Wind Power Chester Ag Technology

Soon to be a common sight?

Wind power has been used for many years in Europe This windmill was built in 1855, and has been used since then

Early wind power Early wind power was used by Europeans to turn grinding stones or to pump water They were quite complex in the control they had over the wind mills

Wind power What is a wind turbine and how does it work? A wind energy system – made up of wind turbines – transforms the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy that can be harnessed for practical use. There are two basic designs of wind turbines: vertical axis (or “egg beater” style) and horizontal axis (propeller style) machines.

Turbine systems include: A rotor – or blades – which convert the wind’s energy into rotational energy

Turbine systems include A nacelle (enclosure) containing a drive train, a generator, and usually a gearbox This happens to be one of the Howard system’s nacelles

Turbine systems include A tower to support the rotor and drive train

Turbine systems include Electronic equipment such as controls, electric cables, ground support equipment, and interconnection equipment

Wind turbines Wind turbine towers are mostly tubular and made of steel; the blades are made of fiberglass- reinforced polyester or wood- epoxy. Wind turbines vary in size.

Wind turbine The output of a wind turbine depends on the turbine's size and the wind's speed through the rotor. Wind turbines being manufactured now have power ratings ranging from 250 watts to 3 megawatts (MW). What may seem like a small difference in wind speed can mean a large difference in available energy and in electricity produced, leading to a large difference in the cost of the electricity generated.

How does wind energy contribute to our electricity needs? U.S. wind power plants already serve more than 4.5 million average households with 12 million people. Wind power is capable of providing 20 percent of the country’s energy by 2030.

What are America’s current sources of electricity? Coal, the largest source of the leading greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, is currently used to generate more than half of all the electricity generated in the United States. Other sources of electricity include natural gas, oil, nuclear, and hydropower.

Does wind power offer real environmental benefits? Absolutely. Wind requires no mining, drilling, or transportation of fuel, and does not generate radioactive or other hazardous or polluting waste.

Does wind power offer real environmental benefits? Wind power offsets other, more polluting sources of energy. This is important because electricity generation is the largest industrial source of air pollution in the U.S. This is the largest turbine available

How does wind power benefit the economy? Wind power supplies affordable, inexhaustible energy to the economy. It also provides jobs and other sources of income. Best of all, wind powers the economy without causing pollution, generating hazardous waste, or depleting natural resources. Wind has no “hidden costs.” Wind energy depends on a free fuel source

Can wind energy help with rising natural gas prices? When a wind farm generates electricity in the U.S., the fuel it is most likely to displace is natural gas.

Wind energy can provide a significant amount of the nation’s electricity. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates America’s wind energy potential to be much larger than total U.S. electricity consumption today. Tapping only a fraction of that potential would provide a significant part of America’s electricity supply.

Electric Transmission Lines

South Dakota Potential and Power Line

Wind turbines are extremely efficient. Wind turbines are actually very efficient. The energy payback time for wind is, in fact, similar to or better than that of conventional power plants.

Wind turbines are reliable and do not need back-up generation. Because of the electric grid’s inherent design, there is no need to back up every megawatt of wind energy with the equivalent amount of fossil fuel or dispatchable power.

Wind energy is affordable. Wind power costs are competitive with energy generated by conventional power plants, but the up-front costs of wind energy are often more expensive than that of some traditional power technologies. Wind receives tax credits and other economic benefits, though, that make it a viable choice for renewable energy generation.

Wind turbines do not generate much noise. Wind turbines are quiet. An operating modern wind farm at a distance of 750 to 1,000 feet is no louder than a kitchen refrigerator. The sound turbines produce is similar to a light whooshing or swishing sound

The wind industry makes protecting wildlife a priority. Despite the minimal impact wind development has on birds and bats in most areas, the industry takes potential impacts seriously. Avian studies are routinely conducted at wind sites before projects are proposed.

Dakota Wind Energy Dakota Wind Energy, LLC was formed to develop a series of wind energy projects based upon the concept of local, shared ownership. Dakota Wind Energy is located in rural northeast South Dakota.

Building a wind farm

One of the first steps in the construction process is site clearing and building the gravel access roads. Access roads are constructed from existing public roadways to each turbine site to provide access for equipment necessary for construction, and to facilitate access to the turbine for ongoing operation and maintenance. Temporary access roads are constructed within a corridor approximately 40 feet wide.

Before gravel is installed topsoil is stockpiled, subsoil is compacted, and a geotextile matting is placed. Upon completion of construction, temporary access roads are converted to smaller, permanent roads approximately 16 feet wide. The portion being removed is cleared of gravel and fabric, decompacted, and topsoil restored.

A culvert can range in length from 150 – 175 feet. This is necessary for the large component deliveries.

The width of the gravel road is approximately 16 feet for the primary travel path, but may be up to 40 feet wide during the construction phase to allow for the large cranes needed for turbine erection. All access roads are restored to the 16 foot width after construction is completed.

