Characteristics of electrical energy sources wind solar. Types of wind farms. Facts and misconceptions

18.05.2019

Wind energy is a form of solar energy. Winds appear due to the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the unevenness of the earth's surface and the rotation of the Earth. The direction of wind flows varies depending on the topography of the earth's surface, the presence of water bodies and vegetation.
Vetogenerators use this air movement and convert it into mechanical energy and then into electricity. This article will briefly address the issue of how does a wind generator work as well as questions about advantages and disadvantages of wind energy.

People began to use wind energy several centuries ago, when windmills appeared that pumped water, ground grain, or performed other functions. Today's wind turbine is a very advanced version of the windmill. Most wind turbines have three blades mounted on top of a steel tower. A 25 m high wind generator can supply electricity to a residential building, An 80m high wind turbine can power hundreds of homes.

When the wind passes through the turbine, the blades due to kinetic energy the winds begin to turn. This drives an internal shaft, which is connected to a gearbox that increases the speed of rotation and is connected to a generator that generates electricity. Most often, wind turbines consist of a steel hollow mast, the height of which can reach 100 m, a turbine rotor, blades, a generator axle, a gearbox, a generator, an inverter and a battery. Often, wind turbines are equipped with equipment for estimating and automatically turning into the direction of the wind, and can also change the angle or “pitch” of the blades to optimize energy use.

Types of wind turbines

Modern wind turbines fall into two main groups;

with a horizontal axis of rotation, as in traditional windmills used for pumping water;
with a vertical axis of rotation, these are Darrieus rotary and vane designs.

Most modern wind turbines have a horizontal axis of rotation of the turbine.

They usually consist of:

masts hollow inside, made of metal or concrete;
gondolas, which is mounted at the top of the mast and which contains the shafts, gearbox, generator, controller and brake;
rotor, which includes the blades and hub;
low speed shaft, which is driven by a rotor;
high speed shaft which is connected to the generator;
gearbox, which mechanically connects the low-speed and high-speed shaft, increasing the rotation speed of the latter;
generator which generates electricity;
controller, which controls the operation of the wind generator;
weather vane, which determines the direction of the wind and orients the turbine in the required direction;
anemometer, which determines the wind speed and transmits data to the controller;
brakes, to stop the rotor in critical situations.

Advantages and disadvantages of wind energy

Renewable energy source

Wind energy is a public, renewable resource, so no matter how much it is used today, it will still be available in the future. Wind power is also a source of relatively clean electricity – wind farms emit no air pollutants or greenhouse gases.

Price

Even though the cost of wind power has dropped dramatically over the past 10 years, it requires a larger upfront investment than purchasing fossil fuel generators. Approximately 80% of the cost is equipment, including site preparation and installation. However, when comparing the life cycle of a wind turbine and a fossil fuel plant, a wind turbine becomes much more competitive because it does not require the purchase of fuel and operating costs are kept to a minimum.

Environmental impact

Although wind farms do not have as much of an impact on the environment as fossil fuel power plants, they still pose some problems. Their blades create noise, visually they can spoil the landscape, birds and bats crash on them. Most of these problems are solved in one way or another through various technologies and reasonable placement of power plants.

Other problems associated with wind turbines

The main problem with the use of wind energy is that the wind does not always blow when electricity is needed, in some areas the winds blow very weakly, so it is not profitable to use wind turbines there. Wind cannot be stored like gasoline (although wind-generated electricity can be stored using batteries). Areas with strong winds are often not very convenient for settlement. Finally, wind turbines can create problems for other uses of the land. Wind turbines can interfere with livestock grazing or take up space for crops.

(Viewed11 671 | Viewed today 7)

solar energy- our future
The cost of solar panels over the past 35 years has decreased by 100 times world nuclear power plants. Production atomic energy as of 2014

With a decrease in the number of minerals, people turned to other types of energy sources. Nuclear power plants, despite their high efficiency, continue to scare the pollution of nature. Chernobyl and Fukushima are still on the lips. It is not surprising that mankind has paid attention to natural sources of energy - the sun, wind, heat. Today, wind energy is developing by leaps and bounds.

More and more people come across such sources and use them in everyday life. Although wind power itself is new technology However, many myths have already accumulated around it. For the most part, they belong to old technologies, and they are distributed by numerous opponents of progress. We will tell below about the main misconceptions associated with this direction of energy.

Wind turbines are very noisy. According to this myth, a person cannot be near noisy wind turbines for a long time. However, they are quite quiet. At a distance of 250-300 meters from the wind farm, the noise from its operation does not exceed the volume of an ordinary home refrigerator. Working turbines sound like a slight whistle, it is much quieter than other modern installations. Even in sparsely populated and rural areas where extraneous noise cannot hide the operation of wind turbines, the sound of the wind itself is stronger. True, it is worth remembering the exception. So, old units that are more than 20 years old are noisy. And modern turbines located on hills cannot be called "quiet". As a result, in hilly areas where dwellings are located on slopes or depressions in the direction of the wind from the turbines, the sound can travel further and be more perceptible. However, to solve this effect, it is only necessary when designing a new power plant to take into account the location of nearby houses, stepping back from them at an appropriate distance. The same machines that are produced today are originally designed so that the mechanical components least were noisy. Designers try to keep only the smallest noise from the wind in contact with the rotor blades.

