Wind Energy and Top 10 Wind Farms

Introduction

Wind energy is used to generate power by turning the kinetic energy into electricity. Wind turns the rotor blades of contemporary wind turbines, converting kinetic energy into rotational energy. This rotational energy is transmitted to the generator through a shaft, resulting in the generation of electrical energy.

Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels.

Wind farms are made up of numerous separate wind turbines that are linked to an electric power transmission network. New onshore (on-land) wind farms are less expensive than new coal or gas facilities, but wind power growth is hampered by fossil fuel subsidies.

Onshore wind farms have a larger aesthetic influence on the landscape than other types of power plants. Tiny onshore wind farms can deliver some electricity to the grid or power to remote off-grid places.

Offshore wind farms produce more energy per installed capacity, with fewer swings, and have a lower aesthetic effect. Although there is now less offshore wind power and development and maintenance costs are greater, it is growing. Offshore wind power presently accounts for around 10% of new installations.

History of wind energy

Wind power has been utilized since humans first set sails in the wind. Windmills were referenced in King Hammurabi’s Codex (ruled 1792 – 1750 BC) for generating mechanical energy.

Windmills and wind pumps, which were used to grind grain and pump water, were invented in what is now Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan by the 9th century.

Prof James Blyth of Anderson’s College, Glasgow, created the first windmill used to generate electricity in Scotland in July 1887. (the precursor of Strathclyde University).

 Blyth’s 10 meters (33 ft.) high cloth-sailed wind turbine was installed in the garden of his holiday cottage at Marykirk in Kincardineshire, and was used to charge accumulators developed by the Frenchman Camille Alphonse Faure, to power the cottage’s lighting, making it the world’s first wind-powered house.

Across the Atlantic, in the winter of 1887-1888, Charles F. Brush planned and built a larger and more complex machine in Cleveland, Ohio.

This was erected at his residence by his engineering firm and functioned from 1886 until 1900. The Brush wind turbine featured a rotor that was 17 meters (56 feet) in diameter and was set on a tower that was 18 meters (59 feet).

Despite its size by modern standards, the machine was only rated at 12 kW. Brush’s laboratory used the attached dynamo to charge a bank of batteries or to power up to 100 incandescent light bulbs, three arc lights, and other motors.

The 1973 oil crisis prompted research in Denmark and the United States that resulted in bigger utility-scale wind turbines that could be linked to electric power networks for distant electricity usage.

By 2008, the installed capacity in the United States had reached 25.4 giga tonnes, and by 2012, it had risen to 60 giga tonnes. Wind-powered generators are now available in a variety of sizes, ranging from modest stations for charging batteries at remote dwellings to giga tonne-sized offshore wind farms that power national power grids.

Stages of wind energy development

Wind energy has developed quickly since 2000, thanks to R&D, favorable legislation, and lowering costs. According to IRENA data, global installed wind power capacity – including onshore and offshore – has expanded by a factor of 98 in the last two decades, rising from 7.5 GW in 1997 to 733 GW in 2018.

Onshore wind capacity increased from 178 GW in 2010 to 699 GW in 2020, whereas offshore wind capacity increased proportionately more, although from a lower base, increasing from 3.1 GW in 2010 to 34.4 GW in 2020. Wind power production climbed by a factor of 5.2 between 2009 and 2019, reaching 1412 TW/h.

Costs have decreased but capacity factors have increased as technology has improved and scaled up. The global weighted- average levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of onshore wind reduced by 56% between 2010 and 2020, from USD 0.089/kWh to USD 0.039/kWh.

At the same time period, the LCOE of newly commissioned offshore wind projects dropped by about half (48%).Wind supplied about 1800 TW/h of electricity in 2021, accounting for more than 6% of global electricity and 2% of global energy.

With around 100 GW added in 2021, largely in China and the United States. Global installed wind power capacity will surpass 800 GW.

How does wind energy form?

A wind turbine’s operation is based on a relatively simple mechanism. The wind activates the rotor, which communicates its movement to a high-speed axle.

This multiplier converts the sluggish rotation of the blades (between 18 and 25 revolutions per minute) into a quicker rotation capable of operating the electric generator (up to 1,800 revolutions per minute). The latter will be entrusted with converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Wind turbines are classified on the direction of the axle

Wind energy and top 1o wind farms
Credit to: https://yandex.com/

 

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine: The blades of this wind turbine revolve around a central, vertical axle.

 

Horizontal axis wind turbine: The blades in this wind turbine turn perpendicular to the wind speed.

