Wind lidar shows good agreement in wind tunnel test

Renewable-energy consultancy, Natural Power, has demonstrating matched performance of its continuous wave wind lidar, ZephIR, to a calibrated wind tunnel.

The lidar unit measures wind speed and characteristics from ground level to 200 m. It was deployed in LM Windpower’s wind tunnel in Denmark and successfully measured wind speeds from 5 to 75 m/s with an averaged difference of just 0.4% for a sustained period of time and across all measured speeds. To the company’s knowledge, these are the first reported tests in the world to accurately measure the performance of a lidar in a wind tunnel and help demonstrate ZephIR’s ability to measure low and high wind speeds for wind-resource assessments in the renewable energy sector.

These test results feed in to the DNATF project ‘Integration of Wind LIDAR’s in Wind Turbines for Improved Productivity and Control’. They also demonstrate the performance of a sister product of ZephIR 300 called ControlZephIR which is based on a ZephIR but with different system software and mechanical housing allowing the unit to be either spinner or nacelle mounted. ControlZephIR provides wind-turbine controls with necessary data from a number of distances in front of the turbine. This data that lets the turbine steer in to the wind to maximise performance but, more importantly, steer out of the wind safely in high gusts or turbulence aimed at reducing through-life costs of a wind turbine generator due to operations & maintenance downtime.

The LM Wind Power wind tunnel is a closed circuit wind tunnel with a closed test section with flow driven by a 1-MW fan. A flow speed of up 105 m/s can be reached and the good flow quality is achieved with aerodynamically treated corner vanes, a honeycomb structure, three screens, and a nozzle with a contraction ratio of 10 to 1. The 7-m test section has a cross section of 1.35-m wide and 2.7-m high.
The effort is part of a Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation (DNATF) project combined with Denmark’s National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Risø DTU, turbine-blade manufacturer LM Wind Power, and optical and laser solutions provider, NKT Photonics.

Natural Power
www.yourwindlidar.com

Manufacturer develops record 73.5-m wind turbine blade

Blade manufacturer LM Wind Power launched a world-record wind turbine blade in February this year, and marks Global Wind Day by formally announcing the length—73.5 m—equivalent to a 24 storey building.

Global Wind Day, June 15, is marked across the world, celebrating the strong message that wind power works. The past three decades of technological development have seen continuous improvements in the relative cost efficiency of wind versus other renewable and conventional energy sources like hydrocarbons.

LM Wind Power says it’s the world’s largest independent manufacturer of turbine blades and has pioneered many of those important and exciting innovations. The company has created longer and longer blades,  increasing the ‘swept area’ of the rotor and capturing wind more effectively. This new blade will be the longest composite blade structure in the world at 73.5 m creating an impressive swept area with a rotor diameter of 150 m.

The blade is for offshore wind farms and was developed by the company’s engineers in Denmark. The team has produced more than 140,000 blades, which are now installed and flying across the world. When the company began in 1978 the blades were 5 m long, which illustrates the speed and ambition of the whole industry and the constant appetite for improved technology at LM Wind Power. The company says it was the first to exceed the 60 m limit, and is now the first to put blades longer than 70 m into production.

Vice President, Product Development at LM Wind Power, Jan Kristiansen is looking forward to being able to present the first prototype blade in Denmark already at the end of this year. “The size of these impressive structures has more than doubled over the past decade alone, and although this has of course demanded the development of new materials, design, and technology along the way, the new 73.5 m blade is built on our progressive accumulation of know-how,” she says. “This ensures that even though it is more than ten meters longer than our recent world record blade, it is still based on a proven concept.”

The LM 73.5P wind turbine blades will be installed on Alstom’s 6-MW wind turbines offshore, mainly in European waters, where the giant blades will travel at the speed of more than 320 km/h in order to generate green power equivalent to the yearly requirements of over 6000 European households.

“Speed to market is important in the fast-moving wind energy industry,” Kristiansen explains. “In order to make the best possible blade available with least delay, our product development and manufacturing engineers have to work very closely together as one team. One example is the way our in-house mold experts have produced a special prototype mold with a transparent surface. This allows for full-scale manufacturing trials where our engineers are able to follow the critical polyester infusion by visual inspection.”

LM Wind Power continues its steady technological development and is already in discussions with a number of Asian wind turbine manufacturers about making blades even longer than 80 m.

LM Wind Power www.lmwindpower.com

 

AWEA Windpower Supply Chain Workshop – State of Wind Turbine Manufacturing

Moderator: Dan Radonski – Kinetic Partners

9:15a – Ralf Sigrist : President/CEO Nordex USA

- Arkansas legislator is voting on a cap for amount of Windpower to add into utility. Argument is it will drive cost of overall energy up. Want to cap at 5MW down from 50MW.

- North America represents 25% of overall Nordex annual revenue.

- 162 MW scheduled Nordex installations in 2011

- 75% of US installation contains domestic components.

- Raw material and component cost increase to Nordex for domestic components is up 25%

- Long-term costs for wind is in ongoing maintenance. Instance of this cost: raising crane for repairs is $200k daily- just for the crane.

- Quick on hand and turn around is key for domestic suppliers to compete for Nordex business. Right now in many cases even with significant logistic costs, components are trending cheaper coming from China.

- Other major issue for supply chain for OEM Manufacture is longterm cost stability. Nordex has to guarantee cost in a bid to sell turbine for minimum of 12 months. Component Suppliers and steel producers want to shorten to 30,60,90 day for their cost guarantees…doesn’t add up.

9:40a – Stephen Spethmann, Dir. Supply Chain – Suzlon Wind Energy.

