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A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year.They are an increasingly important source of intermittent renewable energy, and are used in many countries to lower energy costs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. One study claimed that, as of 2009, wind had the “lowest relative greenhouse gas emissions, the least water consumption demands and… the most favourable social impacts” compared to photovoltaic, hydro, geothermal, coal and gas energy sources.
Wind turbines are manufactured in a wide range of sizes, with either horizontal or vertical axes.
1st century AD: For the first time in known history, a wind-driven wheel is used to power a machine. A Greek engineer, Heron of Alexandria, creates this windwheel.
By 7th to 9th century: Windwheels are used for practical purposes in the Sistan region of Iran, near Afghanistan. The Panemone windmills are used to grind corn, grind flour, and pump water.
By 1000 AD: Windmills are used for pumping seawater to make salt in China and Sicily.
1180s: Vertical windmills are used in Northwestern Europe for grinding flour.
1887: The first known wind turbine used to produce electricity is built in Scotland. The wind turbine is created by Prof James Blyth of Anderson’s College, Glasgow (now known as Strathclyde University). “Blyth’s 10 m high, cloth-sailed wind turbine was installed in the garden of his holiday cottage at Marykirk in Kincardineshire and was used to charge accumulators developed by the Frenchman Camille Alphonse Faure, to power the lighting in the cottage, thus making it the first house in the world to have its electricity supplied by wind power. Blyth offered the surplus electricity to the people of Marykirk for lighting the main street, however, they turned down the offer as they thought electricity was ‘the work of the devil.’ “
1888: The first known US wind turbine created for electricity production is built by inventor Charles Brush to provide electricity for his mansion in Ohio.
1891: A Danish scientist, Poul la Cour, develops an electricity-generating wind turbine and later figures out how to supply a steady stream of power from the wind turbine by use of a regulator, a Kratostate.
1895: Poul la Cour converts his windmill into a prototype electrical power plant. It is then used to provide electricity for lighting for the village of Askov.
By 1900: Approximately 2,500 windmills with a combined peak power capacity of 30 megawatts are being used across Denmark for mechanical purposes, such as grinding grains and pumping water.
By 1908: 72 electricity-generating wind power systems are running across Denmark. The windmills range from 5 kW to 25 kW in size.
1927: Joe Jacobs and Marcellus Jacobs open a “Jacobs Wind” factory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They produce wind turbines for use on farms, since farms often don’t have access to the grid. The wind turbines are generally used to charge batteries and to power lights.
During World War II: Small wind turbines are used on German U-boats to recharge submarine batteries and save fuel.
1957: Johannes Juul, a former student of Poul la Cour, builds a horizontal-axis wind turbine with a diameter of 24 meters and 3 blades very similar in design to wind turbines still used today. The wind turbine has a capacity of 200 kW and it employs a new invention, emergency aerodynamic tip breaks, which is still used in wind turbines today.
1975: A NASA wind turbine program to develop utility-scale wind turbines starts. “This research and development program pioneered many of the multi-megawatt turbine technologies in use today, including: steel tube towers, variable-speed generators, composite blade materials, partial-span pitch control, as well as aerodynamic, structural, and acoustic engineering design capabilities. The large wind turbines developed under this effort set several world records for diameter and power output.”
1980s: Denmark starts siting offshore wind turbines.
1990s: Durability and performance become more important for customers, so tubular steel and reinforced concrete towers are used underneath wind turbines.
1991: The first offshore wind farm in the world is constructed in southern Denmark. It includes 11 wind turbines manufactured by Bonus Energy, each with a capacity of 450 kW.
1995-2000: Commercial wind turbine rotors get up to a diameter of 50 meters and wind turbines get up to a capacity of 750 kilowatts, 10 times more than approximately 10 years ago.
1999: Vestas launches a wind turbine with “OptiSpeed,” which makes it suitable for low-wind sites.
2009: The first large-capacity floating wind turbine in the world begins operating off the coast of Norway. It uses a Siemens wind turbine and is developed by Statoil.
2009: The Roscoe Wind Farm in Texas becomes the largest wind farm in the world. It has a power capacity of 781.5 megawatts and includes 634 wind turbines.
2011: Commercial wind turbine rotors get up to a diameter of 126 meters and wind turbines get up to a capacity of 7500 kilowatts, approximately 100 times more than in the 1980s.
2011: Japan plans a multiple-unit floating wind farm (6 wind turbines, each with 2 megawatts of capacity). By 2020, Japan intends to have up to 80 floating wind turbines off its coast near Fukushima.
2013: The world’s first hybrid wind/current-powered turbine is installed off the coast of Japan.
