April 2013 ~ Wind Energy

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Ice Effects on Wind Turbines

Wind turbines should be able to work really in hard conditions. Sometimes they must withstand so cold weathers, sometimes so high temperatures which depends on where the turbine locates. Wind turbine blade with ice Especially the blades are effected in an important manner from the cold weather. And sometimes the ices can be problem for wind turbines. That's why during development state, up to climate conditions of desired area which turbine will be located, some extra calculations...

Windspiral Wind Turbines

8:13 PM No Comments

Day by day the number of vertical axis wind turbines growing. Because they are more efficient, easy to install, smaller, and most important one cheaper to build than the common wind turbine designs. Windspiral Turbine One of these interesting design is Windspiral turbine which is roughly 10 meters long ant 1 meter width. As the others it is also used for converting wind energy into measurable electrical energy. It has same working principle with vertical axis wind turbines. And it is remote...

Wind Turbine Blade Tests

12:54 PM No Comments

Blade tests If we look up to the wind turbine costs. It can be clearly seen that the blades have a huge importance for a wind turbine. Blades are used for capturing energy from the wind. Longer blades mean higher captured power. But when the blade length is increased, beside higher power, higher loads will also occur. After certain wind speed blades won't be able to withstand with higher loads and they will be broken which is not desirable situation. That's why the blade length is optimized. Blade...

Why do wind turbines always have three blades?

8:44 PM 1 Comment

If you have seen a wind farm, you have noticed that wind turbines have 3 blades. Why not 1 blade, 2 blades, 4 blades or 5 blades ? Because the aim is when the power is produced not to capture more wind. The aim is capturing wind with greatest efficiency. And as a result it is found that 3 blades is the most efficient and less troublesome way. Wind turbine with one blade It is not common but when you see a wind turbine with one blade, you shouldn't surprise. It looks like a little different...

Wind Turbines with Solar Panel

7:36 PM 3 Comments

Wind turbine with solar panel Creative idea !! Wind turbine with solar panel. Working principle is a little bit different from the other ones. Solar energy is used for producing power instead of using wind energy. Whats more the energy from small solar panel is used for rotating the blades. It is just for fun. As it seen this is a wind turbine model for kinds, offices or houses. Wind turbine model Sometimes different types of designs can be seen as the following photo. The energy...

Offshore Wind Turbine Installation

11:03 PM 3 Comments

Alstom build floating wind turbine platform in UK waters. The platform will feature a 6MW Alstom Haliade turbine. It has pretty high rated power (6 MW) with 73.5 meters LM blades that creates a swept area of 17.860 square meters. Alstom Offshore Generally this type of offshore designs have a floating foundation which is fixed to the seabed using catenary cables. By positioning this floating platform in any place in water. Tanks to this property the turbine cane be moved to much more deeper...

Wind Turbine Transportation

9:15 PM 3 Comments

Wind turbine blade transportation The design is based on the 4.5 MW onshore platform in Canary Island. As it seen in the first figure also, transportation of the wind turbine stuffs can be also important point when it is designed. Siemens blade transportation Especially, blades and tower can make serious problems during transportation. That's why the place where turbine will be built must be also investigated before realizing the project. On the other hand transportation costs also can be...

Dual Rotor Wind Turbines

11:34 AM 1 Comment

Twin-rotor turbine is generating 11 MW. Power is transmitting to several generators placed down of tower.( 2 units 500 kW and 10 rated for 1 MW each). Hence weight of nacelle is lighter than the other type of turbines. Thanks to low top mass, tower can be designed in a cheaper way. After some aerodynamic investigations it is clarified 30° separation between two rotors and using high rotor speed for the aft rotor is most efficient way for this design. This twin-rotor turbine...

Maglev Wind Turbine

11:03 AM 174 Comments

The Maglev wind turbine is the one of the type has interesting design. Working principle of the turbine is a little differ from the other ones. Magnetic levitation differs this turbine from the other classical turbines. Why magnetic levitation ? Magnetic levitation is one of the most efficient system for the wind energy. Maglev wind turbine As it seen in the picture also, it is a vertical axis wind turbine. Vertically oriented blades of the turbine are rotating above the base...

Siemens Wind Turbine Accident

9:05 PM 2 Comments

Authorities in western Iowa are investigating how a wind turbine blade that’s the size of a football field snapped off.A technician for the Eclipse Wind Farm in Adair discovered the blade in a field Friday morning. Siemens Energy, the turbine manufacturer, is investigating the accident.Iowa Wind Energy Association President Kathleen Law says it’s rare for a blade to get loose, and she’s never heard of this happening in Iowa. Television station KCCI reports Siemens Energy is working to replace...

Vestas 72 MW Romania Project

3:42 PM 1 Comment

Vestas has received a firm and unconditional order for 72 MW (with an option for another 12 MW) for Romania. The 36-turbine order constitutes the first part of a project consisting of a total of 42 V90-2.0 MW wind turbines to be installed in Tulcea County in Romania. Delivery of the first 36 turbines is planned for the second half of 2013. Vestas V90 The order has been placed by LUKERG Renew, a joint venture between ERG Renew and LUKOIL. ERG Renew is Italy’s largest wind energy producer,...

Vestas 299 MW Canada Project

8:24 AM No Comments

Vestas has secured an order for 166 V100-1.8 MW wind turbines for Canada. With reference to the Vestas Wind System A/S company announcement No. 13 of 8 April 2013, Vestas has secured a firm and unconditional order for the delivery of 166 V100-1.8 MW wind turbines along with a 20-year service and maintenance agreement for the 299 MW Blackspring Ridge Wind Project, a joint venture of EDF EN Canada Inc. and Enbridge. It marks the largest order for Vestas wind turbines in Canada. Vestas Deliveries...

Wind Turbine Accident and Lighning Videos

12:59 PM 1 Comment

Fire in nacelle Lightning strikes to Siemens Wind Turbine(Siemens2.3DD) During a lightning storm at work started filming on the off chance we would catch a strike. Little did I know we were about to catch a blade strike. A danish Nordtank wind turbine suffers a brake failure ( which are manufactured by Vestas ), and collapses near Hornslet, Denmark. Egin, Salisbury & Riverview Fire respond to a Wind Mill on fire at the Wind Mill Farm in Parkingdale/ Caledonia Mountain...

Wind Turbine Maintenance and Noise Issue

5:43 PM No Comments

Wind Turbine Noise Your neighbours' concerns relating to wind turbine noise are important. No matter the size of the wind turbine, the potential for turbine noise to bother other people always exists. Even if a wind turbine does not emit enough sound to violate any noise regulations, the noise it produces may still be objectionable to other people. Before building a wind turbine, familiarize yourself with the types of noise your wind turbine could make: Aerodynamic noises may be made by the flow...

GE prototype at European test site

5:40 PM 1 Comment

GE recently announced that a prototype of the world’s most efficient high-output wind turbine, the new 2.5-120, is operational at a test site in Wieringermeer, Netherlands. The 2.5-120 is the company’s first brilliant wind turbine, driving higher power output, improving service productivity and creating new revenue streams for customers. GE wind generator The 2.5-120, announced in January, harnesses the power of the Industrial Internet to analyze tens of thousands of data points every second...