12.

1 Wind Energy, Part 2

Wind Energy Theory

and Data Processing

Frank R. Leslie,
B. S. E. E., M. S. Space Technology, LS IEEE
2/23/2010, Rev. 2.0.0
fleslie @fit.edu; (321) 674-7377
www.fit.edu/~fleslie

Oil ~$80/bbl 2/22/2010

 In Other News . . .
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myu2Dmv1mOQ

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 12.1 Overview: Wind
 Wind speed measurements provide local data to
estimate wind power available
“Local” means where the turbine will stand (within a
few feet)
 Wind power/energy computations yield estimates of
energy available at the anemometer
 Statistical processing is required to estimate accurately
for the long term

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 12.1 About This Presentation

 12.1.1 Anemometers
 12.1.2 Wind Data Processing
 12.1.3 Site Wind Variations
 12.1.4 Wind Power
 12.1.5 Wind Energy
 12.1.6 Grants and Assistance
 12.1.7 Advantages and Disadvantages
 12.1 Conclusion

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 12.1.1 Anemometers
 Anemometers measure the speed and direction of the wind as a
function of time
 Spinning cups or propeller
 Ultrasonic reflection (Doppler)
 Sodar (Sound detection and ranging with a large horn)
 Radar
 Drift balloons
 Etc.
 Wind data are usually collected at ten-minute rate and averaged
for recording
 Gust studies are occasionally used, and require fast sampling at a
higher rate to avoid significant information loss (4 pts/gust)
 Spectral analysis indicates the frequency components of the wind
structure and permits sampling frequency selection to minimize
loss
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 12.1.2 Wind Data Processing
 Serial data from a datalogger must be validated to
detect errors, omissions, or equipment malfunctions
 These data are usually produced in a text (.TXT) format
 Specialized computer codes may read the data or an
export function used to produce a txt output file
 Statistical analysis is used to detect anomalies, peaks
and nulls (lulls in wind jargon), and determine the
distribution of the speeds and directions
 Frequency analysis with the Fast Fourier Transform
(FFT) will show where the energy lies and its probability
 Cepstral analysis shows the periodicities in time domain
 Graphic analysis displays the results for visual
interpretation; excellent for a holistic view

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 12.1.3.1 Local Site Wind Availability

 Once a region of persistent winds is located, an area of

interest is defined by local reconnaissance, land inquiries
made, dissenters prospected, etc.
 Since trees act to block the wind or cause turbulence, a
distance to the nearest tree of less than 200-300 feet (500 ft
is better) will significantly impact the free wind
 A wind rose for that area will define the principal directions of
arrival; seek local advice as to storm history as well; look for
flagging of vegetation
 Place an anemometer or small temporary turbine about 20 ft
away from the intended tower site so that the anemometer
can be retained there when the main turbine is installed;
choose the direction of least likely wind from where the
turbine would be placed

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 12.1.3.2 Wind Variation
 Since wind velocity (speed and direction) varies over a year
and over many years, long-term data are required
 The velocities may be estimated using one year’s data or
climate (long-term weather data) may be obtained from
climate agencies
 While wind direction varies, most wind turbines will track in
azimuth (yaw) to maximize the energy extracted, and wind
arrival direction knowledge is more important in determining
upwind blockage or obstruction
 The wind speed, average, one-minute gust, and extreme, is
sufficient for most energy assessment purposes
 The top 30% of the wind speed regime will provide ~70% of
the energy; (87.9% of statistics are made up on the spot)

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12.1.3.2.1 Speed and Energy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power
 12.1.3.3 Wind Speed Variation
 In a time series of wind speed data, there will be many
different values of speed
 For convenience, the speeds are usually divided into
“bins”, or ranges of speed, e.g., 0-1 mph, 1+ to 4 mph,
. . . , 60-65 mph, etc.
 The ranges vary, but since there are many samples in a
year, there can be many ranges in the process
 The number of samples that fall within a bin can be
plotted as a histogram versus the wind speed ranges
 A line drawn through the top of the histogram bars
approximates a continuous function that is similar to a
Weibull Distribution Function, or in a more simple case,
a Rayleigh Distribution Function
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 12.1.3.3 Wind Speed Variation
http://www.windpower.dk/tour/wres/weibull.htm
 Usually it’s a little windy, sometimes
it’s calm, and in storms, the wind
blows hard but not for long
 A probability curve (p.d.f.) is just a
way to express this mathematically
 If the wind values are integrated, a
distribution curve results

 This Weibull probability curve shows the variation for a site with a 6.5 m/s
mean wind and a Weibull shape factor of 2; the higher the factor, the more
peaked or pointed
 Notice that the mean is not the most common; that is the mode, and the
median is in the middle of the data
 The shape factor of 2.0 reveals that this is the Rayleigh probability as well,
which is easier to use for that case

