Wind power Basics Spring 2011

AN OVERVIEW OF WINDPOWER PLANNING IN NIGERIA

Photo By New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd.[1]

By Okoye Elochukwu Obinna

Nnewi, Nigeria.

February, 2011

Supervisors: Fan Zou

Examiner: Liselotte Aldén

Gotland University, Visby, Sweden

Executive Summary From the grid or graph as the case may be, it was uncovered that the wind mean speed at a height of 10m above the ground ranges between 2.3m/s to 3.4m/s for sites along the costal areas and 3.0m/s to 3.9m/s for highland areas and semi-arid regions. The analysis carried out in this report on data shows that the monthly average wind power can be as high as 50.1W/m².Small wind energy conversion systems for pumping water, irrigation and small agricultural industries are recommended for a small communities living in isolated areas around the selected sites. It was also discovered that the wind turbine can generate up to 97MWh per year in Sokoto, a site in a high wind speed regions. Therefore, using wind energy conversion systems for electric power generation and supply in Nigeria—especially around the Sokoto axis will be cost effective. Similarly, after analysis a wind potential of a town near Jos, it was discovered that the maximum power intensity which could be extracted from the wind in the areas was found to be 14.23W/m² out of the estimated available wind power intensity of 24.00W/m².The amount of energy density available in the wind has also been estimated to be 1126.28KWh/year. The use of wind power for supply of electricity broadens the energy base & reduces environmental pollution. It is particularly practical if it can be economically competitive with conventional energy sources. The use of wind energy will be suitable for rural farming companies that require lighting and some limited supply of electricity which will be costly to get due to the location of farms. Several researchers have shown that in areas with annual mean wind speeds of 3.5m/s - 4.0m/s or greater, wind power systems can usually deliver electricity or pump water at costs lower than photovoltaic, diesels, or grid-extension.[5]

The new generation of wind turbines work in light winds starting as low as 3m/s, making wind power a viable and economically sound source for energy in most of the Northern States in Nigeria and also else where depending on the geography of selected sites.

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Preface

This report is about a wind power project in Nigeria which is on the planning stage and also presents data on wind analysis, environmental and planning aspects. The content is focused on Nigeria. After a research of several weeks to get the information I needed, I contacted ―New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd.‖ who provided me with some vital information that led to the success of this great project. NEW ERA Energy is an international energy solutions company with offices in Kano, Sokoto and Lagos in Nigeria and Gerrards Cross, near London. They are companies that specialize in Wind driven water and energy solutions, Exclusive wind turbine distributor and installator in West Africa Gaia, Evance, Proven, Southwest WindPower. I will not fail to extend my regards to Mr. NSIMA ASUQUO, a good friend of mine in the department of Industrial Production Engineering ,Nnamdi Azikiwe University,Awka Nigeria who gave me all the necessary assistance i needed during my research work. The Environmental Impact Assessment report that I used was realized from New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd. Most importantly, I am thanking God Almighty who was always there for me during this Report and finally made it a success for me.

OKOYE ELOCHUKWU OBINNA (Name)

2011-02-24

(Date)

NNEWI, NIGERIA

(Place)

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Table of contents

CHAPTER 1 –INTRODUCTION.............................................................................1

1.1 BACKGROUND............................................................................. 1

1.2 LOCATION DESCRIPTION.......................................................... 2

CHAPTER 2 – PLANNING PROCESS...................................................................4

2.1-WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL IN NIGERIA................................4

2.2-WIND SPEED DATA ANALYSIS……………………………….5

CHAPTER 3 – WIND TURBINES…………………………................................. 6

3.1 -DESCRIPTION OF WIND TURBINES........................................6

3.2 -INSTALLATION OF WIND TURBINES.....................................7

CHAPTER 4 -ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT……………………………………7

4.1-INFLUENCE OF INSTALLATION IN THE IMMEDIATE

ENVIRONMENT…………………………………………………7

4.2- AIR TRAFFIC…………………………………………………….8

4.3-NOISE………………………………………………………..........8

CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION ..............................................................................8

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………9

APPENDIXES..........................................................................................................I

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CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Roughly 90% of Nigerian economy is dependent on the crude oil.

Expectedly, most of her generating plants are thermal power stations which are presently operating below installed capacity. This report therefore looks at the prospects of wind energy in Nigeria. The wind speed data collected from some towns in Nigeria indicates that the country has good sites for installation of wind energy conversion systems. This report recommends the incorporation of wind energy in the renewable energy resources development programme of a developing economy like Nigeria. This would be a way of boosting her energy needs as well as accelerating the sluggish nature of the Federal government of Nigeria rural electrification programmes. The wholesale of the supply for electrical energy in the country has been from the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) which presently the task is being performed by the Power Holding Company Of Nigeria(PHCN) which uses the conservative energy generation method-Water has so many demerits such as :

Hydro plants depend for sustained operation on in-flow of water into the storage and this in-flow can be affected up stream by drought and outside the borders of this nation, by political or other considerations.

The pollution arising in the case of thermal stations from combustion of fuel is not environment-friendly due to the fact that sulphur oxides, heavy metals, radio-active elements, hydrocarbons and large quantities of carbon dioxide are emitted which leads to acid rain.

Fossil and nuclear fuels are finite and non-renewable energy sources.

Burned nuclear fuel is radioactive; it requires remote handling and special processing and disposal of toxic waste.

Special system designs are required to prevent radioactivity release during normal operation or due to accidents.

Major portions of a nuclear plant are radioactive during and after operation, requiring special precautions and advanced technology for maintenance of much of the plant. [5]

Wind power, which is the subject of this report, is a very sustainable way of producing energy; wind turbines aren’t producing polluting emissions or climate change gases.

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The following figure will present the wind power production capacities of Nigeria for the year 2002 – 2010 in Megawatts (MW).

Figure 1: shows above on windpower production capacities of Nigeria for the ending of

the year 2002 – 2010 in MW. [2]

End 2002: 1 MW (+ %)

End 2003: 2 MW (+100 %)

End 2004: 2 MW (+0 %)

End 2005: 2 MW (+0 %)

End 2006: 2 MW (+0 %)

End 2007: 2 MW (+0 %)

End 2008: 2 MW (+0 %)

End 2009: 2.2 MW (+10.1 %)

End 2010: 2.2 MW (+0 %)[2]

1.2 Location Description The wind power project site of this report is located at GADA in Sokoto state, Nigeria. Gada is a Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Gada. Gada shares a border with the Republic of Niger to the north. The site is situated at an area of 1,315 km² and a population of 248,267 at the 2006 census.[7]

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Figure 2: The localization of Gada in Sokoto, Nigeria and Africa shown in the map above on red dots.

Source: Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.[8]

Source: New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd, 2011. [1]

CHAPTER 2 – PLANNING PROCESS

2.1 – Wind Energy Potential in Nigeria This conservative system of using large centrally located power plants and grid extension for rural electrification is currently being challenged by the advent of smaller, modular technologies such as wind power, micro-hydro and photovoltaic. The various wind generator projects in Nigeria were neglected in the last decade due to increasing popularity and low price of crude oil. In recent times the high price of petroleum products leads to attempts at restructuring these windmills. However, difficulties in obtaining spare parts for models which were no longer being manufactured hindered the restoration. Also, some other factors that led to the failure of past wind generators are the assessment of wind energy potentials, feasibility studies on wind energy utilization, inadequate wind data base used as the bases for designing & building different prototypes that need be considered in reducing locally manufactured windmills.[5]

Figure 3: The map shown in this figure below is on the basis of ground level observations. Wind speeds are up to 20% higher at 50’ elevation due to less turbulence. ▼

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2.2 – Wind Speed Data Analysis In an attempt to discover wind energy potential in the country, several sites (Enugu, Jos, Ikeja& Sokoto ) which differ in natural conditions and having different wind characteristics were selected for this report.

Windspeed data for Enugu station Fig 5:Windspeed data for Jos station Fig 4:

Fig 6:Windspeed data for Ikeja station Fig 7:Windspeed data for Sokoto station

Figures 4-7 show the wind speed data for various stations from the year 2000 to 2003.[5]

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CHAPTER 3 – WIND TURBINES 3.1 -Description of Wind Turbines A wind turbine is a rotary device that extracts energy from the wind. If the mechanical energy is used directly by machinery, such as for pumping water, cutting lumber or grinding stones, the machine is called a windmill. If the mechanical energy is instead converted to electricity, the machine is often called a wind generator. The kind of wind turbine envisioned or planned to be used is the Vestas V – 90. Table 1 in Appendix I is displaying the technical data thereof.

The V – 90 by VESTAS produces 2MW. The turbine is constructed out of an 80m high conical steel tower. At the ground level the diameter of the tower is 4,5m. The rotor blades have a diameter of 90m, what makes a total construction height of the wind turbine of 125m. The control system is pitch controlled. The start wind of the turbine is 2,5m/s and the rated wind speed is 13m/s. And the cut out wind speed is 25m/s. The nacelle weighs 3.2- Installation of Wind Turbines with all its components 68tons. The generator is asynchronous (VESTAS 2008, New Era Energy).[6]

Fig. 8: Schematic view of a wind turbine structure

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Figure 9: showing New Era Energy‘s Installation of wind turbine at

the site in GADA.

Photo source: New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd.[1] All their projects are professionally handled and installed by proficient teams. Lifting of the wind turbine can be physically strenuous and should only be performed by a strong vehicle and in a good weather condition. Lifting the tower should never be executed in high wind conditions or when a venture of rain or electrical storms exists. Wind powered solutions will deliver maximum water and/or electricity when the entire solution is thoughtfully designed and well planned. All NEW ERA ENERGY solutions incorporate design to verify site suitability, actual needs, solution options, storage strategies, training and capacity development. NEW ERA ENERGY will then plan the installation logistics and resource requirements so ensure that this project are delivered on time, to quality and to budget. All NEW ERA ENERGY projects include capacity development so as to make the projects sustainable.

CHAPTER 4 -ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

4.1-Influence of Installation in the Immediate Environment The utmost influence on the environment will probably be during the assembly at site. Roads of good quality are needed to access the construction site of each turbine. To start with the now existing roads are going to be used for transports, which will cause a need to widen, level

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and reinforce the construction of the roads. Any possible damages on the roads due to heavy transports will be repaired when the wind farm is ready to be taken into use. 4.2- Air Traffic As stated by the civil aviation board regulation (LFS 2008:47), wind turbines with a total height lower than 150 meters must be equipped with a red midintense flashing light. It is possible to dim the light during the night to a more low penetrating character. If the wind turbines are provided with GPS the lights can be controlled to flash synchronized. With the help of these preventive measures, the interloping of the surroundings will be reduced as far as possible with consideration of the air traffic security demands. 4.3- Noise The most perceptible impact of a wind turbine places upon the environment is noise pollution. Many people think wind turbines are a great idea, yet a large proportion of these people would oppose a wind farm development close to their home. This is down to the noise, and many people compare the sound output of a wind turbine to a small jet engine. The impact of noise pollution has the potential to lower property values within a varying radius of the construction. Modern technologies are ever increasing the efficiency of wind turbines, yet they fail to decrease the noise output by significant levels. The noise pollution can greatly depend on the average annual wind speed (i.e. the higher the wind speed, the greater the noise output can be) and the size of the blades. Noise pollution is said to be one of the biggest disadvantages of a wind turbine.

CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION By using metrological data collected from some selected weather stations in Nigeria, analysis of such data shows that wind power prospects in Nigeria is high. From the analysis also, it was clearly seen that costal and hilly areas are excellent sites for wind power development. Therefore, using Wind Energy Conversion Systems(WECs) for electric power generation and supply in Nigeria—especially around Sokoto axis with mean wind speed of about 3.78m/s will be cost effective.[5] Description of the current state of Wind Power in Nigeria as was illustrated on the map at figure 3 above, which I also collected from the New Era

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Energy Nig. Ltd: The Northern part of Nigeria has better average wind speeds of 4 -5.5m/s but there are also parts of the mountainous Centre and South in the same range, Peak winds are April-August. The first of a series of national wind generation projects will start in Katsina

by 2012.Small wind turbines generally require 4 m/s to work and Mechanical wind pumps generally require 2.5 m/s to work. Considering the prospect of wind energy in a developing economy like Nigeria, the following recommendations are made:

1. Excellent sites such as Jos and Sokoto should have a wind power plant for the generation of electricity which should be integrated with the existing national grid.

2. Wind energy resources should be included in the renewable energy resources development programme of Nigeria.

REFERENCES 1. http://neenigeria.com/html/windpower.html, New Era Energy Nigeria

Ltd, 2011.

2. www.thewindpower.net , The Wind Power Datasheet updated: 10/2010.

3. Enibe, S.O.: ―A method of Assessing the wind Energy potentials in a

Nigeria location‖, Nigerian Journal of Solar Energy, Vol.6, 1987, pp.14 -17.

4. Ezeugwu , D.U.: ―Wind Energy prospects in a developing economy‖,

B.Eng. Thesis, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nigeria,

Nsukka , September 2004.

5. Okoro,O.I. and Govender, P:Prospects of Wind Energy in Nigeria,

2007/02/3.

6. www.vestas.com, 2008.

7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gada,_Nigeria , Accessed on 2011/02/24.

8. http://www.fallingrain.com/world/NI/51/Gada.html, Falling Rain

Genomics, Inc. 1996-2010.

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Appendixes

Appendixes 1:Table 1: Technical Data for the turbine Vestas V- 90 (Source: Vestas, 2008).

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Appendixes 2: Fig. 8: Schematic view of a wind turbine structure

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Technical Data Vestas V – 90

Rated power 2MW

Rotor Diameter 90m

Swept area 6.362 m²

Hub height 80m

Total height 125m

Power Control Pitch Optispeed

Rotational Speed 9 – 14.9rpm

Start Wind 2,5m/s

Rated Wind 13m/s

Stop Wind 25m/s

Generator Asynchronous

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