MIE 515 Alternative Energy Systems

Wind Practice Problems

1. You are to evaluate the power production potential at an offshore site east of of St. Johns
Newfoundland. Annual wind data at 80 m height is shown below.

The probabilities here do not sum to 1. There is a probability of 0.0628 that the wind speed will
be between 20 and 26 m/s and 0.0250 that the wind will exceed 27 m/s (use 30 m/s as an
average value for wind speeds in this probability range above 27 m/s).
(a) How many hours of the year does the wind blow from the four compass points (directions)
south through west?
(b) What is the average wind speed (m/s) at this site?
(c) What is the wind speed for the average incident power at this site?
(d) Define the power coefficient, cP, for a wind turbine. How does this differ from capacity
factor?

2. Use the wind data from Cairngorm Scotland (see table from European Wind Atlas next page)
to answer the following questions:
(a) How many hours during the year does the wind blow from the West at this location?
(b) How many hours during the year does the wind blow from the West at 8 m/s?
(c) How many hours during the year does the wind blow at 8 m/s from all directions in total?
(d) What is the average wind velocity? (for the >17 value, assume 50 at 18 m/s, 40 at 19m/s, and
20 at 20 m/s). [Side note: does this distribution seem realistic?]
(e) The average power output occurs at what wind velocity?
(f) How much energy is available in the wind at this location per unit of cross-sectional area per
year? Assume an air density of 1.2 kg/m3.

James S. Wallace

Page 1 of 12

Wind data for Cairngorm Scotland [European Wind Atlas]

Sector Freq <1

11

13

15

17 >17

3.2

115 44 103 164 148 89 115 89

63

55

10

1.91

5.4

30

2.4

108 48 117 203 123 103 108 71

42

53

13

1.49

5.3

60

2.8

103 34

83 131 134 108 103 83

66

70

47

11

90

3.8

63

29

69

91

88

88 105 82

50 107 110 49

25

20 1.46 6.5
45 1.62 8.3

120

6.6

36

12

40

70

65

64

91

87

64 151 126 80

49

150

10.3

26

24

48

48

62

83

87

73 159 143 94

69

180

10.3

28

30

60

56

48

60

74

55 159 137 109 82

210

10.3

31

14

35

53

51

45

59

62

240

14.6

23

16

34

54

47

44

59

57

270

20.2

16

14

34

57

56

52

67

73

46 109 119 110 87 196 2.17 13.3

56 128 125 100 70 151 1.99 12.2

300

10.6

31

21

54

92

83

86

79

76

68 144 85

330

4.9

61

22

81 145 124 97 120 104 69

Total 100

36

17

44

75

68

63

76

75

66 2.04 10.4
74 2.24 11.2

91 2.31 11.6
54 113 121 109 79 177 2.15 12.8

91

45

60

41

21

11

58 125 110 83

79 1.68 9.6
8 1.87
7

60 110 1.83 10.9

3. Toronto Hydro has proposed building a field of off-shore turbines in Lake Ontario in the general
vicinity of the Scarborough Bluffs. Your task is to evaluate the power potential production at a site
some distance off-shore from the Scarborough Bluffs, certainly out of visual sight. Annual wind
data at 80 m height for latitude 43.687 N and longitude 78.996 W is shown below.

The histogram data is also provided in Table 1 attached at the end for your convenience.
(a) What fraction of the time does the wind from any of the five compass points in the east (0 to
180 degrees, not including the two endpoints, 0 degrees and 180 degrees)?
James S. Wallace

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Consider the use of Vestas V82-1.65 MW wind turbines at this off-shore site. The table below
provides specifications of this particular wind turbine. The figure to the right shows how the power
output varies with wind speed.
V82-1.65 Wind Turbine Specifications
Rated Capacity

1,650 kW

Cut-in wind speed

3.5 m/s

Rated wind speed

13 m/s

Cut-out wind speed

20 m/s

Rotor diameter

82 m

Rotor hub height

80 m
V82-1.65 Power Output vs. Wind Speed

A tabulated version of the power output data is included on the last page as Table 2. With this
data and your knowledge of wind turbines,
(b) Estimate the annual energy output of the V82-1.65 MW wind turbine at this site
(c) What is the [annual] capacity factor?
(d) The figure right shows how the power
coefficient cP of the V82-1.65 MW wind
turbine varies with wind speed. Why
isnt the power coefficient maximum at
the rated wind speed? If the turbine
speed is 14.4 rpm at a wind speed of 13
m/s, what is the tip speed ratio at this
condition?

