Techdiplomacy

This post will try to increase awareness of the benefits of wind energy and the possibility of using it in an urban environment.  Hopefully this post could provide an overview for individuals and groups who are interested in setting up an urban wind energy project, and covers the sorts of issues that will need to be addressed, including, but not limited to, technological environmental, political, and financial issues.  Urban wind energy has not been widely used as wind farms in rural areas and now offshore, where large turbines in very windy locations have the capacity to generate significant amounts of electricity. Urban wind projects, out of necessity will encompass projects that are smaller in scope and therefore require more installations of turbines. This is by comparison with large installations in offshore or rural areas. There are opportunities to harness the wind in our towns and cities.  Urban wind energy will help to reduce our energy demand, provide a source of clean, local power, and provide an education concerning the importance of renewable energy and the need to power our society using wind and solar power. The following technological advance will enable urban wind project managers connectivity to the grid. This solution is being utilized by wind turbines all around the world, in more traditional settings.

American Superconductor Corporation, a leading energy technologies company, recently announced that it has received an order worth more than $10M from ACCIONA Energy, a division of ACCIONA SA and a world leader in renewable power, for its new Dynamic VAR Ride Through (D-VAR RT) solution. Building on AMSC’s highly successful D-VAR platform, which provides critical dynamic reactive compensation required to connect many wind farms around the world to the power grid, the company’s D-VAR RT product enables individual wind turbines to continue operating smoothly by “riding through” voltage disturbances on power grids that might otherwise interrupt their operation. The D-VAR RT product meets stringent grid interconnection requirements, including Spain’s new Procedimiento de Operación 12.3 requirement for both existing and new wind turbines. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, Spain was the world’s third largest wind power market at the end of 2008 with an installed base of more than 16,000 megawatts (MW). Disturbances such as momentary voltage dips can disconnect many wind turbines and cause instability on the transmission grid.  Developed by Spain’s transmission system operator Red Electrica de España (REE), P.O. 12.3 requires that wind turbines remain connected to the grid through such events. After extensive field testing and operation by an AMSC-ACCIONA Energy team at a wind farm with one of Spain’s most difficult climates, the D-VAR RT solution recently received official certification of compliance. ACCIONA Energy has initially ordered D-VAR RT solutions for an important amount of first-generation “squirrel-cage” wind turbines that are currently providing more than 250 MW of electricity in Spain to meet P.O. 12.3. AMSC will deliver all of the D-VAR RT solutions covered under this contract to ACCIONA Energy over the next few months. The D-VAR RT solution can be installed inside or outside the tower of any wind turbine, enabling turbine manufacturers as well as wind farm developers, owners and operators to easily add the systems to new wind turbines or retrofit existing turbines. Utilizing AMSC’s PowerModule PM3000W wind turbine converter, this scalable solution is designed for a wide range of wind turbines with power ratings from 500 kilowatts (kW) up to 10 MW. This is the technology that will enable wind turbines to be deployed in urban areas. The powerful, cost-effective technology provides low and high voltage ride through capabilities to keep wind turbines running through grid disturbances. This product is based on AMSC’s patented D-VAR platform, which is supporting more than 3,300 MW of power at 40 wind farms around the world. “With more than 6,000 megawatts of wind power installed and more than 15,000 additional megawatts in development, ACCIONA Energy is a global clean energy powerhouse and is an ideal first adopter for our new D-VAR RT solution,” said Timothy Poor, AMSC’s Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development. “We see great potential for this product in Spain and other countries that adopt similar standards in the years ahead as wind power continues to play a more prominent role in the world’s electricity supply. ” ACCIONA Energy has been a renewable energy pioneer in its home market for well over a decade. In 1994, the company established its first commercial wind farms.  ACCIONA has contributed decisively to the growth in wind energy by developing and adapting innovative solutions that enable wind to become a main energy contributor. In this context, Acciona Energy has been involved in several technical working groups and committees with the aim of developing these new ride through capabilities.  This technology is key at this time to making urban wind generating projects a viable option immediately.

There are several companies manufacturing wind turbines that are  acceptable in urban settings.  There are critics of this technology, however their arguments are not reasonable or based on proven facts.  I read one critic of urban wind turbines whose main argument was he had done some calculations based on a lot of his own interpolation, and he had proved (to himself mostly) that you cannot have urban wind generating projects that produce enough electricity to make them viable options.  If we had listened to people like this we would not have air travel or vechicle travel not dependant on horses or other livestock.  We have the technology to generate wind power in urban settings, we need only implement this technology and work towards making this venture successful.  We are Americans and from the beginning we have been innovators.  Our President Barack Obama is a man who has taken responsibility to lead us through a period of change and transition.  He was and is the perfect choice for this moment in time, this is a period of transition.  We can and will use wind in urban settings for electrical power.  If someone says we can’t they are betting against American ingenuity.  It is not a good bet we will succeed in this as we have in all of endeavors that we attempted in order to improve the quality of life for Americans.  There is no choice, we have polluted our environment, used our natural resources, (oil, coal, etc.) until the resources have been depleted.  The only option is to look to renewable energy sources, wind, solar, and geothermal power are all we really have left.

The following is just one example of an urban wind turbine by virtue of it’s design.

This is a different design from the usual turbines seen in rural areas

The blades of the QR5 are gently tapered, to minimise noise – the blades being constructed from carbon fibre.

The QR5 also adheres to the principles of simplicity, sacrificing the complexity of a gearbox, for a direct-drive motor. The design aims to reduce maintenance costs by making all moving parts sealed units. The design incorporates a 6kW generator, and operates in wind conditions between 4 m/s and 16 m/s.

The design has an operational life of 25 years and has been constructed to be relatively maintenance free during that period. 

Assuming an average wind speed of 5.8 m/s, with 10, 000kWh being generated each year, the turbine will have a financial payback period of 15 years – however, as the price of oil continues to spiral, there is no reason why the turbine could not pay for itself in less time.

Vertical Shaft Turbines For Urban Use

This is a no brainer, we can and we will use wind power in our cities and towns.  There is simply no alternative.  I only hope that we will not listen to those who would tell us that we cannot do this for vague and dubious reasons.  We have proved time and time again that as Americans we can do anything we want. 

Once again, I invite anyone to comment on this (or any other) post and we will print your comments and try to engage you in a discussion, in the meantime, see you around the galaxy…