Wind Energy

L. D. Danny Harvey
harvey@geog.utoronto.ca
 Wind Turbine
A wind turbine is a rotating
machine which converts
the kinetic energy in wind
into mechanical energy. If
the mechanical energy is
used directly by machinery,
such as a pump or
grinding stones, the
machine is usually called a
windmill. If the mechanical
energy is then converted to
electricity, the machine is
called a wind generator,
wind turbine, wind power
unit (WPU), wind energy
converter (WEC), or aero
generator.
Wind Flow Throw Wing
Figure 3.2a Breakdown of installed capacity
at the end of 2009
Figure 3.2b Capacity (MW) installed in 2009
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 Components of a Wind Turbine

Foundation
Tower
Rotor
Nacelle
Gearbox (usually)
High speed shaft
Generator
Control system, cooling unit, anemometer
Yaw mechanism
 Wind Turbine Classification
Wind turbines can be
separated into two
types based by the
axis in which the
turbine rotates.

Turbines that rotate

around a Horizontal
axis are more
common.

Vertical-axis turbines
are less frequently
used.
Types of Wind Turbine
 Turbine characteristics

Rotor diameter up to 120 m

Hub height up to 120 m
Peak electrical power output up to 5 MW now,
up to 10 MW foreseen
Cut-in wind speed (typically 3-4 m/s)
Rated wind speed (typically 15 m/s)
Cut-out wind speed (typically 25 m/s)
Figure 3.4 Progression of rotor sizes over time
 Wind turbine aerodynamics

Lift, not a pushing force, is what makes the rotor

rotate
Thus, the aerodynamics of a wind turbine have
much in common with the aerodynamics of an
airplane wing
 Efficiency of a wind turbine: this is the ratio of the
electrical power produced (W) to the power of the
wind passing through the area swept by the rotor
blades. It is the product of three factors:

Aerodynamic efficiency (ratio of mechanical power of

the rotor to wind power)
Mechanical efficiency (ratio of mechanical power of the
generator axis to the mechanical power of the rotor axis)
Electrical efficiency (ratio of electrical power fed into the
grid to the mechanical power of the generator axis)
 The maximum possible aerodynamic efficiency,
as given by Betz Law, is 59.3%, and occurs if
the turbine slows the wind down to 2/3 of its
original speed. The aerodynamic efficiency of a
real turbine varies with wind speed, having a
typical peak value of 44% and a typical value
averaged over all wind speeds of 25%
A typical mechanical efficiency is 96-99%
A typical electrical efficiency is 96-97%
Multiply the efficiencies (expressed as a fraction)
to get the overall efficiency
Figure 3.10: Variation of power output and efficiency
with wind speed for the Nordex N90-2.3 turbine
 Turbine generators

Synchronous

Asynchronous (induction)

Variable speed
 Variable Speed Generators

Becoming more common

Rotation rate of rotor varies with wind speed
from 8 rpm to 16 rpm
Results in less stress on the structure and more
uniform variation in power output
Requires more complex electronics and gearbox
to always produce electricity at the fixed grid
frequency
 Characteristics of wind

Variation of mean wind speed with height

Variation of turbulence intensity with height
Weibull probability distribution function for wind
speed
Figure 3.15 Weibull wind speed distribution with c=5
m/s and k=1.6
 Because wind power varies non-
linearly with wind speed
The mean (average) wind power for a given
mean wind speed depends on the shape of the
probability distribution on either side of the mean
wind speed
The mean wind power (based on wind power
computed at many different wind speeds and
then weighted by the probabilities) is about twice
the wind power computed once at the mean
wind speed
 Windfarms

Clustering of many wind turbines in a regular

array in a region of good winds
Turbines are typically spaced 5-9 rotor
diameters apart in the along-wind direction, and
3-5 rotor diameters apart in the cross-wind
direction
Clustering reduces costs (economies of scale for
installation), and takes better advantage of the
best wind sites
 Impact of windfarms on weather
and climate
Large wind farms (involving hundreds of wind
turbines at the closest permitted spacing (i.e.,
separated by ~ 7 rotor diameters) would have a
noticeable effect on regional winds and hence
on vertical fluxes of heat and moisture in the
atmosphere, thereby changing the surface air
temperature in the region of the wind farm and
downstream from the wind farm
Interference with the winds might reduce the
overall power output from a wind farm by up to
30% compared to the case where the winds are
assumed to be unaffected by the wind farm
 Offshore wind farms
Wind turbines mounted on the seabed in water
up to 50 m deep
Can double or triple the cost of the wind turbine
+ connections to the grid, but there can easily be
twice the electricity production
Net result electricity for about the same to 50%
higher price but with twice the capacity factor
(i.e., 40-50% instead of 20-25%)
Turbines especially designed for offshore
conditions have been built
Figure 3.25 Middelgrunden wind farm, next to Copenhagen

Source: Danny Harvey

 Floating wind turbines

Under development using technology

transferred from the North Sea offshore oil
industry (which is winding down)
One concept (WindSea) involves a triangular-
shaped floating platform with a 3.2MW turbine at
each corner on an outward-inclined tower
One rotor would be on an airfoil-shaper tower
that would act like the tail of an airplane, serving
to continuously and automatically orient all three
rotors perpendicular to the wind
 Wind power in Pakistan
Pakistan is building wind power plants Gharo, Keti Bandar and Bin Qasim in
Sindh. The government of Pakistan decided to develop wind power energy
sources due to problems supplying energy to the southern coastal regions of
Sindh and Baluchistan, the project was undertaken with assistance from the
government of China. Five wind turbines in Jhimpir, 70km from Karachi are being
developed by Zorlu Energy Pakistan.

Gharo Wind Power Plant

Gharo Wind Power Plant is planned to be built in the persistently wind-swept
corridor of Gharo, Sindh, Pakistan. This will be one of the first wind power project
in Pakistan.
The turbine manufacturer Fuhrlnder of Germany and Access Energy Inc of United
States have signed an agreement with Alternative Energy Development Board
(AEDB) of Pakistan, to manufacture wind turbines in Pakistan to help establish
wind power projects. US-based Access Energy would finance the project to set up
a 50 MW wind power plant along the general wind corridor in Gharo, while the
German Company, Fuhrlnder, would transfer the technology to Pakistan for
manufacturing of wind turbines along with its accessories to set up a minimum of
1000 MW power plants. Halcrow Pakistan has compiled the Environmental Impact
Assessment for this project.
In Karachi Wind mill Can be built at sea areas