxygen or steam-air gasification of biomass often includes combustion of a residual char from the gasifier, of a portion of the product gas, or of a portion of the biomass feedstock to supply the heat. The process can be carried out with or with out the use of catalysts. Catalysts are substances added to a reaction in order to speed it up. They themselves do not become chemically involved in the reaction. The addition of steam increases the amount of hydrogen in the product gas. Gasification occurs in a number of sequential steps: 1. Drying to evaporate moisture 2. Pyrolysis to give gas, vaporised tars or oils and a solid char residue 3. Gasification or partial oxidation of the solid char, pyrolysis tars and pyrolysis gases. When a solid fuel is heated to 300-500 C in the absence of an oxidising agent, it pyrolyses (physically or chemically breaks down by heating in the absence of air) to solid char, condensable hydrocarbons or tar, and gases. The relative yields of gas, liquid and char depend mostly on the rate of heating and the final temperature. The gas, liquid and solid products of pyrolysis then react with the oxidising agent usually air to give permanent gases of CO, CO2, H2 and lesser quantities of hydrocarbon gases. Char gasification is the interactive combination of several gas-solid and gas-gas reactions in which solid carbon is oxidised to carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and hydrogen is generated through the steam reforming reaction (mentioned above). The gas-solid reactions of char oxidation are the slowest and limit the overall rate of
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the gasification process. Many of the reactions are catalysed by the alkali metals present in wood ash, but still do not reach equilibrium. The final gas composition, as mentioned above, is influenced by many factors such as: feed composition water content reaction temperature the extent of oxidation of the pyrolysis products Not all the liquid products from the pyrolysis step are completely converted due to the physical or geometrical limitations of the reactions involved, and these give rise to contaminant tars in the final product gas. Due to the higher temperatures involved in gasification compared to pyrolysis, these tars tend to be refractory and are difficult to remove by thermal, catalytic or physical processes. It is important to note that gasification is a series of reactions occurring simultaneously. Gases are not only produced directly from the feedstock but also from the products of the feedstock reactions (e.g. the char produced during pyrolysis will further react to form gases and carbon dioxide will react with oxygen to produce carbon monoxide). A much more general description of the overall process of gasification is: Biomass + O2 Heat +CO2 + H2O Heat + Biomass + H2O CO + H2 Gasification is used in heat and power. For heat it has advantages over combustion as it is easier to control the gas burner. Very little excess air is used so there is less heat loss in exhaust gases and it produces no particulates
7.7.1.2 Types of Gasifiers

A number of different types of gasifier have been developed with varying operating conditions, temperatures and pressures. The most common reactor configurations the fixed bed gasifiers, which are the simplest type, and the fluidised bed. Fixed bed tend to be small,. Why, the ability to mix the fuel. Two types. Downdraft gasifier: biomass fuel enters at top air is drawn down through the fuel and gas collected near the base. Updraft gasifier: biomass fuel enters at top. Air enters at bottom and passes up against direction of fuel. Gas is drawn off at the top. Scale up to 10 MW. Fluidised bed: fuel and substrate enter at base with air pumped through. Gas leave at top. Scale limited by demand and supply. Scale 100MW.
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7.7.2 Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is the slow, irreversible, thermal degradation of carbonaceous materials between 400 C and 800 C either in the complete absence of an oxidising agent, or with such a limited supply that gasification does not occur to an appreciable extent. This latter case is sometimes termed partial gasification and is used to provide the thermal energy required for the pyrolysis process at the expense of char and liquid yields. The thermal energy for pyrolysis may be provided in a variety of ways either directly or indirectly. Indirect methods include external heating such as firing a rotary kiln with product gas and direct methods include hot gas transfer or molten metals. The products of pyrolysis are: gas liquid (bio-oil) char (charcoal). The relative proportions of each depend on the method of pyrolysis and the reaction parameters. The slower the pyrolysis process, the more gases and char that are formed. Control over the temperature, heating rate and time of reaction will result in different products.
7.7.2.1 Pyrolysis Processes

Pyrolysis is almost certainly the oldest method of processing one fuel in order to produce a better one. Conventional pyrolysis involves heating the original material in the near-absence of air, typically at 300-500 C, until the volatile matter has been driven off. The residue is then the char, a fuel that has about twice the energy density of the original and burns at a much higher temperature. For many centuries, charcoal was produced by the pyrolysis of wood. This method of production still takes place in much of the world today. Depending on the moisture content and the efficiency of the process, 4-10 tonnes of wood are required to produce one tonne of charcoal, and if no attempt is made to collect the volatile matter, the charcoal is obtained at the cost of perhaps two-thirds of the original energy content. With more sophisticated pyrolysis techniques, the volatiles can be collected, and careful choice of the temperature at which the process takes place allows control of their composition. The liquid product has potential as fuel oil but is contaminated with acids and must be treated before use.
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Altering the pyrolysis conditions can substantially alter the proportions of solid, liquid and gas product. An example of the variation in products with reaction temperature for various feedstocks is shown in Figure 124 below.
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50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
500C
Low-energy gas Pyrolytic oil Charcoal
wt %
Biosolids
Corncobs
Manure
Paper
Wood
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chips
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700C
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Biosolids
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chips
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80 70 60 50
900C
wt %
40 30 20 10 0
Biosolids
Corncobs
Manure
Paper
Wood
MSW
chips
Feedstock
Figure 124: Variation in product with various reaction temperatures and feedstocks. Each of the feedstocks shown in the graphs above was pyrolysed in a 0.5m fluid bed
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reactor containing sand and an inert gas from compressed air-natural gas combustion with a slight excess of air (about 0.2 to 0.6%). The fluidising velocities were 0.3 to 1m/s. The products were low energy gas (5.89-11.78 MJ/m3) and charcoal. Feed rates were 50-200kg/h. The moisture contents of the feedstocks were not specified. The balance of the yield for each feedstock is water. The modes of pyrolysis are summarised: Slow pyrolysis at low temperatures and long reaction times maximises charcoal yields at about 30 wt %, comprising about 50% of the energy. This is usually known as carbonisation. The gas and liquid products are by-products, which may be used in the process for energy or exported. Fast pyrolysis maximises liquid yields at up to 80 wt % at relatively low temperatures of typically 500 C but less than 650 C, and at very high reaction rates and short residence times of typically less than 1 second. Heating rate K/s 500-100 000. Fast pyrolysis at higher temperatures of above 650 C, and at very high reaction rates and short residence times maximises gas yields at up to 80% wt. Conventional pyrolysis at moderate temperatures of less than about 600 C and moderate reaction rates gives approximately equal proportions of gas, liquid and solid products. This is less efficient for liquids production than fast pyrolysis in giving a multiplicity of products that are difficult to handle and market. In addition the liquid is significantly different chemically.
7.7.2.2 The Products of Pyrolysis

Solid Products When pyrolysis is optimised for charcoal production, yields of up to 30 or 40 wt % on dry feed are obtained. This occurs in slow pyrolysis with reaction times of hours or even days. Traditional beehive kilns are used in this process. Partial carbonisation at lower temperatures gives higher solid yields as the product contains a high level of volatiles. The lower temperatures help prevent their formation. Solids produced during this type of process are sometimes referred to as torridified wood. Liquid Products Of particular interest is the direct production of liquids because of their much higher energy density which reduces transport and handling costs, and because of their
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potential as an alternative for conventional fossil fuels in many static applications such as boilers and for process heat. One such liquid product is bio-oil. Bio-oil has a number of special features and characteristics which have caused some concern over direct utilisation. However, the number of successful applications is increasing and considerable progress is being made in understanding the properties and controlling those that are less attractive. Density, viscosity, surface tension and heating value are known to be key properties for combustion applications in boilers, furnaces and engines; but other special characteristics such as char level and particle size and ash content will have a major effect. These properties have been claimed to make it relatively unstable in both chemical and physical terms, causing problems with storage and utilisation. However, a number of successful applications have been demonstrated and considerable progress is being made in understanding the phenomena and controlling the less attractive properties. The key characteristics are: Energy value 16-18 MJ/Kg (1/2 that of fossil diesel) Can be stored and transported Suitable for stationary engines and turbines As a biofuel can decompose over time.
7.7.2.3 Applications of the Liquid Products of Pyrolysis

Combustion Liquid products are easier to handle in combustion than solids and this is important in retrofitting existing equipment. Existing oil-fired burners cannot be fuelled directly with solid biomass such as wood chips or chopped straw without major reconstruction of the unit which is not attractive in uncertain fuel markets. However bio-oils require only relatively minor modifications of the equipment such as the burners or even none in some cases. Powdered coal fired furnaces can relatively easily accept charcoal as a partial fuel replacement, as long as the volatile content is compatible with the furnace design. Turbines can be fired with pyrolytic oils or upgraded pyrolytic oils and perhaps even char/water slurries but there is little recent practical experience. The use of bio-oil and char in engines is another target. In most countries there is a small market for charcoal lumps and briquettes for leisure and industrial applications and small regional markets for firewood, usually as logs.
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Power Generation from Liquids A key advantage of production of liquids is that the fuel production can be decoupled from the power generation. Peak power provision is thus possible from a much smaller pyrolysis plant or liquids can be readily transported to a central power plant of engines or turbine. There are additional benefits from potentially higher plant availability from the intermediate fuel storage. Bio-oil has been successfully fired in several diesel test engines where it behaves in a very similar way to diesel in terms of engine parameters, performance and emissions. Continuous runs of 10 hours have been achieved on raw bio-oil without dilution or processing. A diesel pilot fuel is needed, typically 5% in larger engines and no significant problems are foreseen in power generation up to 15MWe per engine. Gas turbine applications are also considered to be feasible and an international project has recently started to thoroughly evaluate the possibilities. This may be more suitable for larger scale applications.
7.8 Power Generation from Biomass Fuels