The houses closest to the station will be in the shadow flicker zone. The concept of "flickering shadow" means the process that occurs when the blades of the turbine blades rotate between the sun and the observer. This creates a moving shadow. However, the flickering shadow for houses located near the power plant is never a problem. Yes, and where it is possible in principle, problems are usually easily solved at the design stage of the power plant. Sometimes a flickering shadow can annoy those who read nearby or watch TV. But such an effect can be easily calculated by determining exactly how many hours a year this will occur. This will help you easily identify the problem. The state offers a number of solutions to mitigate the consequences of the effect. The simplest thing is to plan the placement of the station and its removal from the houses, planting trees can be another way.

Turbines generate interference for television signals and other forms of communication. Turbines can create interference in rare cases, and even then they can be avoided. Large wind turbines in the field may only cause interference to television or radio if they are within line of sight. In modern wind energy, various methods are used to solve such a problem. You can improve the receiver antenna or install a repeater that will transmit a signal bypassing the area where the windmills are located.

The appearance of the turbines is rather ugly. Beauty is a rather subjective concept. For many appearance turbines - majestic. Designers of wind farm plans have computer modeling tools that can visualize its virtual appearance from different angles. As a result, careful design of the station usually solves the problem of ugly appearance.

Wind farms are not of much use to local residents, their property only decreases in value. There is no evidence that property prices go down if there is a commercial wind farm nearby. In 2003, a national study was conducted in America that specifically studied the prices of real estate located near a wind farm. It turned out that the presence of such an object not only does not affect the cost of houses, but in some cases even increases it.

Wind farms harm tourism. No such documented evidence has been found either. Sometimes wind turbines even attract visitors to the area. Then the local authorities cooperate with the station staff to install information boards and special signs. Tourists already at the entrance or nearby roads can understand exactly where such an unusual station is located. Studies have shown that for most tourists, the presence of wind turbines in the area is not a reason to cancel the trip. So, in Palm Springs, California, thousands of turbines are installed. They not only did not scare away tourists, but even attracted them. Here the guides offer special bus tours to visit wind turbines.

Wind turbines are dangerous, because ice can break off the blades, which is dangerous for people's lives. Sometimes ice can actually fall, but this does not pose any danger. That distance of wind farms from places of permanent residence of people, which is usually there to reduce sound effects, is enough to ensure safety due to falling ice. And a large freezing of ice on the blades is simply impossible. After all, it leads to a decrease in the speed of rotation of the blades. As a result, the turbine will be switched off by its control system.

Sometimes the blades break off the turbines, and the wind farms are destroyed. Wind turbines today are very safe. This allows them to be placed even near children's institutions, in rural, urban and densely populated areas. Previously, the blades did indeed fail, but today the design of turbines has already been technically improved. All wind turbines are certified according to international standards. Thus, the criteria developed by Germanischer Lloyd and Det Norske Veritas include standards varying degrees hurricane resistance. Today, thousands of wind turbines have already been installed throughout Europe and America. All of them meet the highest safety standards, which guarantee their reliable operation.

Wind turbines are dangerous to nature, killing many birds and bats. The impact of growing wind power and its spread to birds has been greatly exaggerated. It is much less than other normal human activities. Even any possible development wind power will not have any impact on birds. After all, the number of deaths from installations of this type is only a small part of the total volume of the "human factor". Birds die from high-rise buildings, domestic cats, aircraft, construction, environmental accidents. At the same time, the problem of the death of birds due to wind farms is under special attention. So, at one of the oldest facilities of its kind in Altamont Pass, California, the death of birds of prey has been a longstanding problem since the 1980s. The staff of this station constantly works together with authorities and conservation experts to minimize the dangerous impact on birds. Since 2003, studies have been conducted on the effects of wind turbines on bats. After all, the death of these mammals in West Virginia in the same year attracted the attention of scientists and the public. In response, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, along with the bat conservation community, is still conducting research on the relationship between plant operation and bat deaths. Such studies are designed to reduce mortality, the results of the work are constantly published. Although the impact of wind power on bird and mouse populations is small, the industry is serious about potential interactions with living things. In addition to general field studies, additional studies on the effects on birds are carried out before the construction of facilities. It has become a generally accepted practice to investigate the possible impact on nature even at the design stage of the plant.

Wind farms break into parts of the habitat of wild animals. Usually such stations are built near power lines. Here, the habitats of animals have already been fragmented and changed, the reason for this is the developed cattle breeding and agriculture. The station itself requires little land to accommodate the turbine itself, the road to it, and power lines. The land around such objects can continue to be used in the usual way. Often sites with suitable wind characteristics are found on undeveloped lands. Then the fragmentation of habitats can really become a source of concern. After all, meadows and forests are still untouched. The industry strongly supports the study of these places in order to better understand the possible impact on them. It is necessary to compare the possible impact with that which can occur in the absence of renewable energy sources. After all, this is fraught with global warming, the release of pollutants.

Wind turbines are unreliable and expensive, and cannot serve as the sole source of energy. The design of the network is such that for every megawatt produced by a wind farm, it does not need to generate the same amount of energy from other sources. No station can be 100% reliable, this has made the network such that it has more sources than required at the same time. Such a complex system has been specifically designed to better respond to the possible shutdown of one of the sources or the inclusion of industrial consumers with high consumption. There are quite a few variables in the power grid that are taken into account by the operator. The volatility of wind turbines is just one factor in the operation of the entire network. Are there any highly reliable sources of electricity? Thus, even nuclear reactors and coal-fired power plants are shut down with a warning shortly beforehand in order to carry out maintenance or emergency repairs. But no one seeks to duplicate nuclear or thermal stations with the same powerful facilities. The reality is that wind energy is inherently reliable. After all, stations are being built in windy areas, where seasonal air movement patterns can be predicted. Unlike standard wind farms, wind farms do not need to be completely shut down in the event of a breakdown or maintenance. If the turbine is faulty, it can be repaired without disconnecting the rest of the installations from the network.

