The Winds of Change for Energy Developers
The Road to Improved Energy Developer Profitability
OrganoWorld has developed a low wind turbine that can improve the bottom line for energy developers by increasing wind farm yield through power production at wind speeds of only 4 m/sec.
It opens up possibilities for wind energy production in regions that are currently uneconomical.
Winga E-Generator wind turbines can fit comfortably within existing wind parks.
New sites can be located closer to markets, due to the Winga E-Generator's enclosed rotor design which causes fewer environmental issues with noise and danger to wildlife.
It provides a more viable business case for staying in wind energy production where fields are underperforming.
The Winga E-Generator is a new generation of augmented wind turbine that can produce up to 5.4 MW of power at wind speeds of 4.0 m/s. As illustrated by its power curve, typical for each of the three 1.8 MW generators per turbine, full power can be obtained at wind speeds as low as 4.0 m/s and in turn this increases the turbines capacity factor to above 80%. This performance is achieved through much higher flow stream velocities obtainable using the augmentation effect of a convergent, divergent and ducted tunnel design, and through the use of a high solidity, annular rotor design.
Wind velocity through the blades is the critical operating parameter for all wind turbines. In the case of the Winga E-Generator, the convergent operates as a funnel to push air through the rotor blades and the divergent serves to create vacuum and pull air through the rotor blades. This push-pull augmentation increases both the pressure differential and the air stream velocity many times that possible with the simple diffuser augmentation associated with older generation Diffuser Assisted Wind Turbines (DAWT).
The Winga E-Generator can be installed in many areas unsuitable for standard 3-bladed wind turbines and will produce energy that is cheaper than coal, quieter, more predictable, more distributed and highly suitable for supplying energy to smart grids. Its simple enclosed design using advanced computerized controls produces high quality energy from each standalone unit. Energy producers can expect improved profitability based on lower production costs and installations closer to markets with higher selling prices.
The world is turning towards "Smart Grids" to manage electrical power use, provide source management and to incorporate renewable energy.
The Winga E-Generator is easier to incorporate into Smart Grids than today's conventional wind turbines because of its greater capacity factor and its constant-speed rotor/generator system which produces "cleaner" energy with fewer voltage and current spikes.
You can't locate wind turbines in some places at all due to low average wind speeds.
In Class 2 wind regions, the Winga E-Generator really shines providing energy at a production cost equal to coal power generation.
How we do it
Here is the power graph of a conventional one point eight megawatt wind turbine. It has a cut-in velocity of 4 meters per second and a rated wind speed of 12 meters per second.
On an average 7 meters per second wind site, the most frequent wind speeds are between four and seven meters per second.
The power produced by this turbine at 7 meters per second is only 650 kilowatts - less than 50% of the generator rating.
At 4 meters per second it plunges to 100 kW.
As a result it is producing full power less than 15% of the time, and will likely have a capacity factor of less than 45%.
Organoworld's design produces its rated power at only 4 meters per second.
The Scientific Basis
Organoworld used wind tunnel tests and new and advanced aircraft design software to find and verify a solution.
We began with the simple wind turbine and the application of accepted principles of fluid mechanics.
We added a duct to catch air that normally escapes around the turbine blades.
We then examined a proven method of increasing a wind turbine's efficiency by 30 percent adding a diffuser behind the duct.
But we needed to increase the speed and energy density of the airflow many times. To achieve this, we replaced the diffuser by a larger divergent, creating more vacuum which pulls the air through the unit.
Next, we added a Borger optimized convergent to compress, align and accelerate the wind in the ducted channel, creating a venturi.
We replaced the traditional 3-bladed turbine with three high-solidity, multi-bladed annular rotors. The rotors extract energy through higher torque, and each rotor feeds its own independent generator to increase reliability and availability.
The push-pull effect created by the convergent and divergent greatly increases the air stream flow velocity through the turbine blades - a critical process parameter.
The wind energy then available for conversion is proportional to airstream flow velocity cubed. Triple the wind speed, and the energy produced increases by 3 cubed, or 27.
The Winga E-Generator
Because our design requires an enclosed, ducted channel around the rotors, any noise will be confined. And the shape and size of the convergent will keep birds and bats away from the rotor blades.
Our design features three annular rotors, each eight meters in diameter. The 27 pivoting airfoil blades are less than one meter long.
The increased wind velocity traveling through the blades close to the rotor's circumference produces greater torque, increasing the energy they produce at their optimum rotation of 300 rpm.
Each rotor drives a 1.8 megawatt generator for a total installed capacity of 5.4 megawatts. Controls vary the diameter of the cone to keep the rotation of the rotors constant, providing the higher quality electricity needed by the Smart Grid.
Helping the Winga E-Generator achieve a capacity factor exceeding 80% at low to moderate wind speeds, is its position on a motorized platform that turns to face the wind.
The platform sits on a sturdy, multiple concrete or steel column tower. The platform is built on the ground, where the frame and turbine are assembled. The platform is jacked up and the legs are added until the tower reaches its optimal height, generally lower than conventional turbines.
It uses standard construction materials and methods, boosting the local economy. Most parts and components fit into standard shipping containers.
The Winga E-Generator's power curve looks like this. Between 4 and 7 m/s when the winds are the most frequent, each of the three generators are at full power - 1.8 megawatts for a total of 5.4 MW.
Benefits for Energy Developers
It doesn't have to be located in isolated wind parks. And by locating the Winga E-Generator closer to energy consumers you can reduce the capital, maintenance and environmental costs of transmitting electrical energy.
Install it in parallel with remote or offshore turbines and you can reduce the impact that varying wind conditions have on your energy supply portfolio.
Because The Winga E-Generator produces substantially quieter and more predictable power than conventional wind turbines it's a more efficient and economical smart grid component.
Installed near a remote community, a Winga E-Generator, equipped with batteries, could replace current diesel generators.
The Winga E-Generator - a revolutionary low velocity wind turbine. Supplying more predictable, more distributed, more competitive and higher quality wind energy to smart grids and power distribution networks.
Summary:
For worldwide green energy production to advance more rapidly we must address the commercial challenge of competitive production costs and profitability that is not based on government subsidies. The Winga E-Generator allows energy developers to increase their profitability while at the same time it can offer cheaper electricity to the consumer and advance the production of zero emission energy. This is obtained by the innovative techniques applied to maximise energy production at low wind speeds. The environment, the consumer, the energy developer and industry are at last united in a win-win situation. Investments in the Winga E-Generator energy production lead to benefits for energy developers that include:
- Improved profitability/energy production using low velocity sites
- lower energy production costs,
- lower energy intensity for industrial production
- higher energy selling prices by better market proximity
- reduced project size and capital investment per site
- high power quality from each stand alone turbine
- less performance risk in the event of inferior site wind conditions
For information:
Frederick Churchill
560 McEachran Ave.
Montreal, QC
H2V 3C4Tel: (514) 277-2867
Fax: (514) 277-7335