7.8.1 Steam Systems
Heat obtained from the direct combustion of biomass, producer gas or from pyrolysis gas or oil can be use directly, to provide heat for steam raising which in turn can be used to drive steam engines or turbines for electricity generation. Most types of steam plant can be modified for use with any fuel type (solid, liquid or gas) with the main changes being made to the combustion equipment and the fuel handling system. Combustion equipment for solid fuels, such as biomass and coal, tend to be larger, more expensive and require greater operator attention than those for use with liquid or gaseous fuel. There are two basic steam systems; open cycle and closed cycle ( Figure 125 ). The open cycle is the most simple where a continuous supply of fresh water is pumped into the boiler and the resulting steam is then exhausted to atmosphere once it has been used by the engine or turbine. In the closed cycle system water is continually circulating through the system. The water enters the boiler is heated and converted to steam which then drives the engine or turbine. The steam is then condensed and returned to boiler as water to be used again.
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Figure 125: Open and closed steam system
The simplest steam power plant would have an open cycle system operating at relatively low pressure of around 10 bar with an overall efficiency of around 5%. Improved efficiencies of up to 10% can be achieved by increasing the steam pressure to around 15 bar and then superheating it to around 350 oC. This type of system is really only suitable for small power requirements using steam engines of say 10kW or less. Its main advantage is low cost and minimal water treatment requirements compared with closed cycle systems. More advanced closed cycle steam systems operate with boiler pressure of 40 bar or more, superheat the steam to 380 0C and condensate is returned to the boiler at around 600C. This type of system can achieve efficiencies of around 20% and is suitable for use with high-pressure steam engines and steam turbines. Therefore it can be seen that efficiencies are a function of the steam pressure and temperature entering the engine or turbine and the pressure and temperature of the steam leaving the turbine. The higher the pressure and temperature the higher the energy content of the steam and conversely the lower the pressure and heat of the exhaust steam the lower its energy content. Therefore the greater the difference between the condition of the steam entering and leaving the engine or turbine the
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higher the efficiency. Unfortunately it costs more to produce super-heated high-pressure steam than low pressure steam. Also the equipment needed to ensure that steam leaving the engine or turbine at low pressure and temperatures (i.e. vacuum equipment, condenser, cooling water etc) are more expensive than that needed for high exhaust temperature and pressures. Therefore efficiency gains have to be weighed against the cost of achievement and in most cases will determined by the size of plant being considered. The thermal efficiency of a power station is the useful energy (electricity (or in the case of combined heat and power heat and electricity)) leaving the station divided by the fuel energy entering the station. It is essentially a measure of the overall fuel conversion efficiency for the electricity generation process.
7.8.1.1 Steam Boilers

There are many different designs of steam boilers, which can be classified two ways. First of all they can be classified as ether externally fired or internally fired boiler. Externally fired boilers are those where the furnace is situated outside the boiler proper. Internally fired boiler are those where the furnaces (or furnaces) are within the boiler proper. The most suitable type of boiler for power generation purposes is the water tube boiler. In such boilers the water is evaporated in tubes, which are arranged inside a heated chamber in which they are exposed to the radiant heat of the flames and the hot flue gases (see Figure 126 )
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Figure 126: Water tube boiler The tubes are relatively small in diameter giving high surface area contact between hot gases and the water. The tubes are constructed as boilers with steeply inclined water tubes or with tubes set at a relatively low inclination. The tubes are interconnected at their ends by so-called headers, which are usually set at right angles to the tubes. The boiler feed-water preheated by the flue gases, enters the upper steam drum from where it flows through unheated or only slightly heated tubes to the lower headers or drums. From here it ascends into the water tubes, in which it is evaporated and is returned in the form of a water and steam mixture to the upper drum. For power generation purposes the steam also requires super-heating (raising is temperature to above the saturation temperature), which is achieved by heating the steam after it has left the top drum. The steam is separated from the entrained water and flows through the superheater tubes, which are heated by flue gases of sufficiently high temperature. The steam then flows to the consumer equipment. The separated water, together with additional water, flows back to the lower or drums, and the cycle is repeated. These boilers are very efficient and respond very quickly to variations in load making them ideal for power generation requirements.
7.8.1.2 Steam Engines

A steam engine is a reciprocating engine that utilises the energy released when
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steam expands to drive a piston, which in turn drives a crank to provide rotary motion. A flywheel is usually attached to the crank to smooth out the jerkiness usually associated with reciprocating motion. There are two man types of steam engine the double acting and the compound engine. In the double acting engine live steam from the boiler enters at one end of a cylinder and expands pushing a piston to the other end of the cylinder. When the piston has travelled to the end of the cylinder it has completed its stroke and the now expanded steam is allowed to escape from the cylinder. Live steam from the boiler then enters the cylinder from the other side pushing the piston back to the other end of the cylinder completing cycle. In the compound engine steam is expanded in several cylinders in successive stages. It is usual to have three cylinders (triple expansion) although some only use two. Steam from the boiler enters the first cylinder (high pressure stage) where it is expanded to provide motive power. The exhaust steam from this stage will be at a lower pressure but still contains useful energy so it is passed into a second cylinder where it expands further providing additional motive power and so on until it passes through all the cylinders. Because all the cylinders are attached to the same crank it is necessary that they all have the same stroke. However, the volume of the steam will increase at each subsequent stage as its pressure reduces due to its expansion. Therefore the lower pressure stages of a compound engine have larger diameter cylinders and pistons. Double-acting steam engines are usually low pressure with low-speeds, which makes then unsuitable for electricity generation applications. However, modern high speed compound engines are available with an output in range 10 to 1800 kW with engine speeds of 750, 1000 or 1500 r.p.m. This type of unit require steam temperatures of around 380oC and can operate at pressure up to 150 bar. This type of engine is particularly suited to combined heat and power (CHP) applications. The main limitation of the steam engine is the need for lubrication, which limits the superheating temperatures to between 350 and 380 OC. Above theses temperatures the lubricating oil viscosity will be low and may evaporate, reducing its ability to lubricate effectively. Oil vapour entrained in the steam will need to be removed before the condensate can be returned to the boiler. There is also a flow limitation at the exhaust, which in practice limits exhaust pressure to between 0.3 to 1 bar compared to about 0.2 bar for turbines. Therefore there will be the potential for lower cycle efficiencies than can be obtained with steam turbine. For small energy outputs up to 500kW the efficiency of modern high pressure steam engines can, however, be better than that of a steam turbine and with operating life times in excess of 200,000 hours are worth considering.
7.8.1.3 Steam Turbines

Until recently (mid 1980s) steam turbines were the main form of motive power for
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medium to large-scale electricity generation (both grid and embedded). A steam turbine is a prime mover in which a rotary motion is obtained by the centrifugal force brought into action by changing the direction of a jet of a fluid (steam) escaping from a nozzle at high velocity (see Figure 127 ). There are two basic types of steam turbine classified by the action of the steam on the rotor blades; the impulse and the reaction turbine.
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The working principle of the impulse turbine is that a jet of steam from a fixed nozzle push against the rotor blades and impels them forward. The velocity of the steam is about twice as fast as the velocity of the blades. Only turbines with fixed nozzles are classified as impulse turbines. In reaction turbines the steam flows from a nozzle on the rotor. The steam is directed into the moving blades by fixed blades designed to expand the steam resulting in a small increase in velocity over that of the moving blades. These blades form a wall of moving nozzles that further expand the steam. The steam flow is partially reversed by the mobbing blades producing a reaction at the blades. Since the pressure drop across the blade (nozzle) is small the speed is comparatively slow. Therefore, more rows of moving blades are needed than in an impulse turbine. There are also a number of steam turbine designs on the market, which combine both the impulse and reaction principle. Steam turbines can be either single-stage or multi stage devices. Single stage turbines extract the energy from the steam as it expands through a single highpressure turbine. Multi-stage turbines progressively expanded through a series of turbines (often three) from high pressure to low pressure. Steam from the highpressure turbine, passes into an intermediate and then into a low-pressure turbine thereby maximising the energy extraction from the steam. Multi-stage turbines are more efficient than single-stage units but are more expensive. Steam turbines range in output from around 200kW to over 50MW.
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Figure 127: Conventional steam turbine
7.8.1.4 Gas-fuelled Systems

Gas produced by gasification or pyrolysis can be used as a fuel for internal combustion (i.c.) engines (petrol or diesel) or gas turbine to provide motive power for electricity generation. Ordinary off-the-shelf automotive engines can be used although they will require some modification, especially diesel engines, to operate effectively on gas. Before it is introduced in to the engine or turbine the gas must be cleaned to remove tars and particulates and, in the case of internal combustion engine, cooled to below 30oC to help prevent overheating occurring. Various types of gas clean up systems have been developed including, cyclones, wet scrubbers (bubbling the gas through water), dry scrubbers (saw dust, wood wool, coir fibre etc), fibreglass filters and electrostatic filters. Gas cooling is usually achieved using a condenser or other type of heat exchanger. Wet and dry scrubbers are the simplest and cheapest method for cleaning gas but fibreglass and electrostatic filters are the most effective. Cyclones can be effective for removing particulates but very fine particles often stay entrained with the gas. Therefore cyclones are often used in conjunction with a filter or scrubber.
7.8.1.5 Internal Combustion Engines

Producer gas can be used directly in internal combustion engines; especially spark ignition (petrol) engines but also compression ignition (diesel) engines. However,
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before it can be used it the gas needs to be cooled to below 300C and cleaned. Both spark and compression ignition engines will require modifications to the valves, valve seats and carburettor before they can be used with producer gas. The dry nature of producer gas means that it does not have lubricating properties and therefore valve wear is more likely to occur. Therefore, the materials used for the valves and valve seats will need to be modified (i.e. hardened) or changed to improve wear resistance. Both types of engines need gas carburettors to introduce the gas to the engine. Spark ignition engines are cheap, if based on mass-produced automotive engines, and are simple to operate but are sensitive to changes in gas quality. Little modification is required to an automotive engine other than changing the carburettor for one suitable for use with gas and hardening the valves and valve seats. These engines can be operated on 100% producer gas achieving efficiencies of around 25% at full load but this can fall off rapidly when operating at part loads. Compression ignition engines are more expensive but are less sensitive to changes in gas quality and have better efficiencies (30 and 35%), which can be maintained through out regardless of load. This type of engine will not work on producer gas alone, as it will not ignite when compressed. Therefore to bring about ignition a certain amount of supplementary fuel (usually diesel) will be required. The amount can vary between 7% to 20% (by volume) but can go as high as 60% for some types of automobile engines. Compression ignition engines can operate on all ratios of producer gas/diesel oil, which can be desirable when producer gas production is subject to fluctuations. To operate effectively on producer gas, compression ignition engines require several major modifications including lower compression ratios than conventional diesels, provision of extra cooling to injectors, fitting of gas carburettors and hardening of valve and value seats. Internal combustion engines have a large number of moving parts, which will eventually fail due to wear or fatigue. While some failures can be eliminated through proper maintenance others will eventually cause the engine to be dismantled for repair and maintenance. Engines used in conjunction with generators for electricity production tend to be used for long continuous periods. Many larger engines, particularly compression ignition engines, are designed for continuous operation and have low maintenance requirements. However, many smaller engines in the 10 to 100kW range are often modified automotive engines, for which the design life is often below 10,000 hours. Considering that there are only 8760 hours per year then small engines being used 24 hours a day will only last for around one year before they need to be replaced. Generally spark ignition engines are less robust than compression ignition engines but dont need supplementary fuel. Therefore it is common to convert compression
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ignition engines to spark ignition as a compromise between robust and reliable operation and to alleviate the need for supplementary fuels. Internal combustion engines suitable for use with gas range in size from around 20kW to 3 MWe for spark ignition (the larger sizes being modified compression ignition engines) and 500kW to 20 Mw for compression ignition engines. The power output of a reciprocating engine depends on the calorific value of the fuel and the efficiency of the engine. The calorific value of producer gas is below that of diesel or petrol and so the output of the engine will be lower. Typically a internal combustion engine will be derated by between 40% and 50% when using producer gas instead of petrol or diesel. For example an engine with a rated output of 100kW engine will only operate at between 50kW and 60kW when using producer gas as the fuel. To some extent by increasing the engines compression ratio and reducing pressure looses in the manifold can limit derating to around 30%.
7.8.1.6 Gas Turbines