Wind turbines operate only a small part of the time. It turns out that such installations produce electricity most of the day, 65-80%. Naturally, the output power changes from time to time. But not a single power plant can constantly provide 100% of its capacity. All of them are sometimes closed for repairs and maintenance or produce less power due to the current lack of demand for electricity. Wind farms are built in places where the wind blows most of the year. But fluctuations in its wind lead to the fact that only 10% of the time will be carried out to produce maximum power. As a result, the average annual electricity production will be about 30% of the nominal capacity. For stations on non-renewable sources, this parameter ranges from 0.4 to 0.8. In total, for Russia in 2005, the total capacity utilization factor of all stations was 0.5.

Wind turbines are inefficient. On the contrary, the advantage of wind turbines is their efficiency. Most in a simple way determining the overall effectiveness of a technology is the overall effectiveness. The amount of energy consumed for production is estimated. It turned out that the recovery time for wind farms is practically not inferior to the performance of conventional facilities, in some places even surpassing them. Recently, the University of Wisconsin did a study and found that the average energy recovery from Midwestern wind farms is 17 to 39 times (depending on current wind speed) more than the energy consumed. But for nuclear power plants, this parameter is 16, for coal - 11. And in a broader sense, it should be said about the efficiency of wind turbines. After all, they produce electricity from natural sources that are inexhaustible. There are no social or environmental impacts observed. Fuel does not need to be extracted, transported, there is no pollution environment. There are no problems with waste, which also needs to be transported somewhere and stored somewhere. Wind farms do not exacerbate the greenhouse effect, which is typical of thermal power plants.

Wind energy is expensive. Today, wind energy provides electricity at the same cost as new stations running on conventional fuel. The capital costs of wind turbines are indeed higher than those of traditional energy sources such as those using gas. But at the same time, there are no fuel costs, and other normalized costs (the cost of work, maintenance) of such a direction of the energy sector turn out to be competitive with respect to other sources. Analysts concluded that wind power reduces the overall market value of electricity. After all, over the past 30 years in Europe, the power of turbines of this type has increased by almost 300 times, during this time the cost of production has decreased by 80%. Every new 5% of the market devoted to wind energy reduces the cost of electricity by 1%. Over the past 5 years, wind energy in the EU has provided 33 jobs daily. This market is constantly growing, in Russia alone in 2013 it will be 3.1 billion euros, and in 2015 - 7 billion euros.

Wind energy requires subsidies, unlike conventional energy. Analysts from the International Energy Agency assessed energy subsidies in Europe. It turned out that in 15 EEC countries, a total of 29 billion euros were allocated, of which only 19% accounted for wind energy. This indicator suggests that such a direction was simply equalized in rights with traditional technologies energy production.

Wind turbines are not suitable for common network, working only in small autonomous systems. In order for the entire energy system to begin to depend on the unstable output of power from wind farms, it is necessary that their share be about 20-25% of the total capacity. For example, in Russia, with existing indicators and rates, such a ratio can be achieved no earlier than in 50 years.

In the global energy balance, the share of wind energy is insignificant. In 2010, the amount of energy produced by plants of this type amounted to 2.5% of the total. Wind energy is highly valued, for example, in Denmark already 20% of electricity is generated in this way, and in Germany - 8%. China, India, Japan, France announced plans for the development of this direction. The pace of development of wind energy suggests that by 2020 the share of this industry will be 10% of the total.

Wind power itself is unstable and not as predictable as other forms. Energy is supplied unstable, which requires its constant reservation and accumulation. To solve the problems of such instability, there are options. Today, with an accuracy of 95%, forecasts of hourly energy output during the day are made. This high scheduling rate improves the performance and reliability of the stations. To evaluate the stability of this type of station system, a group of scientists from the Universities of Delaware and Stony Brook created a virtual system of objects. They were located along the entire east coast of the United States at a distance from the coast. It turned out that such a system can serve as a reliable source of energy. Although wind turbines have high potential, changing weather can still reduce their potential. Scientists propose to combine groups of wind turbines remote from each other into a single network in order to smooth out wind fluctuations in the areas. However accurate calculations have not yet been made. During the study, data received from 11 automatic weather observation stations for 5 years were considered. They were located for 2500 kilometers between Florida and Maine. It turned out that during this time, if the stations were combined into a single network, the supply of electricity would never completely stop. The power of the entire system would not fluctuate as much as that of a single installation. If it could change by 50% in an hour, then for the entire network the jump, in principle, could not exceed 10% per hour. The study participants concluded that this "unstable" energy source is actually quite reliable when handled properly.

A wind generator is a device for converting the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical and then into electrical energy. According to the amount of electricity generated, such devices are divided into large, with a power of more than 100 kW, and small, with a power of less than 100 kW.

Large ones, with a capacity of up to several megawatts, are used as single elements of wind farms that transmit energy to the main power grids for a large number of consumers. Wind power plants are located on the shores of the seas, large reservoirs and in desert areas. Required attribute when deployed, is the infrastructure for transmitting energy in power lines.

Separate small wind turbines, which will be discussed in this article, have found application for the power supply of private houses and autonomous objects for various purposes - telecommunication towers, street lighting, control system elements road traffic. They are installed next to the object and are often supplemented with a diesel generator.

