Wind Power

Portable, High-Altitude Wind Power

Philip Proefrock

High altitude wind power systems continue to be explored with new systems and new approaches. The latest comes from Altaeros Energies, who recently tested the Altaeros Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT), a prototype 35-foot diameter, helium-filled, tethered structure with an onboard turbine. The prototype turbine is able to be transported and deployed from a trailer, which makes it potentially very useful for use at remote locations.

Using a Southwest Skystream turbine, the test model of the AWT was flown to an altitude of 350 feet where it produced more than twice the power as what is generated at a conventional tower height. The company is interested in developing high-altitude wind resources at elevations over 1,000 feet (over 300 meters) above the ground, where the winds are stronger and more regular.

According to the company, "The Altaeros AWT will displace expensive fuel used to power diesel generators at remote industrial, military, and village sites. In the long term, Altaeros plans to scale up the technology to reduce costs in the offshore wind market."

link: Altaeros Energies Press Release (PDF)

via: Ubergizmo

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Great Lakes States Streamline Offshore Wind

Philip Proefrock

The governors of several US states adjacent to the Great Lakes have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (PDF) along with the federal government in order to streamline the development of offshore wind power generation in the Great Lakes. The governors of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania, as well as ten different federal agencies have all signed the Memorandum. This agreement has created the new Great Lakes Offshore Wind Energy Consortium which will serve to "support the efficient, expeditious, orderly and responsible review of proposed offshore wind energy projects in the Great Lakes."

Most of the Great Lakes area offers some of the best wind potential in the country, although there is not yet any offshore wind power generation installed. With this Memorandum, future development of wind energy in the Great Lakes should be less encumbered with bureaucratic difficulties and encounter fewer interdepartmental coordination problems.

According to the Department of Energy press release, the Great Lakes offer "the potential to produce more than 700 gigawatts of energy from offshore wind, about one fifth of the total offshore wind potential in the U.S." Wind power generation in this region would also be well positioned to serve the more densely populated Midwest.

image: CC BY 2.0 by Phault

via: EERE Network News

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Live, Interactive Wind Energy Map is a Thing of Beauty

Megan Treacy

Two of Google's finest, Fernanda B. Viégas and Martin Wattenberg, have created an interactive map of the country's wind energy that is both hypnotic and hopeful. The map uses data from the National Digital Forecast Database to provide hourly visual updates of wind patterns and speed across the U.S.

The creators made the map to illustrate that "an invisible, ancient source of energy surrounds us—energy that powered the first explorations of the world, and that may be a key to the future." That's the hopeful part. Looking at all of the wind energy churning around the country is enough to make anyone excited about installing wind turbines wherever we can.

Viégas and Wattenberg would like to eventually map more regions and even the entire globe if they can find suitable sources of live wind data. Click here to see the map in real time.

via CleanTechnica

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New Technique for Low-Velocity Wind Turbines

Philip Proefrock

One of the biggest problems with typical horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT - pinwheel-type turbines) is that they are not very efficient at low wind speeds. This is usually dealt with by surveying sites and finding locations where wind speeds tend to be higher, so that the turbines will be more effective once they are built, but these locations are often in remote locations, far from where the power is needed.

Wind turbines that use ducts to direct the wind for greater efficiency are not an entirely new idea, but the developers of the Winga have a new approach that could make this a useful configuration for new wind turbines.

By using wings to shroud both the inlet and the outlet to the turbine, it is possible for the turbine to generate power with lower wind speeds. The Winga turbine could be located closer to the ground, so that it would be less visually obtrusive, and also makes maintenance easier to carry out. The Winga can also be configured so that it could be lowered to the ground in the event of excessive winds that had the potential to cause damage.

The Winga has a cut-in speed (where the turbine first begins to generate power) of just 2 meters per second (about 4.5 mph) wind speed and reaches full power at a wind speed of 4 meters per second (about 9 mph). A typical HAWT has a cut-in speed of 4 meters per second, and doesn't reach full power until the winds reach 10 meters per second (about 22 mph).

The compact configuration of this turbine also allows it to use an annular rotor instead of the more conventional central-axis blades, which concentrates the blade area at the edges, where the greatest amount of torque is developed. The Winga has a tower height of 35 meters (about 115 feet), and measures 36.5 meters (120 feet) in length, with a scoop opening measuring 9 meters by 12 meters (30 feet by 40 feet). All of the moving parts are contained within the enclosure, so it would not have the dynamic, moving appearance that some find bothersome with conventional turbines.

The lower height of the Winga could be a disadvantage in some respects, since faster, more consistent winds are found at higher elevations above the ground. But the ability to produce power at a lower wind speed, and the likelihood that it can produce power more consistently, could overcome that disadvantage. Steering the large scoop into the wind when the winds are swirling and less steadily coming from a single direction might also be difficult and could also lead to inefficiencies. But the possibilities offered by the Winga are interesting, and further development could be worth watching.

link: Winga E-Generator

HatTip to: @johnrobb

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Housing Workers for an Offshore Windfarm

Philip Proefrock

Installing offshore wind turbines is already a logistical nightmare to get all the components delivered to the proper site. But the biggest issue may be getting the workers to the worksite. For the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm off the east coast of England north of Norfolk, the workers are being housed on-site in a 137-room ferry during their 2-week on/2-week off rotations.

A former cruise ferry, the Regina Baltica, has now been repurposed to serve as a floating hotel for wind farm construction workers. Keeping the workers close at hand makes it possible to work in smaller windows of favorable weather, and reduces the amount of travel and transportation needed for them. It also reduces the stress on local towns which may not have the capacity to support 100+ workers at a time. The ship's accommodations include "amenities such as a coffee shop, restaurant, swimming pool, conference and meeting rooms, lounge areas and a sun deck."

image: CC BY-SA 3.0 by Erik Christensen/Wikimedia

via: NA Windpower

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