Wind Farm Model Project

In a bid to come to a full understanding of Wind Farms, I have embarked on a project which will involve modelling an actual wind farm.

As opposed to regular models by Architects, my model will be alive but not generating. This simply means that, the vegetation will be alive and growing.

To save up on time, since the grass and other vegetation will take time to mature, I will start by preparing the land and planting the grass. As the grass takes tits time to grow, I will be working on the turbine models and associated structures on site.

I have modeled on Google Sketch-up and GH WindFarmer 4.2 (Best) to know how everything will fall in place. Sorry the model is not ready as for now, but I will upload as soon as possible. The whole model will be covered with a glass cover to protect it against dust. A grass watering system will also be working to keep the vegetation alive.

▲The plywood is cornered by cardboard to stop the soil from falling off.

▲Inside view of the setup. Note the plywood is corvered by Formica to prevent any chances of rotting.

▲Complete. I used electrical insulation tape (Green)

There is more...▼▼▼

World Future Energy Summit 2012

There are many energy events that one can afford to miss out but this one is not. The World Future Energy Summit is the hallmark of energy and innovation events. Coming this 18th to 21st January 2012 is this year's World Future Energy Summit 2012. Under the Patronage of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.


Products to be Launched

Gold Wind 1.5 PMDD Wind Turbine.
This products offers:

1. High power generating efficiency
2. Compact,Light & Easy to transport
3. Superior power quality and grid code compliance
4. Significantly reduced maintenance costs and total operating expenditures.
5. PMDD Technology, simple drive -train construction ,high reliability. Light and compact design compared to other turbines in its class. Sealed insulation design for excellent dust resistance. Full power converter, low voltage and zero voltage ride through capabilities for excellent grid connection characteristics

This product is being launched by GOLDWIND - China

Kinagop Wind Park, 61MW

Kinagop Wind Park LTD, a local company here in Kenya has announced plans to build a 61MW wind park in Kinagopplateau in Nyandarua County.

The wind farm will have a nameplate capacity of 60.8 MW and the power will be fed into the grid. The company added to say that they will apply for a power generating license in December 5th.

The new plant will add to the nations wind power network breaking ranks to be the largest wind power station. Currently Kenya boasts of Ngong Wind Power as the largest farm with 5 turbines and 5.1MW output. The Lake Turkana Wind Power project, once complete will not only be the largest wind power in Kenya but even in Africa.

South Korea to build the world's largest Wind Farm

The 50Million people Republic of Korea has announced plans to build the world's largest Wind Power Station which will be offshore. The government has said that it will invest 10.2 trillion won (US$9 billion) in building a 2.5 Gigawatt (GW) offshore wind farm, the largest in the world.

Korea Electric Power(KEP), the countries largest power company, will be incharge of the project.The project will be divied into 3phases:

1. 100MW, 353Million US Dollars, (Demonstartion Phase) - 2014
2. 400MW, 1.4Billion US Dollars, Second Phase - 2016
3. 2GW, 8.2Trillion won,Third Phase - 2019

Joining Korea Electric in the consortium of companies building the offshore wind farm are eight suppliers, including Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co., Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.

“South Korea is a latecomer to wind energy and is coming in at a very difficult time for the industry, where severe competition and falling turbine prices are squeezing the profits of the entire supply chain,” Bloomberg New Energy Finance lead wind analyst Justin Woo commented.

“Offshore wind is probably the best entry point for Korean companies into this sector, given their extensive shipbuilding and marine engineering experience as well as the country’s excellent offshore wind resources.”

Source: Bloomberg Business Week
Clean Technica

Wind Farmer 4.2

When it comes to designing a wind farm project, no one does it better than WindFarmer 4.2. Yes, GL Garrad Hassan have released version 4.2 and I cannot wait to get my hands on.
This is what lies inside this release:

NEW: Increased support of ESRI shape files for site limits and object locations
NEW: Tools for design and optimisation of regular grid turbine layouts
NEW: Improved modelling of array effects between large wind farms

NEW: Expanded MCP+ Module with more displays and analysis
NEW: Arabic and Polish language versions.

You can try the demo here.

WindFarmer is wind energy software used to calculate turbine wake impacts, energy yield, and site conditions for determining turbine suitability. WindFarmer uses wind modeling inputs from WAsP or CFD software. WindFarmer is developed internally by the independent renewable energy consultant GL Garrad Hassan. WindFarmer can engage several types of wake models, including an Eddy Viscosity wake model which is more complex than the standard PARK model employed by WindPRO, a leading competitor.

