LECTURE No 6

Wind Power Generation

Introduction to wind energy

More than 90 percent of the energy produced and
consumed in the world today is from non renewable
sources.
Such resources as coal, oil, natural gas, and the
uranium used for nuclear power cannot be replaced as
they are used, or can only be replaced very slowly by
natural processes.
Each of these sources has both benefits and drawbacks
in terms of the ways it can be used, the jobs it
provides, and the effects it has on the environment.
For example, today most fossil fuels are relatively
plentiful and inexpensive.
But combustion of fossil fuels generates numerous air
pollutants as well as gases that may contribute to
global climate change.

Wind Farm Development

Wind Energy

Wind is moving air produced by uneven solar heating of

the Earth's surface. Wind power has long been used for
grinding grain and pumping groundwater.
Windmills' modern equivalent, tall wind turbines, use
wind energy to generate electricity. Turbines catch the
wind with blades mounted around a shaft to form a
rotor.
On the downwind side of the blade, blowing wind
forms a low-pressure pocket, which pulls the blade,
turning the rotor to spin an electrical generator.
Wind power is now the fastest-growing energy source
worldwide. However, land clearing for vast "wind
farms" may produce environmental concerns. Many
predict that wind energy will provide more U.S.
electrical production as new turbine designs enhance
economic and environmental viability.

Cont:

Wind power is converted to electricity by a wind

turbine.
In a typical, modern, large-scale wind turbine, the
kinetic energy in the wind (the energy of moving
air molecules) is converted to rotational motion
by the rotor typically a three-bladed assembly
at the front of the wind turbine.
The rotor turns a shaft which transfers the motion
into the nacelle (the large housing at the top of a
wind turbine tower).
Inside the nacelle, the slowly rotating shaft
enters a gearbox that greatly increases the
rotational shaft speed.
The output (high-speed) shaft is connected to a
generator that converts the rotational movement
into electricity at medium voltage (a few hundred

Cont:

the voltage of the electric power to the distribution

voltage (a few thousand volts).
(Higher voltage electricity flows more easily through
electric lines, generating less heat and fewer power
losses.)
The distribution-voltage power flows through
underground lines to a collection point where the
power may be combined with other turbines.
In many cases, the electricity is sent to nearby farms,
residences and towns where it is used.
Otherwise, the distribution-voltage power is sent to a
substation where the voltage is increased dramatically
to transmission-voltage power (a few hundred
thousand volts) and sent through very tall
transmission lines many miles to distant cities and
factories.

 Wind turbines come in a variety of sizes,

depending upon the use of the electricity.
The large, utility-scale turbine described
above may have blades over 40 meters long,
meaning the diameter of the rotor is over 80
meters nearly the length of a football field.
The turbines might be mounted on towers 80
meters tall (one blade would extend about
half way down the tower), produce 1.8
megawatts of power (1.8 MW or 1800
kilowatts, 1800 kW), supply enough
electricity for 600 homes, and cost over a
million and a half dollars!

Inside the Nacelle

components
Anemometer:
Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data to the
controller.
Blades:
Most turbines have either two or three blades. Wind blowing over the
blades causes the blades to "lift" and rotate.
Brake:
A disc brake, which can be applied mechanically, electrically, or
hydraulically to stop the rotor in emergencies.
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.
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

Generator: Usually an off-the-shelf induction generator that

produces 60-cycle AC electricity.
High-speed shaft:
Drives the generator.
Low-speed shaft: The rotor turns the low-speed shaft at
about 30 to 60 rotations per minute.
Nacelle: The nacelle is its 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.
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.
Rotor: The blades and the hub together are called the rotor.

Tower: 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.
Wind direction: This is an "upwind" turbine, so-called
because it operates facing into the wind. Other turbines
are designed to run "downwind," facing away from the
wind.
Wind vane: Measures wind direction and communicates
with the yaw drive to orient the turbine properly with
respect to the wind.
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.
Yaw motor: Powers the yaw drive.

