Wind Energy Technology & Trends

1.0 Introduction:
From an emerging fuel source twenty years ago, wind energy has
mushroomed into a mature and booming global business. Generation costs
have fallen dramatically over the last 15 years, moving closer to the
cost of conventional energy sources. Modern wind turbines have
improved dramatically in their power rating, efficiency and reliability.
There is huge and growing global demand for emissions-free wind power,
which can be installed quickly, virtually everywhere in the world. Over
the past ten years, global wind power capacity has continued to grow at
an average cumulative rate of over 30%, and 2008 was another record
year with more than 27 GW of new installations, bringing the total up
to over 120 GW.
2.0 How do we get Wind Energy?

All renewable energy (except tidal and geothermal power), and even the
energy in fossil fuels, comes from the sun which radiates
174,423,000,000,000-kilowatt hours of energy to the earth per hour.
In other words, the earth receives 1.74 x 10 17 watts of power. About
1 to 2 per cent of the energy coming from the sun is converted into
wind energy. That is about 50 to 100 times more than the energy
converted into biomass by all plants on earth. 30% of this Kinetic
Energy occurs in the lowest 1000m elevations.
 Wind forces without safety factors

Wind speed Description Result

m/s km/h
1,6 - 3,3 6 - 11 calm wind smoke changes direction
3,4 - 5,4 12 - 19 weak wind movement of leaves
5,5 - 7,9 20 - 28 low wind movement of branches
20,8 - 24,4 75 - 88 storm roofs can be damaged
32,7 - 36,9 118 - 133 hurricane devastation

3.0 Wind Power Theory

A device capable of extracting part of the energy from the wind

and convert it into useful work is known as a Wind Turbine. All
the energy contained in wind cannot be converted into usable
power due to aerodynamic, mechanical, and electrical conversion
inefficiencies.

The maximum theoretical efficiency (the

Betz coefficient) for converting wind
energy to mechanical energy is 59.3%.
Most have efficiencies lower than the
theoretical maximum; 40% is typical of
many modern wind turbine designs.
Conversion of mechanical energy to
electrical energy has a typical efficiency
of 95%, for an overall efficiency of
38%.
3.1 Power of the Wind Formula

A wind turbine obtains its power input by converting the force

of the wind into torque (turning force) acting on the rotor
blades. The power of the wind passing perpendicularly through
a circular area is: P = 1/2 * v3 * r2, Where P = the
power of the wind measured in W (Watt). = (rho) = the
density of dry air = 1.225 measured in kg/m 3 (at average
atm. Pr. at sea level at 15 C). v = the velocity of the wind
measured in m/s (metres per second). = (pi) =
3.1415926535... r = the radius (i.e. half the diameter) of
the rotor measured in m (metres).

The energy content of the wind varies with the cube (the third power)
of the average wind speed, e.g. if the wind speed is twice as high it
contains 2*3 = 2 x 2 x 2 = eight times as much energy. Small
differences in wind speed make large differences in wind power. Winds
are known to fluctuate by a factor of 2 or more within seconds and
thus causing the power to fluctuate by a factor of 8 or more.

3.2 Park Effect

Each wind turbine will slow down the wind behind it as it pulls energy
out of the wind and converts it to electricity. Hence spacing turbines
in the prevailing wind direction is important. Typically, the energy loss
from the park effect will be somewhere around 5 to 10 % depending on
good micrositing. As a rule of thumb, turbines in wind farms are
usually spaced between 5 and 9 (generally 7) rotor diameters apart in
the prevailing wind direction, and between 3 and 5 diameters (generally
5) apart in the direction perpendicular to the prevailing winds.
3.3 Wake Effect
Since a WEG generates electricity from the energy in
the wind, the wind leaving the turbine must have lower
energy content than the wind arriving in front of the
turbine. This follows directly from the fact that energy
can neither be created nor consumed. A wind turbine
will always cast a wind shadow in the downwind
direction. i.e., there will be a wake behind the turbine,
a long trail of wind which is quite turbulent, slowed
down, when compared to the wind arriving in front of
Grid Connection the turbine.

