WIND ENERGY: THE NEW

ALTERNATIVE

By James Washechek
Department of Chemical Engineering,
The University of Texas at Austin

DESCRIPTION OF WIND TURBINES

Converts wind kinetic energy into electrical power

Numerous industrial turbine designs, for example
horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines
Clean energy alternative, with little to no
environmental impact
Affects environmental aesthetic integrity, some
migratory bird patterns, and downwind wind
velocity.

HISTORY OF WIND POWERED

TURBINES

200 B.C. Wind powered machines utilized by

Persians.
1888 Charles F. Brush developed first energy
producing windmill in Cleveland, Ohio.
1980s - First modern wind turbines were
constructed.
Past 20 years Newer, better designed wind
turbines have been developed.

FUTURE WIND ENERGY CAPACITY

Increasing
exponentially
3 to 5 times larger
energy capacity over
next 6 years
20% of electrical
energy supplied by
wind energy by 2030

World Wind Energy Capacity Approximation (Wiki, 2008)

TURBINE POWER

Directly proportional
to density of air, area
of rotor blades, and
cube of velocity factor
(kg/m)

turbine (m)
Efficiency of internal
(m/s)
parts affects maximum
power available

Limited to 59%
maximum efficiency

where,

P = power (W)
= design efficiency
= density of air
r = radius of wind
v = velocity of wind

COMPARISONS TO OTHER ENERGY

SOURCES

Environmentally friendly

Large resource supply

Wind

Cheap operating costs,

1cent/kWhr

vs.

Coal

Natural Gas

Wind $55.80/MWh
Coal $53.10/MWh
Natural Gas $52.50/MWh

HORIZONTAL AXIS WIND TURBINE

(HAWT)

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Design

Most common industrial

design today
Wind sensors to rotate
tower in yaw direction
Many found in West
Texas where wind
velocities are high

HAWT ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES
Advantages

Variable wind pitch to

optimize amount of
wind absorbed.
Able to increase height
of tower to harness
higher wind velocities
at higher altitudes.
Already the major
design for industrial
wind power
generation.

Disadvantages

Inefficient close to
ground level due to
turbulence
Must be large scale
making expensive
construction costs
Must be comprised of
strong materials
(carbon fiber and
steel) to deal with
high winds

VERTICAL AXIS WIND TURBINE

(VAWT)

Gearbox and generator

at base of vertical rotor
shaft.
Utilizes wind flow in all
directions (360).
Constructed on
buildings to avoid
ground level turbulence.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Design

VAWT ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES
Advantages

Cheaper due to less

height needed for
effective operation.
No motor is needed to
turn rotor blades.
Routine maintenance
easy due to
components being
situated under
vertical rotor shaft
Little chance of
structural failure

Disadvantages

Create only half the

amount of energy of a
comparable HAWT
Cannot harness higher
winds at higher
altitudes due to
smaller height.
Complete
deconstruction for
maintenance.

CONCLUSIONS

Horizontal axis wind

turbine the preferred
design for future
industrial use.
Future efforts in wind
energy technology.
Combination of wind
energy with current
energy infrastructure.

Airborne Wind Generator

REFERENCES

Hansen, Martin O.L. Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines, 2nd Ed.

Earthscan Publications Ltd, January 2008.
Hau, Erich and H. von Renouard. Wind Turbines: Fundamentals,
Technologies, Application, Economics, 2nd Ed. Springer,
October 1, 2005.
McCabe, W.L. and J.C. Smith. Unit Operations of Chemical
Engineering, 7th Ed. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Ragheb, M. Theory of Wind Machines, Betz Equation. 16 Nov. 2008
<https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mragheb/www/NPRE%20498WP%20
Wind%20Power%20Systems/Theory%20of%20Wind%20Machin
es%20Betz%20Equation..pdf>.
"Wind Power." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 10 Nov. 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power>.
"Wind Turbine." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 17 Nov. 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine>.