2013: Wind power becomes China’s third-largest source of power, passing nuclear power.
Wind turbines depend on a suitable wind speed in order to generate electricity.
If wind speed is below a certain threshold, turbines depend on other forms of electricity generation in order to operate.
Planning permission can be hard to get hold of for onshore wind farms due to the visual impact of the turbines.
The complexity of manufacturing offshore wind farms makes it a much more costly method than onshore wind farms.
Wind turbines generate a lot less power than the average fossil fuelled power station, requiring multiple wind turbines to be built in order to make an impact.
Wind turbines are in the most general sense categorized into the two types of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) and Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT).
One of the important types of wind turbines is the HAWT, which is the most widely used wind turbine out there. These types of wind turbines are probably what you would think of when you hear “wind turbine.” The design of these turbines follows pretty much the same idea already implemented in windmills; rotor blades that are connected to a shaft and rotate it as the wind strikes them, only this time the shaft is connected to a generator that produces the promised electrical energy. They look something like a large aircraft propeller mounted on top of a mast or tower.
One of the important types of wind turbines is the HAWT, which is the most widely used wind turbine out there. These types of wind turbines are probably what you would think of when you hear “wind turbine.” The design of these turbines follows pretty much the same idea already implemented in windmills; rotor blades that are connected to a shaft and rotate it as the wind strikes them, only this time the shaft is connected to a generator that produces the promised electrical energy. They look something like a large aircraft propeller mounted on top of a mast or tower.
Horizontal axis wind turbines are one of the types of wind turbines that require being aligned with the wind direction. Therefore, they require a wind sensor that detects the direction of wind and some yawing mechanism that turns the device in order to be properly aligned against the wind. The reason for necessity of facing the wind is both a more effective distribution of force on the rotors, and prevention of structural damage to the turbine due to improper loading on the turbine structure.
Speaking of structural considerations, the structure of horizontal axis wind turbines needs to be strong enough to support the weight of the rotor blades, gearbox, generator, and other components of the turbine. Additionally, the base of the mast shall be able to withstand strong winds that are blown where the turbine is installed.
From different types of wind turbines, HAWTs are the most commonly used type due to their efficiency and higher power generation capability for the same footprint. Therefore, most wind farms, that are power plants with a number of wind turbines generating power, use these types of wind turbines.
Horizontal axis wind turbines basically include two types namely up-wind turbines and down-wind turbines.
Up-wind Turbines
These types of wind turbines are the ones most commonly used. Up-wind HAWTs face the wind, which means the wind reaches the rotors before the mast. Therefore, rotors do not suffer from the wind shade behind the tower, which means a more efficient operation as well as less susceptibility to wear and tear of the rotors. Nonetheless, the necessity for the yawing mechanism adds to the weight of the structure.
Another point about up-wind types of wind turbines is that their rotors should not be flexible, so that they would not bend and collide with the mast when the speed of wind is high. To further avoid such incidences, the rotor is placed at some distance from the tower. This adds to the manufacturing difficulties of these types of wind turbines, and the rather inflexibility of the rotor blades equals requiring heavier material for blade construction.
Down-wind Turbines
Down-wind horizontal axis wind turbines are the less commonly seen types of wind turbines. Their design looks pretty much the same as up-wind HAWTs except for the location of rotor, which is downstream of the tower; the wind strikes the mast before it reaches the blades. This configuration allows for more flexibility of the rotor blades, and therefore, lighter material can be used. Hence, this design serves two purposes of lighter structural weight and better structural dynamics of the tower by taking some of the load off the tower to the blades during their bending.
Down-wind horizontal axis types of wind turbines theoretically do not require any yawing mechanism as long as the rotors and the casing are designed in a way the casing would passively follow the wind direction. The passive yawing of these wind turbines would not be an advantage for large wind turbines that have earthing cables attached to the casing.
Since the rotor of these types of wind turbines are located behind downstream of the mast, they suffer from the wind shade. Wind shade not only induces fluctuations in the amount of power generated, but also results in more fatigue of down-wind types of wind turbines compared to their up-wind counterparts.
Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) are one of the types of wind turbines for which rotors rotate a shaft that is installed vertically. Such way of design allows for less sensitivity regarding wind direction, making them the perfect choice for places where the wind direction frequently changes. No matter what direction the wind blows, the blades would still move and rotate the shaft to produce power.
The generator of these types of wind turbines is located near the ground. This is because taking it to a height would not be so plausible given the design of rotors and their height. This configuration makes the maintenance of the vertical axis wind turbines easier compared to horizontal axis wind turbines, which has all the components installed at some height. However, vertical axis wind turbines have less efficiencies than HAWTs due to significant amount of air drag on the rotors for some designs, as well as less power output due to the fact that wind speed and its flow at a distance from the ground is higher and smoother than ground level.