Types
Types of Wind Turbines
Modern wind turbines fall into two basic groups:
1.
horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs)
2.vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs).
.
As the name pertains, each turbine is distinguished by the
orientation of their rotor shafts. The former is the more
conventional and common type everyone has come to know,
while the latter due to its seldom usage and exploitation, is
quiet unpopular. The HAWTs usually consist of two or three
propeller-like blades attached to a horizontal and mounted
on bearings the top of a support tower as seen in Figure.
.
When the wind blows, the blades of the turbine are set in
motion which drives a generator that produces AC electricity.
For optimal efficiency, these horizontal turbines are usually
made to point into the wind with the aid of a sensor and a
servo motor or a wind vane for smaller wind turbine
applications.

Cont:
With the vertical axis wind turbines, the
concept behind their operation is similar to
that of
the horizontal designs.
The major difference is the orientation of the
rotors and generator which are all vertically
arranged and usually on a shaft for support
and stability.
This also results in a different response of the
turbine blades to the wind in relation to that of
the horizontal configurations.
A typical vertical axis design is shown in Figure

Horizontal axis wind Turbines

Vertical axis wind Turbine

Sizes of Wind Turbines

Utility-scale turbines range in size from 100 kilowatts
to as large as several megawatts. Larger turbines are
grouped together into wind farms, which provide bulk
power to the electrical grid.
Single small turbines, below 100 kilowatts, are used
for homes, telecommunications dishes, or water
pumping.
Small turbines are sometimes used in connection
with diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaic
systems.
These systems are called hybrid wind systems and
are typically used in remote, off-grid locations, where
a connection to the utility grid is not available.

Electrical diagram

Small-scale wind power generation

A small
Quiet revolution
QR5Gorlov type
vertical axis wind
turbine
on the roof of
Colston allin
Bristol, England.
Measuring 3m in
diameter
and 5m high,
it has a nameplate
rating of 6.5kW.

Power in the Wind (W/m2)

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

V3

Density = P/(RxT)

P - pressure (Pa)
R - specific gas constant (287 J/kgK)
T - air temperature (K)

kg/m3

Area = r2
m2

Instantaneous Speed
(not mean speed)
m/s

Calculation of Wind Power

Power in the Wind = AV3

Effect of swept area, A
Effect of wind speed, V
Effect of air density,

Swept Area: A = R2
Area of the circle
swept by the rotor
(m2).

Wind velocity

the effective functioning of a wind turbine is dictated by the

wind
availability in an area and if the amount of power it has is
sufficient enough to keep the blades in constant rotation. The
wind power increases as a function of the cube of the velocity
of the wind and this power is calculable with respect to the
area in which the wind is present as well as the wind velocity .
1
2
When wind is blowing the energy
available
kinetic
due to
kineticEnergy
isMV
the motion of the wind so the power of the 2wind is related to
The
air passing in unit time through an area A, with
the volume
kinetic of
energy.
speed V is AV and its mass M is equal to the Volume V multiplied
We know:
by its density so:
M PAV
Substituting the value of M in 1st equation
we get:

1
kineticEnergy ( PAV )V 2
2
1
kineticEnergy PAV 3
2

Cont:

To convert the energy to kilowatts, a

non-dimensional proportionality
constant k is
k 2.14 103
introduced where,
power ( p ) 2.14 PAV 3 103

Airdesity ( p ) 1.2kg / m3 / 2.33 10 3 slugs / ft 3

Area ( A) areasweptthebladesoftheturbine
velocity (v ) windspeedinmph

US Wind Energy Capacity

Large onshore wind farms

Wind farm Current capacity (MW)
Country
Alta (Oak Creek-Mojave)1,320United States[19]
Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm662United States
[23][24]Fowler Ridge Wind Farm600United States
[26]Fntnele-Cogealac Wind Farm600Romania
[25]Gansu Wind Farm6,000China[17][18]
Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center736United
States[23][24]Jaisalmer Wind Park1,064India[20]
Roscoe Wind Farm782United States[22]
Shepherds Flat Wind Farm845United States[21]
Whitelee Wind Farm539United Kingdom[27]

Merits and Demerits

Environmental
Economic Development
Fuel Diversity & Conservation
Cost Stability
No air pollution
No greenhouse gasses
Does not pollute water with mercury
No water needed for operations