Large wind turbines have to be grid connected with generators MW class wind
turbines producing electricity at 690V & a transformer installed at the foot or
inside the tower stepping it up. The electrical grid near the wind turbine(s) should
be able to evacuate the electricity generated & if there are many turbines
connected to the grid, dedicated local sub- station will be required

Typical Wind farm Schematic

This shows a typical schematic of a wind farm. The
generation from the wind turbines at Low voltage (415 or
690 volts) is stepped up to 33kV by the distribution
transformer near the wind turbines. Then it is
transmitted through over head lines to the local wind
farm substation. After this, the power is suitably
transmitted through the utility grid to the main sub
station and further to the end users

3.0 Wind Energy Trends in India:

From a mere installed capacity of 32 MW in the year 1990, the total

wind power projects installed has reached around 10250 MW by March
2009. The table below shows the wind power installed capacity in the
country as on 31st March 2009.
India now ranks fifth in the world, behind USA, Germany, Spain and
China.
5.0 Major Parts of a wind Turbine:

WEG Major Parts

The nacelle houses major components of the wind turbine, including the gearbox and
the generator. Service personnel enter the nacelle from the tower. On one side of
the nacelle we have the wind turbine rotor, i.e. the rotor blades and the hub.

The rotor blades capture the wind energy and transfer its power to the
rotor hub. For a 1300 kW wind turbine, the rotor dia is around 62 m
and each blade is about 30 m in length and is designed much like a wing
of an aeroplane. The rotor dia for a 2500kW wind turbine is 80 or 90
meters.
The hub of the rotor is attached to the low speed shaft of the wind
turbine, which connects the rotor hub to the gearbox. On a modern
MW class wind turbine the rotor rotates relatively slowly, about 15 to
30 rpm. The shaft contains pipes for the hydraulics system to enable
the aerodynamic brakes to operate.

The gearbox has the low speed shaft on one side. It makes the high-
speed shaft on the other side to turn approximately 50 times faster
than the low speed shaft. The high-speed shaft rotates with
approx.1000 or 1500 rpm and drives the electrical generator. It is
equipped with an emergency mechanical disc brake. The mechanical
brake is used in case of failure of the aerodynamic brake, or when the
turbine is being serviced.

The electrical generator is usually a so-called induction generator or

asynchronous generator. On a modern wind turbine the maximum
electric power is usually between 1000 and 2500 kW.
The micro processor based electronic controller continuously monitors
the condition and controls the wind turbine. In case of any malfunction,
(e.g. overheating of the gearbox or the generator), it automatically
stops the wind turbine. Certain stoppages are reset automatically once
when the parameters are normal (like voltage, grid frequency etc,).
There is also a remote control possibility where the service personnel
can receive a message through a telephone modem link.
The hydraulics system is used to operate the braking systems of the
wind turbine. The cooling unit contains an electric fan, which is used to
cool the electrical generator. In addition, it contains an oil-cooling unit,
which is used to cool the oil in the gearbox. Some turbines have water-
cooled generators.

The tower of the wind turbine carries the nacelle and the rotor.
Generally, it is an advantage to have a taller tower, since wind speeds
are more at higher altitudes. A typical modern 1300 kW turbine will
have a tower of 60 or 70 metres (the height of a 15-20 storey
building). Towers may be either tubular towers or lattice towers.
Tubular towers are safer for the personnel that have to maintain the
turbines, as they may use an inside ladder to get to the top of the
turbine. The advantage of lattice towers is primarily that they are
cheaper and for the damping of the vibrations due to wind loads.

The yaw mechanism uses electrical motors to turn the nacelle with the
rotor in line with the prevailing wind direction. It is operated by the
controller which senses the wind direction using the wind vane.
Normally, the turbine will yaw only a few degrees at a time, when the
wind changes its direction

The anemometer and the wind wane are used to measure the speed and
the direction of the wind. The electronic signals from the anemometer
are used by the controller to start the wind turbine when the wind
speed reaches a pre set value. The wind turbines automatically stop if
the wind speed exceeds 25 m/s in order to protect the turbine and its
surroundings. The wind vane signals are used by the controller to turn
the turbine against the wind, using the yaw mechanism.