(e) The figure below shows how the power

output of a larger wind turbine, the V112-3.0
MW, varies with wind speed. This turbine
has a 112m rotor diameter and a 25 m/s
cut-out wind speed. Air density is 1.2 kg/m3.
Calculate the power coefficient cp of the
V112-3.0 MW turbine at 7.58 m/s (this
locations mean wind speed). Would this
larger wind turbine be a better or worse
choice than the V82-1.65 MW wind turbine
at this location and why? Consider
infrastructure requirements and cost as well

as turbine performance in your

discussion.

James S. Wallace

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4. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) may be more suitable for built-up urban
areas because they respond to wind from
any direction and are less sensitive to
turbulence in the wind than horizontal axis
wind turbines (HAWT). The Savonius wind
turbine is a type of VAWT that captures the
winds energy by decelerating and
redirecting the wind, but it doesnt have any
airfoil shape that generates lift. The drawing
below illustrates the operating principle of the
Savonius wind turbine [Wikipedia commons].

Helix Wind produces one interpretation of a

Savonius wind turbine. Their S322 wind
turbine
is
shown
above
[http://www.helixwind.com/en/].
The S322 rotor has dimensions of 1.21 m diameter x 2.65 m height. The cut-in wind speed is 4.5
m/s and the generator is rated at 2.0 kW (peak). Helix Wind provides performance information
for the S322 in the form of the graph reproduced below.

James S. Wallace

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[http://www.helixwind.com/en/]
In the legend, k is the Weibull distribution shape factor. Constant (the lowest curve on the
graph) refers to the case where the wind speed remains constant throughout the year (no
fluctuations at all; f(V) = 1). Data from the two marked curves is reproduced in the table below
for your convenience.
Annual Production Data From Graph Above (for 2 curves Constant and k=2)
Wind
speed

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Constan
t

103.
3

330.
6

805.
8

1,34
3

2,25
2

3,25
4

4,77
3

5,61
0

6,25
0

6,84
9

7,41
7

8,00
6

k=2

309
9

702.
5

805.
8

2,01
4

2,76
9

3,59
5

4,33
9

5,19
6

5,60
9

6,64
3

7,40
7

8,23
3

8,67
8

(a) Calculate Cp, the coefficient of performance of this wind turbine at 11 m/s wind speed.
(b) What is this wind turbines capacity factor for an average annual wind speed of 8 m/s and
k=2?
(c) For shape factor k=2, what is the Weibull scale factor A for 8 m/s average annual wind speed?
(d) For a Weibull shape factor k=2 and the value of A computed in (d), what is the probability that
the wind speed will be 15 m/s?
(e) Why do the kconstant curves show output below the cut-in wind speed (the circled area at
bottom left)? Explain (Use the cumulative Weibull distribution).
(f) The S322 has a list price of $US 10,500 and has a five-year limited warranty. Assume that
the City of Toronto has a mean wind speed of 5 m/s with a Weibull shape factor k=2. Could
you produce power at a cost less than the $0.11/kWh feed-in-tariff offered by the Ontario
Power Authority for wind power?

5. The Toronto for-profit Cooperative WindShare was an early adapter of wind energy, investing
in the wind turbine now on the Toronto waterfront in December 2002. The Lagerwey LW52 wind
James S. Wallace

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turbine installed on the site is unusual in that it is direct drive (see picture); there is no gearbox,
so the generator runs at the same speed as the rotor.
Lagerwey LW52 specifications
Rated power

