Distributed Generation and Renewable Energy 785

The volume of 1 kmol varies with pressure and temperature as defined by Equation 13.6. By insert-
ing Equation 13.8 into Equation 13.9, the density can be expressed by the following equation:

mp
ρ=
RT
3.484 p
= kg/m 3 (13.9)
RT

where
p is in kilopascal (kPa)
T is in kelvin (K)

This expression yields a density for dry air at standard conditions of 1.293 kg/m3.
The common unit of pressure used in the past for meteorological work has been the bar (i.e., 100
kPa) and the millibar (100 Pa). A standard atmosphere is 1.01325 bar or 1013.25 millibar.
Atmospheric pressure has also been given by the height of mercury in an evacuated tube. This
height is 29.92 in. or 760 mm of mercury for a standard atmosphere. Also note that the chemist
uses 0°C as standard temperature, whereas engineers have often used 68°F (20°C) or 77°F (25°C)
as standard temperature. Therefore, here standard conditions are always defined to be 0°C and
101.3 kPa pressure.
Most wind-speed measurements are made about 10 m above the ground. Typically, small
wind turbines are mounted 20–30 m above ground level, while the propeller tip may read a
height of more than 100 m on the large turbines. Thus, an estimate of wind-speed variation with
height is needed. Here, let us examine a property that is known as atmospheric stability in the
atmosphere.
Pressure decreases quickly with height at low attitudes, where density is high, and slowly at
high altitudes where density is low. At sea level and a temperature of 273 K, the average pressure is
101.3 kPa. A pressure of half this value is reached at about 5500 m.
A temperature decrease of 30°C will often be related to a pressure increase of 2–3 kPa. The
atmospheric pressure tends to be a little higher in the early morning than in the middle of the after-
noon. Winter pressure tends to be higher than summer pressures.
The power output of a wind turbine is proportional to air density, which in turn is proportional
to air pressure. Hence, a wind speed produces loss power from a given wind turbine at higher eleva-
tions, due to the fact that the air pressure is less. A wind turbine located at an elevation of 1000 m
above sea level will produce only about 90% of the power it would produce at sea level, for the same
wind speed and air temperature.
However, there are many good wind sites in the United States at elevations above 1000 m. The
air density at a proposed wind turbine site is estimated by determining the average pressure at that
elevation from Figure 13.11 and then using Equation 12.7 to find density. The ambient temperature
must be used in the equation.

Example 13.1

Consider a wind turbine that is rated at 100 kW in a 10 m/s wind speed in air at standard condi-
tions. If power output is directly proportional to air density, determine the power output of the
wind turbine in a 10 m/s wind speed at a temperature of 20°C at a site that has the elevation of

a. 1000 m above sea level

b. 2000 m above sea level