ORIGIN OF WIND ENERGY
wind turbine – machine that converts wind power to
electrical power (in contrast to windmill)
- electricity generators, connected to electrical
networks
*total numbers, most frequently found turbines are
small (<10kW)
*total generating capacity, majority are large (1.5-
5MW)
ANTIQUITY
- use of windmill
- earliest known instance of using wind-driven wheel
to power a machine is that of Greek engr. Heron of
Alexandria
- another ex of wind-driven wheel: prayer wheel
EARLY MIDDLE AGES
- first practical windmill: Panemone windmill
(horizontal, used to pump water, gristmilling and
sugarcane industries)
19TH CENTURY
- first windmill for electricity production: build in
Scotland July 1887 Prof James Blyth
- 1891 Danish scientist Poul la Cour built wind
turbine (to produce hydrogen through electrolysis
and to light school of Askov)
20TH CENTURY
- 1958 Johannes Juul student of Poul la Cour
developed Danish Concept – allowed AC to be fed
to the grid for the first time
PRESENT
- Bangui Wind Farm, Ilocos Norte
- Wind Energy Power System (WEPS), Puerto Galera,
Mindoro Oriental
- Pililia, Rizal
The first known historical reference to a windmill is
from Hero of Alexandria, in his work Pneumatics
(describes a device which provides air to an organ by
means of a windmill).
Windmills made their first recorded appearance in
northern Europe in the 12th Century
19th century – tried using windmill rotor, most notable
early example: Charles Brush in Cleveland, Ohio, 1888.
In the following years, small generators become
widespread. Marcellus Jacobs pioneered these small
turbines.
Jacobs’ turbine – direct forerunner of the small turbines
as the Bergey and Southwest windpower machines
wind – air in motion, produced by uneven heating of
the earth’s surface by sun’s energy
Methods of Heat Transfer:
1. Radiation – through waves
2. Conduction – when two objects touch
3. Convection – through liquids and gases
albedo – fraction of light striking a surface that gets
reflected
Francis Beaufort – created a scale to rate the power of
the wind based on the observations of common things
around him rather than instruments, 12 y/o
Beaufort Scale 0-12 – calm-hurricane, can be used to
estimate wind speed
LOCAL AND GLOBAL WIND PATTERN
wind – air flowing across earth’s surface, created in
differences in Patm, flows from higher P to lower P.
Differences in pressure are result of unequal heating of
the surface by solar energy.
Wind patterns – result of pressure gradient force and
rotation of the Earth
Most dramatic variation in the amount of solar energy
reaching the earth is the difference between the
amount arriving at the equator and at the poles –
primarily due to angle at which the sun’s rays strike the
earth.
Heat is transported from warmer to cooler areas.
density α temperature ; warm air is less dense
large scale: difference in density leads to the formation
of high and low Patm
small scale: leads to creation of local wind patterns
sea breeze – daytime, land warms faster than ocean
land breeze – nighttime, land cools faster than ocean
local winds – form when land heats up faster in one
place than another
valley wind – mountain slope warms faster than valley
below
mountain wind/katabatic wind – mountain slope cools
faster than valley below
tunnel effect – katabatic wind blows through narrow
valleys between mountains
Special names of katabatic winds:
Chinook – easterly wind in the rocky mountains
Santa Ana – easterly wind in southern California
Same process occurs on a worldwide scale.
Hadley circulation – cold air sinks towards earth’s
surface at poles, becomes warmer as it travels toward
the equator, and rises
Coriolis effect – causes fluids to curve as they travel
across or above earth’s surface
major cells/wind belts
easterly trade winds – equator to 30deg latitude N or S
hemisphere; most significant (El Nino effect)
westerly winds – 30deg to 60deg
polar easterlies – 60deg to pole
trade winds – air streams moving toward the equator;
warm, steady breezes that blow most of the time; curve
west
doldrums – area of calm; no steady surface winds
prevailing westerlies - curve east
polar easterlies – form when air over the poles cools;
sinks and spreads over the surface, curves west
jet streams – highest winds; forms where other wind
systems meet; flow far above earth where nothing
block their paths; rivers of air, curve east; carry weather
systems
ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARY LAYER
a.k.a. Planetary Boundary Layer – lowest part of the
atmosphere, characteristics are directly influenced by
contact with earth’s surface
vertical wind profile:
1. instantaneous variation in wind speed as a function
of height
2. seasonal variation in ave wind speed as a function
of height
velocity of horizontal wind – dependent on height
(direct)
Relationship between horizontal wind and elevation
describes vertical profile of wind speed (vertical wind
shear)
importance:
1. determine productivity of wind turbine on a tower
at certain height
2. influences lifetime of turbine rotor blade
density of air standard ambient temp and pressure:
1.225 kg/m3
Lapse rate (I) – rate of change of temp wrt height
*temp decreases as elevation increases
Istandard = -0.0066 degC/m
density altitude – altitude at which the density of the
International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) is the same as
the density of the air being evaluated
Standard Atmosphere – mathematical model of the
atmosphere which is standardized so that predictable
