WIND POWER

WIND POWER

What is it?

How does it work?

Efficiency

U.S. Stats and

Examples
By: Roger Rivera

WIND POWER
WIND POWER
- What is it?
- What is it?

All renewable energy (except tidal and geothermal power! "ltimately

comes from the s"n

#he earth recei$es %.&' x %(

%&
watts of power (per ho"r from the s"n

Abo"t one or ) percent of this energy is con$erted to wind energy

(which is abo"t *(+%(( times more than the energy con$erted to
biomass by all plants on earth

,ifferential heating of the earth-s s"rface

and atmosphere ind"ces $ertical and hori.ontal
air c"rrents that are affected by the earth-s
rotation and conto"rs of the land W/0,.
1 e.g.2 3and Sea 4ree.e 5ycle

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Winds are infl"enced by the gro"nd s"rface at altit"des "p to
%(( meters.
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Wind is slowed by the s"rface ro"ghness and obstacles.
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When dealing with wind energy! we are concerned with
s"rface winds.
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A wind t"rbine obtains its power inp"t by con$erting the
force of the wind into a tor7"e (t"rning force acting on the
rotor blades.
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#he amo"nt of energy which the wind transfers to the rotor
depends on the density of the air! the rotor area! and the wind
speed.
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#he kinetic energy of a mo$ing body is proportional to its
mass (or weight. #he kinetic energy in the wind th"s depends
on the density of the air! i.e. its mass per "nit of $ol"me.
/n other words! the 8hea$ier8 the air! the more energy is
recei$ed by the t"rbine.
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at %*9 5elsi"s air weighs abo"t %.))* kg per c"bic meter! b"t
the density decreases slightly with increasing h"midity.

A typical :(( kW wind t"rbine has a rotor diameter of ';+'' meters!

i.e. a rotor area of some %!*(( s7"are meters.

#he rotor area determines how m"ch energy a wind t"rbine is able to
har$est from the wind.

Since the rotor area increases with the s7"are of the rotor diameter! a
t"rbine which is twice as large will recei$e )
)
< ) x ) < fo"r times as
m"ch energy.

#o be considered a good location for

wind energy! an area needs to ha$e
a$erage ann"al wind speeds of at least %)
miles per ho"r.

WINDMILL DESIGN
WINDMILL DESIGN

A Windmill capt"res
wind energy and then
"ses a generator to
con$ert it to electrical
energy.

#he design of a
windmill is an integral
part of how efficient it
will be.

When designing a
windmill! one m"st
decide on the si.e of the
t"rbine! and the si.e of
the generator.

LARGE TURBINES:
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Able to deli$er electricity at lower cost
than smaller t"rbines! beca"se fo"ndation
costs! planning costs! etc. are independent
of si.e.
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Well+s"ited for offshore wind plants.
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/n areas where it is diffic"lt to find sites!
one large t"rbine on a tall tower "ses the
wind extremely efficiently.

SMALL TURBINES:

3ocal electrical grids may not be able to handle the large electrical
o"tp"t from a large t"rbine! so smaller t"rbines may be more
s"itable.

High costs for fo"ndations for large t"rbines may not be

economical in some areas.

3andscape considerations

Wind Turbines: Number of Blades

=ost common design is the three+bladed t"rbine. #he most important reason is
the stability of the t"rbine. A rotor with an odd n"mber of rotor blades (and at least
three blades can be considered to be similar to a disc when calc"lating the dynamic
properties of the machine.

A rotor with an e$en n"mber of blades will gi$e stability problems for a machine
with a stiff str"ct"re. #he reason is that at the $ery moment when the "ppermost
blade bends backwards! beca"se it gets the maxim"m power from the wind! the
lowermost blade passes into the wind shade in front of the tower.

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Wind power generators
con$ert wind energy
(mechanical energy to
electrical energy.
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#he generator is
attached at one end to the
wind t"rbine! which
pro$ides the mechanical
energy.
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At the other end! the
generator is connected to
the electrical grid.
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#he generator needs to
ha$e a cooling system to
make s"re there is no
o$erheating.

SMALL GENERATORS:

>e7"ire less force to t"rn than a larger ones! b"t gi$e m"ch lower
power o"tp"t.

