AE/ME Wind Engineering

Module 1.2
Lakshmi Sankar
lsankar@ae.gatech.edu
 OVERVIEW
• In the previous module 1.1, you leaned about
the course objectives, topics to be covered, and
the deliverables (assignments)
• In this module, we will first review the history of
the wind turbines
• We will also learn some basic terminology
associated with wind turbines
• We will also discuss what factors go into
choosing sites where you may build/deploy your
own wind turbines or farms.
– We will conduct this discussion through case studies.
 History of Wind Turbines
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_history.html

• Technology is old, in some respects!

– Wind was used to propel sail boats as early as 5000
BC in Egypt.
– Chinese used wind energy to pump water by as early
as 200 BC
– Persians used wind energy about the same time to
grid grain
• By the 11th century, people in the middle east
were using wind mills for food production
• Traders and crusaders carried the ideas to
Europe.
 Wind Power's Beginnings
(1000 B.C. - 1300 A.D.)
• Persians used the drag of
the blades (i.e.
aerodynamic force along
the direction of the wind)
to generate rotation of the
blades.
• Struts connected the sails
to central shaft.
– Grinding stone was
attached to the central
shaft.
• Only one half of the
turbine was useful at any
instance in time.
 History of Wind Turbines
(Continued..)
• Dutch were looking for ways of draining lakes and marshes.
– Wind turbines became very popular.
• The technology spread to US when settler brought these ideas to
America.
• Industrialization (use of coal to generate steam) brought a decline in
the use of wind energy.
• Steam engines replaced wind mills for pumping water and
producing electricity.
• Rural electrification began in the 1930s.
• Wind turbines had to make their case economically!
– Their popularity rose and fell with the availability and cost of alternative
forms of energy production.
– Oil crisis in the 1970s and energy crisis during the past decade has
brought wind energy’s potential as a clean, renewable, sustainable,
energy source,
 Early Designs
http://www.telosnet.com/wind/early.html
 Wind Turbine History in the US
• During the 19th century wind mills were
used to pump water.
– Rotor diameter reached 20 meters.
– Water was used to operate steam
engines,
• Eray designs used wood as the
material and had a paddle like shapes.
– Drag force was used.
• Later designs used steal blades which
could be shaped to produce lift forces.
– The blades spun fast, requiring gears
to reduce the angular velocity.
– Mechanisms were developed for
folding blades in case of high winds.
• In 1888, electricity was produced using
the wind turbine shown on the lower
right by Charles F. Brush.
• By 1910s, coal and oil fired steam
plants became popular, and the use of
wind turbines became less common.
 Installed Wind Power Generation (in MW)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_by_country
 Installed Wind Power Capacity
in MW (2015)
# Nation 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
1 China 2,599 5,912 12,210 25,104 44,733 62,733 75,564 91,412 114,763 145,104

- European 48,122 56,614 65,255 74,919 84,278 93,957 106,454 117,384 128,752 141,579
Union

2 United St 11,603 16,819 25,170 35,159 40,200 46,919 60,007 61,110 65,879 74,472
ates
3 Germany 20,622 22,247 23,903 25,777 27,214 29,060 31,332 34,250 39,165 44,947
4 India 6,270 7,850 9,587 10,925 13,064 16,084 18,421 20,150 22,465 27,151
5 Spain 11,630 15,145 16,740 19,149 20,676 21,674 22,796 22,959 22,987 23,025