Principle of operation

The wind generator is a complex of several devices:

The principle of operation of the device is that the pressure (pressure) of the wind rotates the wind wheel, which transmits rotation to the generator rotor. The generator rotor excites alternating current in the stator windings of the generator, which is supplied to the controller. The controller converts this current to DC and charges the battery with it.

All consumers receive energy from the battery through an inverter (220 V) or directly (12, 24, 48 V - depending on the number of batteries). The energy of the windmill is not directly transmitted to consumers, which is associated with the instability of the parameters of the current it receives.

Types of wind farms

There are the following criteria for classifying wind farms:

Number of blades. Wind turbines with up to 4 blades are called low-bladed and high-speed. With the number of blades from 4 or more, multi-bladed and slow-moving. The division according to this criterion is due to the fact that the smaller the number of blades, the, ceteris paribus, the wind turbine has more revolutions.
Rated power. The criterion is rather arbitrary, but the following gradation is applied: up to 15 kW household (for private houses, portable), 15-100 kW semi-industrial (for small farms, shops, pumping stations), 100 kW - units of MW industrial - designed to generate energy used a large number of consumers.
The direction of the axis of rotation. This criterion is the most basic, as it affects the main characteristics of the windmill:
- With a horizontal axis of rotation. Most often two or three-blade, high-speed. The advantages of such devices include: speed, which means a simpler generator; high utilization of wind energy and, as a result, higher efficiency; simplicity of design. The disadvantages include: high noise level, the need for a high mast for installation.
- With vertical axis of rotation. There are many varieties of design - Savonius wind turbines, Darrieus rotors, helicoid rotor, multi-blade wind turbines. According to the author of the article, the merits of all such structures are highly doubtful. These devices have a complex design, require a complex generator, and have a low wind energy utilization factor (0.18-0.2 versus 0.42 for horizontal ones). The advantages include low noise level, the ability to install at a low height.

A matter of choice

When choosing a device, you need to answer the following questions:

Required power in kW. It is required to estimate the total consumption per month and select a power plant according to this criterion;
Equipment manufacturer. It is necessary that the products be certified for use on the territory of the Russian Federation, then you can be sure that the characteristics of the device comply with national standards for noise and electromagnetic interference. Pay attention to the warranty period and the service life of the device, it must be at least 15 years. Find out about maintenance and warranty repairs of equipment. It will not be superfluous to find out reviews about the manufacturer and the seller from other users.
Required place for installation of a windmill. Start from your real possibilities. If it is possible to install a high mast with a horizontal type of device, then give it preference. Otherwise, consider a design with a vertical axis of rotation.
Price. The more expensive is not always better. Here, as elsewhere, you can overpay for a brand or for features that are completely unnecessary to you. Clearly define your requirements for the device, do not order unnecessary components.

If it is possible to install a high mast with a horizontal type of device, then give it preference

Installation

When installing, it should be remembered that in the Russian Federation there is no ban on the installation of wind farms with a power below 75 kW and they are not taxed. But still, it would be useful to familiarize yourself with the regulations for the installation and use of such devices for each specific area.

What you should pay attention to:

Permissible mast installation height;
The presence of power lines near the proposed installation site;
Permissible noise level in decibels;
The presence of radio interference from a working power plant.

Permissible height is regulated by local regulations, but it is impossible to place the mast near power lines.

For the last two points, it is necessary to take data from the technical characteristics of the power plant. For suppliers and manufacturers certified in the Russian Federation, these characteristics comply with local legislation.

A good step would be to obtain consent for the installation from the neighbors and the organization serving the territory, if any. Consent must be obtained in writing.

When all the formalities are settled, it is necessary to determine the specific location of the mast. It should be noted that the efficiency will be higher if there are no trees, tall houses nearby and the mast is on a hill. The installation site should be chosen so that nearby buildings and trees are not in front of the windmill. It would also be wrong to place the mast on a hill, in front of a cliff.

The mast must be installed in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. If necessary, qualified specialists and special equipment should be involved.

Price

Wind farms for the home are available on the market with a capacity from 0.4 kW to 75 kW of various manufacturers. The range of prices for devices of the same power is quite large.

Consider a table:

Model	power, kWt	Price, rub
EDS Group Condor Home	0,5	89600
EDS Group Condor Home	3	195400
EDS Group Condor Home	5	285000
EDS Group Condor Air	10	770000
EDS Group Condor Air	30	1790000
EDS Group Condor Air	50	2850000
Energospetsservis LLC	1	94000
BEKAR	1	171800
HY 400-L	0,4	66430
Energy stock	3	98000
Energy stock	5	220000
Energy stock	10	414000
Energy stock	30	961000
Energy stock	50	3107000

What's the matter? But the fact is that manufacturers often indicate the price only for part of the required set of equipment. Consider, for example, a 2 kW windmill sold by Energostok. The site lists the price of 57,600 rubles, but let's go to the detailed description of the product.

And there is the price of a complete set of equipment: wind generator, controller, inverter, battery, mast. And the price of a complete set will be 176,800 rubles. Hence the conclusion - be sure to specify the price for the entire set!

The average prices for generators of Russian and Chinese production are as follows: 1 kW 100-120 tr, 3 kW - 200 tr, 5 kW - 300 tr, 10 kW from half a million, and powerful devices of 20 or more kW will cost more than a million rubles. If you buy equipment from a Western manufacturer or the USA, then prices will be 20-30% higher.

DIY wind farms

If you are going to make a wind generator, then you should pay attention to the resources of the Network, which involve 2 approaches: the first is to assemble all the elements with your own hands, and the second involves the purchase of ready-made components.

