WIND ENERGY AND DESIGN
ASPECTS
By
Dr. Sridhar. S
Associate Professor
Department of EEE, MSRIT
Unit-1
• Wind resources Assessment: Introduction, estimation of power
production, evaluation of sites, wind data for prospective sites, feasibility
study, micro- siting of wind power plants, visual impact, pitfalls. (Chp.- 20,
T1)
• Components of wind power plants: rotor, Nacelle, Towers, Electric
Substation, Tower foundations. (Chp.-7, T1)
• Types of wind power plants: Types of axis, stand – alone and grid
connected WPPs, upwind and downwind WPPs, blade count, power ratings
of WPPs, aerodynamic power regulation method, types of electrical
generators in WPPs, constant speed and variable speed WPPs, geared,
direct drive and semi-geared/ hybrid WPPs, WPP with single gearbox and
multiple generators. (Chp.-6, T1)
Unit-2
• Specifications of wind power plants: General data, rotor, hub, lightning
protection, pitching system, breaking system, drive train, electrical
generator, electrical system, electronic controller, yaw system, nacelle,
tower, specific power of WPP, standards and specifications. (Chp.-10, T1)
• Choice of wind turbines: Wind turbines options, size of wind turbines,
types of wind turbines, wind turbines tailored to wind climate, nominal
power vs rotor diameter, IEC wind classes, configuration, grid compatibility,
suppliers. (Chp.-23, T1)
• Working of wind power plants: physical principle of modern wind turbine,
wind turbine rotor blade characteristics, hub and main shaft functions,
working of geared WPP, working principle of direct drive WPP, semi-
geared/ hybrid WPP working principle, breaking of WPP, yawing, cable
untwisting, electric substation and grid. (Chp.-8, T1)
Unit-3
• Grid integration of wind power plants: Introduction, functions of an
electric power system, functional requirements of WPPs in an electric
grid, embedded generation, types of WPP and wind farm grid
connections, integration issues, operational issues, siting WPPs for
effective grid integration, grid integration issues in India, challenges
for grid integration, wind power integration standards, supergrid
strategy. (Chp.-19, T1)
• Wind power and environment: Introduction, impact of wind power
on environment, benefit of wind power for environment, land
demand, local impacts, visual impact on the landscape. (Chp.-26, T1)
Unit-4
• Wind power policy: Introduction, permission inquiry, conflicting
interests, permission process, wind power politics, wind power on the
power market, support schemes for renewable energy, evaluation,
independent power producers, competition on equal terms, energy
subsidies, policy recommendations. (Chp.-25, T1)
• Wind power planning: Introduction, targets for wind power
development, areas of national interest, positive planning, regional
and municipal planning, planning tools, secondary generation
planning, planning methods. (Chp.-27, T1)
Unit-5
• Operation and maintenance issues of wind power plants:
Introduction, availability of WPPs, general WPP maintenance,
unscheduled maintenance, unscheduled maintenance levels,
scheduled maintenance, tower maintenance, SCADA for WPP
applications, condition monitoring systems, WPP maintenance costs,
warranty and insurance. (Chp.-29, T1)
Text Books
1. Joshua Earnest, Tore Wizelius “Wind Power Plants and Project
Development”, PHI Learning Private Limited, 2011.
2. G. D. Rai, “Non-Conventional Energy Sources”, Khanna Publications.
Unit -1
What is wind?
• The motion of air results in wind.
• Air in motion arises due to pressure gradient.
• Solar radiation heats the air near the equator. This light warm air
(lower density) rises towards the atmosphere, while heavier cool
air (Higher density) descends towards the earths surface.
• Therefore, cooler air moves from the North Pole toward the
Equator and warms up on its way, while already warm air rises
toward the North Pole and gets cooler and heavier, until it starts
sinking back down toward the poles.
Wind on the surface of the earth
• The circulation of air in the atmosphere is caused by the non-
uniform heating of the earth’s surface.
• The sun heats up the earth’s surface and hence, the air close to it
rises up.
• Since air has mass (the weight of air is a little more than one
kilogram per cubic metre), the wind contains kinetic energy.
• Wind power plants (WPPs) utilize this energy in the wind to
produce electrical energy.
• The topography of the earth’s
surface upto an altitude of 100
m affects the flow of air in
various ways.
• When viewed from the ground,
the wind movement in the
northern hemisphere is
deflected to the right while in
the southern hemisphere, it is
deflected to the left.
• This apparent bending force is
known as the Coriolis force
• Gravity pulls the air towards the earth’s
surface.
• Close to the earth, the wind is influenced by
friction against the surface.
• With increasing height from the surface of the
earth, this friction gradually decreases and at
a specific height, it is negligible.
• The geostrophic wind is a special case, in
which the rising air reaches a condition of
balance of two forces (pressure gradient force
and Coriolis force) such that the wind flow
becomes parallel to an isobar. Courtesy J. Earnest
• This undisturbed wind is called the global
wind or geostrophic wind.
Introduction cont.
• For wind power extraction, winds up to 150 m to 200 m above ground (or sea)
are of interest.
• WPPs are becoming taller and taller but they will always stay within the so called
friction layer of the atmosphere.
• Wind shear is the increase in wind speed at greater heights above the ground.
• For most of the open spaces, wind speed increases to 12% each time the height is
doubled. Within these heights, the wind is always influenced by local conditions;
the terrain at the actual site in an area with approximately 20 km radius around
the site.
• Variation in land use around a WPP site also affects the wind flow at the WPP
site.
Wind Gradient
WIND SHEAR Wind Gradient cont.
• The force of friction acts in the direction opposite to the wind
movement.
• This change of wind speed and wind direction is called wind shear
which is defined as the change in horizontal wind speed with the
change in height.
• The wind blows more strongly higher above the ground than closer to
it because of the friction of the earth’s surface.
Wind Profiling
• The wind shear exponent (or power law index) a is to be determined
for each site, as its magnitude is influenced by the site specific
characteristics. It is given by:
The value of wind shear a is usually 0.143 for a well mixed
atmosphere over flat open terrain
Wind Profiling cont.
Example 1: At a particular site, the wind speed is 6.1 m/s at 60 m height
above ground level (agl) and at 80 m height, the wind speed is 6.5 m/s.
Determine the power law index and extrapolate the wind speed at 100
m height at that particular site.
Example 2: From an airport wind data, the average wind speed for a
particular month reported is 4 m/s at height of 10 m. If a WPP with a
hub height of 80 m is to be installed at that place, determine the wind
speed at that height.
Sol.
Source
http://inwea.org/wind-map
Estimation of Power Production
1. The power curve of the WPP.
2. The frequency distribution of the wind speed at hub height at the
site.
Power Curve
• It shows how much power the turbine will produce at different wind
speed.
50m Height
Class
• The power curves of Wind speed (m/sec) Wind power (w/sq.m)
WPPs are valid only 1 <5.6 <200
under specified 2 5.6- 6.4 200- 300
3 6.4- 7.0 300- 400
conditions, in an open
4 7.0- 7.5 400- 500
landscape. 5 7.5- 8.0 500- 600
6 8.0- 8.8 600- 800
7 8.8- 11.9 800- 2000
Frequency Distribution (FD)
• It is not sufficient to know the annual average wind speed.
• It is also necessary to know the frequency distribution of wind
speeds, i.e how many hours a year the wind speed will be
1,2,3,4, …30 m/sec.
• FD = wind speed x no. of hrs the wind speed occurs
Wind Data for Prospective Sites
• Historical meteorological data.
• On-site measurement data.
• Data from meteorological modelling.
Sources of Error
• Error in the data measurement unit.
• Error in the roughness classification.
• Error in the power curve of the turbine.
Site Selection Consideration
1. High annual average wind 6. Terrain and its aerodynamic.
speed. 7. Local Ecology.
2. Availability of anemometry 8. Distance to roads or railways.
data.
9. Nearness of site to local
3. Availability of wind V(t) curve centre/ users.
at the proposed site.