Gas turbines work in a similar manner to steam turbine in that a fluid with a high energy content, in this case the hot combustion gases, produces rotary motion as result of being deflected by rings of blades mounted on a rotor.
Figure 128: Simple open-cycle gas turbine arrangement In an open cycle gas turbine, air is continuously drawn from the atmosphere and the exhaust gases are emitted to atmosphere often via a heat exchanger (see Figure 128 ). A compressor draws in atmospheric air and forces it into the combustor where it is mixed with the gases and then flows under high velocity into the turbine to drive it. The compressor is coupled to the turbine and the complete unit is started by an
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electric motor. A closed cycle gas turbine uses the same working fluid repeatedly. This means that another gas with superior physical properties to air, such as helium, can be used. The working fluid is heated via a heat exchanger, which means that any fuel can be used, as the products of combustion will not contaminate the working fluid. Open cycle are much more common and cheaper than closed cycle but should be used with very clean fuels to avoid problems with corrosion. The thermal efficiency of this type of power plant is about 35%. The development of aero-derived gas turbines and improvements in gasification technology for clean coal combustion has open the way for efficient and flexible biomass to electricity systems of around 20 to 100 MW capacity. Combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) systems are another development that is finding favour in large-scale gas fired power stations. A CCGT system comprises of one or more gas turbines whose exhaust gases are utilised in a steam boiler. The steam is then used, wholly or in part, to drive one or more steam turbines. Modern CCGT plant can achieve efficiencies of 50% (see Figure 129 ).
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Figure 129: Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Plant
7.8.2 Combined Heat and Power
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Combined heat and power (CHP), or cogeneration, is the use of both the electricity and heat that are simultaneously produced from the same plant in the generation of electricity. The generation of electricity using conventional methods is relatively energy inefficient, with typically only 35-50% of the primary energy being converted to electricity and the remainder being rejected as waste heat. CHP recovers this rejected heat and converts it into a useful form, such as steam or hot water, which can then be used for a wide variety of processes, heating, and even cooling applications. Recovering the heat produced during electricity generation means that the overall fuel conversion efficiency is increased substantially, typically to over 70% and sometimes even 90%. Being more fuel efficient, CHP delivers both cost and environmental benefits. The UK Government guidance of CHP states that good CHP has thermal efficiencies of at least 75%. http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/energy/chp/index.htm
H
A CHP plant is typically described by its electrical output, not its thermal output, which is expressed in either kilowatts electrical (kWe) or megawatts electrical (MWe). For example, 500 kWe plant means that it has the capacity to generate 500 kW of electricity. However, when sizing a plant for a particular situation it is its thermal capacity and not its electrical capacity that is the deciding factor. While electricity can be exported or imported to or from the grid the heat has to be used on site because current economics in the energy market dictate that it cannot be piped over long distances. CHP plant can use steam engines, steam turbines, internal combustion engines, gas turbine or CCGT. The main source of heat from steam engine is obtained from the condensing operation, which produces low-grade heat (i.e. below 100oC) that can be used for process heating or space heating requirements. Steam turbine CHP use either backpressure or pass-out condensing turbines. Heat is rejected from the steam turbine by heat transfer from the condensing operation and from the lubricating oil cooling system. This heat can then be used for site process or space heat requirements. Although size for size steam turbines have lower capital costs than gas turbines, they are less efficient and have higher operating costs, and are therefore no longer considered for most new CHP applications except as the secondary turbine for CCGT systems. Reciprocating engine systems are based on spark ignition or compression ignition engines. Two grades of waste heat are produced from reciprocating engine systems: high grade from the engine exhaust and low grade from the engine cooling system. These systems tend to be used for small to medium applications with the capacity of gas engines ranging from 20 kWe to 3 MWe and compression engines from 500 kWe to 20 MWe.
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In open-cycle gas turbines the high-grade heat in the exhaust gases is normally used in boilers to produce usable heat for process or space heating applications. It is also possible to use the heat rejected from the lubrication cooling systems for low-grade heat applications. The exhaust steam from CCGT plants is used to provide process or space heating. Typically open-cycle gas turbine CHP plant range from 1 to 40MWe and CCGT CHP plant 6 to 40 MWe.
7.9 Conclusions
Biomass is a diverse resource with a considerable range of energy applications. Biomass can be converted to heat, electricity and fuel for transport. Generally it produces less carbon than fossil fuels, but needs to be managed sustainably to ensure long-term availability. Biomass is an important global resource that supports the basic energy needs of 2.4 billion people. But it produces CO2 so requires sustainable management.
7.10 References
El Bassam N. (1998). Energy Plant Species. Their Use and Impact on Environment and Development. London. James & James. Sims, R. (2002). The Brilliance of Bioenergy. In Business and in Practice. London, James & James.
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8 Integration of Renewables
8.1 Integrating renewables - the issues
Renewable energy sources possess characteristics that are different to those of conventional sources. Specifically: Wind power follows the natural fluctuations of weather patterns and is unpredictable over the very short term but could be fairly predictable over the medium term and not at all over the longer term Solar power also follows weather patterns and is predictable over the short and medium term on clear cloudless days but not so on days with cloud cover. In the long term it would be predictable in the absence of cloud due to the predictable nature of the rotation of the Earth. However, cloud clover is difficult to forecast so this always compromises the prediction of solar power on all timescales Tidal changes follow natural patterns but are highly predictable at all time scales, though enhancements due to wind and pressure systems means that medium and long term prediction accuracies are slightly reduced Wave power is highly predictable over the short term, less so over the medium term and not at all over the long term Small hydro is predictable over the short and medium term but not so over the long term Biomass is one of the renewable energy sources that closely resembles traditional fossil fuels in that it can be stored and used when required, though it is dependent on a sustainable fuel source that can be produced reliably. These somewhat diverse characteristics make renewable energy (RE) sources more difficult to integrate in traditional electricity networks where generation from coal, oil, gas and nuclear is under the control of the dispatching engineers. These characteristics lead to the following important questions relating to the integration of RE sources: How would the integration of renewables affect the optimal plant mix and system operation of the traditional generation units? What penalties do variations and limited predictability impose on the rest of the system? How much extra back-up capacity is required to maintain the same system reliability? To what extent does the variability of some renewables affects the value of their output? What benefit is there in greater geographical and source diversity? What are the additional transmission requirements and how do these affect the cost of energy from renewables?
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How would the particular characteristics of variability and unpredictability of some renewables constrain their maximum long-term contribution? To what extent and at what cost would extra energy storage capacity benefit the integration of renewables? How should external or social costs of generating electricity through conventional and renewable sources be incorporated in the pricing mechanisms? These questions and only recently been posed and addressed. In the sections that follow, an attempt will be made to summarise the up-to-date understanding of the integration of RE and to present some answers to the questions posed earlier. We will only examine the global or macro effects of integrating renewables. We begin by reviewing the way in which power systems are operated at present.
8.2 The operation of power systems

8.2.1 Required Characteristics
Traditionally power systems have been operated so as to provide consumers high quality electricity (fixed frequency and voltage, high reliability and purity of waveform) at the lowest possible cost. This has been admirably achieved through procedures that have gradually evolved since the end of the 19th century when electricity was first supplied to consumers from centralised generation by way of transmission lines. From our own experience, electricity provided to consumers in developed countries is indeed of high quality. This quality is maintained through actions (behind the scenes) that are being taken continuously by the electricity supply authorities. The study of these actions will give us an understanding of how power systems operate and how the introduction of renewables may require a modified approach if the quality of electricity is not to suffer. Figure 130 is a block diagram that describes diagrammatically the data flow related to the operation tasks carried out by electricity industry in order to maintain the required level of quality of supply.
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The diagram illustrates a unified system in which one authority generates, transmits and distributes the energy, much as in the case of the former Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in the UK.
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Figure 130: Power system operation activities As the electricity supply industry has become increasing deregulated the tasks in Figure 130 are now carried out by several different players.
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Until recently, the electricity supply in the UK was run on the basis of a pool to which independent generators would contribute energy and from which various suppliers would purchase energy for resale to consumers via the transmission and distribution networks. This economic model was superseded by NETA (New Electricity Trading Arrangement) and BETTA (British Transmission and Trading Arrangements) which was set up to correct some undesirable characteristics of the pooling arrangement. This will be covered briefly in the lectures on NETA/BETTA. In this lecture we will limit our discussion to the technical aspects of operation. Figure 130 then describes the underlying activities and information flows within a power system without reference to individual generators or suppliers.
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8.2.2 Power system hardware

The box entitled "Power System" in Figure 130 contains the totality of the power system hardware i.e. the generating stations, transformers, transmission lines, circuit breakers,
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protection system and all consumers. This system is heavily instrumented with transducers that measure voltage, current, active and reactive power at various nodes of the network and the position of circuit breakers and isolators. Knowledge of all these quantities provides operators with all the information needed to review the topology of the network and determine the voltage profile, as well as the active and reactive power flows in the system. These ten of thousands of bits of data are transmitted to control centres, usually over hired telephone lines, and more recently through fibre optics lines. It is, of course, statistically inevitable that owing to the numbers of transducers and lines involved, unreliable data will be present. This data is therefore processed by a state estimator (a mathematical algorithm that provides a reliable database out of an unreliable set of information). This apparent miracle is only possible because there is redundancy in the data by, for example, monitoring quantities at both ends of a transmission line. Subsequently, this reliable data-set is stored in the database of a computer.
8.2.3 Demand forecasting

