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Wind Power Curve Eal

downwind horizontal wind turbine to allow winds past the tower before hitting the
blades. In this case, high winds tend to bend the blades outward and away from the tower.

TICN 7.1
CHECKUP

1. What are three units for measuring pressure?

2. How is wind direction specified?
3. Refer to the map in Figure 7-2. What is the pressure reading
represented by the first gradient line shown off the east coast of the United
States?

7 2 Wind Power Curve

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In this section, you will learn several ways to measure the peak performance of a wind gen-
erator. One way to measure peak performance is to use a table or graph of a power
curve. Another way is to measure the amount of usable energy (power produced over
time) that the wind system produces in the wind conditions at a site.

Wind Turbine Peak Performance

Wind turbine peak performance occurs when the output of the wind turbine
generator is at or above its rated output. One way to measure peak performance is to
use a graph of a power curve. A power curve is a graph that shows the wind speed and
the output power of the wind turbine over a range of wind speeds from zero to the
maximum wind speed for which the wind turbine is designed. Figure 7-7 shows a graph of a
power curve for a wind turbine. On this graph, the wind speed is shown on the x-axis of the
graph from 2 to 21 m/s. The output of the generator is shown on the y-axis on the left
side, and it indicates power in kilowatts from 0 to 70 kW. According to this power curve,
the wind turbine produces its maximum output of 63 kW to 65 kW when the wind is about
17 m/s. Although the power in the wind increases considerably as wind speed goes up,
the turbine is designed not to exceed its rated power after some point. Each wind turbine
manufacturer tests its models and produces a power curve for prospective buyers. This
information allows a comparison with similar models from different manufacturers.
The test to create the official power curve for a specific wind turbine is designed to
keep as many factors constant as possible so that comparisons of power output among
different models of wind turbines can be made. When a wind turbine is put on a specific
site, other issues change the power output of the wind turbine. Examples of such issues
are icing of the blades in cold weather, dirt on the blades, and even insect impacts that
have not been

70

60

50

Y40
E. 30
O
20

10

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Wind speed (m/s)

FIGURE 7.7 Generator Output for a 65 kW Wind Turbine

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