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Wind Generator Basics

Wind Generator Basics. Charlie Salamone Cape Power Systems Consulting Presented at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s Wind Project Development Strategies for New England Workshop 3/7/06. Introduction. Physical interconnection guide Typical wind unit and utility characteristics

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Wind Generator Basics

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  1. Wind Generator Basics Charlie Salamone Cape Power Systems Consulting Presented at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s Wind Project Development Strategies for New England Workshop 3/7/06

  2. Introduction • Physical interconnection guide • Typical wind unit and utility characteristics • Informal utility meeting • Information to ask about • Do your homework • Energy Balance Analysis

  3. Physical Interconnection Guide Typical transmission voltages range from 115 kV to 345 kV Large plants must interconnect to the transmission grid (generally 20 MW or larger) Typical distribution voltages range from 69 kV to 4 kV Small units (less than 20 MW) can connect to the distribution system through a step up transformer or (for much smaller units) through a customer service connection Typical supply voltages range from 480 v to 120 v

  4. Physical Interconnection Guide • Output ranges • Many units available on the market with outputs ranging from 100 watts to 3.6 MW • Output voltages range from 12 volts dc (battery charging units) to 480 volts ac • Units with output voltages of 240 volts ac are usually best for customer service connections • Typical interconnection components

  5. Informal Utility Meeting • NOT required but can be helpful • Conducted before any formal meetings or studies are performed • Will provide an overview of the process and economics involved • What to ask: • Interconnection requirements and procedure description • Type of supply being provided (I.e. voltage, transformer size, shared or single customer connection) • Availability of hourly use data in electronic format • Electrical facilities in close proximity to facility • Rates and tariffs applicable to generators (particularly stand-by rate information) • Options for utility to purchase excess power • Options for sale of excess power into market system

  6. Informal Utility Meeting • What to expect: • Specific information concerning the process and your service • General information concerning timeframes and interconnection costs • Very general information concerning near by facilities and their capacities

  7. Informal Utility Meeting • What not to expect: • Don’t expect any information to be binding or guaranteed • Don’t expect any specifics concerning viability of an interconnection point or associated costs • Don’t expect any advice or recommendations concerning excess energy sales • Don’t expect any information that would require studies or analysis • Don’t expect any recommendations concerning unit sizes, designs or construction requirements

  8. Do Your Homework • Energy use versus energy output might be a simple calculation if you lived in Aruba • Wind blows between 10 and 15 mph 24 hrs/day almost all year long • A 600 kw wind turbine could expect to produce 3,942 mwh annually (500x8760x.90) and reduce demands by at least 500 kw. • US sited units aren’t quite so easy

  9. Energy Balance Analysis • Analysis that estimates energy costs and savings for a prior year based on actual customer use data and publicly available wind data – along with a bunch of assumptions. • Customer use data • Use data is usually available from utility on an hourly basis for an entire year in spreadsheet format • Some data manipulation is required to format data into a monthly billing quantity compatible layout • Billing rates and monthly billing cycle dates are also needed

  10. Energy Balance Analysis • Typical customer load profile data:

  11. Energy Balance Analysis • Publicly available wind data • Does not replace the need for site specific meteorological data • May be used as a very general proxy for required data prior to more in-depth analysis • Public sites where information on wind generation can be found: http://seaboard.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/northeast_hist.shtml http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/ulcd/ULCD http://www.uwig.org/ http://www.awea.org/faq/index.html http://www.ibew.org/articles/05journal/0509/p14_windmill.htm

  12. Energy Balance Analysis • Wind power generation calculation is highly complex but some simplifications can be made • Translation of wind data into energy output will be required (this is the toughest part) • Once data has been converted it can be merged with use data to derive an approximation of: • Energy use reduction and avoided energy costs • Demand reduction and avoided demand charges • Excess energy production and sales value

  13. Example Wind Data Results

  14. Energy Balance Analysis • Results can provide a high level estimate of economic benefits versus costs of wind unit installation for your use characteristics • Will only provide an indication of whether a more detailed analysis is worth the time and expense

  15. Results of Analysis

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