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Wind Energy

The document discusses wind energy and wind turbines. It provides background on how wind is formed from uneven heating of the Earth's surface. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical or electrical energy. There are several types of wind turbines classified by their axis of rotation, with horizontal axis turbines being the most common design. The document outlines the key parts of a wind turbine and discusses pros and cons of wind energy, including its renewable nature but also aesthetic and reliability concerns. It also briefly mentions current use of wind power in Pakistan.

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Shayan Kashif
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71 views18 pages

Wind Energy

The document discusses wind energy and wind turbines. It provides background on how wind is formed from uneven heating of the Earth's surface. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical or electrical energy. There are several types of wind turbines classified by their axis of rotation, with horizontal axis turbines being the most common design. The document outlines the key parts of a wind turbine and discusses pros and cons of wind energy, including its renewable nature but also aesthetic and reliability concerns. It also briefly mentions current use of wind power in Pakistan.

Uploaded by

Shayan Kashif
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Wind Energy

Dr. Saira Bano


Introduction
Wind can be defined simply as air in motion. This motion is mainly in the horizontal
direction because the vertical component is too small compared to horizontal.
Wind is created by the unequal heating of the Earth’s surface by the sun.
It is often described by two characteristics:
 Wind speed
 Wind direction
Wind speed is often given in kilometers per hour (km/hr), miles per hour (miles/hr), knots,
or meters per second (m/s)
Wind direction is measured as the direction from where a wind comes from.
Wind speed is measured with an anemometer while wind direction is measured by wind
vane.
Both of these instruments are positioned in the atmospheric environment at a standard
distance of 10 meters above the ground surface.
 Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy into mechanical power that runs a generator to produce clean electricity.
 There are several reasons why wind energy is growing so rapidly. One of them is low cost (post installation) and
second is that construction of wind energy takes months instead of years.
 Wind turbines do not produce atmospheric emission that causes acid rain or greenhouse gasses.
 In other words, wind energy is both environmentally and economically sustainable.
What is a wind turbine?
A device for converting wind energy into mechanical or electrical energy.
History of wind power
 Over 5000 years ago, ancient Egyptians used wind to sail boats over river
Nile.
 Use of windmills to grind wheat (grains)
 Early 20th century, windmills were used to pump water and generate
electricity

 The first use of a windmill to generate electricity was in Cleveland, Ohio in


1888 by Charles F. Brush.
 In 1891, Dane Poul la Cour made the first aerodynamically (low solidity,
four bladed) designed system.
 By 1920, the la Cour system replaced all previous sail and fan systems.
Sizes and applications
Small (10 kW)
Intermediate
• Homes
(10-250 kW)
• Farms
• Remote Application • Village Power
• Hybrid Systems

Large (660 kW - 2+MW)


• Central Station Wind Farms
• Distributed Power
Wind power
• Wind power is a measure of the energy available in the wind. It is a function of the cube (third
power) of the wind speed.
• If the wind speed is doubled, power in the wind increases by a factor of six.
• This relationship means that small differences in wind speed lead to large differences in power.
• The amount of power available in the wind is determined by the equation:
w = 1/2 r A v3
w is power,
r is air density,
A is the rotor area, and
v is the wind speed.
Types of wind mills
Two types of wind machines based on the direction of rotating
shaft (axis) are
• Vertical axis
• Horizontal axis
Vertical axis turbines
• Although vertical axis wind
turbines have existed for
centuries, they are not as
common as their horizontal
counterparts.
• The main reason for this is that
they do not take advantage of
the higher wind speeds at higher
elevations above the ground as
well, as horizontal axis turbines.
Horizontal axis turbine

• This is the most common wind turbine


design. In addition to being parallel to the
ground, the axis of blade rotation is parallel
to the wind flow.
Main parts of wind mill

Rotor-
Shaft-
Gear Box-
Generator-
Controller-
Tower-
The cut in and cut out wind speed

 A turbine's cut-in and cut-out speed (also called 'cut-off' speed) are
determined by the manufacturer to protect the turbine from damage.
 Usually, wind turbines are designed to start running at wind speeds somewhere
around 3 to 5 meters per second. This is called the cut in wind speed.

 The wind turbine will be programmed to stop at high wind speeds above, say 25
meters per second, in order to avoid damaging the turbine or its surroundings.

 The stop wind speed is called the cut out wind speed.
Pros of wind power
• Wind power units are quickly constructed.

• Wind generators are much smaller in size compared other types electrical generators.

• Wind power is a great compliment to a house with a pre-existing photovoltaic system.

• Serves as a great backup system.

• It is a renewable resource.

• The wind blows day and night, which allows windmills to produce electricity throughout the day. (Faster
during the day)

• Wind energy is a domestic, renewable source of energy that generates no pollution and has little
environmental impact. Up to 95 percent of land used for wind farms can also be used for other profitable
activities including ranching, farming and forestry.
Downfalls to wind energy
• Aesthetics – “Not in my back yard.”

• Turbines are around 50ft high and can be seen from miles

• Wind farms use up more space than any other form of power plant

• Houses too close to turbines will be disturbed by their noise

• Inefficient and unreliable:

• It is not uncommon for turbines to be hit by lightning strikes. This can cause damage to the turbine, and also provoke forest fires.

• Propellers often fall off and are not repaired

• Inefficient: 9,369 turbines only produce 1.7 % of Germany’s power

• No Wind = No Power

• Hazard to bird migration: Turbines and power lines and a danger to migrating birds
Wind energy in Pakistan
Wind power plants in Pakistan

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