FINALS

Berin,Jherel M.

BSME - 5A

ELEC. 3

1. State or enumerate the process of horizontal wind mill design and explain.

The site selection for wind energy conversion system is very much affected by the geometry of the land
because the winds are caused due to the variation in pressure due to solar heating. The heating of
ground, water, and forest areas are unequal, causing local and regional winds. So the site selection
criterion will highly dependent on those factors and external factors such as presence of sea, buildings,
cities etc.

THE WIND

Wind Resources

The sun heats up air masses in the atmosphere. The spherical shape of the Earth, the Earths
rotation and seasonal and regional fluctuations of the solar irradiance cause spatial air pressure
differentials. These are the source of air movements. Irradiation oversupply at the equator is the
source for compensating air streams between the equator and the poles. [2]
Besides the spatial compensation streams, less extensive air currents exist due to
the influence of local areas of high and low pressure. Due to the rotation of the Earth, the air masses
in the northern hemisphere are diverted to the right and in the southern hemisphere to the left.
Finally, the air masses rotate around the low-pressure areas. [9]

Wind resources are particularly high in coastal areas because wind can move
unhindered across the smooth surface of the sea. Furthermore, temperature differences between
water and land cause local compensating streams. The sunlight heats the land more quickly than
the water during the day. The results are pressure differentials and compensating winds in the
direction of the land. During the night the land cools much faster than the sea; this causes
compensating winds in the opposite direction.

Wind speed distributions

Wind speed distributions are commonly used to indicate the annual available wind energy. [1]
These distributions are estimated using measurements, wind maps or computer analysis. Tables or
statistical functions can give the distribution. [1]

The mean wind speed can be easily calculated:

However, the mean wind speed can only partly describe the potential of a site, because the wind
distribution may be continuous wind or long calm periods interspersed with periods of very high wind
 speeds. The wind energy in these two cases can be totally different. Nevertheless, the mean wind speed
is often used to give the site quality.

A wind speed frequency distribution gives much better information about the wind conditions
of a certain site than the mean wind speed. [3] The frequency distribution can be given as tables with
wind speed intervals or as statistical functions. The most common statistical functions that are used for
wind power calculations are the Weibull and the Rayleigh distributions.

PRINCIPLES OF WIND ENERGY CONVERSION

3.1 Power Available in the Wind

The total quantum of wind energy is enormous. However, a very small percentage
is available for practical use. [8] Efficiency of wind-turbine energy conversion plants is only about
30 percent [2].

The power in the wind is proportional to the wind speed cubed [9] ; general formula
for power in the wind is:

Power = density of air x swept area x velocity cubed

2

P = ..A.v

If the velocity (v) is in m/s, then at sea level (where the density of air is 1.2 kg/m)
the power in the wind is:
Power = 0.6 x v Watts per m of rotor swept area [6]
Because of this cubic relationship, the power availability is extremely sensitive to
wind speed; doubling the wind speed increases the power availability by a factor of eight; Table
3.1 indicates this variability. [5]
This means that the power density in the wind will range from 10W/m at 2.5m/s (a light breeze) to
41,000W/m at 40m/s (a hurricane). This variability of the wind power resource strongly influences
virtually all aspects of wind energy conversion systems design, construction, siting, use and economy.

Modern Wind Turbines

The power output, P, from a wind turbine is given by the well-known expression:

where r is the density of air (1:225 kg=m3), CP is the power coefcient, A is the rotor swept area, and U
is the wind speed.
The power coefcient describes that fraction of the power in the wind that may be converted by the
turbine into mechanical work. It has a theoretical maximum value of 0.593 (the Betz limit) and rather
lower peak values are achieved in practice (see Chapter 3). The power coefcient of a rotor varies with
the tip speed ratio (the ratio of rotor tip speed to free wind speed) and is only a maximum for a unique
tip speed ratio. Incremental improvements in the power coefcient are continually being sought by
detailed design changes of the rotor and, by operating at variable speed, it is possible to maintain the
maximum power coefcient over a range of wind speeds. However, these measures will give only a
modest increase in the power output. Major increases in the output power can only be achieved by
increasing the swept area of the rotor or by locating the wind turbines on sites with higher wind speeds.

4. SITE SELECTION

Although wind power is a never ending green resource, assessment of

environmental risks and impacts- which comprise the backbone of environmental policy- in the
context of specific projects or sites often are necessary to explicate and weigh the environmental
trade-offs that are involved. [11] In the case of wind farms, a number of turbines (ranging from
about 250 kW to 750 kW) are connected together to generate large amounts of power. Apart from
the constraints resulting from the number of turbines, any site selection should think over the
technical, economic, social, environmental and political aspects. [7]

4.1 Technical Considerations

Many technical factors affect the decision making on site selection including wind
speed, land topography and geology, grid structure and distance and turbine size. These technical
factors must be understood in order to give pair-wise scores to sub-factors. [7]

4.1.1 Wind Speed

The viability of wind power in a given site depends on having sufficient wind speed available at
the height at which the turbine is to be installed. Any choice of wind turbine design must be based on the average
wind velocity at the selected wind turbine construction site. [7]

4.1.2 Land topography and geology

Wind farms typically need large lands. [10] Topography and prevailing wind
conditions determine turbine placement and spacing within a wind farm. In flat areas where there
is nothing to interfere with wind flow, at least 2600-6000 m2/MW may be required. Wind turbines
are usually sited on farms that have slope smaller than 10-20%. [7]

4.1.3 Grid structure and distance

The connection of wind turbines to an electricity grid can potentially affect

reliability of supply and power quality, due to the unpredictable fluctuations in wind power
output. [7]

