UMPI turbine website reports new total

Comment

Comment by alice mckay barnett on June 29, 2012 at 9:13pm

10-30% loss in transmission

10-20% loss in parasitic draw

75% loss wind does not blow

 

in the negative      i know

Comment by Willem Post on June 29, 2012 at 5:42pm

EXAMPLE: UNIVERSITY of MAINE WIND POWER A DISMAL FAILURE?

http://theenergycollective.com/willem-post/53258/examples-wind-powe...

The University of Maine, UM, decided to install a 600 kW wind turbine made by RRB Energy Ltd, an Indian company, at its Presque Isle Campus. Results from a 20-month wind resource assessment indicated the campus receives enough wind for a community wind project, not a commercial wind project. 

Community wind power is defined as locally-owned, consisting of one or more utility-scale or a cluster of small turbines, totaling less than 10 MW, that are interconnected on the customer or utility side of the meter. The power is consumed in the community and any surplus is sent to the utility which supplies power as needed.

The purpose was to generate power and to use the wind turbine as a teaching tool for the students. Because it is almost impossible to obtain operating data from the vendors, owners and financiers of wind facilities, UM, to its credit, decided to make available all of its wind turbine operating data. 

http://www.ppdlw.org/umpi.htm

http://www.umpi.edu/wind/timeline

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blog/show?id=4401701%3ABlogPo...

http://nwcommunityenergy.org/wind

Capital Cost and Power Production

Estimated capital cost $1.5 million

Actual capital cost $2 million; an overrun of 33%

The project was financed by UM cash reserves and a $50,000 cash subsidy from the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

Estimated useful service life about 20 years.

Predicted power production 1,000,000 kWh/yr

Predicted capacity factor = 1,000,000 kWh/yr)/(600 kW x 8,760 hr/yr) = 0.190

Actual power production after 1 year 609,250 kWh

Actual capacity factor for 1 year = 609,250 kWh/yr/(600 kW x 8,760 hr/yr) = 0.116; a shortfall of 39%

Value of power produced = 609,250 kWh/yr x $0.125/ kWh = $76,156/yr; if O&M and financing costs amortized over 20 years are subtracted, this value will likely be negative. 

Actual power production after 1.5 years 920,105 kWh

Actual capacity factor for 1.5 years = (920,105 kWh/1.5 yrs)/(600 kW x 8,760 hr/yr) = 0.117

Operation and Maintenance

According to the European Wind Energy Association: "Operation and maintenance costs constitute a sizable share of the total annual costs of a wind turbine. For a new turbine, O&M costs may easily make up 20-25 percent of the total levelized cost over the lifetime of the turbine." 

Power Used by the Turbine (Parasitic Power)

Parasitic power is the power used by the wind turbine itself. During spring, summer and fall it is a small percentage of the wind turbine output. During the winter it may be as much as 10-20 % of the wind turbine output. Much of this power is needed whether the wind turbine is operating or not. At low wind speeds, the turbine power output may be less than the power used by the turbine; the shortfall is drawn from the grid. 

Two little-wind days were selected; a summer day and a cooler winter day to show that in summer the parasitic power is less than in winter. In winter, the wind speed has to be well above 4.5 m/s, or 10.7 miles/hour, to offset the parasitic power and feed into the grid. Speeds less than that means drawing from the grid, speeds greater than that means feeding into the grid. 

This will significantly reduce the net power produced during a winter. On cold winter days, even at relatively high wind speeds of 10.7 miles/hour, or greater, power is drawn from the grid, meaning the nacelle (on big turbines the size of a greyhound bus) and other components require significant quantities of electric power; it is cold several hundred feet above windy mountain ridges.

14 May, 2010, wind speed 2.9 m/s (6.9 miles/hour), net power output  -0.3 kW.

20 Nov, 2010, wind speed 4.5 m/s (10.7 miles/hour), net power output -5.6 kW.

Below is a representative list of equipment and systems that require electric power; the list varies for each turbine manufacturer.

- rotor yaw mechanism to turn the rotor into the wind

- blade pitch mechanism to adjust the blade angle to the wind

- lights, controllers, communication, sensors, metering, data collection, etc.

- heating the blades during winter; this may require 10%-20% of the turbine's power

- heating and dehumidifying the nacelle; this load will be less if the nacelle is well-insulated.

- oil heater, pump, cooler and filtering system of the gearbox

- hydraulic brake to lock the blades when the wind is too strong

- thyristors which graduate the connection and disconnection between turbine generator and grid

- magnetizing the stator; the induction generators used to actively power the magnetic coils. This helps keep the rotor speed constant, and as the wind starts blowing it helps start the rotor turning (see next item)

- using the generator as a motor to help the blades start to turn when the wind speed is low or, as many suspect, to create the illusion the facility is producing electricity when it is not, particularly during important site tours. It also spins the rotor shaft and blades to prevent warping when there is no wind.

Conclusions

The huge difference between predicted and actual capital cost and capacity factor would be disastrous for a commercial installation. Because this is for “teaching purposes” such a detail is apparently not that important. The capital cost and any operating costs in excess of power sales revenues will likely be recovered by additions to tuition charges.

UM should find less expensive ways to educate students in all areas, not just wind power. Cost per university student in the US is already well over 2 times that of Europe, a competitive disadvantage.

Comment by alice mckay barnett on June 27, 2012 at 8:57pm

thank you Harrison and LI....keep on

Comment by Long Islander on June 27, 2012 at 5:29pm

This PDF at the link below examines the history of the University's industrial wind turbine. As the sole onshore wind experiment by the state, and not an insignicant expense of $2 million and counting, we believe it should give the state pause to question the overblown electricity production promises of the wind industry, on which were based much of the state's expedited wind law that is presently creating havoc with our citizens' health, citizens' rights, wildlife, quality of place, town social dynamics and electricity/transmission rates.

UMPI%20Turbine%20Backgrounder_8-3-11.pdf

Comment by Long Islander on June 27, 2012 at 5:19pm

"Although the turbine began spinning in mid-May, Zillman said officials “really view July 1, 2009, as the power bill comparison measure.”

- UMPI president Donald Zillman

May 18, 2010

http://bangordailynews.com/2010/05/18/news/umpi-windmill-lsquoa-gre...

So I guess that means the University will be telling us the three year production to date on July 1?