Sustainable Energy Technologies MSE Wind Eduard Latõšov

Nature of wind Contents Resources Utilisation Technologies Planning Summary

Nature of wind

Wind is simply air in motion. It is caused by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the sun. Because the Earth’s surface is made of very different types of land and water, it absorbs the sun’s heat at different rates. WHAT IS WIND?

Nature of wind Uneven heating = air in motion? UNEVEN AIR TEMPERATURE UNEVEN AIR DENSITY UNEVEN AIR PRESSURE Air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.

Air lower in the atmosphere is more dense than air above, so air pressure down low is greater than air pressure higher up. Nature of wind (Example - acrobats; there's a lot more pressure on the one on bottom than on the one on top.)

Rising and Sinking Air Since warm air is less dense and creates less air pressure, it will rise; cold air is denser and creates greater air pressure, and so it will sink. When warm air rises, cooler air will often move in to replace it, so wind often moves from areas where it's colder to areas where it's warmer. Nature of wind Source:

The greater the difference between the high and low pressure or the shorter the distance between the high and low pressure areas, the faster the wind will blow. Wind also blows faster if there's nothing in its way, so winds are usually stronger over oceans or flat ground. Meteorologists can forecast the speed and direction of wind by measuring air pressure with a barometer. Nature of wind

Coriolis effect – global winds Find more: Wind Direction Although wind blows from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, it doesn't blow in a straight line. That's because the earth is rotating. In the northern hemisphere, the spin of the earth causes winds to curve to the right (to the left in the southern hemisphere). This is called the coriolis effect. So in the northern hemisphere, winds blow clockwise around an area of high pressure and counter-clockwise around low pressure. Nature of wind

Resources

Wind resource = wind speed data

Resources Source: interesting-map-of-europe-indicating-areas-of High resource: Mainly costal and offshore areas

Utilisation

Utilisation

Utilisation

Wind energy is developing towards a mainstream, competitive and reliable power technology. Globally, progress continues to be strong, with more active countries and players, and increasing annual installed capacity and investments. Technology improvements have continuously reduced energy costs, especially on land. The industry has overcome supply bottlenecks and expanded supply chains. Wind power could generate up to 18% of the world’s electricity by of-global-power-by-2050.html

Technologies

Technologies. How it Works?

Technologies. Types.

Technologies. Development

Technologies. Onshore, offshore

Planning

The capacity factor of a power plant is the ratio of the actual output of a power plant over a period of time and its output if it had operated at full capacity over that period of time. Source: Energy/15/Wind-Power/119/Capacity-Factor/ Capacity factor

Planning Source: Expected: 10 m/s – 1350 kW Real: 8 m/s – 650 kW REAL CAPACITY only 48% from expected Capacity factor

Planning Cost trend of land-based wind turbine prices, by contract date Source: Capital costs

Planning Capital costs of European offshore wind farms, by year (EUR/W) Source: Capital costs

Planning O&M costs

Planning The 'design' life of a wind turbine is usually 20 years. Exercise: Calculate electricity production costs

CONS: A Variable Resource: Turbines produce electricity only when the wind blows. This variability is monitored and compensated in the same way utilities monitor demand changes each day, so there are not any actual changes in power supply for the end users. Aesthetics: People have widely varied reactions to seeing wind turbines on the landscape. Some people see graceful symbols of economic development and environmental progress or sleek icons of modern technology. Others might see industrial encroachment in natural and rural landscapes. There are many ways to minimize the visual impact of wind turbines, including painting them a neutral color, arraying them in a visually pleasing manner, and designing each turbine uniformly. Shadow Flicker: Shadow flicker occurs when the blades of the rotor cast a shadow as they turn. Designers of wind farms avoid placing turbines in locations where shadow flicker would be a problem any significant amount of time. Sound: Wind turbines are not silent. The sounds they produce are typically foreign to the rural settings where wind turbines are most often used, but as turbine technology has improved over the years, the amount of sound has fallen considerably. The sounds of wind turbines do not interfere with normal activities, such as quietly talking to one’s neighbor. Biological Resource Impacts: As with any construction project or large structure, wind energy can impact plants and animals, depending on the sensitivity of the area. Loss of wildlife habitat and natural vegetation are the primary wildlife concerns associated with wind energy. With modern turbines, mounted on tubular towers and whose blades spin only about 15 times per minute, bird collisions are now rare. Extensive environmental impact analysis is an integral part of project development to mitigate impacts as much as possible. Construction: Wind systems can involve the transportation of large and heavy equipment. This can cause a large temporarily disturbed area near the turbines. Erosion is another potential environmental problem that can stem from construction projects. The single most reliable technique for limiting erosion is to avoid grading roads and to perform site reclamation post construction. Summary Disadvantages

PROS: Free Fuel: Unlike other forms of electrical generation where fuel is shipped to a processing plant, wind energy generates electricity at the source of fuel, which is free. Wind is a native fuel that does not need to be mined or transported, taking two expensive costs out of long- term energy expenses. Price Stability: The price of electricity from fossil fuels and nuclear power can fluctuate greatly due to highly variable mining and transportation costs. Wind can help buffer these costs because the price of fuel is fixed and free. National Security/Energy Independence: Wind turbines diversify our energy portfolio and reduce our dependence on foreign fossil fuel. Wind energy is homegrown electricity, and can help control spikes in fossil fuel cost. Distributed generation facilities, like many community wind projects, provide a safeguard against potential terrorist threats to power plants. Clean Air and Water: Other sources of electricity produce harmful particulate emissions which contribute to global climate change and acid rain. Wind energy is pollution free. Mining & Transportation: Harvesting the wind preserves our resources because there no need for destructive resource mining or fuel transportation to a processing facility. Summary Advantages

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