 

 

 A new bladeless wind turbine: Which is simple to install and maintain and adjusts quickly to variations in wind direction was introduced. The gadget is made out of a cylinder that oscillates as the wind blows against it. The cylinder’s movement provides mechanical energy, which is converted into electricity by an alternator.

Top ten largest wind farms

The United States is home to five of the world’s ten largest wind farms. The list includes two offshore wind farms, with the rest eight onshore.

1- Jiuquan Wind Power Base, China (20GW)

Jiuquan Wind Power Base, with a planned installed capacity of 20GW, is the world’s largest wind farm. It is also known as the Gansu Wind Farm and will have 7,000 wind turbines constructed in Gansu’s provinces of Jiuquan, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Xinjiang, Jiangsu, and Shandong.

The project is being carried out as part of the Renewable Energy Law, which was introduced in February 2005 and aims to attain 200GW of installed wind power in the country. The wind farm’s first phase, totaling 5.16GW and 3,500 turbines, was finished in November 2010.

The State Grid Company of China is also building a 750kV high-voltage direct current transmission line to connect the region’s wind and solar plants to the region’s thriving central and eastern markets.

2- Jaisalmer Wind Park, India (1,600MW)

India’s largest wind farm is the 1,600MW Jaisalmer wind park. Suzlon Energy developed the project, which includes a cluster of wind farms in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer area.

Suzlon wind turbines of various sizes, including the S97-120m, S97-2.1MW, and S111-90m, are used in the wind farms.

3- Alta Wind Energy Centre, US (1,548MW)

The Alta Wind Energy Centre (AWEC) near Tehachapi, Kern County, California, has a 1,548MW operating capacity. In 2011, the first five stages of AWEC were completed.

The next year, two more stages were added. The first stage comprises of 100 GE 1.5MW SLE turbines. Vestas V 90-3.0MW turbines are placed in the last six operating phases.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth stages all use the identical Vestas turbines. The latter two levels have GE 1.7MW and GE 2.85MW turbines installed.

4- Muppandal Wind Farm, India (1,500MW)

The 1,500MW Muppandal wind farm is India’s largest onshore wind farm. It comprises of a cluster of wind farms in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India.

The area near Muppandal has a large quantity of barren ground that is unfit for farming yet boasts high pressure winds, making it an ideal location for wind farm construction. Because of the presence of the Western Ghats mountain range, Muppandal experiences strong winds from the west for nine months of the year.

The project’s wind farms have diverse installed capacities and use turbines from a variety of manufacturers, including Vestas, NEPC India, AMTL, TTG, and Suzlon.

5- Shepherds Flat Wind Farm, US (845MW)

The 845MW Shepherds Flat Wind Farm in Arlington in Eastern Oregon, US, is the world’s fifth largest wind farm.

Caithness Energy developed the wind farm, which spans more than 30 square miles in Morrow and Gilliam County.

The Shepherds Flat Wind Farm project began construction in 2009 at a cost of $2 billion. In October 2010, the US Department of Energy guaranteed a $1.3 billion loan for the project. In September 2012, the wind farm began operations.

Shepherds Flat is made up of 338 GE2.5XL turbines, each with a rated power of 2.5MW. The wind farm’s production is delivered to Southern California Edison. The wind farm generates enough renewable energy to power 235,000 homes.

6- Roscoe Wind Farm, US (781.5MW)

Roscoe Wind Farm is located 45 miles south-west of Abilene, Texas, and is owned and operated by the German business E.ON Climate and Renewables.

The 781.5MWis the world’s sixth largest wind farm, which spans 400km2 of farmland, is made up of 627 wind turbines spaced 900ft apart. The renewable energy plant was constructed in four parts between 2007 and 2009, and it became operational in October 2009.

The wind farm’s first phase has 209 Mitsubishi 1MW turbines, while the second phase includes 55 Siemens 2.3MW turbines. The third and fourth stages each include 166 GE 1.5MW and 197 Mitsubishi 1MW turbines.

7- Horse Hollow Wind Energy Centre, Texas, US (735.5MW)

Horse Hollow Wind Energy Facility is located in Taylor and Nolan Counties in the United States. NextEra Energy Resources owns and operates the 735.5MWpower plant.

Throughout 2005 and 2006, the wind farm was commissioned in four stages. Blattner Energy was the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. The electricity generated by the windmill is sufficient to power around 180,000 homes.

The wind farm encompasses 47,000 acres. The first three phases of the project each include 142 GE 1.5MW wind turbines, 130 Siemens 2.3MW wind turbines, and 149 GE 1.5MW wind turbines erected.

8- Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm, Texas, US (662.5MW)

NextEra Energy Resources owns and operates the 662.5MW Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm in Sterling and Coke counties in Texas, USA.