calculations can be made
To use equations to determine air density, know actual
air pressure, water vapor pressure, and temperature
actual air pressure – absolute pressure, total air
pressure, station pressure
water vapor pressure – calculate first saturation vapor
pressure (Teten’s formula); use dew point than relative
humidity
relative humidity – ratio (%) of actual VP to saturation
VP at a given temperature
stability – important characteristic of atmosphere;
resists vertical motion and suppresses turbulence
turbulence – wind caused by dissipation of wind’s KE
into thermal energy via creation and destruction of
progressively smaller eddies (gusts)
classification of stability: stable, neutrally stable,
unstable
stability greatly depends on wind
Factors affecting wind
1. Pressure gradient force – wind flows from high to
low pressure, which means that greater pressure
difference, higher wind velocity
isobars – contour lines connecting locations at the
same pressure; spacing represents pressure
gradient; standard difference of isobars 4mbar;
more closely spaced means steeper pressure
gradient (pressure changes quickly over a short
distance). Steeper pressure gradient = higher
pressure gradient force = strong winds
2. Coriolis force – caused by measurements wrt a
rotating reference frame; deflects movement of all
free moving objects; may only cause apparent
deflection: affects wind direction not speed; always
at right angle wrt wind motion and distance
covered; deflection is greater at higher latitude
3. Friction force – opposite wind motion; layers at the
lowest elevations are affected by the surface and
this layer provides frictional drag on the layer of
wind above it.
4. Centripetal force – center-seeking force, affects
wind that travels in a curved path, not an
independent force
5. Gravity – directly downward, no effect on
horizontal wind
Types of wind accdg to forces acting on it
1. Geostrophic wind – travels in a straight path,
horizontal movement; pressure gradient and
coriolis forces; travels parallel with isobars; take
note of the location
2. Gradient wind – curved path, unbalanced forces,
occurs above atmospheric boundary layer,
eliminating frictional force
3. Surface wind – follows non-curve flow, found near
earth’s surface, friction is included, friction slows
wind and interacts with other forces to change wind
direction, combines with coriolis force, wind crosses
isobars (10-45deg)
WIND RESOURCE AND SITE ASSESSMENT
wind is free, clean, and renewable
Aspects to be considered: technical, economical,
environmental, socio-political
Technical
wind speed – any choice of wind turbine design must
be based on ave wind velocity at the selected wind
turbine construction site
wind speed variation – simplest method is finding
average wind speed over a year
Average wind speed is very misleading.
Wind speed assessment is more complicated than
taking the average.
statistical analysis – can be used to determine the wind
energy potential of a site and to estimate the energy
output from a wind turbine installed there.
Wind is notoriously fickle.
probability distribution – describes the likelihood that
certain values of a random variable will occur,
characterized by probability df or cumulative df
Rayleigh Distribution – the distribution function used
wind direction variation – map (Wind Rose – most
common way of displaying wind data, and can be
measured in speed or frequency distribution)
wind rose (speed distribution) – radial length:
percentage of time; colored segments: wind speed
wr (frequency d) – radial length: wind speed; colored
segments: hours
wind shear – phenomenon wherein wind speed
increases with height; influences both assessment of
wind resources and design of turbines
land topology and geology – wind farms need large
lands; at least 2600-6000m2/MW
roughness length – roughness of ground terrain, may
be classified into flat and non-flat terrain
flat terrain – has small irregularities on the flow over
the land being considered
non flat – large scale elevations or depressions
grid structure and distance – feeding intermittent
power into grids can affect power quality; grid distance
is one of the 10 most important steps for wind farm
building
turbine size – height is one of the important factors that
affect annual energy generation; turbine size is related
with energy output
Economical
advantage: no fuel cost, high capital cost
capital cost – involves more than just the cost for the
turbines themselves
operation and maintenance cost – most significant
sources of cost; important to project these costs if the
owner seeks to refinance or sell the project; O cost:
insurance on the wind turbine, taxes, and land rental
cost; M cost: routine checks, periodic maintenance,
blade cleaning
Environmental
sub-factors: visual impact, electromagnetic
interference, wild life and endangered species, noise
impact
negative impacts:
 avian/bat interaction with wind turbines
 visual impact of wind turbines
 wind turbine noise
 electromagnetic interference of wind turbine
avian/bat interaction w/ wind turbines
concerns: (a) effects on bird populations from death
caused either directly/indirectly by wind turbines (b)
violations of RA 9147 – Wildlife Resources Conservation
and Protection Act
Adverse Effects of Wind Energy to Birds
1. bird electrocution and collision mortality
2. changes to foraging habits
3. alteration of migration habits
4. reduction of available habitat
5. disturbance to breeding, nesting, and foraging
Beneficial Effects