6 United Ki 1,963 2,389 3,288 4,070 5,203 6,540 8,445 10,711 12,440 13,603
ngdom
7 Canada 1,460 1,846 2,369 3,319 4,008 5,265 6,200 7,823 9,694 11,205
8 France 1,589 2,477 3,426 4,410 5,660 6,800 7,196 8,243 9,285 10,358
9 Italy 2,123 2,726 3,537 4,850 5,797 6,747 8,144 8,558 8,663 8,958
10 Brazil 237 247 339 606 932 1,509 2,508 3,466 5,939 8,715
11 Sweden 571 831 1,067 1,560 2,163 2,970 3,745 4,382 5,425 6,025
12 Poland 153 276 472 725 1,107 1,616 2,497 3,390 3,834 5,100
13 Portugal 1,716 2,130 2,862 3,535 3,702 4,083 4,525 4,730 4,914 5,079
14 Denmark 3,140 3,129 3,164 3,465 3,752 3,871 4,162 4,807 4,845 5,063
US Installed Capacity (2015)
From EIA Electric Power Monthly
CO2 emissions are reduced
Cost of Energy
 SO2 and NOX Reductions
http://www.awea.org/Resources/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=8884

• According to EPA’s 2014 AVERT tool, the electricity

generated by wind energy in 2015 displaced
approximately 176,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide
(SO2) and 106,000 metric tons of nitrogen oxide (NOX),
representing $7.3 billion in avoided health costs that year
alone.
• The tons of SO2 and NOX pollution avoided just in 2015
carry a public health monetary value of more than $5.4
billion and $1.8 billion, respectively, based on cost
assumptions provided by a Harvard School of Public
Health study.
Fossil Fuel based Power Plants
consume water
 Demand is growing

http://www.awea.org/Resources/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=9372
New customers..
 State by State Fact Sheets
• http://www.awea.org/resources/statefactsh
eets.aspx?
itemnumber=890&navItemNumber=5067
 Basic Terminology
• Vertical Axis (or
Darrieus) Wind
Turbines vs.
Horizontal Axis Wind
Turbines
– We will study HAWTs
in this course.
 Lift vs Drag
• The aerodynamic force along the direction of the
wind is called drag
– Early wind turbines used drag to generate the torque.
• The aerodynamic force normal to the wind
direction is called lift.
– For a properly designed blade (or airfoil) lfit to drag
ratio may be 100 to 1!
• Dutch began using lift force rather than drag to
turn the rotor.
• Over the past 500 years, the design has evolved
through analysis and experimentation.
Use of Drag to Produce Torque
Pelton Wheel uses this
concept

Wind Drag Force

Use of Lift forces for Torque Production

Lsin
Dcos
r


Vwind - Vinduced

Propulsive force = Lsin - Dcos

V  Vinduced 
 L  wind  D
 Ωr 
 Terminology (Continued)
http://www.energybible.com/wind_energy/glossary.html

• Availability Factor
– The percentage of time that a wind turbine is able to
operate and is not out commission due to
maintenance or repairs.
• Capacity Factor
– A measure of the productivity of a wind turbine,
calculated by the amount of power that a wind turbine
produces over a set period of time, divided by the
amount of power that would have been produced if
the turbine had been running at full capacity during
that same time interval.
https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/WindVision_Report_final.pdf
 Terminology (Continued)
• Rotor
– Comprises the spinning parts of a wind turbine, including the turbine
blades and the hub.
• Hub
– The central part of the wind turbine, which supports the turbine blades
on the outside and connects to the low-speed rotor shaft inside the
nacelle.
• Root Cutout
– The percentage of the rotor blade radius that is cut out in the middle of
the rotor disk to make room for the hub and the arms that attach the
blades to the shaft.
• Nacelle
– The structure at the top of the wind turbine tower just behind (or in some
cases, in front of) the wind turbine blades that houses the key
components of the wind turbine, including the rotor shaft, gearbox, and
generator.
Parts of a Wind Turbine
• Turbine controller
is connected to the
rotor.
• Converter
controller,
connected to
converters and
main circuit
breaker, is needed
to control the
output voltage and
power
Other Parts of a Wind Turbine
 Wind Power Classification
http://www.awea.org/faq/basicwr.html
Power
density
W/m^2 at
Power density W/m^2 at 0 m Wind Speed m/sec 50 m Wind Speed
Wind Power Class height (mph) height m/sec (mph)

1 <100 <4.4 (9.8) <200 <5.6 (12.5)