750 kW

Rated wind speed

12 m/s

Cut-in wind speed

2.5 m/s

Cut-out wind speed

25 m/s

Rotor diameter

51.5 m

Rotor hub height

65.5 m

Nominal rotor speed

27 rpm

During 2009 and 2010, the wind turbine had 94% availability and produced 1 million kWh
of electricity each of those years. The total cost of the project including project development and
installation was $1.8 million. The interest rate of 7.2% for a five year mortgage in 2002 can be
taken as representative of the project financing costs. Inflation as measured by the consumer
price index (CPI) was 2.2% for 2002. Assume that the annual cost of maintenance is 2.5% of
capital cost.
(a) What is the capacity factor experienced in both 2009/2010?
(b) Calculate the cost of energy ($/kWh) produced assuming a 15 year lifetime.
In 2011, the rotor bearings failed in mid-March and had to be replaced, a major repair that
involved removing the rotor with a crane. The repair cost $200,000 and was completed on May
1, 2011. In 2012, the unit was off-line from August 17th until December 12th due to a failed
[electrical] inverter and the difficulty of finding replacement parts for a 10 year old product whose
manufacturer (Lagerwey) no longer exists (bankrupt). The cost of this repair is unknown at this
time, but assumed to be $50,000 for the purpose of this calculation. Taking the downtime into
account, estimates of energy produced are 901,400 kWh in 2011 and 679,500 kWh in 2012.
(c) Allocating an equal share of the $250,000 repair cost to each year of the 15 year lifetime as
an additional maintenance cost, calculate the cost of energy ($/kWh) produced in 2011 and
2012.
(d) Compare the cost of this installation ($/kW of installed power) with other wind turbine
installations. Discuss the economic viability of this installation and the factors that have the
greatest influence.

6. La Coruna is a town on the northwest coast of Spain, exposed to wind from the Atlantic
Ocean (A in the figure below from Google Maps). You are to evaluate
the potential of installing a 1.5 MW Acciona
AW 82/1500 wind turbine at this location.

Specifications of the wind turbine are given

in the table.
Rated Power Output

James S. Wallace

1,500 kW
Page 6 of 12

Cut-in wind speed

3 m/s

Rated wind speed

Cut-out wind speed

13 m/s
25 m/s

Rotor diameter
Rotor hub height
Nominal rotation speed

82 m
80 m
16.7 rpm

Wind speed probability data at 80m

height was calculated using a Weibull
function with parameters A=7.635m/s and k
= 1.882 for the La Coruna location at 80m
height and plotted in the figure right (data
from the European Wind Atlas).

A table on the last page provides tabulated probability values as well as power output data for the
AW 82/1500 wind turbine as a function of wind speed.
(a) Estimate the annual energy output of the AW 82/1500 wind turbine at this site for air density
of 1.2 kg/m3 (use wind speeds only up to 20m/s).
(b) What is the [annual] capacity factor (use wind speeds only up to 20m/s)?
(c) At the most probable wind speed of 5 m/s, calculate the power coefficient and tip speed ratio
for the AW 82/1500 wind turbine.
(d) At the rated wind speed of 13 m/s, calculate the coefficient of performance and tip speed ratio
for the AW 82/1500 wind turbine.
(e) Why is the coefficient of performance higher for the lower wind speed?
(f) The figure below shows the fraction of time the wind at La Coruna blows from different
directions (0 degrees = due North). Numerical values for each direction are contained in a
table on the last page of the exam.

James S. Wallace

Page 7 of 12

(g) Referring to the map and using the wind direction data, what fraction of the time is the wind
at La Coruna blowing onto land from water?

7. Various wind energy questions:

(a) At a particular point in time, the wind on a farm with buildings and hedges is measured and
found to be 6.5 m/s at 10 m height. The farmer is considering installing a wind turbine on a
30 m high tower. What is the estimated wind speed at the 30 m height?
(b) A horizontal axis wind turbine produces 1.8 MW of power at a rated speed of 15 m/s. The
rotor has a diameter of 80 m and a hub height of 78 m for a rotor swept area of 5,027 m 2.
If the air density is 1.2 kg/m3, calculate the power coefficient, Cp, for this wind turbine at
the rated speed and power.
(c) A 1.8 MW horizontal axis wind turbine (same as in (b)) produces a total of 3981 MWh of
electricity over the course of a year at a location where the wind speed averages 7.86 m/s.
Calculate the capacity factor, CF, for this wind turbine at this site.
(d) The wind rose below provides wind direction information for a rural location at 50 m
height. The directional probability values are provided in the table below right for your
convenience. What is the most probably direction for the wind to be blowing from and
how many hours per year does it blow from that most probable direction?.