To erect the turbine, two different cranes are needed. A smaller crane is used to install the turbine’s control system and base and lower midtower sections. It is also used to assemble the rotor. A larger crane is used to install the upper mid-tower and top-tower sections, nacelle and rotor. Due to the size, weight and slow speed of this large crane, it cannot drive along public roads; therefore, it is necessary to create cross-country paths. The path used is determined by several factors including looking for the shortest distance between turbines, use of land already participating in the project, significant changes in grade, and avoiding woodlands, wetlands and waterways.

Topsoil is cleared and stockpiled, and the subsoils are compacted. The crane path area is restored once the turbines are standing. Landowners are compensated for lost crop opportunities in the area used for the crane path.

The collector system is a series of underground electric cables that run from each turbine to the electrical substation. Typically, a series of turbines will be interconnected to create a “circuit” – rather than having a direct cable from each turbine to the substation. This is a drawing of a circuit that connects 11 turbines and sends the electrical output to the substation via one underground cable system.

In this photo, there is a single circuit being installed in a twofoot- wide trench. When multiple circuits are installed in adjacent trenches, there must be a fivefoot- wide separation between each circuit. The minimum buried depth is four feet.

The first steps in constructing the foundation is to remove and stockpile topsoil and subsoils. These soils are stockpiled separately. Upon completion of foundation construction, the soils are replaced in the proper strata.

Foundations are constructed by excavating a hole, placing reinforcing steel and pouring approximately 325 yards of concrete into the excavation. Each foundation is approximately 55 feet wide and 8 feet deep in the center.

Topsoil and subsoil from the excavation is stockpiled in a semicircle around the foundation. The next step is to replace the subsoil and then the topsoil over the concrete foundation. Only the very center of the foundation remains above the soil surface when grading is complete.

A backfilled foundation prior to topsoil replacement and crane pad installation.

After the foundation construction is complete and the area backfilled, a crane pad is constructed to allow for turbine erection. The area is approximately 55 x 80 feet and will remain after construction for routine maintenance activities. crane pad area

There are four main parts of a wind turbine: The foundation(base),the tower, the nacelle, and the rotor (hub and blades assembly). The rotor converts the energy of the wind into rotational motion. The foundation acts as an anchor that supports the entire assembly. The nacelle contains the electric generator and other components that convert the mechanical rotation of the rotor into electricity. The tower supports the nacelle and rotor.

For the Blue Sky Green Field site, the tower sections were off-loaded at the Port of Green Bay and transported by truck to the site. Each truck transported one tower section - approximately 74 feet long.

The first components delivered and erected are the base and mid-section of the tower. When completed, each turbine consists of four tower sections.

Power Module It takes approximately seven hours to set the first two tower sections.

The base and mid-section, as seen here, stand approximately 105 feet. The total height of the turbines at Blue Sky Green Field from the base to the tip of the blade is 397 feet.

The nacelle is the enclosure at the top of the tower that contains the drive shaft, gearbox, generator, electronic controls and associated equipment. The nacelle is reached by a ladder that runs inside the tower so technicians can access the turbine components for maintenance and repair.

The yaw deck allows the rotor and nacelle to align with the wind.

The yaw deck is able to turn three complete revolutions before locking to ensure the cables are not twisted. It will then reset itself.

The blades are connected to a central cone called the hub, which is connected to a shaft that passes into the nacelle.

Turbine blades have aerodynamic wings that create lift and rotation of the rotor as the wind blows across them. Each turbine blade at Blue Sky Green Field measures 134 feet. The rotor assembly weighs approximately 47 tons.

Restored site after activation

The area around the turbine is returned to the landowner for planting. We ask that a distance of 15 feet be maintained from the foundation of the towers to protect the equipment. Directly under this area, only inches below the surface, are the concrete foundations and grounding cables for the turbines. For safety, gravel is placed in this area as a reminder of the underground infrastructure.

Homeowner Wind Power There is a lot of interest in small, homeowner wind turbines There has been experimenting with this for a long time

An example is the brand new Swift Wind Turbine Swift is a rooftop mounted wind turbine that is quiet. The outer ring on Swift acts as a diffuser as the wind travels down the blades and is dispersed along the outer ring, therefore eliminating the noise and keeping the turbine quiet.

What is the average cost to install a Swift Wind Turbine? Swift has an estimated installed cost of about $10,000 – $12,000. Depending on the installed price, cost of electricity, average wind speed, and rebates available the Swift Wind Turbine can pay for itself in as little as 3 years.

Swift Wind Turbines

How much electricity can I expect from my Swift Wind Turbine? Swift will generate about 2000 kWh in a good wind location. This is about 20% of an average homes use. Multiple units can be used at one location to supplement commercial and industrial use.

Other wind power ideas Offshore wind power –Strongest winds are here –Can build much taller Vertical axis turbines –May be more efficient Road turbines –Use the power of traffic to turn turbine

Offshore

Vertical Axis

Highway traffic turbines

Infrastructure is slowing us down Large transformers 175 tons Power lines

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