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Showing posts with label US Wind Charts By Location. Show all posts

3.18.2013

For All My Wind Energy Enthusiasts

Special Edition Wind Turbine Technology

Topics Covered: Modeling for Better Reliability, Smalley Wind Power Series, Simulating Wind Turbine Effects on Radar Returns, Connector Solutions for Wind Engines, Wind Turbine Slip Rings, Reliable Fiber Optics Solutions for Wind Turbines, Low Wind Turbines on the Rise



GlobalSpec: Wind Turbine Technology Special Edition
Wind Turbine Technology
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Modeling for Better Reliability
Modeling for Better Reliability
Gearboxes fail for many reasons, and determining a root cause is often difficult. As a result, more manufacturers are turning to computer models that can stress a design before it winds up at the top of a tower. Research by the Gearbox Reliability Collaborative shows that useful models need to consider more variables than many people expect. As these additional factors are added, such as housing flexibility, misalignment, and planetary mount movement, predicted reliability goes surprisingly downhill.
DuPont™ Nomex® Energy Solutions Webinar: New Requirements for Electrical Equipment: Why Materials Matter — April 9, 2013
DuPont™ Nomex® Energy Solutions Webinar:
New Requirements for Electrical Equipment: Why Materials Matter — April 9, 2013
On April 9, DuPont™ Nomex® Energy Solutions will present "New Requirements for Electrical Equipment: Why Materials Matter". Learn about emerging requirements for electrical equipment design. Discover the benefits of a total system solution, and more.
Join your peers for this free, informative, and interactive ONLINE webinar — right from the convenience of your desktop. Register today!
Do You Have the Latest Standards?
Do You Have the Latest Standards?
American National Standards Institute, Inc.
ANSI has released a new section of its Web site specifically focused on wind turbine standards. Learn more about wind turbine standards covering topics as far ranging as full-scale structural testing and acoustic noise measurement, as well as a 6-part information model for communications for monitoring and control of wind power plants.
An Ideal Enclosure
An Ideal Enclosure
Fibox Enclosures
Made from polycarbonate for harsh environments Fibox's, ARCA features UL, NEMA 4X/6P and IP 66/67 rating plus CE certification, this enclosure is also available in custom colors matched to PMS, FED STD 595C, or European RAL colors.
European Recession? What Recession?
European Recession? What Recession? Curious about who installed the most turbines in Europe last year? Or what towers are most popular in offshore installations? The European Wind Energy Association's annual report on offshore trends is a valuable source of these and other key technology indicators. Installed generating capacity increased 31% in 2012. Interestingly, the average turbine size remains 4 MW, in spite of the trend to bigger and bigger blades.
Smalley Wind Power Series
Smalley Wind Power
Series
Smalley Steel Ring Company
Smalley is the leading manufacturer of Spirolox Retaining Rings and Wave Springs for the power generation industry. Smalley's standard Wind Power Series is available in up to 120 in. diameters. Standard materials sizes are stocked for production, with delivery in as little as two weeks. Ten-thousand parts are stocked in carbon and stainless steel.
Simulating Wind Turbine Effects on Radar Returns
Simulating Wind Turbine
Effects on Radar Returns
Remcom (USA)
Wind turbines located near radar installations can significantly interfere with a radar's ability to detect its intended targets. Remcom's XGtd software is a high-frequency solver capable of calculating the radar cross section of electrically large objects. In this paper, interference from wind turbines is predicted using XGtd simulations. Download the whitepaper
Connector Solutions for Wind Engines
Connector Solutions for
Wind Engines
Multi-Contact USA
Multi-Contact products suited for wind power plants: Round connectors simplify the connection between wind engine segments on-site. Fork connectors facilitate maintenance processes in the switch gear. Depending on the configuration, the modular connector CombiTac can be used in various parts of the windmill, from the switch case to the nacelle.
Low Wind Turbines on the Rise
Low Wind Turbines on the Rise Fitting the turbine to the environment is no better demonstrated than in Bavaria. With low winds and tall forests, smaller turbines on tall towers are perfect for the heavily forested region. The low wind market segment is heating up for just this reason, according to Wind Power Monthly. GE, Nordex, and other manufacturers are testing this low wind niche with a slew of 2.5 MW turbines.
Wind Turbine Slip Rings
Wind Turbine Slip Rings

