The wind industry uses induction and permanent magnet designs. There are many variations of these two, but in general terms, the induction generator must be spun at about 1,000 rpm or more to produce useful power. It produces current by first generating an electric field by passing current through a coil. A series of these…

UpWind Solutions has signed a contract to install its Vortex Generator (VG) technology on the 67, 1.5 MW GE SLE wind turbines at the Armenia Mountain Wind Farm in Pennsylvania owned by AES. UpWind says VGs are a cost effective upgrade that improves the cross flow on wind turbine blades, resulting in more efficient energy production for…

By Michelle Froese, Senior editor Windpower Engineering & Development Meeting AEP or annual energy production targets is an ongoing challenge in the wind industry. AEP is the amount of electricity a wind farm generates over one year. While any faulty turbine component can impact energy production, analyzing the aerodynamic design of turbine blades is one…

Although the U.S. wind energy industry seems forever changing, one of its constant goals is to lower costs by mounting turbines in windier areas, which means offshore and higher up. To take advantage of the stronger and steadier winds in both places, tower manufacturers are looking for ways to reduce the higher costs associated with…

Keeping the wide variety of machinery in a nacelle operating at peak performance requires a few test and measurement tools. On the mechanical side, vibration and alignment tests, are frequent tasks. Vibration has been a knotty problem because the location and operation of wind turbines made them “immune” to international vibration standards. According to DIN…

Automatic fire-suppression equipment has been developed to protect critical components in wind turbines regardless of location. The systems work without need of external power so they can activate around-the-clock and without manual activation or monitoring. Some claim to require no maintenance. One design starts with a cylinder filled with an extinguishing agent. A long length…

Many of these are specialized for particular components. For instance, coatings have been formulated for blades, tower, bolts, and magnets that might be used in generators. Coatings will become more important as more turbines are erected at sea. In the wind industry, most coatings are for blades because they are constantly exposed to the weather…

A gearbox is typically used in a wind turbine to increase rotational speed from a low-speed rotor to a higher speed electrical generator. A common ratio is about 90:1, with a rate 16.7 rpm input from the rotor to 1,500 rpm output for the generator. Some multimegawatt wind turbines have dispensed with a gearbox. In…

Most double-feed induction generators require encoder feedback for top performance and line synchronization. But the high vibration and temperature extremes kill even “heavy duty” optical encoders. Recent encoders have been designed for wind turbine applications. The devices indicate the angular position of a rotating shaft and are often described as incremental or absolute. But there…

Motors and drives Nacelles on utility-scale turbines are filled with motors, drives, and controls. The latter devices are part of the turbine controls that tell motors what to do. In just a few tasks, electric motors pitch the blades on turbines to capture the most power from the available wind. Motors on yaw drives keep the…

Condition monitoring is one way to keep tabs on all the equipment in a nacelle without a daily visit. SCADA systems provide some of this information, but a properly applied condition monitoring system provides more detail. The idea is to mount sensors on bearings, gearboxes, and generators. Pressure sensors can tell that the hydraulic system…

Turbines use a wide variety of bearings. Large ones include huge 2-m diameter main-shaft bearings with two opposing rows of cylindrical rollers to handle enormous thrust and radial loads. These support the shaft that holds the hub and rotor. Slew bearings mount between nacelles and towers to let nacelles rotate as needed. These can have…

Joe Arena/Director, Industrial Automation, North America Kevin Liekweg/Sensors Application Manager, Industrial Automation, North America Danfoss/Baltimore, Md. / www.danfoss.com/ia The harsh conditions in a turbine nacelle give pressure and temperature sensors a critical role ensuring equipment there functions properly and safely.   The forces operating on a wind turbine nacelle are extremely powerful, producing stresses that…

The South Fork Wind offshore project has installed its first monopile foundation off the coast of New York. “New York is leading offshore wind development and building a green economy that will support hundreds of good-paying jobs and benefit generations to come,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “This progress on building the first utility-scale offshore wind…

By Steven Law, P.Eng., Resilient World Institute; and Greg Young, B.Eng., EIT., MNP, Energy & Utilities Imagine the scenario where you finally get through the complex stages of building an electricity generating power plant, plug it into the grid, and then… not be allowed to generate the power you are able to produce. This exact…

By Kevin Wolf / President / Wind Harvest International Wind farms in California and other regions of the world exist only in relatively small geographic regions.1 Most of these resource areas have reached their physical or political2  limits in their ability to install additional propeller-type, horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs).3 Nonetheless, many have topographies that…

By Benjamin Müller, Head of Industrial Anti-vibration Technology EFFBE GmbH It is no secret wind turbines must withstand harsh conditions, including fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and vibrations from changes in wind and rotor speeds. For the components that make up a turbine, such as the bearings, gearbox, brakes, and blades, durability and reliability are…

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series of ‘Today in Energy’ articles, from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (IEA). The series examines the fleet of utility-scale power plants in the United States, and this one discusses the growth of wind energy. Previous articles have examined hydroelectric, natural gas, and nuclear generators.  Wind generators…

If the prevailing power generation trend is blowing us toward wind energy, it’s the result of both public policy and our own self-interest.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included more than $70 billion for clean energy and associated transportation programs. Given the dangers of nuclear power dramatized by the 2011 Japanese earthquake,…

Siemens has received an order to continue providing service and maintenance at the Korat 1 and Korat 2 wind projects in Nakorn Rachasrima Province in Northeastern Thailand for the next 13 years. The company will also provide performance-enhancing upgrades to the projects’ wind turbines. The Korat 1 and Korat 2 wind farms are the largest…