When assembling, the greatest difficulty is the manufacture of the wind turbine. It is not easy to manufacture blades for a horizontal axis of rotation design with the required aerodynamic characteristics. There are two ways out: either pay for the production of a workshop with necessary tools and experience, or look towards a design with a vertical axis of rotation, for which the blades can be made from a conventional barrel.

The generator can be purchased used, use a washing machine or industrial engine. There is a large selection of ready-made generators and components for their assembly based on neodymium magnets.

The manufacture of the mast is a very important stage, because the safety of operation of the entire structure depends on it. You need to treat it carefully, entrusting the calculations of structural strength to a specialist.

Controllers, inverters and batteries are best purchased ready-made.

Diagram of a wind farm device for self-production

Install or not

When deciding whether to install a wind farm, you need to obtain the following initial data:

The algorithm for assessing the payback of a windmill is as follows:

According to the wind map and technical specifications device to determine the generated power for the summer and winter periods or monthly. For example, for the 2 kW device discussed above, the generated power at a speed of 5 m / s will be 400 W;
Based on the data obtained, determine annual generated capacity;
Cost per kilowatt hour determine the price of generated electricity;
Share the cost of the wind turbine kit on the resulting figure and you get a payback in years.

To make adjustments to the calculation, consider:

Batteries will have to change at least once every three years;
Service life of modern wind generator 20 years;
The device needs to be serviced. The cost and terms of service must be clarified with the equipment seller;
The cost of a kilowatt-hour is growing every year, over the previous 10 years, it has more than tripled. Tariff growth is planned for 2017 by at least 4%, so we can proceed from this increase in electricity prices.

If the payback figures obtained are not satisfactory, but you want to have an alternative source of energy or there is no possibility of connecting to a centralized power supply, then you should consider options for increasing the efficiency of the windmill and reducing the cost of its installation and maintenance.

The following options are possible:

Installation of several devices of smaller power instead of one large one. This will reduce the price of the main equipment, reduce installation and maintenance costs, and increase productivity due to the fact that small wind turbines are more efficient at low wind speeds;
Installation of a special network power management system combined with central system power supply. Such devices are commercially available today.

for the power supply of even a large private house, a power of 10 kW is enough;
Assess the capacity of the power plant to generate electricity in your area;
choose right place wind generator installations;
control the completeness of the purchased equipment;
use ways to increase the payback rate of equipment;
if it's expensive to buy - do it yourself, it's not so difficult.

The development of wind energy around the world, in recent years, is very fast. The leaders at the moment are China and the United States, however, the rest of the world is gradually developing this promising area of "clean" energy, based on an inexhaustible natural resource - wind energy. Every year more and more are installed in the world, and there is a tendency to further spread the technology.

Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of using wind turbines.

Advantages:

1. Completely renewable energy source is used. As a result of the action of the sun, air currents are constantly moving in the atmosphere, for the creation of which it is not necessary to extract, transport, and burn any fuel. The source is fundamentally inexhaustible.

2. There are no harmful emissions during the operation of the wind power plant. This means that there are no greenhouse gases or any production waste whatsoever. That is, the technology is environmentally friendly.

3. The wind farm does not use water for its operation.

4. The wind turbine and the main working parts of such generators are located at a considerable height above the ground. The mast on which the wind turbine is installed occupies a small area on the ground, so the surrounding space can be successfully used for economic needs, various buildings and structures can be placed there, for example, for agriculture.

5. The use of wind turbines is especially justified for isolated areas where in the usual way electricity cannot be delivered, and autonomous supply for such territories is perhaps the only way out.

6. After the wind farm is put into operation, the cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated in this way is significantly reduced. For example, in the United States, the operation of newly installed stations is specially studied, these systems are optimized, and in this way it is possible to reduce the cost of electricity for consumers up to 20 times from the original cost.

7. Maintenance during operation is minimal.

Disadvantages:

1. Dependence on external conditions at a particular moment. The wind may be strong, or it may not be at all. To ensure a continuous supply of electricity to the consumer in such intermittent conditions, a large-capacity energy storage system is needed. In addition, infrastructure is required to transfer this energy.

2. The construction of a wind turbine requires material costs. In some cases, regional investments are attracted, which is not always easy to secure. It is the starting stage, the construction of the project itself, which is a very expensive undertaking. The infrastructure mentioned above is an important part of the project, which also costs money.

On average, the cost of 1 kW of installed capacity is $1000.

3. Some experts believe that windmills distort the natural landscape, that their appearance violates the natural aesthetics of nature. Therefore, large firms have to resort to the help of professionals in design and landscape architecture.

4. Wind turbines produce aerodynamic noise that can cause discomfort to people. For this reason, in some European countries, a law has been passed according to which the distance from a windmill to residential buildings should not be less than 300 meters, and the noise level should not exceed 45 dB during the day and 35 dB at night.

5. There is a small chance of a bird colliding with a wind turbine blade, but it is so small that it hardly needs serious consideration. But bats are more vulnerable, because the structure of their lungs, unlike the structure of the lungs of birds, contributes to fatal barotrauma when a mammal enters the area. reduced pressure near the edge of the blade.

Despite the disadvantages, the environmental benefits of wind turbines are clear. For clarity, it is worth noting that the operation of a 1 MW wind turbine saves about 29,000 tons of coal or 92,000 barrels of oil over 20 years.

Mill with bed

Windmills were used to grind grain in Persia as early as 200 BC. e. Mills of this type were common in the Islamic world and were brought to Europe by the crusaders in the 13th century.