More recently, the Eddy Viscosity model has been modified to account for previous discrepancies in the wake modelling of large wind farms. WindFarmer and WindPRO have both been trusted by investment banks to develop the published wind energy assessments used to determine financing for proposed wind farms.WindFarmer, like WindPRO, can optimize a wind farm layout for energy yield given turbine spacing, setback distances, shadow flicker, and acoustic noise level constraints.

Both products also feature wind farm visualization capabilities.

Wind Energy Installation Systems

When you decide to install a wind system in your house, there are a number of wind installation systems that are available and they depend much your nearness to the power line.
The 3 common installation systems are:

• Grid Connected
• Grid Connected with battery backup
• Off-Grid

The Grid Connected involves the wind turbine produces power (AC) which is fed into the house. Should the wind turbine produce more power than the demand of the house, this excess power is fed into the Grid via a meter which counts the units fed into the grid. On the other hand, should the wind system produce less power, the breaker box, shuts and opens power from the grid to be used. The Grid Connected with battery back-up  is similar to the Grid Connected  but inclusive of a battery. This battery is the storage of energy when the wind system is producing more power. In the event of a black-out energy from the battery is used. For the case of Off-Grid, the system is installed in places where the power grid is not available. It has batteries for harnessing excess power from the wind turbine.

In the next post we shall look in detail at the 3 systems.

The Roscoe Wind Farm, US - Largest Wind farm in the World

Fast Facts
Country: US
Locale: Texas
Status: Operational
Comissioning Date: 2009
Construction Cost: 1Billion USD
No of Turbines: 627
Type: Onshore
Capacity: 781.5MW

Owned and operated by E.ON Climate & Renewable, the Rescoe Wind Farm stands tall with 627 turbines with an installed output of 781.5MW. It was constructed in 4phases:

• 1st Phase,   Rescoe         -2008,            209 Mitsubishi 1MW Turbines
• 2nd Phase, Champion - 2008,            55 Siemens 2.3MW Turbines
• 3rd Phase,  Pyron            -Mid 2009,  166 General Electric 1.5MW Turbines
• 4th Phase,  Inadale         -2009,            197Mitubishi 1MW Turbines

This project cost more than 1Billion US Dollars and provides enough power for more than 250,000 Texan homes. Located 320km West of Fort Worth, it covers an area of 400km (sq). The farm is also notable for its nearly 400Land owners.

Brazil Windpower 2011-Conference & Exhibition

The Sulamerica Conference Center in Rio, Brazil will play host to the Brazil Windpower Conference. This conference will bring together people and market leaders in the industry to showcase their products.

According to the event organaizers, there shall be more space available for the booths and many are expected to attend, including me. The event will run for 3 days, that is August 30, 31 and Sept. 1

The Schedule
August 31st
4pm – accreditation
4:30pm – 6pm – Opening Ceremony
6pm – 7:30pm – Opening of the fair and cocktail

September 1st
8am – accreditation and opening of the fair
8:45am – Beginning of sessions
7pm – ending of the second day
8:30pm – 11pm – Event dinner at Porcão Rio’s

September 2nd
8am – accreditation and opening of the fair
8:45am – Beginning of sessions
4pm – ending of the fair
6pm – ending of the event

I am so not missing this event, see you there.

The Altamont Wind Farm

QUICK FACTS
Location: Alameda County, California, US
Maximum Output: 576MW
Annual Power Generation 1.1TWh
No of Turbines: 4,930
Installation Date: 1981
Condition: Good to Poor

Image:theage.com.au



 The Altamont wind farm, constructed in the 1980’s was at one time the largest wind farm in the world in terms of capacity. This farm was well known by the sheer number of bird mortality at the site. The farm is now one of the oldest wind farms in the US.

The wind farm is composed of many small wind turbines which are regarded as old since the station was constructed a long time ago. Many of these turbines are being replaced with better efficient wind machined which need not to spin fast for power generation. 40kW, 65kW -100kW is the range of most turbines in the pass, installed on metal lattices, while the 100kW are on tubular concrete towers.

The Altamont Wind farm is owned by almost a dozen companies. During the installation date, no clear Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was done in terms of how the turbines would interact with the wildlife and the result was the deadliest wind farm in the world, in terms of avian mortality.
Though the Altamont is known for its powerful wind speed, it is an important bird migration route, and its green-grass covered hills provide food for many species for raptors. The raptors and the federally protected Golden Eagles are killed annually. 4700 of these birds meet their demise in the wind farm annually.

10 Steps to install a small wind power project

Thinking of installing a domestic wind turbine?
Good, now read on....

Step1

Measure the electrical consumption of your domestic appliances in KWh

Step 2

Access your wind resource.

Step3

Head to the dealer and select a turbine and a tower basing your selection on the wind resource. The dealer will advice you.

Step4

Contact the municipal authority or council for laws or regulations that may hinder your project.