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 12.1.4.1 Wind Speed Power Density

 Grey = total power

http://www.windpower.dk/tour/wres/powdensi.htm

 Blue = useable power

 Red = turbine power output
 0 to 25 m/s on abscissa

 Not all wind power can be extracted or the wind would stop
 The Betz Limit of 59.3% is the theoretical maximum
 Turbines approach 40% from the rotor, but the mechanical and
electrical losses may take 20% of the rotor output

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 12.1.4.2 Power Is Proportional to Wind Speed Cubed

 Recall that the average wind power is based upon the average of
the speed cubed for each occurrence
 Don’t average the speed and cube it!
 Cube the various speeds and average those cubes to estimate the
power
 The Bergey wind turbine curve below indicates the energy output in
nonturbulent flow

Ref.: Bergey

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 12.1.4.3 How to find the Total Wind Power

 Each speed range, say 10-14 mph, has a probability of

occurrence that has been estimated from some length of
data
 Suppose the mid-range speed (12 mph) is 5%
probability of occurrence
 The product is 12 mph times 5% = 0.6 mph
 Find all the products for all the ranges and add the
resultant products in miles per hour to find the most
likely wind speed

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 12.1.4.4 How to find the Wind Power
Mid-
 Each speed range is multiplied Wind Range of Product

by the probability that the

Speed Wind Probability & Sum
Range, Speed, of Products,

speed occurs m/s

0-1
m/s
0.5
Occurance
0.0069
m/s
0.003

 The sum of these products 1-2

2-3
1.5
2.5
0.2426
0.0485
0.364
0.121
yields the mean effective speed 3-4
4-5
3.5
4.5
0.0624
0.0762
0.218
0.343
5-6 5.5 0.0832 0.457
6-7 6.5 0.0693 0.450
7-8 7.5 0.0624 0.468
8-9 8.5 0.0589 0.501
9-10 9.5 0.0554 0.527
10-11 10.5 0.0347 0.364
11-12 11.5 0.0277 0.319
12-13 12.5 0.0208 0.260
13-14 13.5 0.0139 0.187
14-15 14.5 0.1178 1.708
15-16 15.5 0.0069 0.107
16-17 16.5 0.0049 0.080
17-18 17.5 0.0055 0.097
18-19 18.5 0.0014 0.026
over 19 20 0.0007 0.014
Total 1.0000 6.615

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 12.1.4.5 How to find the Wind Power

 A turbine power
curve is cubic to
start, but becomes
intentionally less
efficient at very
high wind speeds
to avoid damage
 At very high winds,
the power output
may fall to zero,
usually by design
to prevent damage

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 12.1.5.1 A Turbine Power Example

 Turbine power is Turbine Power

essentially a cubic curve
with respect to wind 3000

speed (up to a point) y = 0.1382x 3 - 2.2943x 2 + 42.062x - 229.43

R2 = 1
 The more measured 2500
points, the better the
equation represents the 2000
performance

Power, kWh
 A regression curve fit
1500
allows use of the
equation to estimate
between points 1000

measured
 The cubic fit is a model 500

of the real variable data

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Wind Speed, m ph

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 12.1.5.2 Simple Example of Energy

Strange Weather in Zephyr, Wyoming

Mid-
Wind Range of Turbine
Speed Wind Probability Hours Power at Energy,
Range, Speed, of wind / speed, kWh/
mph mph Occurrence year kW year
7 7 0.1 876 0 0
10 10 0.5 4380 100 438000
20 20 0.3 2628 800 2102400
30 30 0.1 876 2700 2365200
Total 1.0 8760 4905600
hours kWh

Note that the most energy comes from the least frequent wind speed
The wind doesn't overcome turbine bearing resistance until 7 mph

 The wind in Zephyr, Wyoming varies as shown in the table

 The turbine doesn’t move until the wind speed reaches over 7 mph
 Most energy comes from the high storm winds that occur 10% of the time

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 12.1.5.3 A really simple example

 For any site, the wind speed distribution varies

with time
 The distribution is estimated from whatever data is available ---
the more, the better

 Each turbine type has different operating

characteristics, so the power curves will vary
 The power multiplied by the time at that speed
yields the energy for that speed
 The sum of the various energies for the speeds
yields the total energy over the time considered

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 12.1.5.4 Effective Wind Speed

 The effective wind speed is that value of steady

wind that would have the same energy output as
the variable wind regime
 One can only find this for real data in a particular
wind regime by cubing each of the wind speeds,
summing them in proportion to their probability
of occurrence, and taking the cube root

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 12.1.5.5 Wind Energy Derivation Equations
(also applies to water turbines)

