23-Mar-19

Wind Energy
• It is indirect form of solar energy (???)
• It is K.E. associated with movement of large masses of air
• These motion results from uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, creating
Wind Power – Features, temp., density and pressure difference
• Unlike solar radiation, can be available throughout the day
Technicalities and status • It is clean, cheap and eco-friendly renewable energy source
• But it is dispersed, erratic and location specific
• It is harnessed as mechanical energy with the help of wind turbine
• It can be used as such to operate farm appliance and water pumping
• Very slow wind is useless. On the other hand, very strong stormy winds cannot be
utilized due to safety of turbine
• Moderate to high speeds (5-20 m/sec) are considerably favorable
• It is fastest growing energy source among all renewables

Factors leading to Accelerated Development Cumulative RE installed capacity (till 31 March 2018)

• Availability of high strength fibre composites for constructing large low cost rotor
blades Resource Installed Capacity (MW)

• Falling prices of power electronics Wind Power 34046

Small Hydro 4486

• Variable speed operation of electrical generators to capture maximum energy
Bio Power 8700
• Improved plant operation, pushing availability up to 90%
Solar Power 21651
• Economy of scale

• Accumulated field experience

• Short energy pay back period

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Wind Power across the Globe Year-wise cumulative wind power installed capacity in India (MW)
Up to 2002 1666
2002-03 1908
Country Installed Capacity (GW) 2003-04 2523

China 145 2004-05 3635

2005-06 5351
USA 75 2006-07 7093

Germany 44 2007-08 8756

2008-09 10241
India 34 2009-10 11806

Spain 23 2010-11 14155

2011-12 17352
United Kingdom 13 2012-13 19052
Canada 11 2013-14 21132
2014-15 23444
France 10 2015-16 26777
2016-17 32280

State-wise Wind Power Capacity (till 31 March 2017) Features of Wind Energy
State Installed Capacity (MW)
• Renewable and free
Andhra Pradesh 3618

Gujarat 5340
• Enormous potential (1012 MW for entire planet)

Karnataka 3751 • Present installed capacity more than 500 GW

Kerala 51
• Non-polluting
Madhya Pradesh 2498

Maharashtra 4771
• Highly variable

Rajasthan 4281 • Small footprints

Tamilnadu 7861
• Less capacity credit (20-30%) as compared to conventional power plants
Telangana 101

Others 4 • Shorter (1 year) energy pay back period

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Applications of of Wind Energy Wind Turbine Siting

A. Applications requiring mechanical power • No tall obstruction in the direction of incoming wind
 wind pumps
 space heating • A wide and open view
 sea transport
• Top of smooth well rounded hill with gentle slope

B. As Off-grid electric power • An island in a lake or sea

Low power (up to 1kW) for battery charging, running home appliances, water
heating • A narrow mountain gap through which wind is channeled
Medium power (50 kW) for navigation signals and remote communication • Site reasonably close to power grid
Intermediate power (100-250 kW) to supply power to isolated population,
commercial refrigeration and other small industries • Soil conditions such that heavy construction and roads are possible

• Experience of existing wind turbines to assess local wind conditions

C. As Grid connected electric power source

Optimum Tip Speed Ratio Optimum Tip Speed Ratio

If the tip speed ratio is too low (rotor tip is moving relatively slow as compared to
wind) some of the wind travels through the rotor swept area without interacting with No. of Optimum Rotor Wind speed Revolution
the blades blades TSR Radius (m) (m/sec) (rpm)

whereas
2 6.28 40 15 22.5
If the tip speed ratio is too high, the turbine offers too much resistance to the wind so
that some of the wind goes around it. In other words, rotor tip is moving rather fast 3 4.18 40 15 15.0
and before the wind passes by, the tip again falls in an area from where the energy has
already been extracted 4 3.14 40 15 11.3

Hence an optimal value of TSR

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Solidity Classification of Wind Turbines

The term ‘solidity’ of a wind turbine/rotor describes the fraction of the swept area of • On the basis of Axis of Rotation
the rotor that is solid Horizontal axis – axial flow type
Vertical Axis – cross flow type
Total Blade Area
Solidity 
Total Swept Area
• On the basis of Predominant Type of Force
Lift type
Wind turbines with larger number of blades have highly solid swept areas and are
Drag type
referred to as ‘High Solidity’ wind turbines

Wind turbines with smaller number of narrow blades are referred to as ‘Low-
Solidity’ wind turbines