3ess efficient
i.e.. /f yo" fit a large wind t"rbine rotor with a small generator it
will be prod"cing electricity d"ring many ho"rs of the year! b"t it
will capt"re only a small part of the energy content of the wind at
high wind speeds.
LARGE GENERATORS:

?ery efficient at high wind speeds! b"t "nable to t"rn at low wind
speeds.
i.e.. /f the generator has larger coils! and@or a stronger internal
magnet! it will re7"ire more force (mechanical to start in motion.

o
A indmill built so t!at it too se"erely interru#ts t!e airflo
t!rou$! its %ross se%tion ill redu%e t!e effe%ti"e ind "elo%ity
at its lo%ation and di"ert mu%! of t!e airflo around itself&
t!us not e'tra%tin$ t!e ma'imum #oer from t!e ind(
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At t!e ot!er e'treme& a indmill t!at inter%e#ts a small
fra%tion of t!e ind #assin$ t!rou$! its %ross se%tion ill
redu%e t!e ind)s "elo%ity by only a small amount& t!us
e'tra%tin$ only a small fra%tion of t!e #oer from t!e ind
tra"ersin$ t!e indmill dis*(
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Modern Windmills %an attain an effi%ien%y of about +, - of
t!e t!eoreti%al ma'imum(

./m01 2 +(3 ' 3,045 "06
A#he power in wind is
proportional to the c"bic wind
speed ( $B; .
WHY?
1 Cinetic energy of an air mass
is proportional to $B)
1 Amo"nt of air mass mo$ing
past a gi$en point is proportional
to wind $elocity ($

7 An e'tra meter of toer ill %ost rou$!ly 3&8,, US9(

A ty#i%al +,, *W turbine %osts about :58,&,,,(

Installation %osts are ty#i%ally :318&,,,(

T!erefore& t!e total %osts ill be about :8;8&,,,(

T!e a"era$e #ri%e for lar$e& modern ind farms is

around :3&,,, #er *iloatt ele%tri%al #oer installed(

Modern ind turbines are desi$ned to or* for some

31,&,,, !ours of o#eration t!rou$!out t!eir desi$n
lifetime of 1, years( < 36(; years non4sto#=

Maintenan%e %osts are about 3(841(, #er%ent of t!e

ori$inal %ost& #er year(

T!e U(S( %urrently !as more t!an 3&+,, MW of installed

%a#a%ity and #rodu%es about 3 billion KWh of electricity
each year.

T!is is enou$! to meet t!e annual residential needs of 3

million #eo#le(

More t!an 90 percent of t!is #oer is #rodu%ed by t!ree

ind farms in >alifornia <Altamont .ass& Te!a%!a#i and
.alm S#rin$s=(




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T!e U(S( %ontains enou$! useable ind resour%e to #rodu%e
more ele%tri%ity t!an t!e nation %urrently uses(
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T!e ma?ority of t!is usable resour%e is in t!e Great .lains
re$ion( Nort! 9a*ota alone !as enou$! suitable ind
resour%e to su##ly 6+ #er%ent of t!e ele%tri%ity %onsumed in
t!e U(S(
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In addition& de"elo#ment of ma?or $lobal ind ener$y
mar*ets %ould si$nifi%antly im#a%t ?obs@re%ent studies s!o
t!at ea%! billion *iloatt4!ours of annual ind ener$y
$eneration %reates beteen 55, to 5+, ?obs(

Ad"anta$es of Wind .oer

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#he wind blows day and night! which allows windmills to
prod"ce electricity thro"gho"t the day. (Daster d"ring the day
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Energy o"tp"t from a wind t"rbine will $ary as the wind $aries!
altho"gh the most rapid $ariations will to some extent be
compensated for by the inertia of the wind t"rbine rotor.
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Wind energy is a domestic! renewable so"rce of energy that
generates no poll"tion and has little en$ironmental impact. Up to
E* percent of land "sed for wind farms can also be "sed for other
profitable acti$ities incl"ding ranching! farming and forestry.
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#he decreasing cost of wind power and the growing interest in
renewable energy so"rces sho"ld ens"re that wind power will
become a $iable energy so"rce in the United States and worldwide.

Wind Turbines and t!e Lands%a#e

4 Lar$e turbines don)t turn as fast attra%t less attention
4 >ity dellers AdellB on t!e attention attra%ted by indmills

Sound from Wind Turbines

4 In%reasin$ ti# s#eed less sound
4 T!e %losest nei$!bor is usually 6,, m e'#erien%es almost no noise

Birds often %ollide it! !i$! "olta$e o"er!ead lines& masts& #oles& and
indos of buildin$s( T!ey are also *illed by %ars in traffi%( Coe"er&
birds are seldom bot!ered by ind turbines(

T!e only *non site it! bird %ollision #roblems is lo%ated in t!e
Altamont .ass in >alifornia(

9anis! Ministry of t!e En"ironment study re"ealed t!at #oer lines

are a mu%! $reater dan$er to birds t!an t!e ind turbines(

Some birds e"en nest on %a$es on Wind Toers(

Planning Wind Turbine Installation in
Regard to Sound


7 Most of t!e information and data in t!is
#resentation as ta*en from www.windpower.org