• Finding Solutions to Avoid Wind Energy Waste

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    wind_farm

    via University of Denver: As onshore and offshore wind energy farms have proliferated in recent years, new research highlights a previously underexplored consequence: a wake effect from upwind wind farms that can significantly reduce the energy production — and related financial returns — of their downwind neighbors. The research appears today in the journal Nature Energy. Over a century ago, oil and gas law recognized the “rule of capture,” which allows a landowner to capture a neighbor’s oil resources by sucking them from an adjacent well. This resulted in poor well-field recoveries and waste, so states intervened to regulate production through well-spacing, pooling, and other coordination measures. Similarly, states have developed water law regimes that protect rights for prior users. But current U.S. property law contains no such provisions for wind energy. “It took oil and gas and water law decades to create these legal regimes,” said K.K. DuVivier, a co-author of the study and professor at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. “It appears that wind energy has not yet reached a similar stage of maturity. I hope this research will help raise awareness about the extent of the waking problem and educate those seeking a legal remedy.” The study, led by the University of Colorado Boulder in collaboration with the University of Denver (DU) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), combines legal and economic analysis with atmospheric modeling to demonstrate that wake effects — which occur when groups of turbines reduce wind speed for up to… Read more

  • Making wind farms more efficient

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    wind-energy

    Via Science Daily : With energy demands rising, researchers have completed an algorithm — or approach — to design more efficient wind farms, helping to generate more revenue for builders and more renewable energy for their customers. Wind energy is on the rise, and not just in the US,” said Mohammad Rasouli, assistant professor of electrical engineering at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. “The efficiency of solar panels is less than 25 percent, and is still a subject of current research. Wind turbines, on the other hand, are much more efficient and convert over 45 percent of the wind energy to electricity.” Though wind turbines are efficient, wind farm layouts can reduce this efficiency if not properly designed. Builders do not always put turbines in the places with the highest wind speeds, where they will generate the most power, said Rasouli. Turbine spacing is also important — because turbines create drag that lowers wind speed, the first turbines to catch the wind will generate more power than those that come after. To build more efficient wind farms, designers must take these factors into account wind speed and turbine spacing, as well as land size, geography, number of turbines, amount of vegetation, meteorological conditions, building costs, and other considerations, according to the researchers. Balancing all of these factors to find an optimum layout is difficult, even with the assistance of mathematical models. “This is a multi-objective approach,” said Rasouli. “We have a function and we want to optimize it while taking… Read more

  • For More Energy, Wind Turbines Should Go With the Airflow

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    wind_turbines

    via Futurity: You’ve probably seen them, perhaps on long road trips: wind turbines with enormous, hypnotic rolling blades, harnessing the clean power of wind for conversion into electric energy. What you may not know is that for the explosion in the number of wind turbines in use as we embrace cleaner sources of energy, these wind farms are quite possibly not as productive as they could be. “We’ve been designing turbines for use by themselves, but we almost never use them by themselves anymore,” says the study’s lead author Paolo Luzzatto-Fegiz, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Historically, he says, wind turbines were used individually or in small groups, but as the world moves toward greener energy technologies, they are now found in groups of hundreds or thousands. The problem with these large installations is that each machine, which has been designed to extract as much energy as possible from oncoming wind, may not “play well” with the others, Luzzatto-Fegiz explains. Depending on how the turbines sit relative to each other and to the prevailing wind, those not directly in the path of the wind could be left to extract energy from the significantly depleted airflow. GONE WITH THE WIND SHADOWS “These turbines are now very good at extracting power from wind, but they also form these very big wind shadows,” says Luzzatto-Fegiz. Similar to how structures can attenuate the flow of light from one side to another, wind power also is lessened as it flows… Read more

  • The World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farms [Infographic]

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    wind_farm

    via Forbes: Earlier this week, the world’s largest offshore windfarm officially opened off the northwest coast of England. Covering 55 square miles or an area equivalent to 20,000 soccer fields, the Walney Extension is made up of 87 wind turbines manufactured by Siemens Gamesa and MHI Vestas. The latter are 195 meters high and are the largest wind turbines in operation worldwide, with each optimized to generate 8.25 megawatts. The £1bn windfarm is owned by Denmark’s Ørsted and it can generate 659 megawatts – enough energy to power about 600,000 homes. Even though it has less than half the number of turbines, the Walney Extension has still overtaken the London Array to earn the title as the world’s largest offshore wind installation. That’s due to its turbines being larger and more powerful as well as the fact that it’s placed further out to sea. A distinct trend becomes evident on the following infographic which shows the top 10 offshore windfarms worldwide by capacity, according to Renewable data published by The Guardian. All of them are in Europe and most have been constructed in the United Kingdom. The only non-British entries on the top-10 list are Gemini in the Netherlands (600 megawatts) and Germany’s Gode and Veja Mate (582 and 402 megawatts respectively).The first non-European windfarm is China’s Huaneng Rudong which only has a 300-megawatt capacity by comparison. The opening of the Walney Extension highlights the UK’s global leadership in offshore wind installations and according to the Global Wind Energy Council, Britain… Read more

