Chapter 7: Wind Energy

Wind is the movement of air caused due to the uneven distribution of

pressure. The sun heats up air masses in the atmosphere. The spherical
shape of the Earth, the Earth’s rotation, seasonal and regional fluctuations
of the solar irradiance cause spatial air pressure differentials. These are the
source of air movements. Irradiation oversupply at the equator is the
source for compensating air streams between the equator and the poles. It
is one of the most important renewable energy sources.
History of Wind usage:
 one of the earliest energy resource recorded in history,
 first to power boats and grind grain, later to pump water, press oil,
saw lumber and make paper.
 Ancient Chinese used vertical axis windmills to grind grain and pump
water.
Today:
 Windmills are used for pumping water from deep underground.
 Modern wind turbine is the result of design and material advances
made during the 1980s and 1990s, which enabled wind turbines to
become increasingly efficient.
 Today, wind turbines are size same as the traditional European
windmill. But, it can generate 250 to 300 kilowatts of power- a nearly
tenfold increase in efficiency.

Earlier times, the wind energy is utilised for the sailing of ships, driving
windmills etc. Most of the present application includes the conversion of
wind energy into mechanical energy and then to electrical energy. The
conversion of wind energy by wind mills uses the component of forces in
the direction of wind, known as drag and the forces perpendicular to the
direction of wind called lift. Modern designs use both the forces to convert
the wind energy into mechanical energy.

Wind resources are particularly high in coastal areas because wind can
move unhindered across the smooth surface of the sea. Furthermore,
temperature differences between water and land cause local compensating
streams. The sunlight heats the land more quickly than the water during the
day. The results are pressure differentials and compensating winds in the
direction of the land. During the night the land cools much faster than the
sea; this causes compensating winds in the opposite direction.
Wind turbines operate on a simple principle. The energy in
the wind turns two or three propeller-like blades around a rotor. The rotor is
connected to the main shaft, which spins a generator to create electricity.
... Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical
power.

1. Blades: Most turbines have either two or three blades. Wind blowing
over the blades causes the blades to "lift" and rotate
2. Rotor. The rotor provides the blades to rotate. The blades and the hub
together are called the rotor
3. Pitch: Blades are turned, or pitched, out of the wind to control the rotor
speed and keep the rotor from turning in winds that are too high or too low
to produce electricity.
4 Brake: It’s very important to have a brake in a wind turbine, if something
is wrong or it is going too fast. Then it will brake and stop the wind turbine.
5 Low-speed
shaft: the rotor
turns the low-
speed shaft at
about 30 to 60
rotations per
minute. It goes
into a big cog
wheel
6. Gear box:
Gears connect
the low-speed
shaft to the
high-speed
shaft and increase the rotational speeds from about 30 to 60 rotations per
minute (rpm) to about 1000 to 1800 rpm, the rotational speed required by
most generators to produce electricity. The gear box is a costly (and heavy)
part of the wind turbine and engineers are exploring "direct-drive"
generators that operate at lower rotational speeds and don't need gear
boxes.
7. Generator. It’s almost like a generator in a car. Usually an off-the-shelf
induction generator that produces 60-cycle AC electricity.
8. Controller: The controller starts up the machine at wind speeds of about
8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 55 mph.
Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph because they
might be damaged by the high winds.
9. Anemometer: Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data
to the controller.
10. Wind vane: Measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw
drive to orient the turbine properly with respect to the wind.
11. Nacelle: The nacelle sits atop the tower and contains the gear box,
low- and high-speed shafts, generator, controller, and brake. Some
nacelles are large enough for a helicopter to land on.
12. High-speed shaft: Drives the generator
13. Yaw drive: Upwind turbines face into the wind; the yaw drive is used to
keep the rotor facing into the wind as the wind direction changes.
Downwind turbines don't require a yaw drive, the wind blows the rotor
downwind.
14. Yaw motor: Powers the yaw drive.
15. Towers are made from tubular steel (shown here), concrete, or steel
lattice. Because wind speed increases with height, taller towers enable
turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity. The
entrance is placed in the bottom of the tower