Electrical power systems possess the following characteristics: Electrical energy cannot yet be stored economically. Attempts to store it in superconducting inductors or capacitors have met with limited success. An alternative is to store energy in other forms which can be converted into the electrical form efficiently and with little time delay. Hydro systems and pumped storage schemes store energy in potential form and are used wherever topography permits. However hydro schemes represent a fraction of the installed capacity of most industrialised nations. Batteries and fuel cells store energy in chemical form but have not made a serious impact due to cost or technical problems. By far the largest proportion of generating plant is thermal in nature irrespective of the fuel (coal, oil, gas, nuclear). A feature of this type of plant is the time involved in preparing it from cold for synchronisation (several hours) and the restrictions in the rate at which a steam driven turbogenerator can be loaded after synchronisation. These operational delays are dictated by the thermal/mechanical safety requirements of massive boilers and turbogenerator sets. Thermal generators using steam turbines have an upper limit of active power generation equal to the nameplate rating of the unit but also a lower limit dictated by cavitation problems in the turbine blades at low throughputs of steam. Consequently, when a turbogenerator is connected to the network bars it should be loaded to a level at least equal to the minimum recommended by the manufacturers (around 30% to 50% of rated power). Figure 131 illustrates the variability of demand over 24 hours. There are periods during the day (e.g. 6 to 7 am) when the rate of demand growth is considerable. Because of the response times of thermal plant, following the demand cannot be done unless preparative action is taken some time before the event.
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It may be concluded that there is an absolute necessity to carry out demand forecasting in order to prepare and progressively load plant as required. Utilities have invested considerable
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effort in forecasting the daily pattern of demand. Through years of experience they have evolved sophisticated mathematical techniques to forecast demand dependent on consumer behaviour and other factors such as weather. All methods are essentially based on the fact that demand exhibits regular patterns. Forecasting techniques adjust past demand to present weather and other conditions. Meteorological data on temperature, wind speed, humidity, cloud cover and visibility are used as variables because such factors have an important bearing on heating and lighting demand. The art of load forecasting has been refined to such an extent that nationally estimates are rarely in error by more than +3% and on average they are accurate to within +1.3%. However even this degree of accuracy represents an error of 500MW in estimating demand when the load is 40GW. The box named "Load Forecasting" in Figure 130 represents the mathematical activity by which information is provided for the database one day or a few hours in advance of the expected demand. This activity can be run off-line. The next activity of generator scheduling is based on this forecast.
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8.2.4 Generation scheduling and spinning reserve

Demand forecasting gives a fairly accurate picture of the expected load over the following 24 hours. As shown in Figure 131 the most economic generators supply the base load, a topic to be discussed at length in the next subsection. In anticipation of the increases in demand above the base level a choice has to be made about which uncommitted generating sets from a number of available generating units (some sets are not available as they are undergoing repairs or maintenance) have to be prepared (heated, synchronised and partly loaded) and eventually shut down when the demand declines. This is a complicated economic and technical choice. One of the complexities is that start-up and shut-down costs are incurred when a unit is committed or de-committed. Therefore it may, in the long run, be more economical to maintain a lightly loaded unit during a trough in demand, even though the instantaneous operating costs would be less if the unit were stopped.
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Large interconnected electricity systems have a number of very robust defences or reserves against unexpected changes in the balance between demand and generation:The mechanical and thermal inertia in the boilers and turbo-alternators of thermal stations provide a buffer towards transient increases of demand Fast response reserve capacity is provided by partly loaded hydro or pumped storage (when available). Water driven plant can respond in a few minutes and be started up automatically when the frequency falls below a critical value. The total generating capacity on-line is always larger than the anticipated demand. In other words, some of the generating units are partly loaded. The difference between these two quantities is called spinning reserve. This strategy is of vital importance in the maintenance of system reliability. The total available effective spinning reserve is at least equal to the largest generating unit or major interconnection to the system. In the case of the UK there is a 1000MW cross-channel DC link to France. The spinning
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reserve ensures that if this interconnection were to be lost (and assuming the pumped storage schemes in the UK network have no water in the upper reservoir), the output of the partly loaded plant can be rapidly increased to compensate for the loss. Within limits, the larger the available spinning reserve the greater the reliability of the power system; however the presence of these additional part-loaded generating sets significantly increases the system fuel costs. Any part-loaded machine has a poor efficiency because of the standing losses. An extreme example is a ticking engine of a stationary car when the efficiency is zero. In addition to the fast reserve available from hydro, pumped storage and partly loaded thermal, extra back up reserves known as standing reserve and standby reserve may be carried by highly developed power systems. These reserves consisting of generators not connected to the network, and provide two extra lines of defence that can be relied upon to come into action if something truly disastrous befalls the network, such as simultaneous loss of transmission lines or of large generating units. The levels of reserve required at any given time depend partly on uncertainties in the predictions of demand, but more usually on the need to be ready to deal with the sudden loss of substantial amounts of generation, either due to power station faults or the loss of transmission circuits. In deregulated power systems all these activities are still carried out through the complex financial instruments that define the contributions and obligations of generators, suppliers, distribution network operators, transmission network operators and system operator.
8.2.5 Contingency analysis

The operating state of a power system can be classified as either secure or insecure. The system is secure if it can ride a disturbance or contingency without shifting into a state in which a piece of equipment, such as a transmission line, is overloaded. The system is insecure if the disturbance could bring about such an overload. Owing to economic and technical limitations, no power system is secure from all possible disturbances. In practice, system security is determined with reference to a selected list of contingencies. The accumulated experience of power systems engineers dictates the contingencies contained in the list. Typical contingencies are the loss of any generating set or transmission line. The more disturbances are added in the list (such as the loss of two geographically close lines), the more tight the security becomes, the higher the redundancy required in the system and the higher the cost of electricity to the consumer. Contingency analysis consists of the simulation of the occurrence of each of the contingencies in the given list to determine whether the operating constraints of the power system component parts are violated. The necessary parameters for this analysis are contained in the "Database" component in Figure 130 . This provides information on the system topology and the generators used (selected from the generation scheduling) to
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supply the demand. This analysis is nothing more than a repetitive solution of the load flow problem executed as many times as the number of contingencies in the list. The analysis will indicate whether the system is in a secure or insecure state. If in the latter, sophisticated programmes are capable of providing the control engineers with actions necessary to bring the system into a secure state. A typical action may require re-routing of power flows from generators to consumers or a change in system topology.
8.2.6 Optimum economic dispatch

8.2.6.1 The merit order dispatch
Having solved the generator scheduling problem and having ensured through security analysis that the system is in a secure state, the "Economic dispatch" box of fig.4.1 illustrates the task of trimming the load on individual generators to achieve minimum production cost on a short term basis. Before dealing with this task, we will have a closer look at the operational characteristics of traditional generation as depicted in Table 14 .
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Type of plant Nuclear
Gas CCGT
Physical characteristics Inflexible. Best operated at steady load Can be flexible But poor load following response Flexible with good load following resonse Extremely flexible Flexible Flexible
Economic characteristics Very high capital cost. Low running cost Low capital cost, low running costs. Fuel supply contracts dictate running on high load Medium capital cost, medium-high running costs
Role within system Steady base load. 75% capacity factor. Steady base load. 80% capacity factor.
Coal/oil
Pumpedstorage Hydro Hydro with reservoir Open cycle gas turbine
High capital cost, high marginal cost High capital cost low running cost Very low capital cost very high marginal cost
Demand following, units partly loaded to provide spinning reserve. Capacity factor from 20 to 70% Rapid response used for peak shaving Base load and demand following if required peak shaving. Capacity factor <<5%
Table 14: Operational characteristics of traditional generation A crude way of applying economic dispatch is to arrange the plants in order of average operating cost, the so called merit order with the lowest cost plant at the top of the list. Starting from the top of the list, the plants are then loaded (each up to the limit of its capacity) before the next plant on the list is brought into action. This loading philosophy is illustrated in Figure 131 .
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50000
Pumped Hydro Generation

45000
40000
Other
35000
Pumped Hydro Pumping Coal
Generation (MW)
30000
25000
20000
15000
Gas
10000
5000
Nuclear
0 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Time (hours)
Figure 131: Merit order dispatch At the top of the merit order is nuclear power, characterised by low fuel costs and poor flexibility. Next is Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant, which is highly efficient and also relatively inflexible. This is followed by coal plant with progressively higher running costs and then by the band labelled other which represents a mixture of high fuel cost flexible coal and oil plant. Finally the shaving of the peaks is done by pumped hydro which is arranged to absorb energy during the low demand periods between 22.00 and 06.00 hours. Open cycle gas turbines may be brought in very occassionally to meet unexpected peaks in demand. To summarise, in the merit order approach, units with low operating costs run preferentially and therefore attract high load fasctors; they generate a disproportionately large share of electricity relative to their capacity. They are called base load plants, or high merit plant. Units with high operating costs are only run as a last resort; they attract low load factors and generate a disproportionately small share of the total electricity; they are called peaking plants, or low merit plant. Plant in between these two extremes is called load following plants or middle merit plant.
8.3 Plant generation costs and capabilities