Classification of Wind Turbines Components of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

• The Rotor: consisting of the blades and the supporting hub
• The Transmission System and Generator (or drive train) which includes the rotating
parts of the wind turbine (excluding the rotor)

It usually consists of the shafts, gearbox, coupling, a mechanical brake, and the
generator
• The Nacelle and mainframe, including wind turbine housing, bedplate and the yaw
system

The Nacelle can rotate yaw according to the wind direction which is mounted on the
tower
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Components of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (continued..) A Typical Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

• The tower and the foundation

• The machine controls

• The balance of the electrical system, including cables, switchgear, transformers, and
electronic power converters

Common HAWT Construction

Rotor
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Rotors Generator
• Rotor consists of the hub and blades of the wind turbine
• All grid connected wind turbines drive three phase alternating current (AC)
generators to convert mechanical to electrical power
• It is considered to be the most important component of the wind turbine form both a • Two main types of generators used are
performance and overall cost standpoint
a)Synchronous generators or Alternators
These operate at the same frequency as that of the network
• Turbines for wind farm applications typically have two or three blades and a tip
speed of 50 to 70 m/s
b)Asynchronous generators or Induction Generators
• With tip speeds in the range of 50 to 70 m/s, a three blade rotor usually gives the These operate at slightly higher frequency than the network
best efficiency, though 2-blade rotors are only 2-3% less efficient

Yaw System
• A Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine has a yaw system that turns the nacelle according
to the actual wind direction

• It uses a rotary actuator engaging on a gear ring at the top of the tower

• A slow closed loop control system is used to control the yaw drives

• A wind vane, usually mounted on the top of the nacelle, senses the relative wind
direction and the wind turbine controller then operate the yaw drives
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Tower Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

• The most common type of tower are the lattice or tubular types constructed from
steel or concrete
• Smaller, cheaper towers may be supported by guy wires
• Most of the modern medium-sized and large wind turbines have tubular towers,
which allow access from inside the tower to the nacelle during bad weather
conditions
• The nacelle is placed on top of the tower and the yaw system allows the nacelle to
turn into the wind direction
• The tower has to be mounted to a strong foundation in the ground

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Vertical Axis Wind Turbine – Main Components
• Can accept wind from any direction, eliminating the need of yaw control Tower
• Hollow vertical rotor shaft that rotates freely between top and bottom bearings
• Gearbox, generator etc. are located at the ground thus eliminating heavy nacelle at • Upper part of tower is supported by guy ropes
the top of the tower
Blades
• Inspection and maintenance is easier • It has 2 -3 curved blades shaped like an eggbeater
• As the rotor blades of a VAWT turn, they sweep a three dimensional surface as
• Overall cost is less distinct from the single circular plane swept by the blades of a horizontal axis wind
turbine
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Different designs of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Speed Control Strategies for Wind Turbine
• No speed control at all. i.e. various components are designed to withstand extreme
speed under gusty conditions

• Yaw and tilt control, in which rotor axis is shifted out of wind direction

• Pitch control, in which pitch of the rotor blades is controlled to regulate the speed

• Stall control, in which blades are shifted to a position such that they stall when wind
speed exceeds the safe limit

Wind Turbine operation Wind Turbine operation

• A wind turbine is often characterized in terms of three values of wind speeds:
a)Cut-in Wind Speed : The minimum value of wind speed at which the wind turbine
start producing electricity

b)Rated Wind Speed : The wind speed at which the wind turbine produces its rated
output

Even with wind speeds higher than the rated speed the output remains at rated output

c)Cut-out Wind Speed : the wind speed at which the rotor furls down and stops
functioning ( to safeguard the wind turbine from potential damage)
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Specifications of a Wind Turbine in UK Wind Turbine Sizing

• Rated Capacity : 1.5 MW

• Make: Enercon 66

• Rotor Diameter : 66 m

• Hub Height : 65 m

• Cut in speed : 2.5 m/s

• Rated wind speed : 13 m/s

• Annual electricity output = 3000 MWh per year

Wind Turbine Sizing

Environmental Aspects of Wind Turbines

• Indirect energy use and emissions

• Impact on birds
• Noise
a) mechanical noise and b) aerodynamic noise
• Visual impact
• Telecommunication interference (badly affect quality of radio and TV signals)
• Evapo-transpiration (affects crop yield)
• Effect on Eco-systems
• Safety
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Environmental Aspects of Wind Turbines