United Equipment Accessories,
Inc.
United Equipment Accessories' wind turbine slip rings are engineered to perform up to 75 million revolutions. UEA slip rings offer design versatility and a wide selection of circuitry. Our engineers will work with you on your specific wind turbine application to provide the highest performing quality slip ring available!
Preassembled Substation Control Buildings
Preassembled
Substation
Control Buildings
Trachte, Inc.
Trachte builds high-quality collector and interconnect buildings integrating all the equipment, wiring, and instrumentation needed to support wind farm operations. We have building solutions for wind power customers including wind farm developers, EPC firms, electrical and construction contractors, interconnect utilities, relay and protection panel manufacturers, OEMs, and substation packagers.
Reliable Fiber Optics Solutions for Wind Turbines
Reliable Fiber Optics
Solutions for Wind
Turbines
Avago Technologies
Key applications for industrial fiber optic components in wind turbine systems include: power electronic gate driver for rectifiers and inverters, control and communication boards, turbine control units, condition monitoring systems, and wind farm networking. Learn more...
Tantalizing Teardown
Tantalizing Teardown Every engineer wonders what's wearing out in a working turbine, but how many of us get to tear one apart in the middle of its lifespan? The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory did just that. They ran a 1 kW grid-connected SWIFT turbine for two years, then ripped it apart. There were the usual paint chips and wear marks on the nose cone, but the generator presented more serious issues.
Sweep Twist Improves Performance
Sweep Twist Improves Performance Longer blades mean more power, but at some point weight and torsional stress become limiting factors. Sweep-twist blades shed turbulence loads at the tip, in much the same way whale and porpoise fins reduce drag. Renewable Energy World reports on the Star project, which crafted a prototype sweep-twist blade. In its final 56 m form, it converted turbulence into a 12% power improvement over traditional blades.
Optical Monitors Reduce Stress
Optical Monitors Reduce Stress Monitoring blade stress and wear is critical to an effective operations and maintenance program. Copper strain gauges are typically used for blade load measurement, but they suffer from limited lifetimes and calibration instability. Optical strain gauges offer several advantages, according to this study. It stresses better reliability, cleaner data, and reduced recalibration headaches.
Sandia's Reliability CREW
Sandia's Reliability CREW Is your maintenance and operation team effective? Benchmarking turbine uptime against industry norms is a great way to check your maintenance ROI and spot patterns before they become problems. Luckily, Sandia National Laboratories has done the basic work for you. Their Continuous Reliability Enhancement for Wind (CREW) database contains a wealth of information on predicted uptime, wind speed and generation calculations, and contributors to turbine unavailability.
The Fight over Inner Space
The Fight over Inner Space For the past 18 months the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been reviewing clearance issues inside turbine towers. OSHA expects a 30 in. clearance between the ladder and any fixed objects. In many towers, mating flanges, bolts, and other objects intrude on this space. Operators and manufacturers are holding their collective breath as they await a ruling that may require ladder relocation in hundreds, if not thousands, of towers.
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March 18, 2013 - Volume 3 Issue 1
© 2013 IHS. IHS, the IHS globe design, GlobalSpec, SpecSearch and The Engineering Web are registered trademarks of IHS, 30 Tech Valley Drive, Suite 102, East Greenbush, NY 12061 - 800.261.2052. All other products, company names, or other marks appearing in this e-newsletter are the trademarks and property of their respective owners.

2.28.2010

Wind Turbines-Rural America

February 16, 2010


The Interview: Dan Juhl
by David Wagman, Chief Editor, REWNA Magazine
Oklahoma, United States [Renewable Energy World North America Magazine]

Wind turbines have been part of North America's rural landscape for well over 150 years, known best to farmers and ranchers as windmills. Rather than generate electricity, these machines pumped water out of the ground for domestic use, livestock and irrigation.

Today, the development of large-scale wind farms–containing dozens or even hundreds of wind turbines spread over many square miles–has brought a new breed of wind-driven machine to rural landscapes. They have not always been welcomed. Billboards along I-70 in Kansas in 2007 protested against the "industrialization" of rural parts of the state as large-scale wind farm development advanced.

Such opposition to wind farm development–and related transmission–threatens to slow growth in parts of the country where populations are small, viewsheds are wide and wind resources are robust.

Dan Juhl understands the depth of feeling that motivates opponents to large-scale wind farms. But he also recognizes the long-term benefits that can come to rural areas by developing such resources.

"Creating jobs in rural America is a big deal," says the 60-year-old Juhl, who is chairman of the board and CEO of the company that bears his name. As a comparatively small-scale wind developer based in Woodstock, Minn., Juhl Wind has championed the idea of community-based wind project ownership since the 1980s when Juhl returned to his home state after spending some time in California. He based his community ownership ideas on approaches used by the Dutch and the Germans, who kept project ownership in the hands of local landowners. During the 1990s Juhl worked to encourage policymakers in Minnesota and Nebraska to adopt rules encouraging similar types of local ownership. And since 1999 his company–whose stock trades over the counter using the symbol "Juhl.OB"–has developed 130 MW of community-owned wind power in both midwestern states.

"The genesis was no big thing," says Juhl. "Just a bunch of folks trying to make things happen." Having spent his childhood on a farm, Juhl grew up with wind technology. Now his focus is on using development tools to "help people who own the wind benefit from it."