James S. Wallace

Page 8 of 12

Direction Probability

[Source: Canadian Wind Atlas,

http://www.windatlas.ca/en/maps.php]

0.050964

30

0.026825

60

0.033386

90

0.052155

120

0.043427

150

0.042877

180

0.059937

210

0.098816

240

0.1828

270

0.154236

300

0.148315

330

0.101959

(e) The wind speed histogram below left provides annual wind speed information for a boring
small town in the middle of nowhere at 50 m height. The same histogram values are
provided in the table right below for your convenience. How many hours per year is the
wind speed at this location is within the range 8-9 m/s?
Histogram data

[Source: Canadian Wind Atlas,

http://www.windatlas.ca/en/maps.php]

Right end wind bin

speed(m/s)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

James S. Wallace

Probability
1.19904e-12
0.0270691
0.105896
0.153564
0.158508
0.158173
0.116028
0.0862427
0.0589294
0.0531921
0.0329895
0.0231628
0.0123901
0.00668335
0.00231934
0.00161743
0.000244141
0
0
0
0

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(f) An 850 kW wind turbine is being considered for installation at the site of part (e). Specifications are
provided in the table below left and power output for the mid-point wind speed of each wind
speed bin is shown in the table below right. Calculate the sites annual energy production (MWh).
Wind Turbine Specifications
Wind turbine data
Rated capacity

850 kW

Cut-in wind speed

2.5 m/s

Rated wind speed

13 m/s

Cut-out wind speed

25 m/s

Rotor diameter
Air density

Wind speed
(m/s)
0
0.5
1.5
2.5
3.5
4.5
5.5
6.5
7.5
8.5
9.5
10.5
11.5
12.5
13.5
14.5
15.5
16.5
17.5
18.5
19.5

52 m
1.2 kg/m3

Power
(kW)
0
0
0
70
130
200
286
357
457
571
686
757
806
829
850
850
850
850
850
850
850

(g) A single 850 kW wind turbine located at a rural site produces 2,217 MWh during a year of
operation. An additional 8 wind turbines of the same type are to be installed to create a wind
farm. If the nine wind durbines are arranged in 3 rows with spacing of 5 rotor diameters
between rows and 3 rotor diameters between wind turbines in the same row, calculate the
annual energy output for the wind farm.

James S. Wallace

Page 10 of 12

Supplemental material for Problem 3.

Table 1

26

Tabular histogram data for 43.687N, 78.996W

Wind speed (m/s)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

0
Table 2

Power vs. Wind Speed for V82-1.65

Probability
0
0.0151978
0.0377502
0.066803
0.0822144
0.0985107
0.10141
0.0877991
0.0897827
0.0975647
0.0786438
0.0536804
0.045166
0.0437317
0.0279541
0.0188293
0.0160522
0.0109558
0.00982666
0.00524902
0.00332642
0.00238037
0.00143433
0.000457764
3.05176e-05
0

Wind speed
(m/s)
3.5
4.5
5.5
6.5
7.5
8.5
9.5
10.5
11.5
12.5
13.5
14.5
15.5
16.5
17.5
18.5
19.5
20.5
21.5
22.5
23.5
24.5

James S. Wallace

Power output
(kW)
0
129
276
483
785
1086
1328
1483
1561
1621
1650
1650
1650
1650
1650
1650
1650
0
0
0
0
0

Page 11 of 12

Supplemental material for Question 6

Tabular wind histogram data
for 43o 08 00 N, 08o 23 00 W
Wind speed
(m/s)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Probability

Power output vs. wind speed

for AW-1500 (82)
Wind speed Power Output
(m/s)
(kW)
0
0
1
0
2
0
3
22
4
82
5
179
6
310
7
499
8
741
9
1,014
10
1,298
11
1,447
12
1,492
13
1,500
14
1,500
15
1,500
16
1,500
17
1,500
18
1,500
19
1,500
20
1,500

0
0.040166
0.069797
0.091019
0.103635
0.108097
0.105558
0.097647
0.086187
0.072929
0.059358
0.046584
0.035317
0.025902
0.0184
0.012672
0.008467
0.005493
0.003462
0.002121
0.001263
Wind direction data

Compass heading (degrees) Probability

0
0.152
30
0.056
60
0.026
90
0.025
120
0.048
150
0.137
180
0.129
210
0.077
240
0.05
270
0.052
300
0.086
330
0.161
James S. Wallace

Page 12 of 12