Wind Energy

Dr. Akepati S. Reddy Thapar University Patiala (Punjab) 147 004 INDIA

Wind Energy
Winds from unequal heating of the earth and atmosphere (<3% of solar radiation energizes winds) Wind mills were used during Persian times and middle ages for grinding corn, pumping water and traveling in sailing ships Research on electricity from winds has been mainly in USA, Denmark (leading supplier of wind turbines), Sweden, and UK Potential - 5 times to global electricity consumption in 1994 Wind resources mostly limited to coasts and islands (terrain influences local wind patterns)
Potential is sufficient for meet electricity demands in Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Russia and UK For India the potential is 20,000MW (20% of electricity demand) revised to 45,000 MW (9000 MW is readily exploitable and possible for grid connectivity Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar islands, Orissa and Maharashtra (certain areas in Karntaka, AP, MP, West Bengal, UP and Rajasthan)

Sites with mean annual wind speeds >8-9m/sec. are considered as potential sites Potential is proportional to the cube of wind speed - seasonal variations in wind speeds also affect

Wind Energy: Generation Capacity and output

Africa North America South America (India) Asia Europe Middle East Oceania World total Installed capacity 1999 & 96 (in MW) 18 (8) 2,429 (1,845) 57 (7) 1,081 (816) 1,437 (850) 9,325 (3,325) 19 (10) 48 (5) 13,333 (6,050) Annual output during 1999 & 96 (in GWh) 31 (16) 4,771 (3,584) 110 (15) 1,900 (1,430) 2,760 (1,490) 17,176 (4,797) 34 (18) 72 (13) 24,954 (9,933)

No wind turbines in India before 1985, 32 MW installed capacity by 1990, 120 MW by 1994 (another 970 MW was waiting for approvals), 1175 MW by mid 2000 AD Tamil Nadu has 72% of the total installed capacity Center for wind energy technology in Tamil Nadu

Wind Energy: Wind Turbines

Two types: horizontal axis and vertical axis machines used Diameter range 0.5 m to 52 m and even larger - usually include step-up gear boxes Initial wind machines were small (50-100kW) now machines are of 1MW capacity (<10kW are small wind turbines) Installed in wind farms of 10 to 100 machines with intermachine distance of >4 machine diameters (10MW/km2) Can operate at 4 - 30 m/sec. speeds - has a designed rating of 250-500 W/m2 swept area capacity increase increases rating Average capacity factor of turbines is increasing (13% in 1987 and 24% in 1990) Larger wind machines are connected to grid, while smaller ones are used in the off grid applications Small machines may have battery backups and may be used for electrification of homes, villages, farms and small industries; water supply; and even for cathodic protection of oil pipelines

The prototype of Nordex 2.5MW turbine: commissioned in the spring of 2000 rotor diameter of the wind turbine is 80 m has a 80 m tower It is the world's largest commercial wind turbine.

Increases in Rating

Wind Energy: Cost

Wind energy development is stimulated by market stimulation programs such as financial support in the form of capital subsidies, premium payments for energy, etc. Incentives given in India:
Purchase of the power generated, permission for sale to third parties, and attractive buy-back rate zero sales tax and exemption from generation tax Capital subsidies and allotment of land on long lease Excise duty free import of essential components

Economics of wind energy depend on wind regime, price of the competing fuels and institutional factors Offshore wind energy costs are relatively high due (costly cable connections, expensive foundations and high O&M costs) Installation costs: $1000 - 1300/kW (fall by 25% between 19952000AD while energy output increase by 25%) Cost in developed countries is 4 to 9 cents/kWh - proving cheaper than nuclear and competing with coal and natural gas Cost is dropping (dropped by 60% during 80s in USA) mass production of turbines may further reduce the cost

Wind Energy Prices

Wind Energy: Impacts and Problems

High variability of wind power is a major drawback - integration of wind in electricity systems pose problems specially when contribution is >20% of the maximum electricity demand Occupy large areas actual area occupied by the machines is about 1% land can also be used for cropping & grazing Potential to kill birds (less than that by power transmission lines) Associated with transmission losses and supply variations Noise - mechanical noise by gear box and generator, and aerodynamic noise by rotor blades One MW machine on an average site can prevent release of 2000 tons of CO2 annually if replacing a coal fired boiler Wind machine during its life time (20 years) produces 80 times more energy than is used for its construction, maintenance, operation, dismantling and scrapping Annual availability factor for a high quality machine is 98% Wind energy is the least expensive of all the renewable energy sources Market growth for the machines has been 40% since 1993, and it may be 20% for the next 10 years