 Assume a “tube” of air the diameter, D, of the rotor

A = π D2/4 (could be rectangular for a VAWT)
 A length, L, of air moves through the turbine in t
seconds
L = u·t, where u is the wind speed
 The tube volume is V = A·L = A·u·t
 Air density, ρ, is 1.225 kg/m3 (water density ~1000
kg/m3, or 832 times more than air)
 Mass, m = ρ·V = ρ·A·u·t, where V is volume
 Kinetic energy = KE = ½ mu2

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 12.1.5.5 Wind Energy Equations (continued)

 Substituting ρ·A·u·t for mass, and

A = π D2/4 , KE = ½·π/4·ρ·D2·u3·t
 Theoretical power, Pt = ½·π/4·ρ·D2·u3·t/t =
0.3927·ρa·D2·u3,
ρ (rho) is the density, D is the diameter swept by the rotor blades, and u is
the speed parallel to the rotor axis
 Betz Law shows 59.3% of power can be extracted
 Pe = Pt·59.3%·ήr·ήt·ήg, where Pe is the extracted power,
ήr is rotor efficiency, ήt is mechanical transmission
efficiency, and ήg is generator efficiency
 For example, 59.3%·90%·98%·80% = 42% extraction
of theoretical power

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 12.1.6 Grants and Assistance
 In some cases, grants and/or anemometer loans from a
state or the US Federal government may be approved to
stimulate interest in wind energy systems
 Some states provide a rebate of up to 50% of the cost
 Anemometers for energy testing might consist only of a
wind distance indicator with a digital readout of miles of
wind (difference the readings & divide by time elapsed)
 The tower used should approximate the height of the
turbine rotor, but the tower may be a temporary mast
like a television antenna would be mounted on
 Some experts advise that it is better to simply put up a
substantial tower and mount a small wind turbine on it
 Wind energy can be used from the small turbine before
buying a larger size
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 12.1.7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind
Systems

 Wind systems, more than solar, provide variable energy as the

weather changes rapidly
 Storage is required to have energy available when the wind isn’t
blowing and smooth it somewhat; batteries now exist for this
 This highly variable wind sends variable power to lines; each
turbine has different outputs, reducing electrical line variability by
the square root of the number of turbines
 Large utility size turbines now produce energy at a cost competitive
with fossil fuels, but it takes a lot of them to get comparable energy
 A typical utility plant may have nearly 1000 MW or 1 GW peak
power, while a “large” turbine might be rated at 4 MW at 25
mph wind --- that’s 250 turbines for rated wind speed!
 Largest now is the Enercon E-126: 126 m diameter and 7+ MW
nameplate rating at Emden, Germany
 10 MW to come:
http://www.cpi.umist.ac.uk/Eminent/publicFiles/brno/RISO_Future_10MW_Wind_Turbine.pdf

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 12.1 Conclusion: Wind Theory
 The theory of wind energy is based upon fluid flow, so it also
applies to water turbines (water has 832 times the density)
 While anemometers provide wind speed and usually direction,
data processing converts the raw data into usable information
 Because of the surface drag layer of the atmosphere, placing
the anemometer at a “standard” height of 10 meters above
the ground is important; airport anemometer heights often
historically differ from 10 meters
 For turbine placement, the anemometer should be at turbine
hub height
 The average of the speeds is not the same as the correct
average of the speed cubes!
 The energy extracted by a turbine is the summation of (each
speed cubed times the time that it persisted)
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 Olin Engineering Complex 4.7 kW Solar PV Roof Array

Questions?

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 References: Books
 Brower, Michael. Cool Energy. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1992. 0-262-02349-0,
TJ807.9.U6B76, 333.79’4’0973.
 Gipe, Paul. Wind Energy for Home & Business. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea
Green Pub. Co., 1993. 0-930031-64-4, TJ820.G57, 621.4’5
 Patel, Mukund R. Wind and Solar Power Systems. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1999, 351
pp. ISBN 0-8493-1605-7, TK1541.P38 1999, 621.31’2136
 Sørensen, Bent. Renewable Energy, Second Edition. San Diego: Academic Press,
2000, 911 pp. ISBN 0-12-656152-4.

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 References: Websites, etc.
http://www.windpower.dk/tour/wres/weibull.htm best choice for information

_________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________
awea-windnet@yahoogroups.com. Wind Energy elist
awea-wind-home@yahoogroups.com. Wind energy home powersite elist
rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/atlas/maps/chap2/2-01m.html PNNL wind energy map of CONUS
windenergyexperimenter@yahoogroups.com. Elist for wind energy experimenters
telosnet.com/wind/20th.html
solstice.crest.org/
dataweb.usbr.gov/html/powerplant_selection.html

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