Power Available in the Wind

The total quantum of wind energy is enormous. However, a very small
percentage is available for practical use. Efficiency of wind-turbine energy
conversion plants is only about 30 percent.
The power in the wind is proportional to the wind speed cubed; general
formula for power in the wind is:
Power = (density of air) x (swept area) x (velocity3)
2
P = ½.ρ.A.v³
If the velocity (v) is in m/s, then at sea level (where the density of air is 1.2
kg/m³) the power in the wind is:
Power = 0.6 x v³ Watts per m² of rotor swept area

Because of this cubic relationship, the power availability is extremely

sensitive to wind speed; doubling the wind speed increases the power
availability by a factor of eight.
This means that the power density in the wind will range from 10W/m² at
2.5m/s (a light breeze) to 41,000W/m² at 40m/s (a hurricane). This
variability of the wind power resource strongly influences virtually all
aspects of wind energy conversion systems design, construction, siting,
use and economy.

SITE SELECTION CONSIDERATION FOR WECS

The power available in the wind increases rapidly with the speed; hence
wind energy conversion machines should be located preferable in areas
where the winds are strong and persistent. Although daily winds at a given
site may be highly variable, the monthly and especially annual average is
remarkably constant from year to year.
The major contribution to the wind power available at a given site is actually
made by winds with speeds above the average. Nevertheless, the most
suitable sites for wind turbines would be found in areas where the annual
average wind speeds are known to be moderately high or high.
The site choice for a single or a spatial array of WECS is an important
matter when wind electrics are looked at from the systems point of view of
aero-turbine generators feeding power into a conventional electric grid.
If the WECS sites are wrongly or poorly chosen the net wind electrics
generated energy per year may be sub optimal with resulting high capital
cost for the WECS apparatus, high costs for wind generated electric
energy, and low Returns on Investment. Even if the WECS is to be a small
generator not tied to the electric grid, the siting must be carefully chosen if
inordinately long break even times are to be avoided. Technical, Economic,
Environmental, Social and Other actors are examined before a decision is
made to erect a generating plant on a specific site.
Some of the main site selection considerations are given below:
1. High annual average wind speed:
2. Availability of anemometry data:
3. Availability of wind V(t) Curve at the proposed site:
4. Wind structure at the proposed site:
5. Altitude of the proposed site:
6. Terrain and its aerodynamic:
7. Local Ecology
8. Distance to road or railways:
9. Nearness of site to local centre/users:
10. Nature of ground:
11. Favourable land cost:
1. High annual average wind speed:
The speed generated by the wind mill depends on cubic values of velocity
(P = ½.ρ.A.v³) of wind, the small increases in velocity markedly affect the
power in the wind. For example, doubling the velocity, increases power by
a factor of 8. It is obviously desirable to select a site for WECS with high
wind velocity. Thus a high average wind velocity is the principle
fundamental parameter of concern in initially appraising WESCS site. For
more detailed estimate value, one would like to have the average of the
velocity cubed.
2. Availability of anemometry data:
It is another improvement sitting factor. The anemometry data should be
available over some time period at the precise spot where any proposed
WECS is to be built and that this should be accomplished before a sitting
decision is made.
3. Availability of wind V(t) Curve at the proposed site:
This important curve determines the maximum energy in the wind and
hence is the principal initially controlling factor in predicting the electrical
output and hence revenue return on the WECS machines. It is desirable to
have average wind speed ‘V’ such that V≥12-16 km/hr (3.5-4.5 m/sec)
which is about the lower limit at which present large scale WECS
generators ‘cut in’ i.e., start turning. The V(t) Curve also determines the
reliability of the delivered WECS generator power, for if the V(t) curve goes
to zero there be no generated power during that time. If there are long
periods of calm the WECS reliability will be lower than if the calm periods
are short. In making such reliability estimates it is desirable to have
measured V(t) Curve over about a 5 year period for the highest confidence
level in the reliability estimate.
4. Wind structure at the proposed site:
The ideal case for the WECS would be a site such that the V(t) Curve was
flat, i.e., a smooth steady wind that blows all the time; but a typical site is
always less than ideal. Wind especially near the ground is turbulent and
gusty, and changes rapidly in direction and in velocity. This departure from
homogeneous flow is collectively referred to as “the structure of the wind”.
5. Altitude of the proposed site:
It affects the air density and thus the power in the wind and hence the
useful WECS electric power output. Also, as is well known, the wind tend to
have higher velocities at higher altitudes. One must be carefully to
distinguish altitude from height above ground. They are not the same
except for a sea level WECS site.
6. Terrain and its aerodynamic:
One should know about terrain of the site to be chosen. If the WECS is to
be placed near the top but not on the top of a not too blunt hill facing the
prevailing wind, then it may be possible to obtain a ‘speed-up’ of the wind
velocity over what it would otherwise be. Also the wind here may not flow
horizontal making it necessary to tip the axis of the rotor so that the aero-
turbine is always perpendicular to the actual wind flow.
It may be possible to make use of hills or mountains which channel the
prevailing wind into a pass region, thereby obtaining higher wind power.