  • Taking A Look At The Future Of Wind Energy in Colorado

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    wind_energy

    via KRDO: EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. – When you turn the light switch on or off, do you really know where your power is coming from? As more and more wind farms are popping up on the northeast corner of the state, KRDO spent a few days in those areas investigating whether or not the cost of wind energy is worth it for ratepayers in Colorado. If you haven’t visited northeastern Colorado in a while, you’ll likely be stunned at what you see. The vista of Colorado farmland has changed in recent years. People like Susan Burrows, who has turbines on her property enjoy their presence. “I think they’re beautiful because they’re a wonder that most people don’t ever get to see,” she said. But while they’re a beauty in her eyes, they’re a scar to others like Tyler Koehn. “I’m not a huge fan of the way they take from the landscape. They take away from the skyline views. So I’m not a fan,” he said. “Plus, all the traffic it brings to the county roads.” Koehn is referring to the traffic that is mainly construction or maintenance crews on the dirt roads. According to the research from the American Wind Energy Association, there are nearly 2,000 individual turbines spanning across a total of 25 wind farms in Colorado. The majority of those wind farms are in a stretch from Calhan to Limon. The Department of Energy reports the average cost of one turbine ranges between $1-2 million. Years ago,… Read more

  • World’s Most Powerful Turbines Commissioned For Moray Firth Wind Farm

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    wind_energy

    via ENERGY VOICE: MHI Vestas Offshore Wind said it had secured final certification for the “world’s most powerful available turbine”. The Moray Firth based wind project will include the supply and installation of 90 MHI Vestas V164-9.5 megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine generators. The development is a joint venture company owned by EDP Renewables (77%) and ENGIE (23%). The project was awarded a contract for Difference (CfD) by the UK Government last year. The new turbines are 0.7MW more powerful than those now installed at the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm. A spokesman for Moray (East) Wind Farm said: “This is another milestone in the progression towards highly competitive low carbon, low cost energy.. Philippe Kavafyan, MHI Vestas CEO, said: “The first commercial installation of the world’s most powerful available turbine, the V164-9.5 MW, will be a Parkwind project, which is significant for our company and a notable milestone for the industry.” “Another milestone is reached in the development of the V164-9.5 MW turbine. The gentle giant has now received its final certification, meaning that it is fully commercialised. The first 23 machines will be installed at the Northwester 2 project in Belgium next year.” Moray (East) confirmed MHI Vesta’s as its preferred supplier in October last year. The development is expected to power more than 950,00 homes. However, a spokesman for the company last year described that as a “very conservative estimate”. He said: “In terms of the estimate, the average figures include other wind farms across the UK that… Read more

  • Editorial: Will Wind Energy Deliver?

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    Wind turbines are seen at Thanet Offshore Wind Farm off the Kent coast in southern England September 23, 2010. Thanet farm is the world's largest operational offshore wind farm. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: ENERGY ENVIRONMENT) - RTXSKIH

    via Boston Herald: Last week, Massachusetts announced the winner of a new offshore wind contract — which means the Bay State is about to get its first offshore wind farm. The Vineyard Wind project will be located at least a dozen miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and is expected to generate 800 megawatts of energy — enough to power 400,000 homes. Vineyard Wind is aiming for 2021 to be up and operational. There is a lot to like about wind. The rows of wind turbines standing 397 feet tall (that’s 92 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty), rising out of the water are visually striking with their sleek blades turning in concert. Wind energy is completely green energy, powered by a vast and inexhaustible resource. It does not pollute the water or the air. There is no ugly byproduct to contend with nor does the apparatus itself take up a lot of space. According to its website, “Vineyard Wind will offer $3.7 billion in energy related cost savings over the life of the project while eliminating 1.68 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions — the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road.” It sounds very promising as do a lot of the carefully worded­ highlights on the Vineyard Wind’s “Benefits” page. “Vineyard Wind’s turbines, totaling up to 800 MW, are expected to reliably produce the amount of energy used by over 450,000 Massachusetts homes. Offshore wind delivers much of its power in the winter, when Massachusetts needs the… Read more

