Wind and other renewable

energy sources
BY
VARUN SINGH
ARAVINTH

SMBS
VIT UNIVERSITY
 Wind Power

The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for irrigating crops 4,000
years ago, and sailing boats were around long before that.
Wind power was used in the Middle Ages, in Europe, to grind corn, which is where the
term "windmill" comes from.
 How Wind Power Works

The Sun heats our atmosphere unevenly, so some patches become

warmer than others.
These warm patches of air rise, other air blows in to replace them - and
we feel a wind blowing.
 WIND POWER - What is it?

All renewable energy (except tidal and geothermal power), ultimately comes
from the sun

The earth receives 1.74 x 1017 watts of power (per hour) from the sun

About one or 2 percent of this energy is converted to wind energy (which is

about 50-100 times more than the energy converted to biomass by all plants
on earth

Differential heating of the earths surface

and atmosphere induces vertical and horizontal
air currents that are affected by the earths
rotation and contours of the land WIND.
~ e.g.: Land Sea Breeze Cycle
 Winds are influenced by the ground surface at altitudes up to 100
meters.
Wind is slowed by the surface roughness and obstacles.
When dealing with wind energy, we are concerned with surface
winds.
A wind turbine obtains its power input by converting the force of the
wind into a torque (turning force) acting on the rotor blades.
The amount of energy which the wind transfers to the rotor depends
on the density of the air, the rotor area, and the wind speed.
The kinetic energy of a moving body is proportional to its mass (or
weight). The kinetic energy in the wind thus depends on the density of
the air, i.e. its mass per unit of volume.
In other words, the "heavier" the air, the more energy is received by
the turbine.
Wind Turbines: Number of Blades

Most common design is the three-bladed turbine. The most

important reason is the stability of the turbine. A rotor with an odd
number of rotor blades (and at least three blades) can be considered
to be similar to a disc when calculating the dynamic properties of the
machine.
A rotor with an even number of blades will give stability problems for
a machine with a stiff structure. The reason is that at the very moment
when the uppermost blade bends backwards, because it gets the
maximum power from the wind, the lowermost blade passes into the
wind shade in front of the tower.
Wind Turbine
Generators Wind power generators convert
wind energy (mechanical energy)
to electrical energy.
The generator is attached at
one end to the wind turbine,
which provides the mechanical
energy.
At the other end, the generator
is connected to the electrical grid.
The generator needs to have a
cooling system to make sure there
is no overheating.
Power of Wind

*The power in wind is

proportional to the cubic
wind speed ( v^3 ).
WHY?
~ Kinetic energy of an air
mass is proportional to v^2
~ Amount of air mass
moving past a given point
is proportional to wind
velocity (v)
 Disadvantages of Wind Power

The wind is not always predictable some days have no wind.

Suitable areas for wind farms are often near the coast, where land is expensive.
Some people feel that covering
the landscape with these towers is unsightly.
Can kill birds - migrating flocks tend to like strong winds. Splat!
Can affect television reception if you live nearby.
Noisy. A wind generator makes a constant, low, "swooshing" noise day and night.
Advantages to Wind power

Wind is free, wind farms need no fuel.

Produces no waste or greenhouse gases.
The land beneath can usually still be used for farming.
Wind farms can be tourist attractions.
A good method of supplying energy to remote areas.
 HYDROPOWER

Hydropower or water power is power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running
water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes.

The first commercial hydroelectric power plant was built at Niagara Falls in 1879.

In the late 19th century, hydropower became a source for generating electricity.
 TYPES (based on electricity):
Conventional hydroelectric -referring to hydroelectric dams.
Small hydro - projects are 10 megawatts or less .
Micro hydro - projects provide a few kilowatts to a few hundred kilowatts
to isolated homes, villages, or small industries.
Conduit hydroelectricity - projects utilize water which has already been
diverted for use elsewhere.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity stores water pumped uphill into
reservoirs during periods of low demand to be released for generation
when demand is high or system generation is low.
Pressure buffering hydropower use natural sources (waves for example)
for water pumping to turbines while exceeding water is pumped uphill into
reservoirs and releases when incoming water flow isn't enough.
The Itaipu Dam on the Paran River, located on the
border between Brazil and Paraguay, is the world's largest
generator of renewable clean energy having produced
more than 2.4 billion MWh since it started operating, in 1984
 Calculating the Power:
The power available from falling water can be calculated
from the flow rate and density of water, the height of fall, and
the local acceleration due to gravity.
Where P = Qgh
P is power in watts
is the dimensionless efficiency of the turbine
is the density of water in kilograms per cubic metre
Q is the flow in cubic metres per second
g is the acceleration due to gravity
h is the height difference between inlet and outlet in metres
India in hydropower

India is the 7th largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world ranking
third worldwide in the total number of dams.
Some of them are
Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand - 2400 MW
Koyna Hydroelectric Project in Maharashtra-1960 MW
Srisailam in AP - 1670 MW
Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is heat energy generated and stored in the Earth.

Geothermal power is cost-effective, reliable, sustainable, and
environmentally friendly, but has historically been limited to areas
near tectonic plate boundaries.
Geothermal wells release greenhouse gases trapped deep within the
earth, but these emissions are much lower per energy unit than those of
fossil fuels.
 Geothermal power is considered to be renewable because
any projected heat extraction is small compared to the Earth's
heat content.
The Earth has an internal heat content
of 1031 joules approximately 100 billion times current (2010)
worldwide annual energy consumption.
a Geothermal Heat Pump and Ground-coupled heat
exchanger are used together to move heat energy into the
earth (for cooling) and out of the earth (for heating) on a
varying seasonal basis.
ENIVRONMENTAL EFFECT:
Fluids drawn from the deep earth carry a mixture of gases,
notably carbon dioxide, hydrogen
sulfide, methane and ammonia . These pollutants contribute
to global warming, acid rain, and noxious smells if released.

Plant construction can adversely affect land stability like

Subsidence in New Zealand.
Tectonic Uplift in Germany.
Earthquake in Brazil and Switzerland
more than 10,000 seismic events measuring up to 3.4 on the Richter
Scale occurred over the first 6 days of water injection
 List of Geothermal plants
The Geysers Geothermal Complex, California, United States of
America - 900MW
Larderello Geothermal Complex, Italy 769MW
Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station, Mexico - 720MW.
 BIOENERGY

Bio energy is renewable energy made available from materials

derived from biological sources.

As a fuel it may include wood, wood

waste, straw, manure, sugarcane, and many other by-products
from a variety of agricultural processes.

As bio energy is the energy extracted from the biomass, as the

biomass is the fuel and the bio energy is the energy contained in
the fuel.
 CONVERSION
Direct incineration

Bacterial Decay Methane Gas

Fermentation
Conversion Chemical or Heat

USAGE:

79% - by Burning Woods and Chips.

Biomass is used to heat homes.
18% of biomass is produced for industrial use.
 ADVANTAGES:
1. Biomass is a renewable fuel source.
2. Biomass energy production results in minimal environmental
impact.
3. Employment generation in rural areas.
4. Alcohol fuels are efficient and clean burning.
5. The availability of biomass fuels is universal.

DISADVANTAGES:
When combusted to produce energy it contributes directly to
global warming.
An expensive source to produce and convert.
On a small scale there is a likely net loss in energy; as energy must
be put in to grow the plant mass