extracting energy from wind

Extracting Energy from Wind

Matt Aldeman

Senior Energy AnalystCenter for Renewable Energy

Illinois State University

Overview Where does wind come from? Where is it windy? Wind Assessment Power in the wind

Where does wind come from?

On a macro/global scale, wind is a result of:

Uneven heating of earth’s surfaces - Jet streams and circulatory cells - Equator – 30 degrees: Hadley cell- 30 – 60 degrees: Ferrell cell- 60-90 degrees: Polar cell

Where does wind come from?

On a macro/global scale, the direction of the wind is a result of:

Coriolis Effect: in the Northern Hemisphere, moving bodies veer righthttp://tinyurl.com/yvurcs

Where does wind come from?

Wind Rose

ISU Farm 2009 met tower energy rose

ISU Farm 2009 met tower energy rose

Where does wind come from? On a micro/regional scale, wind

magnitude and direction are a result of

1) Storm systems and frontsAir is pushed from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure

Where does wind come from?

Where does wind come from? On a micro/regional scale, wind

magnitude and direction are a result of

2) Uneven specific heat capacity of various surfaces, especially water v. land-Water has a higher specific heat capacity than land. Warm air over land rises during the day. Warm air over water rises at night.

Where is it windy? Windy areas can be:

Wide open spaces (pasture, fields) Plateaus (moraines) Elevated areas (ridgelines) Mountain passes (funneling effect) Offshore

Where is it windy?

Where is it windy?

Wind Assessment Tools used for wind assessment

Visual observation Wind modeling & Wind maps Airport data & AWOS stations SODAR & LIDAR Meteorological towers

Visual observation

Wind Modeling & Wind Maps

Airport & AWOS Stations

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reds/

Important to visit the anemometer!

SODAR Emits sound “chirps” at defined intervals (~1-2 seconds)

“…both the intensity and the Doppler (frequency) shift of the return signal are analyzed to determine the wind speed, wind direction and turbulent character of the atmosphere.  A profile of the atmosphere as a function of height can be obtained by analyzing the return signal at a series of times following the transmission of each pulse.  The return signal recorded at any particular delay time provides atmospheric data for a height that can be calculated based on the speed of sound.” 

SODAR

LIDAR Same principle as SODAR (Doppler

shift of echo return), but with laser light

Met Towers

Met Towers Anemometers

From NRG product literature: A four-pole magnet induces a sine wave voltage into a coil producing an output signal with frequency proportional to wind speed. The #40C is constructed of rugged Lexan cups molded in one piece for repeatable performance. A rubber terminal boot is included.

Met Towers

How to get (free) wind data Airports:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reds/ Illinois met tower loan program:

http://www.illinoiswind.org/ Meteorological tower search:

http://www.windalert.com/#search ISU met tower: email Matt

maldema@ilstu.edu

What can students do with wind data?

Opportunity for learning Excel! Opportunity for learning Windographer

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Histogram

Frequency

Bin

Freq

uenc

y

What can students do with wind data?

What can students do with wind data?

What can students do with wind data?

What can students do with wind data?

Calculate energy output of a wind turbine…

Compare with something familiar and useful…