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- Category: Articles
Efficient Switching and Protecting
The shortage of fossil fuel resources means that the generation of electric power from wind is nowadays more necessary than ever before. For more than ten years, Woodward SEG from Kempen on the Lower Rhine has been a constant presence for those in the market for frequency inverters for wind turbine generators (WTG). Experience gained in power distribution and closed loop control engineering over this time has been fed continuously into the development of new products and technologies. State-of-the-art frequency inverters for wind turbine generators must meet the most stringent requirements with regard to switching frequencies and suitability for a wide range of supply grids. An optimised switchgear combination based on Moeller products was therefore developed for the new Concycle Wind frequency inverter generation.By Dipl.-Ing. Thierry Rosant, Key Account Manager renewable energy and international OEM, Moeller GmbH, Germany
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- Category: Articles
Capacitive and Inductive Compensation for Reliable Integration
Wind energy is providing the world's fastest growing power source for electricity generation. It is clean, indefinitely renewable and abundant; however, it is also intermittent, and it is this intermittent nature that brings with it the biggest challenges for successfully integrating wind energy into the power grid. Due to the intermittent nature of wind energy it could very easily cause significant problems to the grid, especially power factor problems. Fortunately, through the proper application of switched capacitance and switched inductance in the right amounts at the correct times, the power factor problems that wind farms could produce can be resolved. It is this properly switched capacitive and inductive system support that is addressed here.
By David Childress, Marketing Manager, SSIPower LLC, USA .
Wind energy is providing the world's fastest growing power source for electricity generation. It is clean, indefinitely renewable and abundant; however, it is also intermittent, and it is this intermittent nature that brings with it the biggest challenges for successfully integrating wind energy into the power grid. Due to the intermittent nature of wind energy it could very easily cause significant problems to the grid, especially power factor problems. Fortunately, through the proper application of switched capacitance and switched inductance in the right amounts at the correct times, the power factor problems that wind farms could produce can be resolved. It is this properly switched capacitive and inductive system support that is addressed here.By David Childress, Marketing Manager, SSIPower LLC, USA .
- Category: Articles
All-Sky Scanning Capability Maps the Wind Using Laser-Based Technology
Measuring wind conditions is of central importance to wind power engineering, and new developments in remote sensing are transforming how this is achieved. Portable lidar devices, which remotely detect the wind conditions using lasers, enable direct measurements to be made where once only model approximations were possible. This is revolutionising our ability to predict the productivity of proposed wind farms and enabling us to operate existing wind farms more effectively. Lidars are rapidly becoming essential tools for characterising and exploiting the wind resource. The recent launch of the Galion - an innovative lidar for wind power applications - shows the versatility and increasing importance of these techniques.
By Peter Clive, SgurrEnergy Ltd, UK .
Measuring wind conditions is of central importance to wind power engineering, and new developments in remote sensing are transforming how this is achieved. Portable lidar devices, which remotely detect the wind conditions using lasers, enable direct measurements to be made where once only model approximations were possible. This is revolutionising our ability to predict the productivity of proposed wind farms and enabling us to operate existing wind farms more effectively. Lidars are rapidly becoming essential tools for characterising and exploiting the wind resource. The recent launch of the Galion - an innovative lidar for wind power applications - shows the versatility and increasing importance of these techniques.By Peter Clive, SgurrEnergy Ltd, UK .
- Category: Articles
A Large-Scale Solution for Grid Connection of Wind Farms Using Power Transmission Pipelines
Europe's ambitious plans to expand and support renewable energy will lead to large-scale construction of offshore wind turbines. The vast amount of power has to be transmitted with the lowest possible losses and impact on the environment. Power Transmission Pipelines or PTP are one possible way of satisfying these demands and still meeting the necessary bulk-power-transmission requirements. This article focuses on the connection of the wind farms within the German Bight.
By Dipl.-Ing. Markus Siebert, Leibniz?Universität?Hannover, and Dipl.-Geogr. Anja Drews, Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Germany .
Europe's ambitious plans to expand and support renewable energy will lead to large-scale construction of offshore wind turbines. The vast amount of power has to be transmitted with the lowest possible losses and impact on the environment. Power Transmission Pipelines or PTP are one possible way of satisfying these demands and still meeting the necessary bulk-power-transmission requirements. This article focuses on the connection of the wind farms within the German Bight.By Dipl.-Ing. Markus Siebert, Leibniz?Universität?Hannover, and Dipl.-Geogr. Anja Drews, Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Germany .
- Category: Articles
Design, Implementation and Characterisation
In applications such as radar and wind turbines, it is often necessary to transfer power across a constantly rotating interface. As the rotation is continuous, it would be impossible to use wires to transfer the power as they would soon become twisted and stretched and the system would fail. The widespread solution to this problem is to use a slip-ring.
By Dr B. A. Potter, Moog, UK and Dr S. A. Shirsavar, University of Reading, UK .
In applications such as radar and wind turbines, it is often necessary to transfer power across a constantly rotating interface. As the rotation is continuous, it would be impossible to use wires to transfer the power as they would soon become twisted and stretched and the system would fail. The widespread solution to this problem is to use a slip-ring.By Dr B. A. Potter, Moog, UK and Dr S. A. Shirsavar, University of Reading, UK .
- Category: Articles
Rotor Inertia, Ultracapacitors and Batteries for Wind Power Smoothing
The US wind power industry experienced growth of 45% in 2007, with over 5,200MW installed. According to a new technical report published by the US Department of Energy, the installed wind energy capacity could reach 300GW to meet 20% of the US electricity demand by the year 2030. However, the availability of wind energy is estimated at around 15 to 30%. To avoid frequency and voltage drifts due to short-term wind variations, and to lower the need for spinning reserves due to the intermittent nature of the wind in a system with higher wind energy penetration, different techniques may be utilised. Some tools that can be employed are rotor inertia, in variable speed wind turbines, and ultracapacitors for short-term and battery energy storage for long-term, power levelling.By Adel Nasiri, Assistant Professor, Power Electronics and Electric Motor Drives Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA .
- Category: Articles
A Vertical Access Wind Turbine for the Built Environment
A recent report from the British Wind Energy Association on the small wind industry in the UK identified an annual growth rate of about 80%, and suggested that this was set to continue at a similar rate for the foreseeable future. However, despite the evidently huge market potential, some critics are still saying that much of the technology is not suited to the built environment and that the available equipment is generally expensive, with long payback times. It is easy to understand these views when you see a typical horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) sited in an urban setting, continually hunting for the wind on a blustery day, and when the cost of one of the helical type vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) is £25,000 before installation costs of a further £10,000-15,000. However, a newly developed VAWT, designed to meet this demand and costing about? £12,000 fully installed and connected, is to go onto the market shortly.Stay informed with Windtech International! Sign up here for our free newsletters
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| #10 Vestas wind turbine installed in Stadtlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (courtesy Lukas Diller and Simon Schwarz) |
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