The cost of a unit of generated electricity at power station gate (which neglects transmission and distribution costs) consists of two components. The first relates to the capital expenditure of setting up the plant and other fixed and semi-fixed costs such as insurance, operation and maintenance etc. The second relates to the cost of fuel and other fuel dependent factors such
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as plant efficiency etc. Plant for the generation of electricity is characterised by a K number where: K = Plant capital cost/ Plant operating cost Plant with large K are typically nuclear power stations for which the capital costs are very large but the fuel and marginal costs are small. Solar, wind, hydro, wave, tidal and some biomass plant also fall in this category, possessing large values of K as the fuel is freely available. As an exception, some biomass systems based on wood harvesting or the gathering and sorting of waste are likely to possess medium values of K. It follows that plant with high K values are suitable for base load operation, renewables being at the top of the merit order list as they possess very low marginal costs. Energy from renewables, therefore, should be used whenever available. Plant with low K (such as open cycle gas turbines), are suitable for peaking load. Table 15 shows current and projected generating costs (these costs include both capital and fuel components) for various generating options in the UK. These figures are taken from a draft report of the Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU). This study, undertaken during the second half of 2001, was designed to review the strategic issues surrounding energy policy for Great Britain, within the context of meeting the challenge of global warming, while ensuring secure, diverse and reliable energy supplies at competitive prices. These figures, provide ball park values of the present and future competitiveness of renewables worldwide.
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Technology Coal Gas Nuclear Wind, onshore Wind, offshore Energy crops Wave
Price now (p/kWh) 2.6-3.2 1.8-2.2 4.7-7.8 2.4-3.1 ~5 ~5 ~5
Source 1998 White Paper ditto; now ~2.4 due to gas price rises 1995 White Paper updated using RPI NFFO5 contract prices (1998) ditto ditto ditto
2020 price PIU (p/kWh) 3-3.6 1.9-2 3-4.5 1.5-2.5 2-3 2.5-4 4-8
Table 15: Electricity generation prices Plant may be classified into three categories. All conventionally fuelled plant and some very large hydro, are capacity limited in the sense that their output is constrained by their nameplate rating at which level they can be operated indefinitely, fault occurrence and maintenance schedules permitting. This is because fuel supplies of coal, oil, gas and fissionable uranium as well as water in a very large reservoir are available on tap.
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Plant such as most hydro power and biomass, are energy limited as they are usually unable to generate continuously at their maximum capacity as the energy resource might be limited e.g. a wind farm can only generate at maximum output when the wind speed is above a certain level. Finally, most renewables are variable as their power output is dependent on natural cycles.
8.4 Aggregation
The efficiency of integrated electricity systems depends critically on the aggregation of both demand and generation. The greater the aggregation, the smaller (in proportion) are the variations in demand and the easier it is to predict them. At one end of the spectrum, the minimum demand from a domestic dwelling is a few watts, the average is about half a kW and the maximum is in the range 5 to 10 kW, i.e. 10 to 20 times the average. If each UK household had to meet its own maximum demand - 5 kW, say, 100 GW of plant would be needed for this sector alone. Aggregation smooths these variations in demand from all sectors - domestic, commercial and industrial - so, nationally, the maximum demand in winter is 58 GW, about 1.5 times the year-round average demand of about 40 GW. Compare this to the summer demand profile shown in Fig 4.2. As demands are added and smoothed, prediction becomes easier; as mentioned earlier, the National Grid Company in the UK can predict the match between supply and demand at each half-hour with an average error of about 1.3%. Aggregation is vital to an electricity utility and can be illustrated, in principle, using random number strings to simulate consumer demands. When added together, 10 random consumer demands - between zero and 10 kW - combine to produce fluctuations between 40 and 70 kW. The demand from one and from 10 consumers is illustrated in Figure 132 .
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OuW ns () e m c e o r n k 1 0 8 6 4 2 0
T ss e u() n m c e o rW n k 1 0 0 O n e cm oe nr s u 8 0 A ln l t e 6 0 4 0 2 0 0 2 0
1 0 H o u r s
1 5
Figure 132 Smoothing effects of load aggregation Taking wind power as an example, as capacity increases, it also benefits from aggregation,
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and this is illustrated in Figure 133 . This shows how dispersing wind power around the country reduces the power excursions. Although this comes from a simulation 1 , it illustrates the point effectively.
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Wt W i oM nu d , u t p 1 ,0 0 0 8 0 0 6 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 S il n g e f a r m Dd iit se tu r b f s a r m
1 0 1 5 To ies m ,u h r
2 0
2 5
Figure 133: Smoothing effects of wind power agreggstion
8.5 Penetration levels from variable sources

A number of extensive simulation studies carried out by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in the UK before privatisation illustrate the impact of large inputs from renewables. To illustrate the problems of integration, an example of extreme penetration is depicted. Figure 134 shows the output which would have been expected from wind (dispersed 25GW) and tidal (10GW) alongside the demand over a period of one month. In this example 30% and 13% of the consumer energy would be supplied from wind and tidal respectively. The figure serves to emphasise that the source variability needs to be considered in the context of the varying demand which it helps to meet. Dispersed wind varies less rapidly than demand, tidal more rapidly.
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Figure 134: CEGB simulation study comparing demand with simulated distributed wind power and tidal power. Figure 135 (below) shows the effect of subtracting the output from wind and tidal power from the demand, leaving a reduced load to be met by conventional thermal plant.
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Figure 135: Residual demand to be met by conventional generation
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Ideally, the financial benefit of wind and tidal power in the extreme penetration level of this simulation would have been calculated. This is achieved by determining the cost of supplying the total demand in Figure 134 from traditional generation and then subtracting the cost of supplying the residual demand in Figure 135 . These would represent the ideal fuel savings obtained by considering the reduced operating time required of thermal units. Unfortunately in real life systems the following operating penalties have to be considered:
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cycling costs, due to increased start-up and shut-down of thermal plants; reserve costs, arising from the need to ensure that the system can respond adequately to unpredicted changes; and discarded energy, when the available variable input exceeds the amount which can be safely absorbed while maintaining adequate reserves and dynamic control of the sysetm.
8.6 Cycling costs

In general, cycling costs are roughly proportional to the average variability (in MW/hour) of the load on thermal plants in a given period. It can be shown that if variations in a variable source and in demand occur roughly independently, the total resulting variation in the net load to be met by the thermal plans is approximately a sum-of-squares addition of the components: (total variability of load on thermal units) 2 = (total variability of + electricity demand)2 (total variability of variable source)2
Thus, for example, when the average power variation of the added source equals that of the demand itself, the startup loads are not doubled but increased by 40%. This has some important implications. The impact of fluctuations in variable sources at low penetrations is practically zero; they are lost as noise among demand flactuations. This is visually illustrated in Figure 136 which shows a simulation study on the UK grid with a more modest wind power capacity of 10GW compared to the simulations shown in Figure 134 and Figure 135 . Figure 136 indicates that the variability of the residual demand is very similar to that of the gross demand.
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Figure 136: Simulation of 10GW of wind in the UK system Studies on renewables indicate that the variability in ascending order of severity is wave, dispersed wind and tidal. Tidal power is the only source which is likely to incur substantial cycling penalties. For the UKs Severn Barrage (which could supply 5-6% of UK demand with an average 5.5GW cycle every 12.5 hours), simplified statistical calculations indicate that penalties in the region of 7% of the ideal fuel savings will have to be taken into account. This is illustrated visually in fig 4.7 where the substantial variability of the tidal contribution is obvious. In the case of dispersed photovoltaics, the available solar resource and load variations are often closely related so that simple comparisons assuming rough independence may be invalid.
8.7 Reserve costs

The problems arising from the possible unpredictability of variable sources may incur more serious costs than those relating to cycling of thermal plant. The topic of system reserve which includes spinning, standing and standby where discussed in section 8.2.4 . System reserve is required not only to protect from the loss of the largest generator on the nework but also from the errors in predicting demand. When errors in predicting the output from variable sources occurs independently of those in predicting demand, the combined error is again a sum-of-squares addition.
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(average error in predicting net load on thermal units)2
(average error in predicting + electricity demand)2
(average error in predicting variable input)2
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Again, for small penetrations of variable sources the prediction errors are lost among load fluctuations. However, since demand is fairly predictable, forecasting errors from substantial penetration of renewables may incur some penalty which is unlikely to exceed 5% of the ideal fuel savings. For relatively little expenditure the predictability of most variable sources could be greatly improved. This would be accomplished partly through the installation of extra weather data monitoring stations (e.g. anemometry towers a few tens of kilometers from major wind farms) and partly through sophisticated computational techniques. Such a programme of enhanced predictability has been used and is being further developed in Denmark.
8.8 Discarded Energy

As the capacity of the varible sources injected into a system increases, there might be occassions when the available power from such sources cannot be used. This is clearly illustrated in Figure 135 , which shows a simulation where there are periods when the availble power exceeds demand. However, even before this stage is reached, energy from variable sources will have to be shed because the power system would need to keep a minimum level of thermal plant generating to maintain adequate operating reserve and system control capabilities.
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Discarding energy from variable sources poses no operational difficulties. Output from wind turbines can be controlled through blade pitch variation, from photovoltaics through inverter control and through hydro, wave and tidal schemes through similar controlling techniques. This discarding of energy, however, results in an economic penalty on variable sources which becomes increasingly important at high penetrations. This penalty is difficult to assess as it depends heavily on the flexibility of the base load units i.e. the extent to which they could be operated stably at low power and upon how rapidly their output could be increased if required. For the level of penetration expected over the next decade or so, the penalties due to discarded energy are unlikely to be of any significance.
8.9 Penalties due to increasing penetration

In the previous sections the operational penalties incurred on thermal plants due to increases in variable source penetration were reviewed. A number of studies have been carried out aimed at providing some estimates of penalties incurred as penetration of renewables increases. The majority of these studies relate to wind power as this is the variable source with the largest installed world capacity to date. One such EU-funded study has simulated the operation of the England and Wales National Grid accommodating increasing amounts of wind power. Figure 137 illustrates typical results from this study. The plot shows how annual fossil fuel costs from conventional generation are saved as increasing amounts of electricity are generated by wind power. If there were no penalties due to penetration the ideal savings would results. It can seen that at increasing
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penetrations the savings (where wind power is forecast up to a day ahead) reduce below ideal for the reasons explained above. To give an idea of scale, the England and Wales electricity system has a conventional generating capacity of around 70GW. Table 16 gives recent figures on penetration penalties based on EU-funded studies and on Danish and UK thresholds linked to operational experience of wind farms. The additional costs are graduated and depend on the level of penetration.
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4000 3500
Ideal
3000 2500
Forecasting
2000 1500
1000 500 0
10
20
GW
30
40
50
Figure 137: Fossil fuel savings for the England and Wales grid from increasing penetration of wind power.
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Wind power penetration Up to 5% 5-10%
Measures required
Cost penalties
None Occasional instances when some energy from the wind is dicarded and more part loading of thermal plant required As above, plus more use of pumped storage or hydro to balance wind power May be necessary to build more storage, or peaking plant, or retain old coal plant,depending on relative costs. (Extra storage will benefit system as a whole)
Negligible
~0.1 p/kWh
10-20%
~0.2p/kWh
20-50%
~0.5p/kWh
Table 16: Implications of increasing wind energy supply on the UK network
8.10 100% Renewable Energy Generation

At the moment it is difficult to envisage a power system where all the demand is met by renewable energy due to it intermittency and lack of total predictability. Renewable energy needs to be implemented alongside conventional forms of generation to guarantee security of supply. However there are possibilities for the future where this could happen:
8.10.1
Combining different renewable energy sources
There is evidence to suggest that combining wind and tidal power may be beneficial from the point of view of reducing their combined variability. In certain hotter climates, there is also evidence that wind and solar (PV) power may benefit from being in combination where the wind is driven by thermal effects reaching a maximum in the evening. To foresee a truly 100% renewable energy supply would require the use of biomass generation. Wind, solar, tidal, hydo and wave power would be used to supply the bulk of the energy requirements and biomass generation with its flexibility could be used to balance the residual demand.
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8.10.2
Energy Storage
Research is underway to provide cost effective energy storage to absorb the variation in RE generation. Fuel cells, batteries, flywheels and superconducting magnetic energy storage are all being investigated to this end. At present the cost of energy storage is too high and it will be many years yet before it can be considered a viable option for a 100% renewable energy supply.
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9 Electricity Trading and Renewable Energy in the UK