5.6 (12.5)/6.4
2 100 - 150 4.4 (9.8)/5.1 (11.5) 200 - 300 (14.3)

6.4 (14.3)/7.0
3 150 - 200 5.1 (11.5)/5.6 (12.5) 300 - 400 (15.7)

7.0 (15.7)/7.5
4 200 - 250 5.6 (12.5)/6.0 (13.4) 400 - 500 (16.8)

7.5 (16.8)/8.0
5 250 - 300 6.0 (13.4)/6.4 (14.3) 500 - 600 (17.9)

8.0 (17.9)/8.8
6 300 - 400 6.4 (14.3)/7.0 (15.7) 600 - 800 (19.7)

7 >400 >7.0 (15.7) >800 >8.8 (19.7)

Major Manufacturers
The following slides are from a
Presentation by the
American Wind Energy
Association
Wind Power Economics
Cost Nosedive Driving Wind’s
Success

38 cents/kWh
$0.40

$0.30

$0.20

$0.10 2.5-3.5 cents/kWh

$0.00
1980 1984 1988 1991 1995 2000 2005

Levelized cost at excellent wind sites in nominal dollars, not

including tax credit
 Wind Power Cost of Energy
Components
Cost (¢/kWh) = (Capital Recovery Cost + O&M) / kWh/year
– Capital Recovery = Debt and Equity Cost
– O&M Cost = Turbine design, operating environment
– kWh/year = Wind Resource
– In Assignment #1, assume a 1 MW turbine will cost $1500 (land-based)
per KW, $2500 per KW (sea-based)
– Then annual cost for a land based turbine = (1.5 M dollars) times
Discount rate
– KWh/per year for a 1 MW turbine
• 1 MW * 1000 * 24 *365 * Capacty Factor
 Capital Costs
• Revenue Streams
– Commodity Power Sale: $30-$45/MWh
– Production Tax Credit: $18/MWh
– “Green Credit”: New Market, Values Vary
• Debt/equity ratios close to 50%/50%
– Increased debt/equity ratios can significantly
increase return
 Long-Term Debt

• Better loan terms with longer-term

power purchase agreement (PPA)
• Loan terms up to 22 years, determined
largely by PPA
 Equity Considerations
• Return requirements vary with risk
– Perceived risk of wind projects may be larger than
real risk
• Returns evaluated after tax credit
– Wind energy projects can expect return in low
teens (10% to 15%)
Turbine Technology Constantly
Improving

• Larger turbines
• Specialized blade design
• Power electronics
• Computer modeling produces more efficient
design
• Manufacturing improvements
 80

59.6

How big is a
2.0 MW wind
turbine?
This picture shows a Vestas
V-80 2.0-MW wind turbine
superimposed on a Boeing
747 JUMBO JET
Construction Cost Elements
Design &
Financing & Legal Engineering
Fees 2%
3% Land
Development Transportation
Activity 2%
4%
Interconnect/
Subsation Turbines, FOB
4% USA
49%
Interest During
Construction
4%
Towers
(tubular steel)
10%
Construction
22%
 Technology Improvements
Leads to Better Reliability

• Drastic 100
improvements

% Available
80
since mid-80’s 60
• Manufacturers 40
report availability 20
data of over 95% 0
1981 '83 '85 '90 '98 Year
 Improved Capacity Factor

• Capacity Factors Above

35% at Good Wind Sites Examples: Project
– Performance Improvements
due to: Performance (Year 2000)
– Better siting
– Larger turbines/energy
Big Spring, Texas
capture •37% CF in first 9 months
– Technology Advances
– Higher reliability Springview, Nebraska
•36% CF in first 9 months
 Bottom Line
20 Years of Wind Technology Development
1981 1985 1990 1996 1999 2000
Economy of
Rotor (Meter) 10 17 27 40 50 71
scale reduces
KW 25 100 225 550 750 1650 price per kw of
capacity
Total Cost $65 $165 $300 $580 $730 $1300
Cost/kw $2,600 $1,650 $1,333 $1,050 $950 $790
Technology
Capacity 21% 25% 28% 31% 33% 39% improvements yield
Factor more energy bang
for the buck
MWh 675 3300 8250 22,200 33,000 84,000
produced over
15 years
Combined, they
Amortized cost 9.6 5 3.6 2.6 2.2 1.5
of turbine per dramatically reduce
unit of energy turbine price per unit
of energy produced
Benefits of Wind Power
 Advantages of Wind Power