It was constructed in two parts, with the first completed in 2007 and the second in 2008. In February 2012, GE Energy Finance Services and JPMorgan Bank announced a $225 million investment in Capricorn Ridge.

The wind farm has 342 GE 1.5MW wind turbines and 65 Siemens 2.3MW wind turbines installed. From the ground to the center of the hub, each turbine towers over 260 feet. The wind farm produces enough energy to power over 220,000 homes.

9- Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm, UK (659MW)

The Walney Expansion Offshore Wind Farm has a total capacity of 659MW and is located in the Irish Sea. Rsted owns and operates half of the project, with the remaining half held equally by Danish pension funds PKA (25%) and PFA (25%).

The wind farm is located 19 kilometers off the coast of Cumbria’s Walney Island and spans 145 square kilometers in the Irish Sea. It has 40 MHI Vestas 8MW wind turbines and 47 Siemens Gamesa 7MW wind turbines installed.

The project, which was formally launched in September 2018, has the capacity to power 600,000 households in the United Kingdom. The wind farm’s power is transmitted onshore through two 4,000t offshore substations.

10- London Array Offshore Wind Farm, UK (630MW)

With an installed capacity of 630MW, the London Array Offshore Wind Farm. It’s about 20 kilometers off the shores of Kent and Essex in the outer Thames Estuary.

The London Array was inaugurated in July 2013. Dong Energy of Denmark, E.On of Germany, and Masdar of Abu Dhabi own and develop it. Offshore work on the £3 billion ($4.8 billion) offshore wind farm began in March 2011.

The wind farm is made up of 175 Siemens 3.6MW wind turbines that stand up to 87 meters above sea level. Each turbine has a rotor diameter of 120m. The offshore wind farm can power around two-thirds of Kent’s households.

Wind energy has several advantages, which is why it is one of the world’s fastest-growing energy sources. Researchers are attempting to overcome technological and socioeconomic hurdles in favor of a decarbonized power future in order to further improve wind energy’s capabilities and community benefits.

Integration between wind energy and desalination systems 

Wind energy use in  desalination helps to reduce costs and CO2 emissions. However, the big gap between the intermittent availability of the wind resource and the desalination’s power demand makes the integration between the two technologies critical.

now , more than 95 million m3 of water are desalinated every day, with seawater accounting for 60.8% of the feed, brackish water accounting for 20.7%, and groundwater and rivers accounting for the remainder.

with an average usage of 75.2 TW/h per year Conventionally powered desalination emits 76 Mton of CO2 per year through fossil fuels .
The high energy consumption of desalination procedures and their environmental effect are impeding their expansion.

Wind power is already the second-most popular renewable energy source for powering desalination facilities, after solar PV.
Wind power is a suitable choice for a variety of applications, from small stand-alone systems in remote locations to multi-megawatt wind farms both onshore and offshore, due to the global distribution of wind resources, particularly in coastal areas where seawater is also available.

Also, when compared to other energy sources, wind energy consumes the least amount of water and produces the least amount of gCO2 per kWh of energy created. Wind energy saved 387 billion litres of water in 2012.

RO is a pressure-driven technique that separates two solutions of varying concentrations over a semi-permeable membrane. Membrane modules, high-pressure pumps, power plants, and energy recovery devices are among the key components of a RO system.

RO is one of the most energy-efficient desalination processes, needing between 3 and 10 kWh of electricity per m3 of freshwater generated from saltwater.

Advantage of wind energy 

1-Wind energy generates well-paying jobs: Almost 120,000 people work in the wind business in the United States.

2-Wind energy is a clean and renewable source of electricity: Wind turbines use mechanical power to spin a generator and generate electricity from wind energy. Wind is not only an enormous and endless resource, but it also generates power without using any fuel or damaging the environment.

3-Local communities gain from wind power: Each year, wind farms generate an estimated $1.9 billion in state and local tax revenues and land leasing payments.

4-Wind energy is inexpensive: Land-based, utility-scale wind turbines are among the most affordable energy sources accessible today.

Disadvantage of wind energy

1-Wind farms are frequently located in isolated areas: Wind farms needs a wide space to be constructed. they are usually built in deserts where there are no buildings which act as a wind barrier.

2-Turbines make noise and affect the aesthetics of the environment: Wind farms have distinct environmental implications than traditional power plants, yet there are comparable worries about both the noise created by the turbine blades and the aesthetic effects on the landscape.

3-Wind plants can have an influence on local fauna:  Although wind projects have smaller animal consequences than other energy initiatives, further study is needed to decrease wind-wildlife interactions.

References 

[1] https://www.irena.org

[2] https://www.energy.gov

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