9.1 Introduction
The lectures on integration gave an overview of the physical operation of the National Grid and considered some of the implications for renewable energy sources. The generation and supply of electricity in a reliable system depends on the efficient scheduling and dispatch of the generation plants to meet the system demand. The efficient running of the system implies value for money to the consumer for the electricity supplied. To this end the economic operation of the UK National Grid has evolved during the last 12 years. In this lecture we will consider how the electricity supply industry (ESI) has changed from the state owned Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), through to the privatised Electricity Pool, deregulation and finally to the present day British Electricity Transmission and Trading Arrangements. These changes will be considered in the light of their impact on renewable energy generation.
9.2 The State Owned ESI

Before 1990, the entire UK ESI was in the state sector and was centrally planned and operated. Since the Second World War this was carried out by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). The remit of the CEGB was to provide a secure supply of electricity to its consumers. All generating plant, transmission lines, distribution lines, substations and metering was owned and operated by the CEGB as a monopoly. The generating plant was operated in a merit order (see notes on Integration) with some degree of modification to allow for transmission constraints. The merit order broadly reflected the efficiency and flexibility of the generating sets. Electricity was supplied to consumers through the Regional Electricity Companies which were also responsible for the operation of the distribution network in their area (132kV and below). Although this system had worked well for many years, it was a monopoly and severely restricted opportunities for small scale privately owned generation. In line with the then Conservative governments programme of privatisation to promote competition and drive down costs, the CEGB was broken up into various sectors and sold off to the private sector.
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9.3 The Electricity Pool

9.3.1 Overview
In 1990, the Pooling and Settlement Agreement (PSA) was introduced and the ESI privatised. The generators were split up between two privatised companies: National Power and Powergen, the former being the slightly larger of the two in terms of generating capacity. The nuclear power stations remained in the state owned company known as Nuclear Electric, due to problems with decommissioning liabilities. The Regional Electricity Companies (RECs) were individually privatised and given sole licences to supply electricity in their areas still retaining responsibility for the distribution network in their areas. The RECs jointly owned the National Grid Company (NGC) which was responsible for the operation of the transmission network (275kV and 400kV) and the pump storage facilities in Wales. NGC also served as the network operator responsible for the scheduling and dispatch of the generation plant.
9.3.2 The Operation of the Pool and Pool Prices

Instead of generation plant being scheduled in a merit order reflecting efficiency, operating cost and flexibility, generators now bid into a pool offering to generate a given output at a given price for the day ahead. NGC would examine the bids, put them in order of increasing cost and then from this list select the generation plants it would need to meet the demand in a given half hour period, allowing for transmission constraints and spinning reserve. The most expensive plant required in each half hour period would set the so-called System Marginal Price (SMP) for that half-hour. To this price would be added a capacity credit in order to ensure that sufficient capacity over and above maximum demand would always be available for reasons of security of supply. This price was called the Pool Purchase Price (PPP) and was paid to all generators selected within the half hour regardless of whether they had bid less. Inflexible plant such as nuclear would commonly bid in at a very low price or even zero to ensure being selected. Note that they would still be paid PPP even though they would bid zero. Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGTs) with fixed gas contracts would also bid low to ensure being scheduled. The next lowest prices would be operated by the coal-fired generators which were more flexible but with higher operating costs. Finally, open cycle gas turbines and pump storage would bid higher due to higher operating costs and greater flexibility. It can be seen that in general the order of the bids would be in line with the old merit order system but now prices were meant to be driven down due to the competitive bidding nature of the Pool. Figure 139 shows a comparison of the average daily half-hourly demand and the PPP for November 1999. It can be seen that the trend in prices throughout the day broadly follows the demand trend during the day. The peaks in prices reflect the more expensive plant that need to be chosen by NGC to meet the peaks in demand.
X X
The PPP was then uplifted slightly to cover the difference in the total cost incurred by NGC in balancing generation and demand and what was paid out to generators through the PPP.
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This uplifted price was known as the Pool Selling Price (PSP). The PSP is then charged through to suppliers for the amount of electricity supplied to their customers.
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 00:30 02:30 04:30 06:30 08:30 10:30 12:30 14:30 16:30 18:30 20:30 22:30
PPP (/MWh) Demand (MW)
50000 45000 40000 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0
Figure 138: NGC average daily half-hourly demand and Pool Purchase Price for November 1999.
9.4 Hedging Your Bets

It can be seen from Figure 139 that there is a wide variation in prices during the day. The prices shown are merely averages prices during the month. It was quite possible to get price fluctuations at times of peak demand (around 5:30pm) well over 100/MWh. In certain severe weather conditions this could go over 250/MWh. For a supplier with a peak teatime demand of 2GW (2000MW) this could mean half-hourly cost fluctuations approaching 0.25 million! Most suppliers operate to quite tight margins and charge a fixed price to their customers so a sudden increase in Pool prices over a cold period could potentially bankrupt a supplier. On the other hand, generators are paying a fixed price for their fuel and similarly a dip in prices during a prolonged warm period could also spell disaster for their cash flow. Soon after the introduction of the PSA, so-called Contracts for Differences came into existence. These financial instruments gave generators and suppliers the ability to fix the price of their generation or demand for a given period of time, typically a month or more. The contracts did this by hedging against changes in the Pool prices.
X X
Typically a supplier would forecast its demand profile by half-hour throughout a month taking into account changes due the seasons, changes due to expected customer losses/gains, etc. This would be the hedged volume. The supplier would present this profile to a third party broker which may could be a financial institution. This broker would then offer a fixed price for the contract reflecting how volatile the broker expected the prices to be in the next
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month. The supplier would still have to pay the half-hourly PSP for demand but at the same time if the PSP went above the fixed price, the broker would pay the supplier for the difference between the PSP and fixed price multiplied by the hedged volume. On the other hand, if the PSP went below the fixed price for any half-hour, the supplier would pay the broker for the difference between the fixed price and the PSP multiplied by the hedged volume. In this way the supplier was effectively paying a fixed price for its hedged volume. Obviously, if the hedged volume was an under-forecast, the supplier would be exposed for the difference between the forecast and actual demand. If the forecast was too high, then the supplier might be paying over the odds for the contract, though it was possible to make a profit with some speculation Generator could fix the price they were paid for a hedged volume of generation in exactly the same way. Eventually, bespoke contracts became off-the-shelf contracts with standard terms and conditions and standard contract types, for example for base load or peaking. These were known as Electricity Forward Agreements (EFAs). These could be bought and sold on Power Exchanges. The importance of such contracts became apparent when the independent supplier Independent Energy loss its credit rating and could not obtain an EFA finally becoming bankrupt due to excessively high generation prices in September 2000.
9.5 Deregulation
Immediately following privatisation, consumers could still only buy their electricity from their local REC. However, in 1992, consumers with a average demand of greater than 1MW could choose a supplier outside their local area. In 1994, the demand threshold was reduced to 100kW. Eventually, in 1999, all consumers were able to choose their supplier. At the same time, small independent generators and Second Tier suppliers entered the market, breaking the monopoly of National Power, Powergen, Nuclear Electric and the RECs (which latterly became known as Public Electricity Suppliers or PESs). This gave an opportunity for renewable energy generators and specialist renewable energy suppliers (such as Good Energy and Ecotricity) to enter the market. In addition, the PESs have been unbundled so that supply, distribution, metering and meter reading have all become separate businesses. Over time the larger suppliers like National Power and Powergen have become fragmented and taken over so that they bear little resemblance to the companies they were at privatisation. In addition, the National Grid Company, still System Operator and transmission line operator, became an independent company.
9.6 The Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation and Renewable Obligation

In order to cover the future decommissioning costs of the nuclear power stations still in the
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public sector at privatisation, the fossil fuel levy was introduced which was a levy on all electricity sold. The government of the time also saw this as a convenient mechanism to support the fledgling renewable energy market in the UK. The vast majority of the levy went towards the future decommissioning, but a small amount was ring-fenced for the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO). Developers who wished to build renewable energy generation plant (wind, small-scale hydro, biomass, etc) could bid into successive NFFO rounds or tranches to in order to build a scheme which would generate for a fixed price. The NonFossil Purchasing Agency (NFPA) ordered the bids and agreed contracts with up to and including the most expensive scheme in order to fill the order in terms of contracted generation. There have been 5 NFFO rounds with the prices shown in Table 17 . It can be seen that average bid prices have slowly reduced over time as the different renewables technologies have become more competitive.
X X
NFFO NFFO 1 (1990) NFFO 2 (1991) NFFO 3 (1994) NFFO 4 (1997) NFFO 5 (1998)
Price (p/kWh) 7.51 8.78 4.84 3.59 2.71
Table 17: Average NFFO contract prices (taken from the NFPA website). The supplier in which the renewable energy generation project was built was obliged to take the power from the generator. The fossil fuel levy made up the difference between what the supplier paid the generator (which was effectively the PSP due to the reduction in demand) and the bid price for the contract. The latest NFFO contracts are for 15 years and will continue to run. NFFO has now been replaced by the Renewables Obligation (RO). This will be the scheme which benefits new renewable energy generation or existing renewable energy generation whose NFFO contracts have now expired. The RO places an obligation on all suppliers to source a certain fraction of their demand from renewable energy sources starting at 3% for 2002/2003 rising to 10% by 2010/2011. If a supplier cannot or will not comply then it can buy-out its obligation by paying 30/MWh (2002 prices) for the required generation shortfall. This effectively fixes the price for the premium paid to renewable energy generators through a system of certificates known as Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs). The proceeds from the buyout pot are given back to compliant suppliers in proportion to their degree of compliance i.e. how many ROCs they have bought. This can add extra value to the ROCs.
9.7 The Climate Change Levy

In April 2001, the government introduced the Climate Change Levy. This is a levy on all energy sold to commercial consumers. Electricity from renewable energy sources is exempt from this levy. The exemption scheme is run using a Levy Exemption Certificate (LEC) scheme. Each certificate has a value of 4.30/MWh (2001 prices) which can be passed on in part or full from the supplier to the generator for the electricity that the supplier supplies to its commercial customers.
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9.8 The New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA)

9.8.1 Background
The electricity pool system was felt to have played its part in the successful deregulation and opening up of the ESI. However, criticisms were made of the way in which pool prices could be manipulated by a few key generators bidding into the pool. In fact, it was considered that this rigging of pool prices was keeping wholesale electricity prices artificially high. In addition, it was felt that generators and suppliers should be free to enter into bilateral agreements instead of also buying from the pool, albeit with a bilateral hedging contract sitting on top. Furthermore, it was seen as beneficial if third parties could enter the market to trade in physical electricity much as they had been doing in CFDs and EFAs. For this reason, the New Electricity Trading Arrangements were introduced on the 27th March 2001.
9.8.2 Buying and Selling Power under NETA

