Feasibility of small wind turbines in Ontario: Integrating power curves with wind trends

A comparative evaluation of the fatigue damage occurring in the blades of small wind turbines, with different power regulation schemes, has been conducted for the first time. Three representative test cases were built, one based on stall regulation and two using pitch regulation. The power curves were tuned to be identical in all cases, in order to allow for a direct comparison of fatigue damage. A methodology combining a dynamic simulation of a wind turbine forced by stochastic wind speed time series, with the application of the IEC 61400-2 standard, was designed and applied for two levels of turbulence intensity. The effect of the wind regime was studied by considering Weibull-distributed wind speeds with a variety of parameter sets. Not unexpectedly, in typical wind regimes, stall regulation led to a generally higher fatigue damage than pitch regulation, for similar structural blade design, but the practical implications were smaller than thought previously. Given the need for cost-effective designs for small wind turbines, stall regulation may be a viable alternative for off-grid applications.

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The Scoraig wind trials – In situ power performance measurements of locally manufactured small wind turbines

Wind Engineering ◽

10.1177/0309524x20932501 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 0309524X2093250

Author(s):

Jon Leary ◽

Hugh Piggott ◽

Robert Howell

Keyword(s):

Wind Turbines ◽

Low Cost ◽

Wind Tunnel Test ◽

Rural Electrification ◽

Power Curve ◽

Performance Measurements ◽

Power Performance ◽

Small Wind Turbines ◽

Power Curves

This article presents new insight into the real-world performance of a range of open source locally manufactured small wind turbines designed to enable sustainable rural electrification. The power performance of seven machines was measured in situ and compared to wind tunnel, test site and other in situ data to produce a set of generic power curves. This article shows that the shape and size of the curve (and therefore the energy that will be generated) varies considerably. However, over-performance was just as likely as under-performance, validating the designer’s predicted energy yields. Nonetheless, optimising the power curve by tuning the small wind turbine increased energy yields by up to 156%. Developing low-cost practical tools that can enable rapid power curve measurements in the field could help reduce uncertainty when planning rural electrification programmes and ensure that small wind turbines are able to deliver vital energy services in off-grid regions of developing countries.

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Intelligent models for the power curves of small wind turbines

2016 International Conference on Cogeneration, Small Power Plants and District Energy (ICUE) ◽

10.1109/cogen.2016.7728965 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R Veena ◽

V Femin ◽

S Mathew ◽

I Petra ◽

J Hazra

Keyword(s):

Wind Turbines ◽

Small Wind Turbines ◽

Intelligent Models ◽

Power Curves

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Feasibility of small wind turbines in Ontario: Integrating power curves with wind trends

10.5194/wes-2016-9 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Masaō Ashtine ◽

Richard Bello ◽

Kaz Higuchi

Keyword(s):

Wind Turbines ◽

Test Site ◽

James Bay ◽

The North ◽

Small Wind Turbines ◽

North American Regional Reanalysis ◽

Regional Reanalysis ◽

Energy Dependent ◽

Utility Scale ◽

Power Curves

Abstract. Micro-scale/small wind turbines, unlike larger utility-scale turbines, produce electricity at a rate of 300 W to 10 kW at their rated wind speed and are typically below 30 m in hub-height. These wind turbines have much more flexibility in their costs, maintenance and siting owing to their size and can provided wind energy in areas much less suited for direct supply to the grid system. The small wind industry has been substantially slow to progress in Ontario, Canada, and there is much debate over their viability in a growing energy dependent economy. In an effort to diversify the energy sector in Canada, it is crucial that some preliminary research be conducted in regards to the relevance of changing winds as they impact small wind turbines; this study seeks to demonstrate the performance of two small wind turbines, and speculate on the potential power output and its trend over Ontario historically over the last 33 years using the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) data. We assessed the efficiencies of a Skystream 3.7 (2.4 kW) and a Bergey Excel 1 kW wind turbines at the pre-established Kortright Centre for Conservation wind test site, located north of Toronto. We have found that the small turbine-based wind power around the Great Lakes and eastern James Bay have increased during the seasonal months of winter and fall, contributing as much as about 10 % in some regions to the total electricity demand in Ontario.

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Systematic Investigation of Integrating Small Wind Turbines into Power Supply for Hydrocarbon Production

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13123243 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 3243

Author(s):

Zi Lin ◽

Xiaolei Liu ◽

Ziming Feng

Keyword(s):

Wind Energy ◽

Wind Power ◽

Wind Turbines ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Oil Production ◽

Economic Feasibility ◽

Offshore Wind ◽

Levelized Cost Of Electricity ◽

Small Wind Turbines ◽

Power Curves

In this paper, the technical and economic feasibility of integrating SWTs (Small Wind Turbines) into remote oil production sites are investigated. Compared to large turbines in onshore and offshore wind farms, SWTs are more suitable for individual power generations. A comprehensive approach based on wind energy assessment, wind power prediction, and economic analysis is then recommended, to evaluate how, where, and when small wind production recovery is achievable in oilfields. Firstly, wind resource in oilfields is critically assessed based on recorded meteorological data. Then, the wind power potential is numerically tested using specified wind turbines with density-corrected power curves. Later, estimations of annual costs and energy-saving are carried out before and after the installation of SWT via the LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity) and the EROI (Energy Return on Investment). The proposed methodology was tested against the Daqing oilfield, which is the largest onshore oilfield in China. The results suggested that over 80% of the original annual costs in oil production could be saved through the integrations between wind energy and oil production.

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