• Environmental
• Resource Diversity &
Conservation
• Cost Stability
• Economic Development
 Benefits of Wind Power
Environmental
• No air pollution
• No greenhouse gasses
• Does not pollute water with mercury
• No water needed for operations
Benefits of Wind Power
Economic Development
• Expanding Wind Power
development brings jobs to
rural communities
• Increased tax revenue
• Purchase of goods &
services
Benefits of Wind Power
Economic Development
Case Study: Lake Benton, MN

$2,000 per 750-kW turbine

in revenue to farmers
Up to 150 construction, 28
ongoing O&M jobs
Added $700,000 to local tax
base
Wind Project Siting
• Winds
Siting a Wind Farm
– Minimum class 4 desired for utility-scale wind farm (>7 m/s at hub height)
• Transmission
– Distance, voltage excess capacity
• Permit approval
– Land-use compatibility
– Public acceptance
– Visual, noise, and bird impacts are biggest concern
• Land area
– Economies of scale in construction
– Number of landowners
 Power in the Wind (W/m2)

= 1/2 x air density x swept rotor area x (wind speed)3

 A V3

Density = P/(RxT)
P - pressure (Pa)
R - specific gas constant (287 J/kgK) Area =  r2 Instantaneous Speed
T - air temperature (K) (not mean speed)
kg/m3 m2 m/s
 Perceived Market Barriers

• Siting
– Avian
– Noise
– Aesthetics
• Intermittent Fuel
Source
 Actual Market Barriers
• Transmission constraints
• Financing
• Operational characteristics different from
conventional fuel sources
 Wind Characteristics Relevant
to Transmission System
• Intermittent output
• Generally remote location
• Small project size
• Short/flexible development time
• Low capacity factor
 Consequences of Wind
Characteristics

• Remote location and low capacity factor = higher

transmission investment per unit output
• Small project size and quick development time =
planning mismatch with transmission investment
• Intermittent output can = higher system operating
costs if systems/protocols not designed properly
Federal and State Policies to
Promote Wind Power
 Production Tax Credit

• Lowers price of electricity to make it

more accessible to customers
• Currently provides credit of 1.8¢ per
kWh
• Industry needs long-term extension to
encourage investment
 Renewable Portfolio Standard

• Requirement that U.S. suppliers get 10% of supply

from renewable sources by 2020
• Texas example shows how RPS can enable green
power markets to flourish by creating a supply of
reasonably-priced renewable energy
• Can create incentives to solve transmission issues
 Examples of
Small Turbine Incentives
• Investment Tax Credit
• Net metering
 State Incentives
• State renewable portfolio standards
• Public Benefits Funds
• Electricity source disclosure
• Government procurement
Small Wind Turbine Market
Development
 Programs for small wind
development

• Buy-down programs
• Exemptions from sales, property tax
• Standardized zoning requirements
 Buy-down programs

• CA renewables fund refunds 50% of the cost

of a renewable system
– CA sales account for over half of the small wind
turbine market
• MA buy-down program refunds 10% capped at
$100
– does not appreciably affect the market
 Property / Sales Tax

• Property or sales tax exemption offered in

several states
• Programs to affect initial purchase price work
best
• Net metering programs (equalizing kWh costs
paid and received by residential generators) do
not seem to drive purchasing decisions
www.AWEA.org
Windmail@awea.org

American Wind Energy Association

122 C St, NW, Suite 380
Washington, DC 20001