4.1.4 Turbine size

 Required height for the installation of turbine above ground is one of the important
factors that affect the annual energy generation. [10] Turbine size is related with the energy output,
because the bigger the turbine size is, the more wind it is exposed to. [7]

4.2 Economic Considerations

The economic sub factors that affect the site selection include capital cost, land cost
and operational and management costs. It is important to make economical evaluations by
considering time value of money due to long periods of service life of wind farm projects. [7]

4.2.1Capital cost

Construction, electrical connection, grid connection, planning, wind turbines,

approvals, utilities and management are the main components of capital cost for wind farm
projects. [7]

4.2.2 Land cost

For the site selection, main economic factor is the cost of the land where the wind
farm is constructed; because, the cost of land primarily depends on the region, soil condition and
the distance from the residential area. [7]

4.2.3 Operational and management cost

There will be control functions such as supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) which will provide control of each wind turbine in O&M facilities. Business rates,
maintenance expenses, rents, staff payments are main components of O&M costs. [7]

4.2.4 Electricity market

Existing of an electricity market for the energy generated is an important factor affecting the
economic benefits of the project. There should be energy demand in regions close to wind farms.
[7]

4.3 Environmental Considerations

The environmental sub factors that affect the site selection of a wind farm include
visual impact, electromagnetic interference, wild life and endangered species and noise impact.
[7]

4.3.1 Visual impact

Wind turbines are located in windy places, and most of the time, those places are
highly visible. To many people, those big towers with 2 or 3 blades create visual pollution. To
minimize the impacts of visual pollution, many investors implement the actions. [7]
4.3.2 Wild life & endangered species

Wind farms affect birds mainly through collision with turbines and associated
power lines, disturbance leading to displacement including barriers to movement, and loss of
habitat resulting from wind turbines. To minimise the risk of bird collision, site selection should
be done precisely. [7]

4.3.3 Electromagnetic interference

Electromagnetic interference is an electromagnetic disturbance that interrupts,

obstructs, or degrades the effective performance of electronics or electrical equipment. Wind
turbines may reflect, scatter or diffract the electromagnetic waves which in turn interfere with the
original signal arriving at the receiver. [7]

4.3.4 Noise impact

Noise can generally be classified according to its two main sources: aerodynamic
and mechanical. Aerodynamic noise is produced when the turbine blades interact with eddies
caused by atmospheric turbulence. Mechanical noise is generated by the rotor machinery such as
the gearbox and generator. Noise could be reduced by better designed turbine blade geometry and
by selection of proper operating conditions. [7]

4.4 Social Considerations

Social factors that affect the selection of a site include public acceptance, distance
from residential area and alternative land use options of candidate wind farm site. [10] Public may
oppose projects because of possible environmental or social effects. Distance from residential area
gain importance not to interfere with social life during wind farm construction or operation.

4.4.1 Regulatory boundaries

There may be some national or international level regulation related with the
construction and operation of wind farms. These regulations must be explored before evaluating
the socio-political position of a wind farm project. Most of them probably change from region to
region. [7]

4.4.2 Public acceptance

Public is the most vital component of a region and their opposition to issues can
lead to abolish proposed projects. Support of public for wind energy generation is expected to be
high in general but proposed wind farms have often been met with strong local opposition. [7]

4.4.3 Land use

 Land use affects the decision of wind farm siting from two points of view. Firstly,
there are some cases where no wind farms can be built although sufficient wind speed was
detected. These cases are mainly related with land use or condition. [7] Land related constraints
include forest area, Wetlands, Land of high productivity, Archaeological sites, Aviation zones,
Military zones etc. [2]

4.4.4 Distance from the residential area

Noise and vibration stemming from the wind turbines may cause residents to suffer
from sleep disturbance, headaches, visual blurring. Those types of complaints can be avoided if
the wind turbines are sited a considerable distance from the residential area. [7]

pg. 190

KEY FEATURES FOR SITE SELECTION

OF A WIND FARM

The site selected for wind farm development need to have

many positive attributes including:

(i) Superior wind speed

(ii) Good road access to sites

(iii) Suitable terrain and geology for onsite access

(iv) Low population density

(v) Minimum risk of agro-forestry operations

(vi) Close to suitable electrical grid

(vii) Supportive land holders

(viii) Significant tourism infrastructure in place

(ix) Privately owned free hold land

(x) Good industrial support for construction and

ongoing operations

(xi) Land use is primarily for grazing and cropping

(xii) Significant potential for revalidation

Siting
There are several factors that must be considered when choosing an appropriate site for a wind turbine.
The factors include:

Land size

Wind speeds

Surrounding landscape and structures

Social constraints

Distance between the turbine site and the local power distributer/substation site

Air zone constraints

There must be a sufficient amount of land for the turbine. Generally, there are specific laws on how muc
h land area must be unoccupied surrounding the wind turbine tower. In Massachusetts, this land area is
often defined as one and a half times the overall blade tip height of the wind turbine from the nearest
existing residential or commercial structure and 100 feet from the nearest property line and private or p
ublic way

The Wind Resource

The Nature of the Wind

The energy available in the wind varies as the cube of the wind speed, so an understanding of the
characteristics of the wind resource is critical to all aspects of wind energy exploitation, from the
identification of suitable sites and predictions of the economic viability of wind farm projects through to
the design of wind turbines themselves, and understanding their effect on electricity distribution
networks and consumers.

From the point of view of wind energy, the most striking characteristic of the wind resource is its
variability. The wind is highly variable, both geographically and temporally. Furthermore this variability
persists over a very wide range of scales, both in space and time.