Generators and suppliers (above a certain size) are obliged to notify their position for each half hour in terms of generation and demand for the day ahead to National Grid as system operator. This allows NGC to carry out its balancing of supply and demand much as before. Generators now self-dispatch rather than wait to be dispatched by NGC, though can alter their output when requested to do so if they participate in the Balancing Market (see below). Generators still self dispatch in a very similar order to the merit order under the CEGB regime, but this time the order of dispatch is dictated solely by price. In addition, suppliers and generators notify what contracts they have struck to the NETA central systems. These contracts must be notified at least 1 hour1 ahead of actual time, known as gate closure. Instead of suppliers dealing in CFDs and EFAs to hedge an agreed volume against pool prices they now trade in physical volumes at a fixed price. Any difference between the physical volume contracted and actual volume generated or supplied is cashed-out at prices set within the Balancing Market. Suppliers and generators typically strike contracts on different timescales. A month or more ahead of actual delivery they will strike bilateral contracts which is a straight contract between two parties for a given volume of electricity at a given price. This accounts for 90% of the volume of electricity bought and sold. Suppliers and generators may not exactly be able to predict their demand or output exactly months ahead so around a day ahead, they buy and sell chunks of power on a Power Exchange. This is much like a stock exchange for power where chunks or power are bough and sold anonymously. This can be done up to gate closure as mentioned above. Around 5% of electricity is traded in this way. The remaining 5% is traded through t he cash-out market at the SSP and SBP.
9.8.3 System Sell and System Buy Prices

If a suppliers actual demand in a half hour is higher than it has contracted for ahead of gate closure, then the supplier must pay to the system operator the System Buy Price (SBP) for this deficit. If the suppliers actual demand is lower than it has contracted for then it is paid System Sell Price (SSP) for the excess. The principle is identical for a generator whereby it will need to pay the System Buy Price for any deficit in contracted generation output and will
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be paid System Sell Price for any generation excess above contracted output. The System Sell Price is in general lower than the average bilateral contract price between the supplier and generator. The System Buy Price is in general higher than the average bilateral contract price between supplier and generator.
50 45 40
SSP
SBP
35
/MWh 30 25 20 15 10 5
0
0 6 12 18 24
Figure 139: Average daily half-hour System Sell and System Buy Prices for March 2002. Figure 139 shows SSP and SBP for each half hour average over the month March 2002. The SSP is around 10.70/MWh for this month, and the SBP is 23.70, though the SBP shows rather more variation during the day crudely reflecting the shape of the national demand curve. The typical contract price for this month would around 15/MWh. It can be seen that there is an incentive for suppliers and generators to get their forecast and close as possible to their actual position due to these non-symmetrical prices.
X X
In the early days of NETA, the system or Imbalance prices were far more volatile with SSPs becoming frequently negative (a supplier or generator would have to pay for any contract surplus!) and the SBP reached values into the 1000s per MWh on occasion! Prices have now settled down due to people learning how to play the market and changes to the way SSP and SBP are calculated in the Balancing Market.
9.8.4 The Balancing Market

The system operator National Grid needs to give orders to generation plant to change their output in order to match supply and demand just as in the days of the CEGB and the Pool. This is done using another market known as the Balancing Market. Ahead of delivery, flexible generators (and to a lesser extent flexible suppliers) can place bids to reduce power output or offers to generate extra output. In the case of a supplier it would make a bid to
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increase demand or an offer to reduce demand. After gate closure, NGC examines the bids and offers and accepts those it needs to balance the system. Suppliers and generators pay their accepted bids and are paid their accepted offers. Simplistically, the value of the bids sets the System Sell Price and the value of the offers sets the System Buy Price, though there are other costs and adjustments which feed into these prices. The total cost of balancing the system in general is slightly less than the balance of the proceeds for the SSP and SBP. This is due to the fact that two generators may be out of balance separately and pay for this, but together their imbalances cancel out. The excess is reallocated to suppliers and generators in proportion to their total generation output or total demand as appropriate.
9.8.5 The British Electricity Transmission and Trading Arrangements

Up until 2005, the privatised electricity supply industry in Scotland was run separately from that in England and Wales with different transmission network operators. The Scottish system had operated a NETA like trading system even whilst the Pool was still operating in England and Wales. In April, 2005, NETA was rolled out across Great Britain and the operation of the whole transmission network came under National Grid. This became known as the British Electricity Transmission and Trading Arrangements (BETTA).
9.9 The Impact on Renewable Energy Sources

9.9.1 Overview
It was stressed above that there is an incentive to ensure that a generator or supplier gets its forecast of its position (generation output or demand) as close as possible to the actual position due to the penal nature of the SSP and SBP. In the case of a generator whose output is not wholly predictable, this can present a problem. It can be seen that this will be the case for many renewable energy sources in particular wind power, PV power, wave power and hydro power. Tidal power though very variable is still highly predictable. Biomass generation behaves in much the same way as conventional power plant and is thus predictable. Interesting Combined Heat and Power plant is also at a disadvantage. As it is run to supply the heat requirement primarily, there is less control over the electricity output. For a wind farm with an energy contract price of 15/MWh, the cost of not being wholly predictable under NETA and the effect of the imbalance prices, reduces the value of the contract by around 20%. Instead of striking a contract, the generator could accept the SSP for all output spilt, however this would reduce its income to around 10/MWh. It can be seen that intermittent and unpredictable renewable energy sources are disadvantaged as the cost of imbalance is charged directly to those that cause it rather than averaged over the whole market as it would have been under the Pool.
9.9.2 Mitigating the Effects of NETA
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9.9.2.1 Forecasting
One way in which an intermittent generator can hope to reduce the penal effect of the imbalance prices is by accurate forecasting. In theory, a generator only needs to forecast his power output 1h ahead at present. In practice, a small generator such a wind farm or a small hydro plant will not have the resources to do this every half-hour and strike the required contract using a Power Exchange. Also it takes time to prepare a forecast so the generator may have to forecast ~4.5h ahead. There are both infrastructure and transaction costs associated with doing this which are very high. In practice, many such generators will sell their output to a supplier for a fixed price and the supplier will take the risk. The supplier might strike a contract once a day or possible three times a day to balance the output of the renewable generator. In this case a forecast needs to be available for several hours head. The simplest forecast used is persistence, where it is assumed that the power output at a given time ahead is the same as at the present time. This works well for short periods. For wind power, above 3h a better method is to use a Met. Office forecast or a hybrid of a Met. Office forecast and a statistical forecast based on the latest historic data.
9.9.2.2 Aggregation
The variability and to some extent the unpredictability can be reduced by adding together or aggregating the output of several geographically spread generators, e.g. wind farms or hydro generators. This was discussed in Section 8.4 . Typically, a supplier might contract with several such generators and pass on the benefits to each generator from aggregating the output.
X X
9.9.2.3 Storage
The ultimate solution for an intermittent generator would be the use of storage. The storage medium (a fuel cell or a battery, for example) could buffer the unpredictable variations in output from the renewable generator to give a constant output. Unfortunately, at present, such storage is uneconomic. Another option would be to use a controllable generation source alongside the intermittent renewable generator. An example of this might be the use of a biomass generator alongside a wind farm whose output was controlled to match (in antiphase) the output of the wind farm. Once again, the economics of this are not yet favourable.
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10 Tutorial Questions
10.1 Wind Power
10.1.1 Wind Characteristics and Resource
1. A site has an average mean wind speed of 8 m/s and an annual standard deviation of 5m/s. Calculate rough estimates of the Weibull parameters k and C. Explain which formulae were used and why. 2. Take a very simple power curve for a wind turbine specified as follows: 0 - 5 m/s: 5 -8 : 8 - 12 : 12 - 14 : 14 - 25 : 25 : 0kW 20 35 40 45 0
Calculate the annual energy yield for the above site in Q1 (and also average power) from the wind turbine if its reliability is 95%. 3. Average wind speed is measured on a mast at 12m above ground level (agl) in reasonably flat terrain and is found to be 8 m/s. The surrounding ground coverage is high grass (roughness length 0.08m). Use two expressions to estimate the average wind speed at 25m agl. Quote any assumptions. 4. An average wind speed of 7 m/s is measured 10m agl on a mast situated in flat terrain with a uniform covering of short grass (roughness length=0.03m). An estimate is required of the mean wind speed at 10m agl on top of a nearby isolated ridge also covered with short grass. The ridge is 10 m high, relative to the surrounding flat terrain with a half-width at half-height of 20m. Give an estimate of the required mean wind speed on top of the ridge and quote your assumptions. How would you calculate an estimate of the wind speed at 20m agl on top of the ridge? What would be your estimate?
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10.1.2 Wind Turbines

Figure 140 show a Cp- curve for the fixed-speed stall-regulated Wind Champion wind turbine located at a site with average long term wind speed of 7.8 m/s and long term standard deviation (based on 10 minute averages) of 4.2m/s. The turbine produces rated output at wind speed U=13m/s and its Cpmax (the peak of the Cp- curve) is at 9m/s. The radius of the rotor is 17m. Assume air density is 1.22kg/m3.
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1) Calculate the rotational speed of the turbine. 2) Calculate the rated power output of the turbine. 3) Estimate the annual energy production in MWh expected from the turbine assuming no losses. 4) Describe how a stall-regulated machine is aerodynamically controlled.
Cp -Lambda curve
0.46 0.44 0.42 0.4 0.38 0.36 0.34 0.32 0.3 0.28 0.26 0.24 0.22 0.2 0.18 0.16 0.14 0.12 0.1 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.02 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Lambda
Figure 140: Cp- curve for the Wind Champion wind turbine.
Cp
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10.2 Hydro Power

