Wind Energy Science and Engineering

Wind EnergyScience and Engineering

John GaliskySpace, Technology and Robotic Systems AcademyLompoc High SchoolLompoc, [email protected]

Introductions

• What is your name?• Where do you work?• Why are you here?

or• What are your expectations?

Agenda• Why Teach Wind?• History of Wind Power• Wind Turbine Technology• Wind Resources• Some Issues• Wind Energy in the Classroom

KidWind Project | www.kidwind.org


What is KidWind?

The KidWind Project is a team of teachers, students, engineers and practitioners

exploring the science behind wind energy in classrooms around the US. Our goal is to

introduce as many people as possible to the elegance of wind power through hands-on science activities which are challenging, engaging and teach basic

science principles.

KidWind Challenge• American Wind Energy Association

– Conference & Exhibition– Anaheim, CA– May 22-25

Why Wind Education in K-12 ?• Students learn science/math standards

– Lessons are completely scalable from elementary through college level

• Addresses myths regarding wind energy– Improves the local understanding of wind energy– Provides a bulwark against misunderstandings and fictional

problems with wind energy

• Encourages higher interest in Science and Math– Science/Math activities with “larger social purpose”

• Students learn about jobs/careers in wind industry, as well as opportunities for further training

Typical Wind Lessons - Not Technical

•Beaufort Scale•Pinwheels•Student Reports•Demonstrations•Discussion Activity

All very interesting but very little of the science and technology related to the current wind industry is presented.

In fact, most textbooks are pretty negative about the future of wind and misrepresent the technology miserably.

This is strange because…Wind Energy is the Fastest Growing Energy Source in the World!!

US installed capacity grew 45% in 2007 and 50% in 2008!!!


2008: 8,358 megawatts (MW) of new wind energy capacity installed

• 50% growth rate! • Brings US total installed wind energy capacity

to 25,170 MW• At ~3.5 kW per house this is enough

electricity to power close to 7 million homes!• 2009 was a slower year due to the economy



Why such growth…costs!1979: 40 cents/kWh

• Increased Turbine Size

• R&D Advances• Manufacturing

Improvements

NSP 107 MW Lake Benton wind farm4 cents/kWh (unsubsidized)

2004: 3 – 4.5 cents/kWh

2000:4 - 6 cents/kWh

Other Reason to teach…

Elegant Power Source

Need to Change Perceptions…


Wind Power- History- Technology- The Wind Resource- Wind in the Classroom

Early “Windmill” in Afghanistan (900AD)

Jacobs Turbine – 1920 - 1960 WinCharger – 1930s – 40s

Smith-Putnam Turbine

Vermont, 1940's

Modern Windmills

OrientationTurbines can be categorized into two overarching classes based on the orientation of the rotor

Vertical Axis Horizontal Axis

Vertical Axis TurbinesAdvantages• Omnidirectional

– Accepts wind from any angle

• Components can be mounted at ground level– Ease of service– Lighter weight

towers• Can theoretically use

less materials to capture the same amount of wind

Disadvantages• Rotors generally near ground

where wind poorer• Centrifugal force stresses

blades• Poor self-starting capabilities• Requires support at top of

turbine rotor• Requires entire rotor to be

removed to replace bearings• Overall poor performance

and reliability• Have never been

commercially successful (large scale)

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

• Rotors are usually Up-wind of tower

• Some machines have down-wind rotors, but only commercially available ones are small turbines

• Proven, viable technology

Modern Small Wind Turbines:High Tech, High Reliability, Low Maintenance

• Technically Advanced• Only 2-3 Moving Parts• Very Low Maintenance

Requirements• Proven: ~ 5,000 On-Grid • American Companies are the

Market and Technology Leaders

10 kW50 kW

400 W900 W

(Not to scale)

Yawing – Facing the Wind• Active Yaw (all medium &

large turbines produced today, & some small turbines from Europe)• Anemometer on nacelle tells

controller which way to point rotor into the wind

• Yaw drive turns gears to point rotor into wind

• Passive Yaw (Most small turbines)• Wind forces alone direct rotor

• Tail vanes• Downwind turbines

Wacky Designs out there…

Large Wind Turbines

• 450’ base to blade• Each blade 112’• Span greater than 747• 163+ tons total• Foundation 20+ feet deep• Rated at 1.5 – 5 megawatt• Supply at least 350 homes

Wind Turbine Perspective

Nacelle56 tons

Tower3 sections

Workers Blade112’ long


Maintenance


Wind Farms

Off-Shore Wind Farms

Middelgrunden

THE WIND RESOURCE

Why do windmills need to be high in the sky??

Turbulent wind is bad wind

Calculation of Wind Power

•Power in the wind Power in the wind

– Effect of swept area, A– Effect of wind speed, v– Effect of air density,

Swept Area: A = πr2 Area of the circle swept by the rotor (m2).

Power in the Wind = ½ρAv3

r

Importance of Wind Speed• No other factor is more

important to the amount of power available in the wind than the speed of the wind

• Power is a cubic function of wind speed– V X V X V

• 20% increase in wind speed means 73% more power

• Doubling wind speed means 8 times more power


Key Issues facing Wind Power

Wildlife Impacts

1980’s California Wind Farm Older Technology+ Higher RPMs+ Lower Elevations

+ Lattice Towers+ Poorly Sited= Bad News!

• In the November-December Audubon Magazine, John Flicker, President of National Audubon Society, wrote a column stating that Audubon "strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source," pointing to the link between global warming and the birds and other wildlife that scientist say it will kill.

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/images/f/f4/Instrumental_Temperature_Record.png

Impacts of Wind Power:Noise

• Modern turbines are relatively quiet

• Rule of thumb – stay about 3x hub-height away from houses

•Where is the wind?

•Where are the population centers?

•Where are the wind farms?

•How do we get wind energy from the wind farms to the population centers?

Transmission Problems

Siting and NIMBY

Wind Energy in the Classroom

Standards/Skills• Scientific Processes (Collecting & Presenting Data,

Performing Experiments, Repeating Trials, Using Models)

• Use of Simple Tools & Equipment• Forces Cause Change• Energy Transformations (Forms of Energy)• Circuits/Electricity/Magnetism• Weather Patterns• Renewable – Non Renewable Energy

Elementary• Engineering is Elementary• Wind Chimes• Wind Art• Building simple blades

Middle • Building Wind

Turbines• Assessing Wind

Resource• Mathematics

balloon

streamers

Kite or balloon string

~3m

Secondary• Advanced Blade Design• School Siting Projects• Data Analysis• Advanced Math


WindWise1. How is Energy Converted to Electricity?2. What is the Cost of Inefficiency? 3. What Causes Wind? 4. Where Is It Windy? 5. Can Wind Power Your Classroom? 6. How Does a Windmill Work? 7. How Does a Generator Work? 8. Which Blades are Best? 9. How Can I Design A Better Blade? 10.How Does Energy Affect Wildlife? 11.Wind's Risk To Birds 12.Can We Reduce Risk To Bats? 13.How Do People Feel About Wind? 14.Siting A Wind Farm 15.Is Wind A Good Investment?

Energy

Wind

Turbines

Wind & Wildlife

Siting Wind Turbines


Circuits, Wind Farms, Battery Charging, and Hybrid Systems

KidWind Teacher Workshops

• Saturday, January 15, Cuesta College• Saturday, January 29, College of the Canyons• Saturday, February 5, College of the Desert

KidWind Challenge• American Wind Energy Association

– Conference & Exhibition– Anaheim, CA– May 22-25

The KidWind Projectwww.kidwind.org Questions???

Documents

Wind Energy Science and Engineering