Step5

Make sure you have a permit to erect a structure beyond a certain limit so that it does not endanger your neighbours.

Step6

Contact the local utility power supply to sign feed-in grid tariff if any.

Step7

Obtain a license for the wiring done from your turbine to the tower and the grid. This can be arranged by the local utility company.

Step8

Time to order the parts including the turbine and generator.

Step9

Install the system

Step10

Commission the system, but you'll probably require a CERTIFIED Installer to do this. Then perform regular
maintenance on the system.Enjoy your system.

Avian Mortality by Wind Turbines

Since the commissioning of early commercial; wind turbines, the idea of bird mortality by the blades of wind turbines has never settled. many biological researchers have protested the commissioning of large wind farms citing massive death of birds in future.

In this post we are going to explore this concept of death of birds due to wind turbines.


The Reality
When a wind farm is installed in the path or a migratory route for birds, during the migrations the birds will come in contact with the large spinning blades and the result? Bird Mortality.
But on the other hand it us very uncommon for a wind farm to be cited in a migratory path since studies would have already revealed this in the early stages of planning.
 
"To help our understanding of turbine hazards to birds we'd like to make an analogy, to your bicycle. Turn your bike upside down or put it in a work rack, set it to the highest gear...the one you use to go fast on a level slope.... and now move the wheel slowly with your hand. The chain moves rapidly with only a few degrees of wheel rotation. This symbolizes today's cutting edge 1.5 mW turbines, which have a very large surface area of blade exposed to the wind and a gearbox that turns the dynamo quickly while the blades move slowly. Birds dodge these slow moving blades relatively easily.Now put the bike in the lowest gear...the one you use to climb hills...and move the wheel with your hand fast enough to turn the chain as fast as before. That symbolizes the 20-year-old "bird-o-matic" wind turbine design. Small blades with small surface areas have to turn rapidly to overcome the magnetic force of the dynamos, which generate electricity.Recapping: small blades, low surface area, lots of dead birds possible; very big blades, with large surface area exposed to wind, very few dead birds." From treehugger.com 

Introduction to Wind Power & Energy from the Wind

Wind has been in use since the early days of civilization but its use is what differs from today’s world. In those days wind was used primarily to drive ocean-going ships that connected continents and opened up international trade. One of the famous winds is the Monsoon that held up local and international trade.

In western countries however, wind was a major component and energy source in pumping water. The idea of using wind to generate electricity had not been given a thought then.The use of wind to generate electricity was realized in the 19th century when the 12 kW DC windmill generator constructed by Brush in the USA and the research undertaken by LaCour in Denmark.

However, for much of the twentieth century there was little interest in using wind energy other than for battery charging for remote dwellings and these low-power systems were quickly replaced once access to the electricity grid became available.

The onset of oil is considered to have hit hard on the development of Wind Energy since it was cheap and plenty. However in the 1990s when the price of oil suddenly rose, due to uncertainty of quantity, the need for a reliable source of energy that was environmentally-friendly started again. This time government funded projects led the way.
As the development of Wind energy has gone beyond borders, many concepts and designs have been proposed and tested on a massive scale. Countries and government funded projects have shown some fascinating designs. The Golding of 1955) and Shepherd and Divone in Spera of 1994, record the 100 kW 30 m diameter Balaclava wind turbine in the then USSR in 1931 and the Andrea Enfield 100 kW 24 m diameter pneumatic design constructed in the UK in the early 1950s. In this turbine hollow blades, open at the tip, were used to draw air up through the tower where another turbine drove the generator. Horizontal and Vertical Axis Wind Turbines have emerged as the two major conceptual designs used commercial. Germany is currently leading with the invention followed by Sweden.

Lake Turkana Wind Power Project Given a Go - Ahead

Related Posts:
Lk.Turkana Wind Power Project - Details
Wind Power In Kenya - Ngong Wind Power Station

The Lk. Turkana Wind Power Project which was to start installation last year has finally been given the green light. This had followed months of delay from the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Energy in handing out a Letter of Support. The Letter of Support provides two components ie

1. An assurance from the firm's lenders that the Government will step in and help in case KPLC (Kenya Power & Lighting Company) will
be unable to buy the power generated.
2.IPPs (Independent Power Producers) will obtain liquidity support through the IDAPRG (International Development Association Partial Risks
Guarantees) while the termination and political risks will be covered by MIA (Multilateral Insurance Agency)

Mr.Wageningen, the company's chairman said that they have raised Sh.20Billion, 30% of the estimated project cost and saying that lenders have shown positive attitude towards the project.