1. Outline the main requirements of a typical hydro generation project. 2. What are the two basic types of hydro generation and how do they differ? 3. A hydro generation scheme is rated at 100 kW and has a flow rate of 2 m3/s. Assuming that the density of water is 1000 kg m-3 and acceleration due to gravity is 9.81 ms-2, calculate the required effective head (neglecting losses). What is the velocity of the water at the end of the penstock? 4. The hydro scheme in Q3 has a penstock which is 20m long and has a pipe diameter of 1m. The losses in the pipe are 10% of the gross head. Calculate the pipe friction factor, assuming the mean velocity of water in the penstock is 75% of the velocity at the end of the penstock.
2 5. Head losses due to a trash rack are given by h t K ( t / b) 3 ( v0 / 2g) sin . Explain each of the terms in this equation. Explain how turbulent losses in a trash rack can be reduced.
4
6. Figure 141 shows a flow duration curve at the Dulverton hydro generation site. Figure 142 shows the variation of flow with head for this scheme. Table 18 gives specific speed ranges for different turbine types. If this scheme had a 100 kW turbine connected to a generator with a rotational speed of 1500 rpm via a gearbox with ratio 1:10 (one rotation of turbine converted to 10 rotations of generator) decide what type of turbine would be most suitable for this site justifying your answer (neglect any losses).
X X X X X X
7. What are the main differences between an impulse and a reaction turbine? When is it appropriate to use each type? 8. What is the principle of a draft tube?
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Figure 141: Flow duration curve for Dulverton site.
Head-Flow Curve for a Small-Scale Hydropower Scheme

4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40
Gross Head (m)
Flow (m3/s) Figure 142: Head-flow curve for the Dulverton site.
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Type of Turbine Pelton one jet Pelton two jets Turgo Cross-flow Francis Kaplan Propellor
Specific speed range 10-35 10-45 20-80 20-90 70-500 350-1000 600-900
Table 18: Specific speed ranges for different types of turbine.
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10.3 Tidal Power

1. With the aid of a diagram, describe the terms spring and neap tides and how they arise. Why are there two high tides per day? 2. Calculate the maximum (spring) tidal range in the deep ocean given that the mass of the Earth is 5.98 1024 kg, the mass of the Moon is 7.34 1022 kg, the mass of the Sun is 1.99 1030 kg, the mean radius of the Earth is 6.37 106 m, the mean distance between the centre of the Earth and the centre of the Moon is 3.84 108 m and the mean distance between the centre of the Earth and the centre of the Sun is 1.49 1011 m. 3. Describe what phenomena can enhance the tidal range close to a land mass. 4. If a river estuary is 100km long, what is the average depth required for tidal resonance? 5. With the aid of a diagram, describe the mechanism of two-way generation with flood pumping when applied to a tidal barrage. What are the benefits and drawbacks of this mode of operation? 6. An approximate equation for the cost of electricity from a tidal barrage scheme is given by: logU
c . Calculate what this cost will be for the La 2 AR 1 Rance barrage, assuming k=0.46 and c=-0.447. For La Rance, the barrage length is 750m, the barrage height is 13m, the basin area is 22km2 and the mean tidal range is 8m. [NOTE: This equation has been slightly varied from the notes to give a better fit to the data from the 24 sites from which the equation was derived]. k log L0.8 H 2
2
7. If the theoretical maximum power output from a tidal current turbine can be AV 3 calculated in the same way as for a wind turbine using the equation: P , 2 explain why a tidal current turbine of a given rotor size will produce roughly the same amount of power as a wind turbine of the same rotor size even though water is much denser than air.
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10.4 Wave Power

1. Calculate the velocity of a wave in deep water with a wavelength 2m. What is the speed of this wave in water of depth 0.5m? What is meant by a dispersive wave and what consequence does this have for deep water waves of different wavelengths as they race towards a shoreline? 2. Using the equation V gD , explain why wave crests tend to align themselves parallel to a shoreline, regardless of the shape of the shoreline. 3. Figure 143 shows a time trace of a series of waves passing a given measuring point over 175s. From this trace, calculate the power density (in kW/m) of these waves given that the significant wave height (Hs) is 13.7m.
X X
4. Using the equation F 1 exp
, explain how the energy in a wave varies
with depth. Using a sketch illustrate this showing how a molecule of water behaves with increasing distance below the water surface. 5. For a Salters Duck explain at least two important design characteristics. What does the term impedance matched mean for the Duck? 6. An Oscillating Water Column (OWC) contains a Wells turbine. Explain the principle of an OWC and why a Wells turbine is used in this device. An OWC is designed with a water path length of 25m. Calculate the resonant oscillation period for this device. 7. What advantages does a Tapchan wave energy converter have over an OWC?
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Figure 143: Time trace of a series of waves passing a given measuring point during a period of 175s.
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10.5 Solar Power

1) What energy is associated with a photon of yellow light (wavelength 600 nm)? 2) Explain the role of reflection, transmission, and absorption when radiation is incident on an encapsulated PV cell. 3) If the sun can be represented as a black body at 5780K, calculate the intensity of radiation emitted from its surface. 4) The eccentricity of the suns orbit is E0
360 n . Use this equation to 365 show that the variation in the extraterrestrial radiation is approximately 3%. 1 0.033 cos
5) Describe the meaning of Air Mass, and give some key example values. 6) At a particular time of day, the beam radiation component is 500 W/m2. A PV module of 0.4 m2 is installed at the site tilted at 40o, and at this time the incidence angle is 25o. i) If the efficiency of the module under these conditions is 17%, calculate the electrical output if the other radiation components are insignificant. ii) On a different, cloudy day, there is no beam component. If the global radiation (on a horizontal surface) is 250 W/m2 calculate the output from the module if the efficiency under these conditions is 10% and the albedo is 0.1. 7) Explain why the region around the cell junction is sometimes referred to as the depletion zone. 8) What is the Fermi energy? Where does it lie in the bandgap for the p and n regions of the cell? 9) What is the dark current of a PV cell and what equation is used to model it? 10) The output current for a PV cell can be expressed as: q = I G - I O exp (V + I L . RS ) - 1 AkT Explain all the terms in this equation and draw the associated equivalent circuit. Derive from this equation an expression for the open circuit voltage, V OC. 11) Draw a typical I-V curve for a crystalline silicon cell. Mark the maximum operating point. What is the effect on efficiency of increasing temperature on cell output? What is the effect of reducing radiation? Draw appropriate I-V curves to illustrate the effects.
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12) What are Standard Test Conditions ? What is the definition of fill factor?
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10.6 Biomass Power

1. Write down the chemical equations by which solar energy is stored by plant material and how it is released as heat. What is meant by the term CO 2 neutral? 2. A quantity of wet wood has a moisture content on a wet basis of 25%. What is its moisture content on a dry basis? Which measure of moisture content is preferred and why? 3. How is willow from short rotation coppice pre-treated before direct combustion and why? 4. What are the three stages in direct combustion of biomass and what temperature ranges do they correspond to? 5. Explain the importance of air-flow in direct combustion. 6. Draw a diagram to explain the principle of a suspension burner. Why is it more efficient than a grate burner for direct combustion? 7. What are the three basic methods used in the gasification of biomass material? What is the effect of steam when used in the gasification process? What is the advantage of gasification over direct combustion? 8. Explain the principle of pyrolysis and describe what products it produces when applied to a biomass material such as wood. What is the effect of temperature on pyrolysis? 9. What are the limitations of a steam engine for power generation? What are the two basic types of steam turbine? 10. Draw a schematic diagram of a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant and explain the basic principle of its operation. What typical efficiency can be achieved by such a plant? 11. What is a combined heat and power plant and what advantage does it have over a CCGT? What disadvantage does it have?
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10.7 Integration
1. What is the predictability of wind, solar, wave and tidal power in the short (minutes), medium (hours) and long (days or weeks) term? 2. Why is demand forecasting necessary in a power system with a large fraction of thermal power generation? What is the minimum level that a coal-fired power station can be loaded? 3. What is spinning reserve and why is it important in a power system? 4. In what order would the following types of power plant be dispatched if they were following a merit order: coal-fired, CCGT, wind, open cycle gas turbines, hydro pump storage, nuclear? Justify your answer. When are the two major demand peaks in the day? 5. Assuming statistical independence and normal statistics show that the fractional variability of two consumers each with mean consumption 1 and standard deviation of consumption 1 is reduced when the two are added together. This phenomenon is known as aggregation. Why is aggregation important for wind farms connected to a large power system and how might it be achieved? 6. Explain the concept of penetration penalty when applied to wind power. What are the major causes of this penalty?
230
10.8 Electricity Trading

1. What is the principle of an electricity Pool system such as existed in England and Wales between 1990 and 2001? 2. Explain the concept of a Contract for Differences. How have such contracts changed under the New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA)? 3. What are the System Sell and System Buy prices under NETA? 4. What mechanism does National Grid (the System Operator) use to balance supply and demand under NETA? 5. Explain how suppliers and generators contract for electricity and why there is an incentive to forecast output/demand as accurately as possible under NETA. 6. Why are wind farms and combined heat and power plants disadvantaged under NETA? How can these disadvantages be mitigated? 7. Name two financial support mechanisms in the UK for renewable energy generation.
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ELC003 Renewable Energy Course Notes

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ELC003 Renewable Energy Course Notes

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ELC003: Renewable Energy Sources

Simon Watson, Ralph Gottschalg, Richard Blanchard

Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

1.1.2 Atmospheric Winds

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

1.1.3 Summary of Boundary Layer Equations

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

Figure 2: The lower boundary layer.

1.1.4 Log Law for Vertical Wind Profile

0.01 0.13 0.19 0.32 (see

1.1.5 Simplified Power Law

1.1.6 Wind Speed Variation and Averaging

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

Frequency distribution of Wind Speed

Wind Speed (m/s)

Figure 4: A typical wind speed distribution

1.1.7 The Weibull Distribution

where k is known as the shape parameter and C the scale parameter.

0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

Wind Speed (m/s)

Figure 5: Example Weibull distribution

Q(U < V) = 1 - exp[-V / C )k ]

1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7

0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

Wind Speed (m/s)

Figure 6: Reverse cumulative distribution

1.1.8 Estimation of Weibull Parameters

1n(-1nQ)= k1n(V) - k1n(C)

/(2U 3 ) for (1.8

1.1.9 Calculation of Energy Yield

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

1.2 Wind Resource

1.2.2 Measuring Wind Speed at a Site

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

Strong prevailing South West w ind rose

Figure 9: A typical wind rose for the UK

1.2.3 Estimation of Long Term Site Wind Speed

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

1.2.4 Computational Models

1.2.5 Wind Flow over Hills

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

Speed-up of wind on top of hill

Slow-down of wind in valley

1.2.5.2 Simple Guidelines for Wind Speed Changes Over Hills

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

The factor due to the hill is given by:

and Smax is given ny:

A 3.0 4.0 2.5 3.5 4.4

B 2.0 1.6 0.8 1.55 1.1

1.2.6 Initial Site Assessment

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

Figure 14: The European Wind Atlas.

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

1.3 Wind Turbine Aerodynamics

is the density of air, and U0 is the undisturbed wind speed.

1.3.2 Power Fluctuations

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

1.3.3 Extracting Energy From the Wind

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources

Lecture Notes for Course: ELC003 Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources