Mechanical EngineeringME217 Energy, Environment & Society

ME 217: Energy, Environment & Society Fall 2017

Wind power

photo by Michael "Mike" L. Baird bairdphotos.com

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Wind power in history

Persia Greece

NetherlandsBritain

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Modern wind turbines

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Basic aerodynamics

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Lift vs. drag

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Near hub vs. near tip

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Inside a nacelle

generator

windspeed meters

gearbox

brake

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At the base

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Inside the tower

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How much power is in the wind?

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Example

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Turbine efficiency – the Betz limit

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Turbine performance

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Global atmospheric circulation

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Local wind patterns

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Effect of altitude

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Ground friction

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Example

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Land or sea?

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Wind resource assessment

sodar

direct measurement

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How do we make money from wind?

Characterize wind potential at the site

“spec out” the turbines

Secure a power purchase agreement

Secure all necessary permits and transmission access

Finance the project

Build the plant

Operate and maintain the plant

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Time variability of wind speed

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How to characterize wind speed?

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Weibull distributions

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Our data

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Histogram for our data

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The fitted Weibull distribution

k = 2.30783λ = 9.0444

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Now what?

136 x 1.5 MW General Electric wind turbines

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Turbine power curve

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GE 1.5 MW power curve

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How do we calculate revenue?

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Our revenue table

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What goes into the cost of energy

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Wind farm – following terrain

High Lonesome wind farm, New Mexico

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Wind farm – flat land

Wind farm in West Texas

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Tornado!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KdVCxY9o4s&feature=youtu.be&t=2m21sOn November 7, 2011, the Basehunters chase team of Isaac Pato, Kevin Rolfs, Scott Peake and Colt Forney tracked a tornado-producing supercell across southwest Oklahoma, documenting numerous tornadoes including one that impacted a large wind farm near Fort Cobb!

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This time not so lucky!

Damage done by tornado at Flat Ridge 2 wind farm in Kansas.

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Typical farm layout

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Turbine wake demonstration

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Effect of wake

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Q: where is electricity needed most?

A: at the major population centers near the coasts

Is wind available near there?

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Offshore technology

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Transitional depth concepts

www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/40462.pdf

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Deepwater concepts

www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/40462.pdf

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Small wind

What is the wind resource like in Albuquerque?

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Generation – load match (or not)