The company has fewer than two dozen employees and the corporate office has been off the grid for 10 years. Electricity for the office comes from a hybrid wind/solar system and heat comes from a corncob burner. Juhl drives an electric car to and from work.

The essence of Juhl Wind's approach is to exploit wind resources for electricity generation while keeping the economic benefits as close to home as possible.

Through the community wind approach, the company involves land owners and the local community by establishing a limited liability company. This structure extends ownership to participants along with an initial equity investor. Once the equity investor receives its targeted rate of return, long-term project ownership flips to the community. As project developer, Juhl Wind helps in finding financing, secures utility power purchase agreements, negotiates with turbine suppliers for equipment and operates the wind farm once it's completed.

"We want economic development and to keep jobs in our communities," says Juhl. "The revenue stream stays in the community."

To the extent possible, the company uses local contractors, including electricians, engineers, installers and maintenance workers.

"When we build these projects we are small enough that we can utilize local talent," he says.

To date, the company's work has focused on the Buffalo Ridge area of southwestern Minnesota. At an elevation of around 2,000 feet, this 60-mile-long expanse of rolling hills offers good wind resources. To date, Juhl Wind has developed 14 wind farms with a total of 117 MW installed capacity. The company has another two dozen projects under development with a potential total capacity of 425 MW.

Much of the developed wind capacity connects to the grid via 69kV lines, which means the projects generally remain at the sub-transmission level. As a result, most of the electricity never makes it to the broader grid but is consumed locally. Juhl Wind prefers to develop projects sized between 5 MW to 20 MW and that represent a capital investment of $10 million to $40 million. That leaves them nowhere near mega-project size, but of a dollar and megawatt scale that's "still big to me," Juhl says.

Since the company went public in June 2008 it's attracted more attention and opened new sources of capital. Retired General Wesley Clark joined the board of directors in January 2009, having contacted the company to express an interest in its development approach. And Juhl Wind is investigating setting up an equity fund with the backing of "socially responsible firms" to develop more opportunities.

Community wind is a relatively small part of the larger wind development industry, representing roughly 2 percent of U.S. wind power capacity, according to one study. Projects are concentrated in a handful of states, including Minnesota, Iowa and Texas. (One Massachusetts community-owned wind project is profiled on page 67.)

A 2009 conference paper written by two researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory said that while all wind energy projects offer an economic development component, local communities may see only a small benefit from the investment. The researchers said it is not uncommon for less than 15 percent of project-related construction spending to remain in the state where the project is built.

Community wind projects such as those developed by Juhl Wind can boost local economic benefits in three principal ways, according to the authors. First, more local labor and materials may be used during development and operations. Second, profitable projects with local ownership provide dividends to local shareholders. Third, community wind projects often depend on local banks for construction financing and operating loans.

Comparing community wind to a fictional "absentee" project, the authors found that construction employment effects can be 1.1 to 1.3 times higher and operations-period impacts 1.1 to 2.8 times higher for community wind.

The NREL researchers concluded that community wind projects have "greater economic development impacts than absentee-owned projects" and recommended that policies prioritizing higher levels of local ownership are "likely to result in increased economic development impacts."

Community ownership may help ease the sort of opposition to large-scale wind development that led to anti-wind billboards being posted along I-70 in Kansas.

Large-scale wind farms and transmission lines are becoming a major issue in rural America, Juhl says. "You just can't plop huge amounts of power" on rural areas, he says. "At some point the people who own the land become upset."

The NREL-written conference paper said that as wind penetration levels approach 20 percent, the likelihood rises that more people will encounter wind projects and infrastructure. While increased exposure will be a welcome change to some, the risk exists that people living in a wind project's footprint may resist project development. This may be especially true if "outsiders" or "corporate interests" are seen as benefiting more than local residents, the paper suggested.

Community wind can counteract opposition by increasing the amount of economic development benefits that remain local. At the same time, community wind may ease perceptions that "outsiders" are benefiting from wind projects.

Juhl admits his projects generate electricity that may cost more than what larger developers can offer, primarily because of differences in scale and scope. But he argues the difference "vaporizes" when amortized across the rate base and after accounting for other economic development benefits. State regulators, however, often need to be reminded of the benefits community wind can offer.

"Regulators don't care about anything but the cost of energy," he says. "But we're the ratepayer; we create all these jobs and keep revenue in the community."

Juhl Wind receives a steady flow of inquiries from communities intent on developing their own wind resources. The company's small scale limits the extent to which it can join even the most interesting projects. "I have to be honest with them," Juhl says. "It's difficult being a small player."

Difficulties aside, Juhl remains committed to the goals of community-based wind that first inspired him 30 years ago.

"If we can use this to help rural economies prosper that's the thing," he says. "It makes a huge difference in the larger economy."

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