The Lake Turkana Wind Power Project will involve the installation of 365 Vestas Wind Turbines each with a max output of 865kW and a combined output of 300MW. Work will start in October 2011. First 50MW will be ready in September 2013.And by the close of 2014, the project will be producing 300MW into the National Grid.

First Green Energy Centre to be set up in Nairobi, Kenya

Kenyans are set to reap the rewards of a new initiative to help local companies develop and set up climate friendly technologies that will create thousands of jobs.
World Bank’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Andrew Steer announced that the world’s first Climate Innovation Centre (CIC) will be established in Nairobi.

Mr Steer made the revelation yesterday during a conference at the Danish Embassy, Nairobi, dubbed "Green Growth in Kenya" which will focus on the private sectors role in promoting green growth in the context of the country’s changing climate.

The CIC is spearheaded by the Royal Danish Embassy and the Banks Information for Development Program and is expected to help Kenya’s private sector boost industry competitiveness, job creation and cut effects of climate change.

Climate technology
"The creative spark of private Kenyans and African entrepreneur can transform climate challenges into market opportunities. This Climate Innovation Center will provide the help to make it happen," he said.In the first five years, the CIC is expected to create more than 70 climate technology businesses, generating some 4,600 direct and indirect jobs.

"The private sector has a pivoted role in the economy, contributing to 80 per cent of Kenyans GDP. It is expected that 1.7 million informal SMEs will be assisted by CIC," said Geert Aagaard Anderson, the Danish Ambassador to Kenya.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said Kenya must take a green development path if it is to realise faster economic growth.He said the energy sector, which drives the country’s economic growth, has the potential to generate renewable energy of up to 7000MW, if fully exploited.

Ngong Wind Power - Kenya

Installed Capacity: 5.1 Mega Watts

Commisioning Year: 2009

Wind Turbines: 6

Output of each turbine: 850kW

Model: Vestas V52

Main Contractor TPF-Econoler SA (Belgium)

Location:Ngong Hills, 22km SW of capital, Nairobi - Kenya.

Standing tall at a height of 50m from the ground, the wind turbines rotate at the winds pace in a bid to generate Kenya's source of Wind Power.The Ngong Wind Power Project which was commissioned in August 2009, is Kenya's largest Wind Power Station but will come second once the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) is completed.

The 6 Turbines, each with a maximum output of 850kW produce a total of 5.1MW of clean energy into the grid.For the Vestas V52 Model turbines, KenGen executed a contract for the implementation of Ngong Hills Wind Power project with TPF-Econoler SA (TPFE) of Belgium on 29th October 2007.

Kenyan Cabinet approves a 421MW Power Generation Programme

The power shortage in Kenya is set to ease following Tuesday’s move by the Cabinet to approve a major generation programme.

Under the New Planned Power Generation Capacity Programme, six power projects are to be initiated this year.They include:

21MW Songoro Hydropower Project.
10MW Tana Hydropower Project.
5MW Ngong Windpower Project.
80MW Early Geothermal Power Project.
25MW Kindaruma Upgrade.
280MW Olkaria 1 and Olkaria 4.

 “In this regard Cabinet forwards for parliamentary approval the establishment of an escrow guarantee fund for semi-concessional loans for external borrowing by KenGen and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company from EIB and KFW to finance the additional power generation of 421 megawatts,” a statement issued by the Presidential Press Service said.

Community Power Centers (CPC) : UNIDO

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in partnership with other stakeholders has been working on a project of lighting up Kenya using electricity generated from renewable sources. The energy generated is taken to a village power center that acts as a community development center.Once electricity is at the center, it is used for different applications. Presently, unto 2Billion people lack access to modern energy mainly those living in of-grid areas.

The Community Power Centers Project
The community power project is a source of energy powered by zero-emission hybrid renewable energy sources such as:
 Micro-hydro, Mini-hydro
 Bio-gas

Is Engineering all about money?

Sometimes I really wonder whether this world is ever going to move forward if everybody just want money but no development. I was shocked when my fellow students were looking for an attachment at local companies based on how much they pay trainees.Why would one want to be paid and yet you are even not qualifies - you are there for the practical application of what one has learned in class. Actually, I would prefer to be attached to a company that pays little or no pay as long as I acquire that invaluable exposure.Okay, I agree that yes we all need money to survive in this competitive world but should people be paid large sums of money and yet nothing is being done in terms of development?...

Lake Turkana Wind Power Project - Kenya

PROJECT:     LAKE TURKANA WIND POWER STATION
CAPACITY:     310 MW (2012)
LOCATION:     SOUTHEASTERN END OF LAKE TURKANA
DUE DATE:    JULY 2010 FULL CAPACITY JULY 2010
TURBINE TECHNOLOGY: VESTAS V-52 850 KW WIND TURBINE