7. Local Ecology
If the surface is base rock it may mean lower hub height hence lower
structure cost. If trees or grass or vegetation are present, all of which tend
to de-structure the wind, the higher hub heights will be needed resulting in
larges system costs that the bare ground case.
8. Distance to road or railways:
This is another factor the system engineer must consider for heavy
machinery, structure, materials, blades and other apparatus will have to be
moved into any chosen WECS site.
9. Nearness of site to local centre/users:
This obvious criterion minimizes transmission line length and hence losses
and cost. After applying all the previous string criteria, hopefully as one
narrows the proposed WECS sites to one or two they would be relatively
near to the user of the generated electric energy.
10. Nature of ground:
Ground condition should be such that the foundations for a WECS are
secured. Ground surface should be stable. Erosion problem should not be
there, as it could possibly later wash out the foundation of a WECS,
destroying the whole system.
11. Favourable land cost:
Land cost should be favourable as this along with other siting costs, enters
into the total WECS system cost.
12. Other conditions such as icing problem, salt spray or blowing dust
should not present at the site, as they may affect aero-turbine blades or
environmental is generally adverse to machinery and electrical apparatus.

Aerodynamics of wind turbines

As a fluid moves around a solid object, two forces are created: drag and lift.
“Drag” and “lift” forces act perpendicularly to each other. They depend upon
the shape of the solid, the direction of the movement, the density of the solid
and fluid, and the velocities of each. In
the case of wind turbines, the solid
object is the blade, and the fluid is air,
which moves around the blade as it
turns.

Drag force:
This force is the resistance of the object’s movement in the fluid and pushes
against the direction of the object’s movement. You feel the drag force when
you move your hand out of a car window. In order for an object to have less
drag force, it needs to allow the fluid to flow around it more easily. For
example, if you you’re your hand flat out of a car window, you’ll feel much
less drag than if you hold your hand sideways. Turbine blades need to be
designed to reduce the drag force as much as possible so that the turbine
can turn with very little resistance.

Lift force:
This force propels an object upward, at a right angle to the direction of the
object’s movement. Lift is the force responsible for airplanes and helicopters
being able to fly. When enough air flows over the wings or blades, the lift
force becomes more powerful than gravity and the aircraft takes off.

Main parts of a wind turbine:

The principle behind wind turbines is very simple: the energy in the wind
turns the blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected to the shaft, which
spins a generator to create electricity.
Wind turbines are mounted on a tower to capture the energy from the wind.
The higher the blades are, the more they can take advantage of faster and
less turbulent wind. A simple wind turbine consists of three main parts, the
blades, shaft and generator:
1) Blades: The blades are basically the sails of the system; in their
simplest form, they act as barriers to the wind. When the wind forces the
blade to move, some of the wind energy is transferred to the rotor.
2) Shaft: The wind-turbine shaft is connected to the centre of the rotor.
When the rotor spins, the shaft spins as well, and transfers its mechanical,
rotational energy of the shaft, which enters an electrical generator on the
other end.
3) Generator: At its most basic, a generator uses the properties
of electromagnetic induction to produce electrical voltage - a difference in
electrical charge. A simple generator consists of magnets and a conductor.
The conductor is typically a coiled wire. Inside the generator, the shaft
connects to an assembly of permanent magnets that surrounds the coil of
wire. In electromagnetic induction. When the rotor spins the shaft, the shaft
spins the assembly of magnets, generating voltage in the coil of wire. That
voltage drives electrical current (AC power) out through power lines for
distribution.