Unit - IV

Wind Energy
Generation Systems - 2
Power in the
WIND
Kinetic Energy in the
Wind
Kinetic Energy = Work = mV
2

Where:
m= mass of moving object
V = velocity of moving object

What is the mass of moving air?

= density () x volume (Area x distance)
= x A x d
= (kg/m
3
) (m
2
) (m)
= kg
V
A
d
Power = Work / t
= Kinetic Energy / t
= mV
2
/ t
= (Ad)V
2
/t
= AV
2
(d/t)
= AV
3

d/t = V
Swept Area = A = R
2
Area of the circle swept by
the rotor.

R
d = Displacement
Parameters
Energy in wind = A v
3

Height
above
Ground
Power law
Swept Area
Wind Turbine Power
Power from a Wind Turbine Rotor = C
p
AV
3

C
p
is called the power coefficient.
C
p
is the percentage of power in the wind
that is converted into mechanical energy.

What is the maximum amount of energy that
can be extracted from the wind?

5926 .
27
16
max ,

p
C
Betz Limit
= 59.3 %
Tip-Speed Ratio
Tip-speed ratio is the ratio of the
speed of the rotating blade tip to the
speed of the free stream wind.
There is an optimum angle of attack
which creates the highest lift to drag
ratio.
Because angle of attack is dependant
on wind speed, there is an optimum
tip-speed ratio

R
V
TSR, =
Where,
= rotational speed in radians /sec
R = Rotor Radius
V = Wind Free Stream Velocity
R
R
Power Coefficient varies with Tip Speed Ratio
Characterized by Cp vs Tip Speed Ratio Curve
Maximum Possible Power Coefficient
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
Cp
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Tip Speed Ratio
Betz - Without Wake Rotation
With Wake Rotation
Betz Limit
All the energy in the wind
cannot be captured by
rotor as the air would be
completely still behind
rotor and not allow more
wind to pass through.
Theoretical limit of rotor
efficiency is 59%
Most modern wind
turbines are having rotor
efficiency in the range of
35 45%
The Betz equation is
derived from several laws
including Conservation of
Momentum, Conservation
of Mass and Bernoullis
principle.
Airfoil Nomenclature
wind turbines use the same aerodynamic principals as aircraft

= angle of attack i.e., angle between the chord line
and the direction of wind, V
V = wind speed
V

Lift & Drag Forces
The Lift Force is
perpendicular to the
direction of motion. We
want to make this force
MAXIMUM.



The Drag Force is
parallel to the direction
of motion. We want to
make this force minimum.
= low
= medium
<10 degrees
= High
Stall!!
Airfoil Shape
Just like the wings of an airplane,
wind turbine blades use the
airfoil shape to create lift and
maximize efficiency.
The Bernoulli Effect
Twist & Taper
Speed through the air of a
point on the blade changes
with distance from hub
Therefore, tip speed ratio
varies as well
To optimize angle of attack
all along blade, it must twist
from root to tip
Fast
Faster
Fastest
Airfoil in stall (with flow separation)
Stall arises due to separation of flow from airfoil
Stall results in decreasing lift coefficient with
increasing angle of attack
Stall behavior complicated due to blade rotation
Energy Production Terms
Rated Power :
Maximum power the
generator can produce.
Cut-in wind speed
where energy
production begins
Cut-out wind speed
where energy
production ends.

Typical Power Curve
Cut-in: 3-4 m/s Rated: 12-25 m/s Cut-out: 25 m/s
Yaw control
Most WEGs Use forced Yaw
Cable Twist Counter
Gradual curves
Sharp trailing edge
Round leading edge
Low thickness to
chord ratio
Smooth surfaces
Making Good Airfoils

Good
Not so good
Considerations for Optimum Blade
Optimum blade will have low solidity (10%) and tip speed
ratio, , about 5-7 (match speed to generator)
High means lower pitch angle (blade tip is flat to the
plane of rotation).
Lower means higher pitch angle (feathered).
Pitch angles should be equal for all blades.
Optimum blade has large chord and large twist near hub
and gets thinner near the tip.
Optimum blade is only "optimum" for one tip speed ratio.
The optimum blade will have smooth streamlined airfoils.
MODEL: GE 3.6 sl

Rated capacity: 3.600 kW
Cut-in wind speed: 3.5 m/s
Cut-out wind speed: 27 m/s
Rated wind speed: 14 m/s
Wind Class - IEC: 111m
Rotor diameter: 9677 m
2

Swept area: 8.5 15.3 U/min
Hub height: Site specific
Power Control: Active blade pitch
control
Heat
storage
Cold
storage
Hydro
Compressed
air
Hydrogen
Large-scale
Battery
Flywheel
Natural
gas
Electric
Vehicles
Curtailment
Too much wind
Not enough wind OR
too much wind
Present
Fallback option
Near Term
Longer Term
Energy Storage comes in many
forms
Why
offshore ?
Why offshore?
V80-2.0 MW, North Hoyle, UK
Advantages
Better wind resources
Less turbulence/low roughness more steady
production
Layout flexibility
Less resistance from local population
No physical limits for size and weight
Space
Transportation

Disadvantages
More complex site conditions
Geology
Sand waves
Sea, Waves and currents
Saline environment
Installation and maintenance are more complicated
and expensive




Wind Energy 23
Burning questions
What are your most burning questions
about wind energy?