5.2 Summary of Wind energy technology

The vast majority of commercial turbines now operate on a horizontal
axis with three evenly spaced blades. These are attached to a rotor
from which power is transferred through a gearbox to a generator. The
gearbox and generator are contained within a housing called a nacelle.
Some turbine designs avoid a gearbox by using direct drive. The
electricity is then transmitted down the tower to a transformer and
eventually into the grid network.

Wind turbines can operate across a wide range of wind speeds - from
3-4 metres per second up to about 25 m/s, which translates into 90
km/h (56 mph), and would be the equivalent of gale force 9 or 10.

The majority of current turbine models make best use of the constant
variations in the wind by changing the angle of the blades through
'pitch control', by turning or yawing the entire rotor as wind direction
shifts and by operating at variable speed. Operation at variable speed
enables the turbine to adapt to varying wind speeds and increases its
ability to harmonise with the operation of the electricity grid.
Sophisticated control systems enable fine tuning of the turbines
performance and electricity output.

Modern wind technology is able to operate effectively at a wide range

of sites with low and high wind speeds, in the desert and in freezing
arctic climates. Clusters of turbines collected into wind farms operate
with high availability, are generally well integrated with the environment
and accepted by the public. Using lightweight materials to reduce their
bulk, modern turbine designs are sleek, streamlined and elegant.

The main design drivers for current wind technology are:

reliability
grid compatibility
acoustic performance (noise reduction)
maximum efficiency and aerodynamic performance
high productivity for low wind speeds
offshore expansion

The largest machines

commercially available today are
of 3,600 kW to 5000 kW
capacity, with a rotor diameter
of 104 to 120 metres. Towers at
inland sites can now stretch up
more than 100 metres to catch
the wind.
 5.2.2 Current trends in the world

Off shore wind power

Offshore wind energy is an extremely
promising application of wind power.
One of the main reasons for moving
wind farm development to offshore is
the lack of suitable wind turbine sites
on land, particularly in countries like
Germany, Denmark or the Netherlands.
Major advantages are: More space - 5
to 15 % higher wind speed and hence
higher generation - less turbulence,
higher life - less visible
Disadvantages are: expensive foundation
- expensive grid connection - access
sometimes difficult corrosion - no
r long-term experience

The main driver for larger capacity machines has been the offshore
market, where placing turbines on the seabed demands the optimum use
of each foundation. Fixing large foundations in the sea bed, collecting
the electricity and transmitting it to the shore all increase the costs of
offshore development over those on land. Although the offshore wind
farms installed so far have used turbines in the capacity range up to
3.6 MW, a range of designs of 5 MW and above are now being
deployed and are expected to become the standard in the coming
years.

Megawatt Class Turbines: Wind turbines have also grown larger and
taller. The generators in the largest modern turbines are 100 times the
size of those in 1980. Over the same period, their rotor diameters
have increased eight-fold. The average capacity of turbines installed

around the world during 2007 was 1,492 kW, whilst the largest turbine
currently in operation is the Enercon E126, with a rotor diameter of
126 metres and a power capacity of 6 MW.

For turbines used on land, however, the past few years have seen a
levelling of turbine size in the 1.5 to 3 MW range. This has enabled
series production of many thousands of turbines of the same design,
enabling teething problems to be ironed out and reliability increased.

In the future, even larger turbines will be produced to service the emerging
market. Machines in a range up to 5,000 kW have been installed (See Photos).
In 2003, a German company erected the first prototype of its 4,500 kW
turbine with a rotor diameter of 112 metres. Other companies are in the
process of developing machines up to 6MW capacity.
Future R&D Efforts and Conclusion:

Key research areas include: economic, policy and market issues;

environmental and social impacts; turbine and component design issues;
grid integration; energy systems and resource prediction; O&M; new
potential sites; offshore technology; and multi-megawatt turbines.

Ongoing innovations in turbine design include the use of different

combinations of composite materials to manufacture blades, especially
to ensure that their weight is kept to a minimum, variations in the drive
train system to reduce loads and increase reliability, and improved
control systems, partly to ensure better compatibility with the grid
network.

Courtesy
K.S. KRITHIVASAN
AGM / BHEL/Ranipet