10. Nature of ground.
4. Wind structure at the
proposed site. 11. Favourable land cost.
5. Altitude of the proposed site.
Characteristics of good wind power site.
1. The site should have high annual wind speed.
2. There should not be tall obstructions for a radius of 3Km.
3. An open plain or an open shore line may be a good location.
4. The top of a smooth, well rounded hill with gentle slopes lying on a
flat plain or located on an island in a lake or sea is a good site.
5. A mountain gap which produces to wind funnelling is good.
Status of Wind Monitoring Stations (2009-2010)
Status of Wind Monitoring Stations cont.
State-wise Power Generation
Sl. No. State Wind Potential at 100m (GW) Wind Potential at 120m (GW)
1 Gujarat 84.43 142.56
2 Rajasthan 18.77 127.75
3 Maharashtra 45.39 98.21
4 Tamil Nadu 33.79 68.75
5 Madhya Pradesh 10.48 15.40
6 Karnataka 55.85 124.15
7 Andhra Pradesh 44.22 74.90
Total of 7 states 292.97 651.72
8 Other 9.28 43.78
Grand total 302.25 695.5
WPP has following 3major parts
1.Rotor
2.Nacelle
3.Tower
Parts of Wind Turbine
Rotor Nacelle Tower
Rotor blades Gearbox Tubular steel tower
Rotor hub Bearings, couplings and dampers Lattice steel tower
Nose cone High- speed shaft Tubular ferro-concrete tower
Lightning protection Electrical generator Hybrid tower
Tip brake system Disc break Guyed tubular tower
Pitching system Hydraulic system Electrical substation
Cooling system Tower based electronic
controller
Sensors, display units, recorders Electric power panel
and alarams
Nacelle electronic controller Transformers
Hoist Electric switchyard
Wind sensor assembly Tower & foundation
Yaw system
Wind Blade
Main Shaft
Breaking system
Nacelle Electric Hoist
Tubular Tower
Lattice Tower
Lift in Tubular Tower
Electrical Sub-station
Gearbox
Based on Gear
Types Based on location
of Based on axis
WPP Based on blade count
Based on wind direction
Based on connection
Based on power rating
Based on aerodynamic power regulation methods
Based on the generator used
Based on speed
Based on gear
• Geared WPP
• Direct drive WPP
• Semi-geared/ Hybrid WPP
Geared WPP
Direct Drive WPP
Based on location
Off-shore wind turbine On-shore wind turbine
Based on axis
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine cont.
• Omnidirectional (operates in all
wind direction).
• Light weight tower
• Generator on ground, low
maintenance cost.
• Less material to capture the
same amount of wind
compared to HAWT.
Disadvantages of VAWT cont.
• The blades are closer to the ground, in which the wind speeds are low
leading to low generation of electricity.
• They do not take the advantage of higher wind speeds at higher
elevations above the ground as compared with HAWT.
• Poor self starting capabilities due to heavy weights.
• Requires the rotor to be completely removed to replace the bearing.
• Requires support at the top of the rotor.
• Overall poor performance and reliability.
HAWT
Based on blade count
• One blade WPPs
• Two blade WPPs
• Three blade WPPs
• Multi-bladed windmill
Based on wind direction
Rotor Solidity
• Rotor solidity
increases with
increase in the
number of rotor.
Based on connection
Stand-alone system
Based on Power rating
Turbine Power Rating
Micro to household 1- 10 KW
Small scale wind turbine 10- 30 KW
Medium scale WPPs 30- 300 KW
Large scale WPPs 300 KW- 5 MW
Based on aerodynamic power regulation
• Stall regulated WPPs
• Pitch regulated WPPs
• Active stall regulated WPPs
Based on Type of Generators
Type Generator used
Type - A Squirrel Cage Induction Generator (SCIG)
Type- B Wound Rotor Induction Generator (WRIG)
Type- C Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG)
Type- D Wound Rotor Synchronous Generator (WRSG)
Type- D Permeant Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG)
Based on Speed
• Constant speed WPP
• Variable speed WPP
END of UNIT-1