  • World’s Largest Wind Turbines (9.5 Megawatts) Headed To Northwester 2 Offshore Wind Farm

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    wind_turbine

    via Clean Technica: MHI Vestas announced this week that it will provide its 9.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbines to the 224 MW Northwester 2 offshore wind farm set to be developed in Belgian waters, making it the first time the record-setting 9.5 MW wind turbine will be installed and operational anywhere in the world. Formed in 2014 by Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, MHI Vestas is the world’s largest offshore wind-focused wind turbine manufacturer, and in June of last year it unveiled to the world its V164-9.5 MW wind turbine, the most powerful wind turbine currently available in the world. Measuring in with 80-meter long blades that have a swept area of 21,124 meters-squared, the turbine is bigger than the London Eye and a single turbine alone can power 8,300 average households. Of course, since June the offshore wind turbine arms race has continued apace, with both MHI Vestas and GE Renewable Energy making significant strides. Earlier this month MHI Vestas installed an 8.8 MW wind turbine at Vattenfall’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre off the coast of North East Scotland, which is currently the world’s largest wind turbine in operation. However, in early March GE Renewable Energy unveiled its mammoth 12 MW Haliade-X offshore wind turbine, and just this week confirmed it would be heading to the UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult for advanced testing. Until the Haliade-X enters operation, however, and assuming no competitors have an ace up their sleeves, MHI Vestas will hold on to… Read more

  • World’s Most Powerful Wind Turbine: One Rotation ‘Can Power the Average UK Home for a Day’

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    wind_turbine

    via gtm: Swedish energy giant Vattenfall announced Tuesday that it successfully installed an 8.8-megawatt capacity offshore wind turbine from Vestas at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Center (EOWDC) off the coast of Scotland. It’s the first of 11 turbines planned for the project and the first deployment of a model of that size for commercial use. Vattenfall will also install another 8.8-megawatt model from Vestas at the site. It’s an important milestone for a project that faced years of legal challenges from Donald Trump. Before becoming president, Trump battled the project because it conflicted with a planned golf course development in the area. At the time, his organization said it “will completely destroy the bucolic Aberdeen Bay.” The U.K.’s Supreme Court struck down Trump’s challenge in 2015. Now, Vattenfall will use the site to test the high-capacity turbines. For the two 8.8-megawatt turbines, enhanced internal power modes bumped capacity up from 8.4 megawatts on MHI Vestas’ flagship V164 turbine platform. Søren Lassen, a business analyst at MAKE Consulting, said the uprating trend is noteworthy, but the 0.4 megawatt increase is not revolutionary. He noted that MHI Vestas already has orders for a 9.5-megawatt version of its V164 platform turbine launched in June. “The trend of uprating is symptomatic of the offshore wind market in Europe, as developers push to take advantage of the favorable wind resources,” said Lassen. “Turbine [manufacturers] will continue to boost the rating of their current offshore platforms into the early 2020s.” Turbines, offshore and onshore, will just… Read more

  • The First Floating Wind Farm Is Ridiculously Efficient

    by in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy, Wind
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    wind_farm

    via Popular Mechanics: Wind turbines are showing up on top of mountains, across vast plains, and in the waters off the coasts of the world’s cities. Even the open ocean isn’t closed to wind turbines, and in even better news, the project off the coast of Scotland is dramatically surpassing expectations. The Hywind wind farm is the world’s first floating wind farm, located about 15 miles off the coast of Scotland. Unlike other offshore wind farms, Hywind isn’t anchored to the seafloor. Instead, Hywind relies on buoys and anchors to stay afloat even in high winds or waves. This makes floating wind farms like Hywind a great choice for regions where traditional offshore wind farms aren’t viable. “The west coast of the USA, Japan and Hawaii are all places that need a lot of energy and that are consistently windy, but where the sea is very deep,” says Hywind engineer Halvor Hoen Hersleth. “Floating wind power is ideal for these areas.” But for floating wind farms to be successful, they have to be more than just versatile. They also have to be profitable, which means generating enough energy to justify the large construction costs. Fortunately, the Hywind farm seems to have succeeded in this area as well, reaching a 65 percent capacity factor over the past three months. A generator’s capacity factor is the ratio between the amount of electricity it generates and the maximum amount of energy it could possibly produce. Most baseline plants, like nuclear or natural gas plants… Read more