Locations that have frequent, sustained winds.
Unpopulated areas with inexpensive access to power grids.
Sites that currently use polluting sources for electricity generation.
Places that yield the best health, climate and pollution benefits for the region’s residents.
Where the Wind Blows.
Turbine Height
The taller the wind turbine, the more efficient it becomes because there’s more wind at the higher elevations. Average height for a turbine begins at 50 meters or about 164 feet tall, but they can be as big as twice that at 100 meters or about 328 feet tall. A chosen site must have enough room to accommodate wind turbines at the heights needed to generate electricity efficiently. The ground must also be able to support the massive foundations required to buttress these massive wind turbines.
Power Grid Access
One of the problems of building wind turbines in the middle of nowhere is the infrastructure costs to access the power grid.The building of transmission lines adds extraneous costs that oftentimes outweigh the overall benefit.
1. Jiuquan Wind Power Base, China
Jiuquan wind Power Base is the largest ranked wind farm globally, with a planned installed capacity of 20GW. The wind farm, also referred to as Gansu Wind Farm, will comprise 7,000 wind turbines, which will be installed in Inner Mongolia, Jiuquan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, and Xinjiang Provinces in Gansu, China. This project is part of the Renewable Energy Law that got implemented in February 2005 and is set to achieve 200GW of wind power to power China.
2. Jaisalmer Wind Park, India
The Jaisalmer wind park tops the Indian wind farms and has a capacity of 1,600MW. It is one of the largest wind farms in the world. The wind farm was developed by Suzlon Energy and featured different wind farms developed at Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan, India. The contractor constructed this wind power to accommodate different clients’ needs, including public and private companies, independent power producers, and other utility providers.
3. Alta Wind Energy Centre, United States
The Alta Wind Energy Center is located at Tehachapi, Kern County, in the larger California. The wind farm can produce 1,548MW of power, and its initial phase got commission in 2011. Other stages got commissioned in 2012. The first phase comprises 100 GE 1.5MW SLE turbines, while the six phases have Vestas V 90-3.0MW turbines, the same as the 7th, 8th, and 9th phases.
4. Muppandal Wind Farm, India
The Muppandal Wind Farm, with a capacity of 1,500MW, is the largest offshore farm in India and comprises several wind powers in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. What surrounds these wind plants are barren lands that have high winds speeds necessary for running the turbines.
5. Shepherds Flat Winds, United States
The Muppandal Wind Farm, with a capacity of 1,500MW, is the largest offshore farm in India and comprises several wind powers in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. What surrounds these wind plants are barren lands that have high winds speeds necessary for running the turbines.
6. Roscoe Wind Farm, United States
This project is located in Texas, US, and is owned and managed by E.ON Climate and Renewables from Germany and covers 400km² and produces 781.5MW from its 627 wind turbines placed 900ft apart. The Roscoe project got built in four phases and became operational in October 2009.
7. Horse Hollow Wind Energy Centre, United States
This wind farm is also situated in Texas, United States, and is owned and run by NextEra Energy Resources. It has a capacity of 735.5MW and got commissioned in four stages between 2005 and 2006. It is one of the largest wind farms in the world. The project got engineered, procured, and developed by Blattner Energy and can provide energy to over 180,000 households.
8. Capricorn Ridge, United States
Capricorn is also another Texas-based project in the United States, and its run by NextEra Energy Resources. The first phase got commission in 2007, with the final stage in 2008 to produce a combined power of 662.5MW. Other companies interested in this investment include JPMorgan Chase and GE Energy Financial Services.
9. Walney Extension Offshore, UK
This project is located in the Irish Sea and produces a wind power capacity of 659MW and is 50% owned by Orsted, 25% by Danish pension, and 25% by PFA. It’s 19KM offshore of Walney Island coast and covers 145km². The project powers over 600,000 houses in the UK, and it’s transmitted offshore through two 4,000t substations.
10. London Array Offshore, UK
The London Array is the most extensive offshore wind farm globally and has a capacity of 630MW, and ranks the sixth-largest wind farm in the world. It’s located at Thames Estuary, a distance of 20KM from the shores of Kent and Essex. The project got launched in 2013, and it’s owned and run by three companies, namely Dong Energy from Denmark, E.On from Germany and Masdar from Abu-Dhabi.
source:renewableenergyworld , linquip , sciencing , CR , wikipedia , barbourproductsearch
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