“Mills on goats, the so-called German mills, were until the middle of the 16th century. the only ones known. Strong storms could overturn such a mill along with the bed. In the middle of the sixteenth century, a Fleming found a way by which this overturning of the mill was made impossible. In the mill, he put only a movable roof, and in order to turn the wings in the wind, it was necessary to turn only the roof, while the building of the mill itself was firmly fixed on the ground.(K. Marx. "Machines: the application of natural forces and science").

The mass of the gantry mill was limited due to the fact that it had to be turned by hand. Therefore, its performance was also limited. Improved mills were named tented.

Modern methods of generating electricity from wind energy

Power of wind turbines and their dimensions
Parameter	1 MW	2 MW	2.3 MW
mast height	50 m - 60 m	80 m	80 m
Blade length	26 m	37 m	40 m
Rotor diameter	54 m	76 m	82.4 m
Rotor weight on axle	25 t	52 t	52 t
Total weight of engine room	40 t	82 t	82.5 t
Source: Parameters of existing wind turbines. Pori, Finland

The wind turbine design with three blades and a horizontal axis of rotation has become the most widespread in the world, although two-bladed ones are still found in some places. Wind generators with a vertical axis of rotation, the so-called wind turbines, are recognized as the most effective design for areas with low wind speeds. rotary, or carousel type. Now more and more manufacturers are switching to the production of such installations, since not all consumers live on the coasts, and the speed of continental winds is usually in the range from 3 to 12 m/s. In such a wind regime, the efficiency of a vertical installation is much higher. It is worth noting that vertical wind turbines have several other significant advantages: they are almost silent and require absolutely no maintenance, with a service life of more than 20 years. Braking systems developed in recent years guarantee stable operation even with intermittent heavy gusts up to 60 m/s.

The most promising places for the production of energy from wind are coastal zones. But the cost of investments compared to land is 1.5 - 2 times higher. At sea, at a distance of 10-12 km from the coast (and sometimes further), offshore wind farms are being built. Wind turbine towers are installed on foundations made of piles driven to a depth of up to 30 meters.

Other types of underwater foundations, as well as floating foundations, may be used. The first floating wind turbine prototype was built by H Technologies BV in December 2007 . The wind generator with a capacity of 80 kW is installed on a floating platform 10.6 nautical miles from the coast of Southern Italy in a sea area 108 meters deep.

On June 5, 2009, Siemens AG and Norway's Statoil announced the installation of the world's first commercial 2.3 MW floating wind turbine manufactured by Siemens Renewable Energy.

Statistics on the use of wind energy

As of June 2012, the total installed capacity of all wind turbines in the world amounted to 254 GW. The average increase in the sum of the capacities of all wind turbines in the world, starting from 2009, is 38-40 gigawatts per year and is due to the rapid development of wind energy in the USA, India, China and Germany. Estimated wind energy capacity by the end of 2012 according to the World Wind Energy Assosiation will approach the value of 273 GW.

In 2010, 44% of installed wind farms were concentrated in Europe, 31% in Asia, in North America - 22 %.

Table: Total installed capacities, MW, by countries of the world 2005-2011 Data from the European Wind Energy Association and GWEC.

The country	2005, MW.	2006, MW.	2007, MW.	2008 MW.	2009 MW.	2010 MW.	2011 Mw.
China	1260	2405	6050	12210	25104	41800	62733
USA	9149	11603	16818	25170	35159	40200	46919
Germany	18428	20622	22247	23903	25777	27214	29060
Spain	10028	11615	15145	16754	19149	20676	21674
India	4430	6270	7580	9645	10833	13064	16084
France	757	1567	2454	3404	4492	5660	6800
Italy	1718	2123	2726	3736	4850	5797	6737
United Kingdom	1353	1962	2389	3241	4051	5203	6540
Canada	683	1451	1846	2369	3319	4008	5265
Portugal	1022	1716	2150	2862	3535	3702	4083
Denmark	3122	3136	3125	3180	3482	3752	3871
Sweden	510	571	788	1021	1560	2163	2907
Japan	1040	1394	1538	1880	2056	2304	2501
Netherlands	1224	1558	1746	2225	2229	2237	2328
Australia	579	817	817,3	1306	1668	2020	2224
Turkey	20,1	50	146	433	801	1329	1799
Ireland	496	746	805	1002	1260	1748	1631
Greece	573	746	871	985	1087	1208	1629
Poland	73	153	276	472	725	1107	1616
Brazil	29	237	247,1	341	606	932	1509
Austria	819	965	982	995	995	1011	1084
Belgium	167,4	194	287	384	563	911	1078
Bulgaria	14	36	70	120	177	375	612
Norway	270	325	333	428	431	441	520
Hungary	17,5	61	65	127	201	329	329
Czech Republic	29,5	54	116	150	192	215	217
Finland	82	86	110	140	146	197	197
Estonia	33	32	58	78	142	149	184
Lithuania	7	48	50	54	91	154	179
Ukraine	77,3	86	89	90	94	87	151
Russia	14	15,5	16,5	16,5	14	15,4

Table: Total installed capacities, MW according to WWEA.

1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
7475	9663	13696	18039	24320	31164	39290	47686	59004	73904	93849	120791	157000	196630	237227

At the same time, according to the European Wind Energy Association, the total generated wind energy capacity in Russia in 2010 was 9 MW, which is approximately the same as Vietnam (31 MW), Uruguay (30.5 MW), Jamaica (29.7 MW). ), Guadeloupe (20.5 MW), Colombia (20 MW), Guyana (13.5 MW) and Cuba (11.7 MW).