- 2011 looks pretty slow for new installations for Suzlon.
- Growth potential is in O&M…5 key customers require 24/7 support. Looking to grow this in US.
- Small presence in China, but India is booming!
- US market is growing for Suzlon. 2500. MW installed at end of ’10.
- After acquisition of REpower in 2009, the combined installation makes them 3rd in market share. Companies run some what independent. Supply chain opportunity for entire market though.
- Finance markets lending & component technology will drive or stifle Windpower market.

Supply Chain Opportunity &Challenges/
- Towers: delivery cost and logistics are main issues.
- Blades: innovation, material, & logistics
- Drivetrain & Generator: Permanent Magnet opportunity, Copper Costs are unstable, unexpected downtime is a killer for O&M.
- key for both opportunity is keep costs down, quality up, & have supply on hand and you get the business!
- Supply on hand is key…”Don’t let a Penny hold up a Dollar”…a bearing, gear, or blade might be cheaper and better but if supply holds up manufacturing or repair then it will be over looked in overall supply chain.

10:00a – LM Wind Power

- Supplier of Wind Turbine blades
- also had O&M operation as well as a Brakes division.
- 3 manufacturing facilities in US. Two in Arkansas and 1 in ND.
- Supply all major OEM

- Trends in blade business: longer lighter blades, larger blades, more efficiency that drives turbine.
- US Supply demand is uncertain through 2014…forecast as level.
- USA Offshore potential of 4GW through same time period (2014)

Q&A

-Q1 – What has changed or biggest challenge in Supply Chain to OEM?
A- Ralf Sigrist : 3-5 year order guarantees are thing of past. Supplier needs to share risk with OEM. Also it’s ridiculous to only offer 1 year warranty for a part that is supposed to last 10-20 years.

-Q2: With a saturation of OEM manufacture compared to market size, how important is innovation from both OEM & supplier?
A- Ralf: we are always looking to innovate when it makes sense. We won’t innovate just to innovate though.

Longest turbine blades yet

In a recent chat with turbine blade supplier LM Wind Power, I learned that the company will develop what they say is the “longest turbine blades ever produced.” The company is partnering with French Alstom, which provides power generation equipment services, to develop the blade designed to fit its 6-MW turbine for the European offshore market.

This blade will require more than 20,000 hours of work,  focusing on aerodynamics, structural design, and production. Using glass fiber and polyester will enable the blades to be considerably light for their length. The blades will be tested in LM Wind Power’s wind tunnel. Prototype blades will be produced in the company’s Danish factory in Lunderskov, also currently manufacturing the LM 61.5-m blades, and will be ready for installation at Alstom prototype sites in Europe over the winter 2011 to 2012. LM Wind does not yet know if the blade will be offered in the U.S. Communications Specialist Lene Mi Ran Kristiansen says it will depend on Alstom’s plans. Most likely France, UK, and other North Sea markets are what they will focus on.

As for the turbine, Alstom reports its model has a large rotor diameter and 6-MW power output. The turbine’s weight also reduces installation and infrastructure costs. It features what Alstom calls “pure-torque technology” to protect the generator and improving its performance. The technology protects the turbine’s drive train by deflecting unwanted stresses from the wind safely to the tower. Only turning force, or torque, is transmitted to the generator thereby boosting the turbine’s reliability. Furthermore the turbine’s permanent magnet direct drive system enables a compact, lightweight design that reduces service costs and improves operating efficiency. The system’s low number of rotating parts increases reliability, to maximize turbine availability and further reduce maintenance costs.

Unfortunately, Communications Specialist Lene Mi Ran Kristiansen says Alstrom prefers not to share details of the blade’s length or rotor size due to the competitiveness of the offshore wind market. Roland Sundén, chief executive officer at LM Wind Power Group says the new blade builds on features developed for the company’s recent blade launch, the GloBlade, which offers an additional annual energy production of 4-5 % compared to standard blades.

‘World’s longest blade’ finds work in the Belgian coast

Denmark-based LM Wind Power will deliver its 61.5-m blades for the 48 REpower 6M-type wind turbines which will be installed as part of phase II and III of the Thornton Bank Offshore Wind Farm off the Belgian coast. The 144 LM 61.5P2 blades will be supplied from the company’s facility in Lunderskov.

LM Wind Power’s VP Sales & Marketing, Ian Telford commented, “The LM 61.5P2 currently is the world’s longest blade in serial production. This contract increases our long-term visibility in North Europe and secures our commitment to the local area.”

Thornton Bank is located around 28 kilometers off the Belgian coast in waters between 12 and 27-m deep. It currently comprises six REpower 5M-type wind turbines with a rated power of 5-MW each. It was officially put into operation at the end of June 2009. In the first half-year of operation, it achieved a technical availability rate of 94%; in the second, this increased to 97%.

LM Wind Power www.lmwindpower.com

Longest air cargo ever carried makes landing

A record-breaking journey has ended safely. The largest airplane in the world, a 175-ton Russian cargo carrier (the Antonov 225), transported two prototype wind turbine blades from China to Denmark. The 42-m GloBlades, headed for LM Wind Power’s technology center in Lunderskov, are the longest cargo ever transported by air.

China’s demand for new energy sources has put pressure on wind industry players to quickly respond. LM Wind Power, a turbine component supplying company, now ships blades into Denmark for testing. Engineers put the blades through conditions resembling the full forces of nature, while simulating 20 years of operation.

“The new blade design will help wind farm developers create clean electricity in lower-wind areas for turbines at 1.5 to 1.7 MW,” says Frank V. Nielsen, chief technology officer.  LM Wind Power’s worked with Geodis Wilson, freight management contractors, to transport the blades 4,650 miles (7480 km) from Tianjin, China to Lunderskov, Denmark in 12 hours.

LM Wind Power

lmwindpower.com