1. protection of land from more dramatic habitat loss
2. provision of perch sites for roosting and hunting
3. provision and protection of nest sites on towers and
ancillary facilities
4. protection or expansion of prey base
5. protection of birds from indiscriminate harassment
Impacts on birds (categories):
1. direct (risk of collision)
2. indirect (other disturbance such as noise)
- disturbance of breeding birds
- disturbance of staging and foraging birds
- disturbing impact on migrating and flying birds
Measures for the minimization of wind turbine system
effects on birds
1. avoid migration corridors
2. fewer, larger turbines
3. avoid micro habitats
4. alternate tower designs
5. remove nests
6. prey base management
7. bury electrical lines
8. site-specific mitigation studies
9. conservation of alternative habitats
NREL – National Renewable Energy Laboratory
NWCC – National Wind Coordinating Committee
methods, measurements, and relationships
1. bird utilization counts – observer notes the
location, behavior, and number of birds
2. bird utilization rate – no. of birds using the area
during a given time or time and area
= no. of birds observed/time
= no of birds observed/time x area
3. bird mortality – no. of observed deaths/unit search
area
4. bird risk – measure of the likelihood that a bird
using the area in question will be killed
= mortality/utilization rate
5. rotor swept area metrics
rotor swept hr = (RS in m2)(hrs of operation)
RSH risk = (1/RSH)(bird risk)
visual impact on wind turbines – aesthetic issues
visibility – one of wind power’s perceived adverse
environmental factors, and a major concern of the
public
visual/aesthetic resources – natural and cultural
features of an environmental setting that are of visual
interest to the public
parameters:
1. viewshed alteration
2. viewshed consistency
3. viewshed degradation
4. conflict with public preference
5. guideline compatibility
wind turbine noise
noise – unwanted sound
Effects of noise:
1. subjective – annoyance, nuisance, dissatisfaction
2. interference w/ activities – speech, sleep, learning
3. physiological effects – anxiety, tinnitus, hearing loss
sound – generated by numerous mechanisms and
always associated with rapid smallscale pressure
fluctuations
velocity of sound: 340 m/s
low frequency sound – 10-100 Hz
infrasound – below 20 Hz, always present in the
environment
Characteristics of the human perception of low f and
infrasound:
1. perceived as a mixture of auditory and tactile
sensations
2. must be of higher magnitudes to be perceived (dB)
3. tonality cannot be perceived below 18 Hz
4. infra may not appear to be coming from a specific
location because of its wavelength
annoyance – primary human response to perceived
infrasound
Annoyance mechanisms of infrasound
1. feeling of static pressure
2. periodic masking effects in medium and higher f
3. rattling of doors and windows
Types of noise
1. tonal – noise at discrete frequencies, caused by
wind turbine components
2. broadband – continuous distribution of sound
pressure with f greater than 100 Hz, often caused
by interaction of blades with atmospheric
turbulence, swishing/whooshing sound
3. low-frequency – 20-100Hz, downwind turbines,
turbine blade encounters localized flow deficiencies
4. impulsive – short acoustic impulses/thumping
sounds that vary in amplitude with time
Causes of noise emitted from operating wind turbines
1. aerodynamic noise – originates from the flow of air
around the blades
2. mechanical noise – originates from relative motion
of mechanical components and dynamic response
that results; main sources: gearbox, generator, yaw
drives, cooling fans, aux equipment
Since emitted noise is associated with rotation of
mechanical and electrical equipment, it tends to be
tonal although it may have broadband component
Hub, rotor, and tower may acts as loudspeakers,
transmitting mech noise and radiating it.
air-borne – noise is directly propagated from the
component surface or interior into the air
structure-borne – transmitted along other
structural components before it is radiated into air
Noise assessment study
1. An estimation or survey of the existing ambient
background noise levels.
2. Prediction (or measurement) of noise levels from
the turbine(s) at and near the site.
3. Identification of a model for sound propagation
(sound modeling software will include a
propagation model).
4. An assessment of the acceptability of the
turbine(s) noise level via comparison of calculated
sound pressure levels from the wind turbine(s) with
background sound pressure levels at the location of
concern.
electromagnetic interference - electromagnetic
disturbance that interrupts, obstructs, or degrades
the effective performance of electronics or
electrical equipment
Wind turbines can potentially disrupt
electromagnetic signals used in
telecommunications, navigation and radar services.
The degree and nature of the interference will
depend on:
 The location of the wind turbine between
receiver and transmitter.
 Characteristics of the rotor blades.
 Characteristics of receiver.
 Signal frequency.
 The radio wave propagation in the local
atmosphere.
Interference can be produced by three elements of
a wind turbine: Tower, rotating blades and
generator.
Socio-political
Social factors that affect the selection of a site:
public acceptance, distance from residential area
and alternative land use options of candidate wind
farm site
regulatory boundaries
public acceptance
http://file.scirp.org/Html/2-6401031_3324.htm