In 2011, 28% of electricity in Denmark was generated from wind power.

In 2009, China's wind farms generated about 1.3% of the country's total electricity generation. Since 2006, the PRC has adopted a law on renewable energy sources. It is assumed that by 2020 the wind energy capacity will reach 80-100 GW.

Portugal and Spain on some days in 2007 produced about 20% of their electricity from wind energy. On March 22, 2008, 40.8% of the country's electricity was generated from wind energy in Spain.

Wind power in Russia

The technical potential of wind energy in Russia is estimated at over 50,000 billion kWh/year. The economic potential is approximately 260 billion kWh/ year, that is, about 30 percent of electricity production by all power plants in Russia.

Energy wind zones in Russia are located mainly on the coast and islands of the Arctic Ocean from the Kola Peninsula to Kamchatka, in the regions of the Lower and Middle Volga and Don, the coast of the Caspian, Okhotsk, Barents, Baltic, Black and Azov seas. Separate wind zones are located in Karelia, Altai, Tuva, Baikal.

The maximum average wind speed in these areas occurs in the autumn winter period- the period of greatest demand for electricity and heat. About 30% of the economic potential of wind energy is concentrated in the Far East, 14% - in the Northern economic region, about 16% - in Western and Eastern Siberia.

The total installed capacity of wind power plants in the country in 2009 is 17-18 MW.

The largest wind power plant in Russia (5.1 MW) is located near the village of Kulikovo, Zelenogradsky district, Kaliningrad region. Zelenograd wind turbine consists of 21 installations of the Danish company SEAS Energi Service A.S.

There are projects at different stages of development of the Leningrad wind farm 75 MW Leningrad region, Yeisk wind farm 72 MW Krasnodar region, Kaliningrad marine wind farm 50 MW, Morskoy wind farm 30 MW Karelia, Primorskoye wind farm 30 MW Primorsky Krai, Magadan wind farm 30 MW Magadan region, Chui wind farm 24 MW Republic of Altai, Ust-Kamchatskoy VPS 16 MW Kamchatka Oblast, Novikovskoy VPS 10 MW Republic of Komi, Dagestan WPP 6 MW Dagestan, Anapskoy WPP 5 MW Krasnodar Krai, Novorossiysk WPP 5 MW Krasnodar Krai and Valaamskoy WPP 4 MW Karelia.

Wind pump "Romashka" made in the USSR

As an example of realizing the potential of the territories of the Sea of Azov, one can point Novoazovskaya wind farm, operating in 2010 with a capacity of 21.8 MW, installed on the Ukrainian coast of the Taganrog Bay.

Attempts were made to mass-produce wind turbines for individual consumers, for example, the Romashka water-lifting unit.

In recent years, the increase in capacity has been mainly due to low-power individual power systems, the sales volume of which is 250 wind turbines (with a capacity of 1 kW to 5 kW).

prospects

The reserves of wind energy are more than a hundred times greater than the reserves of hydropower of all the rivers of the planet.

In 2008, the European Union set a goal: by 2010 to install wind turbines for 40 thousand MW, and by 2020 - 180 thousand MW. According to EU plans, the total electrical energy generated by wind farms will be 494.7 TWh. .

Venezuela for 5 years from 2010 plans to build wind farms for 1500 MW. .

France plans to build 25,000 MW wind farms by 2020, of which 6,000 MW are offshore.

Economic aspects of wind energy

Wind turbine blades at the construction site.

The main part of the cost of wind energy is determined by the initial costs for the construction of wind turbine structures (the cost of 1 kW of installed wind turbine capacity is ~$1000).

Fuel economy

Wind generators do not consume fossil fuels during operation. The operation of a wind turbine with a capacity of 1 MW over 20 years saves approximately 29,000 tons of coal or 92,000 barrels of oil.

Cost of electricity

The cost of electricity produced by wind turbines depends on wind speed.

For comparison: the cost of electricity produced at coal-fired power plants in the United States is 4.5 - 6 cents / kWh. average cost electricity in China 4 cents/kWh.

With a doubling of the installed wind generation capacity, the cost of electricity produced falls by 15%. Costs are expected to fall further by 35-40% by the end of the year. In the early 1980s, the cost of wind power in the US was $0.38.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, by 2050 the world's wind energy will reduce annual CO 2 emissions by 1.5 billion tons.

Impact on climate

Wind generators remove part of the kinetic energy of moving air masses, which leads to a decrease in their speed. With the mass use of windmills (for example, in Europe), this slowdown can theoretically have a noticeable impact on local (and even global) climatic conditions terrain. In particular, a decrease in the average wind speed can make the climate of the region a little more continental due to the fact that slowly moving air masses have time to heat up more in summer and cool down in winter. Also, the extraction of energy from the wind can contribute to a change in the humidity regime of the adjacent territory. However, scientists are still only developing research in this area, scientific work Those analyzing these aspects do not quantify the impact of large-scale wind energy on climate, but suggest that it may not be as negligible as previously thought.

City ventilation

In modern cities, a large amount of harmful substances are emitted, including from industrial enterprises and cars. Natural ventilation of cities occurs with the help of wind. At the same time, the decrease in wind speed described above due to the massive use of wind turbines can also reduce the ventilation of cities. This can cause especially unpleasant consequences in large metropolitan areas: smog, an increase in the concentration of harmful substances in the air and, as a result, an increased incidence of the population. In this regard, the installation of windmills near large cities is undesirable.

