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You are trying to help the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf management estimate the amount of energy
they could harness from wind energy if turbines were installed at the end of the Wharf. You are also
trying to help them decide which of several available wind turbine designs they should invest in. A
team of engineers has installed a test bed and collected some pilot data showing wind speeds at 10
minute intervals over a period of 26 days in March, 2011.
1. Descriptive Statistics
Which day was the windiest day in March? Using the Excel sheet "Data
Sheet and Calculations", determine the maximum wind speed recorded on
the wharf in March, 2011. There are several ways you can do this beyond
1.1 “hunt and peck”.
Some available functions include =MAX(cell range) Max Wind Speed Date
Use the Solver on the Tools menu
1.2 Which day was the least windy? Find the minimum recorded wind speed.
Some available commands include =MIN(cell range) Min Wind Speed Date
1.6 Are the mean and median values the same? Are they close? How could you explain the difference?
Calculate the potential power (in watts) generated for each recorded
windspeed using this formula: (POWER = SWEPT AREA x WIND SPEED3 x Enter formula in Column H & I
AIR DENSITY). Air density is a function of temp and altitude (see Box 1 of Data & Calculation
below) You can assume the air density is 1.20kg/m3 and the standard Worksheet. Fill down to
2.3 swept area is 4m2. compute all cells
Some available functions to cube windsp =POWER(cell reference, power)
(note - the power function here is to
compute the exponent, not electrical power
from wind!) =cell reference^power
Enter formula in Column J of
Data & Calculation Worksheet.
2.4 Convert watts into kilowatts. (hint: how many watts are in a kilowatt?) Fill down to compute all cells
Calculate the theoretical energy (in kilowatt hours) generated for each
10-minute interval using this formula (Power = Energy x Time). Enter formula in Columns K of
Remember to convert time from minutes into hours since our unit is kWh. Data & Calculation Worksheet.
2.5 (Hint there are 0.1667 hours in a 10 minute interval). Fill down to compute all cells
What is the total theoretical energy generated during the test period in
March? Normally we would plot these points and take the integral. Instead Total
we will use the numerical integral - which is equivalent to summing the Theoretical
2.6 energy values you calculated for each windspeed. Energy
Use Sort in the Data (Mac) or Tools (PC) menu to reorder the theoretical
power values you calculated in 2.3 from low to high. BE SURE TO CLICK
2.6 'EXPAND THE SELECTION' WHEN YOU ARE PROMPTED
Using Excel, plot the power generated for each each data point (t(u) in
Column K). Use "INSERT CHART". Follow the instructions. Your data series Use data values in Column J
should be in columns. Select Insert in a new sheet and when prompted and insert result as a new
2.7 choose the Comparison Data Sheet. Worksheet
Compare the chart you generated with the power curve provided on the
sheet 'Comparison Chart Data' - what do you notice? The power curve
provided shows the actual power generated by the 1kW 2nd Generation
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. This is the turbine that has been selected for
purchase for the Wharf. You can see more specs on this turbine in the
2.8 linked pdf.
Box 1
There are several factors that can result in a variation
of power production. One is the density of the air. Think
of the air in relation to water. Water is denser than air,
it has more molecules packed closer together. The air is
most dense at sea level and thins with increased
altitude. The same is true for temperature. Colder
temperature means denser air. Denser air means more
molecules and more molecules mean more push on the
blades for a given air speed.
So far you have been calculating the theoretical power and energy generated. Next we are going to think about the actual power
generated and energy available. The power generated by any turbine depends on several factors including the swept area (also called
capture area) which is a function of the diameter of the rotor. It also depends on the overall design of the turbine and how it performs
at different windspeeds (See Box 2). More specifically, variation in power capture is a function of tipspeed / wind speed (See figure A)
The definitions below Figure A are important for understanding how wind turbines perform.
3. Calculate Actual Power
Figure A Box 2
http://www.ntpwind.com/wind_turbine_specs.phphttp://www.swiftwindturbine.com/ http://energyfacilities.puc.state.mn.us/documents/197
Without doing any calculation and just by looking at the specs of each
turbine above, which turbine would probably have been generating power
3.1 on the greatest number of days in March?
Without doing any calculation, and just by looking at the turbine specs
above, which turbine would probably have generated the most power
during the test period. Remember, POWER = SWEPT AREA x WIND
3.2 SPEED3 x AIR DENSITY
Now calculate how many 10 minute intervals that each turbine was
generating power based on the cut in speed. Use an IF function as
follows: =IF(wind speed>cut in speed, 1, 0) This function will return a 1
3.3 Turbine A Turbine B
if the actual recorded windspeed is greater than the turbine's rated cut in
speed, and a 0 if not. You can sum the column to determine the total
number of 10 minute intervals for which the turbine was generating
power.
Based on all of this information, select a turbine that you think would be best suited to the Calculate in
wharf. For this turbine, estimate how much total actual power it would have generated Column O and
CHALLENGE:3. during the test period in March. Use the following approach: Assume the turbine generates Report Total
4 30% of theoretical power when operating at windspeeds withing 2 m/s of rated speed, and Here:
that it generate 20% of theoretical power when operating at windspeed more or less than
2 m/s of rated windspeed. Here is a formula that calculates power when wind speed is
greater than 2 m/s over the rated wind speed. See step 3.3 to understand how the IF
function works. You will need to alter this formula to reflect the specs of your selected
turbine and to calculate power for different wind speed ranges. Then you will need to
compile information from each calcuation to complete the task.
=IF(windspeed>(16+2),3904*(windspeed^3)*1.2*0.2,0)
According to the California End Use Survey, restaurants in PG&E territoryuse an average of 33.12 kWh/ft2 per year.
Assume you are conducting analysis for a 2000 square foot restaurant. What information would you need and what steps
would you have to complete to determine how many turbines of a type you select would need to be installed to meet this
4.1 demand?
Information
Needed
4.2 What other limitations might you need to consider when making your recommendation?
IF you finish early, continue to 4.3
You can assume that the technology to store energy generated from wharf wind turbines is not yet available. Let's
imagine that the restaurants can only use the energy generated during hours of operation. If a restaurant operates
from 10am - 11pm using a minimum of 0.07kWh/ft2 and maximum of 16 kWh/ft2 per day what steps would you
4.3 have to complete to determine which days (if any) the restaurant could reliably operate on wind power alone?
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
rter online)
he actual power
wept area (also called
e and how it performs
speed (See figure A)
etc.
yet available. Let's
restaurant operates
at steps would you
d power alone?
STEP # 2.2
Solar Wind Wind Wind
Entry # Date Irradiance Direction Speed Variance Speed
p(u) watts