Wind Energy ESET 222 Winter 2024 PDF

Energy Systems Engineering Technology ESET 222 Wind & Solar Energy Winter 2024 Professor: Arun Hor. Wind Energy ESET 222: Wind & Solar Energy Power in the Wind Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as gr...

Energy Systems Engineering Technology ESET 222 Wind & Solar Energy Winter 2024 Professor: Arun Hor. Wind Energy ESET 222: Wind & Solar Energy Power in the Wind Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity to power homes, businesses, schools, and the like. Modern wind turbines fall into two basic groups; the horizontal-axis variety, like the traditional farm windmills used for pumping water, and the vertical-axis design, like the eggbeater-style Darrieus model, named after its French inventor. Most large modern wind turbines are horizontal-axis turbines. ADVANTAGES Clean Renewable Local Lowest renewable cost Location for off-grid DISADVANTAGES OF WIND TURBINE Site dependent High capital cost compared to conventional Intermittent Location for on-grid Noise, birds, visual ESET 222: Wind & Solar Energy Power in the Wind Pros: Wind energy is estimated to be the most cost effective renewable option. Harnessing wind power does not produce hazardous waste, use non-renewable resources, or cause significant amounts of damage to the environment. Wind is a natural resource that can be found around the globe. Modern wind turbines can create electric power between 500 and 1500 KW. Because of the design of wind turbines and the space needed between each turbine in order to maintain efficiency, land for the turbines can be used for farming. Cons: Although the cost per kilowatt-hour of wind energy has decreased by almost 80% in the past two decades and wind turbines can now develop energy for 11-13 cents/kWh, hydrocarbon fuel (coal) can be developed for only 6 cents/kWh. Wind turbines only work efficiently where the wind moves uniformly in one direction. In order to collect a worthwhile amount of energy, wind speeds must be at least 6 m/s at 30 m above the earth’s surface. Because buildings, trees, and land formations cause turbulence in the air, the only really effective places to build turbines are the high ground, and shore. The turbines lose efficiency at high and low wind speeds. ESET 222: Wind & Solar Energy Power in the Wind Fears People Have About Turbines: Damage from Collapsing Turbines; Noise; A less attractive skyline Unreliable power source; Unnecessarily high bird fatality Significantly modifying the Earth’s wind patterns Addressing these Fears: The noise of the typical turbine is 45 dB at 250 m away (this is lower than the average background noise in a home or office). The reliability of wind varies depending on your location. While one location may generate almost no power one day, it may produce sufficient amounts the next. Having turbine farms in multiple locations helps ensure that the amount of wind energy being collected is relatively constant at any given time. Less than 40,000 birds are killed annually by turbines while domestic cats are responsible for killing hundreds of millions. Although it is plausible to believe that there would be some local climate change, the overall global effect would be negligible. Because the use of wind power would replace some coal-burning power plants, there would be a reduction the CO2 emissions; this would help to keep the environment clean and therefore reduce temperature change ESET 222: Wind & Solar Energy GHG, GWP and Carbon Footprint A greenhouse gas (or GHG for short) is any gas in the atmosphere which absorbs and re-emits heat, and thereby keeps the planet's atmosphere warmer than it otherwise would be. The main GHGs in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone. The main human sources of greenhouse gas emissions are: fossil fuel use, deforestation, intensive livestock farming, and use of synthetic fertilizers and industrial processes. Global warming potential (GWP) is a relative measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere. It compares the amount of heat trapped by a certain mass of the gas in question to the amount of heat trapped by a similar mass of carbon dioxide. A Carbon Footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by your activities in a given time frame. ESET 222: Wind & Solar Energy Types of Wind Turbine Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) and Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) ESET 222: Wind & Solar Energy Types of Wind Turbine Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) and Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) TYPES OF TURBINES o Horizontal Axis and Vertical Axis (HAWT and VAWT) o Drag devices and Lift devices (Lift devices generally 4 times more efficient) o Sizes → Small, Medium, Large o Small can be subdivided into micro (