Noise

Wind turbines produce two types of noise:

mechanical noise - noise from the operation of mechanical and electrical components (for modern wind turbines it is practically absent, but is significant in older wind turbines)
aerodynamic noise - noise from the interaction of the wind flow with the blades of the installation (intensifies when the blade passes by the tower of the wind turbine)

Currently, when determining the noise level from wind turbines, only calculation methods are used. The method of direct measurements of the noise level does not provide information about the noise level of a wind turbine, since it is currently impossible to effectively separate the noise of a wind turbine from wind noise.

In the immediate vicinity of the wind turbine near the axis of the wind wheel, the noise level of a sufficiently large wind turbine can exceed 100 dB.

An example of such design miscalculations is the Grovian wind turbine. Because of high level Noise installation worked for about 100 hours and was dismantled.

As a rule, residential buildings are located at a distance of at least 300 m from wind turbines. At such a distance, the contribution of the wind turbine to infrasonic oscillations can no longer be distinguished from the background oscillations.

Blade icing

During the operation of wind turbines in winter, with high air humidity, ice build-up on the blades is possible. When starting a wind turbine, ice can be blown over a considerable distance. As a rule, warning signs are installed at a distance of 150 m from the wind turbine on the territory where blade icing is possible.

In addition, in the case of light icing of the blades, cases of improving the aerodynamic characteristics of the profile were noted.

visual impact

The visual impact of wind turbines is a subjective factor. To improve the aesthetic appearance of wind turbines, many large firms employ professional designers. Landscape architects are involved in the visual justification of new projects.

In a review by the Danish firm AKF, the cost of noise and visual impact from wind turbines is estimated to be less than 0.0012 euros per 1 kWh. The review was based on interviews with 342 people living in the vicinity of wind farms. Residents were asked how much they would pay to get rid of the neighborhood with wind turbines.

land use

Turbines occupy only 1% of the entire area of the wind farm. On 99% of the farm area it is possible to engage in agriculture or other activities, which is what happens in such densely populated countries as Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany. The foundation of a wind turbine, which is about 10 m in diameter, is usually completely underground, allowing the expansion of agricultural use of the land almost to the very base of the tower. The land is rented out, which allows farmers to earn additional income. In the US, the cost of renting land under one turbine is $3,000-$5,000 per year.

Table: Specific area requirement land plot for the production of 1 million kWh of electricity

Harm to animals and birds

Table: Harm to animals and birds. AWEA data .

Bat populations living near wind farms are an order of magnitude more vulnerable than bird populations. Near the ends of the blades of the wind turbine, an area of low pressure is formed, and a mammal that has fallen into it receives barotrauma. More than 90% of bats found near windmills show signs of internal hemorrhage. According to scientists, birds have a different structure of the lungs, and therefore are less susceptible to sharp drops pressure and suffer only from direct impact with the blades of windmills.

Use of water resources

Unlike traditional thermal power plants, wind farms do not use water, which can significantly reduce the pressure on water resources.

radio interference

The metal structures of the wind turbine, especially the elements in the blades, can cause significant interference in the reception of the radio signal. The larger the wind turbine, the more interference it can create. In some cases, to solve the problem, it is necessary to install additional repeaters.

Sources

Global Wind Installations Boom, Up 31% in 2009
World Wind Energy Report 2010 (PDF). Archived
Wind Power Increase in 2008 Exceeds 10-year Average Growth Rate . Worldwatch.org. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
Renewables. airgrid.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
"Wind Energy Update" (PDF). wind engineering: 191–200.
Impact of Wind Power Generation in Ireland on the Operation of Conventional Plant and the Economic Implications . eirgrid.com (February 2004). Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
"Design and Operation of Power Systems with Large Amounts of Wind Power", IEA Wind Summary Paper (PDF). Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
Claverton-Energy.com (August 28, 2009). Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
Alan Wyatt, Electric Power: Challenges and Choices, (1986), Book Press Ltd., Toronto, ISBN 0-920650-00-7 .
http://www.tuuliatlas.fi/tuulisuus/tuulisuus_4.html The boundary layer in the atmosphere
http://www.tuuliatlas.fi/tuulivoima/index.html Generator sizes by year
http://www.hyotytuuli.fi/index.php?page=617d54bf53ca71f7983067d430c49b7 Parameters of existing wind turbines. Pori, Finland
Clipper Windpower Announces Groundbreaking for Offshore Wind Blade Factory
Edward Milford BTM Wind Market Report July 20, 2010
Jorn Madslien. floating wind turbine launched, BBC NEWS London: BBC, p. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
Annual installed global capacity 1996-2011
Half year report 2012
US and China in race to the top of global wind industry
http://www.gwec.net/fileadmin/documents/PressReleases/PR_2010/Annex%20stats%20PR%202009.pdf
Wind in power. 2011 European statistics »
Global Wind Statistics 2011
Die Energiewende in Deutschland
The Danish Market
BIKI, 25.07.09, "On the PRC wind power equipment market"
Wind power - clean and reliable
Spain gets record share of electricity from wind
The use of wind energy in the USSR \\ Buryat-Mongolskaya Pravda. No. 109 (782) May 18, 1926. page 7
Energy portal. Issues of production, conservation and processing of energy
http://www.riarealty.ru/ru/article/34636.html RusHydro identifies promising sites in the Russian Federation for the construction of wind farms
=1&cHash=EU will exceed renewable energy goal of 20 percent by 2020] . Retrieved 21 January 2011.
Denmark aims to get 50% of all electricity from wind power