Break into small groups and come up with
two biggest questions per group.
Wind Energy 24
Predicted Questions
Whats the real story with bird kills?
What about bats?
What happens to my electricity when the
wind doesnt blow?
How noisy are wind turbines?
Do wind turbines interfere with electrical
power quality or TV and radio
transmissions?
Wind Energy 25
Human-related bird kills
Wind turbines
Communication
towers
Pesticides
Vehicles
High-tension lines
Other
Cats
Buildings/windows
http://www.awea.org/faq/wwt_environment.html#Bird%20and%20bat%20kills%20and%20other%20effects
Wind Energy 26
Bat Kills
Bat fatality at wind turbines has been documented
worldwide in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany,
Spain, and Sweden.
Bat fatalities have been reported at nearly all wind
energy facilities in the U.S.
annual mortality estimated at <2 to nearly 50 bats/turbine/year
Bat mortality appears to be
highest in or near forests and
lowest in open grassland or
farmland away from forests.
Bats rarely strike fixed objects.

Source: Bat Conservation International
(http://www.batcon.org/home/index.asp?idPage=55&idSubPage=32)
Wind Energy 27
When the wind doesnt blow
Do fossil-fired generating units have to be kept running on a
standby basis in case the wind dies down?






No. Wind speeds rise and fall gradually and the system operator has
time to move other plants on and off line as needed.

A 100-MW wind plant requires about 2 MW of conventional capacity
to compensate for changes in wind.

Wind can reliably provide 20% or more of our electricity.
http://www.awea.org/faq/wwt_environment.html#Bird%20and%20bat%20kills%20and%20other%20effects
Wind Energy 28
Lifetime environmental impact
Manufacturing wind turbines and building
wind plants does not create large
emissions of carbon dioxide.
When these operations are included, wind
energy's CO
2
emissions are quite small:
about 1% of coal, or
about 2% of natural gas
(per unit of electricity
generated).
http://www.awea.org/faq/wwt_environment.html#Bird%20and%20bat%20kills%20and%20other%20effects
Wind Energy 29
Noise
Noise used to be a very
serious problem for the wind
energy industry.
annoying from as much as a
mile away
Aerodynamics and
soundproofing have been
improved significantly.
Wind turbines operate when
the wind is blowing, which
tends to be louder than turbine
noise.
A modern operating wind farm
at a distance of 750 to 1,000
feet is no noisier than a kitchen
refrigerator or a moderately
quiet room.
http://www.awea.org/pubs/factsheets/WE_Noise.pdf
Wind Energy 30
Shadow flicker
A wind turbine's moving blades can cast a
moving shadow on a nearby residence,
depending on the time of the year and time of
day.
Normally, it should not be a problem in the U.S.,
because at U.S. latitudes (except in Alaska) the
sun's angle is not very low in the sky.
http://www.awea.org/faq/wwt_environment.html#Bird%20and%20bat%20kills%20and%20other%20effects
Wind Energy 31
Electrical power quality
Generally not a concern for low penetration
Weak grids and grid reinforcement
Problems may occur if a turbine is connected to a
weak electrical grid, which can be reinforced.
Power quality problems caused by wind farms are
the exact mirror-image of connecting a large
electricity user, (e.g. a factory with large electrical
motors) to the grid.

Electrical flicker
Flicker = short lived voltage variations in the
electrical grid which may cause light bulbs to flicker.
Flicker may occur if a wind turbine is connected to a
weak grid.
Flicker can be reduced with proper turbine design.
http://www.windpower.org/en/tour/grid/rein.htm
Wind Energy 32
TV and radio reception
Modern small (residential) wind turbines will
not interfere with communication signals.
The materials used to make such machines are
non-metallic (composites, plastic, wood).
Small turbines are too small to create
electromagnetic interference (EMI) by "chopping
up" a signal.

Large wind turbines can interfere with radio
or TV signals if a turbine is in the "line of
sight" between a receiver and the signal
source. Alleviate the problem by:
improving the receiver's antenna
installing relays to transmit the signal around the
wind farm
http://www.awea.org/faq/wwt_environment.html#Bird%20and%20bat%20kills%20and%20other%20effects