Michael Allahua
Envi. + Poli. Fall 2015
Sec. 3
Article Annotation 4
For the past decade, wind turbine technology has advanced as it has been noted to be the
fastest-growing energy technology in the world. In doing so it has intrigued the minds of many as being
a very cost-effective renewable source that can generate electricity. Over the past decade the design of
the wind turbine has changed, as well as its size. The whole mechanism has changed as well. Instead of
fixed speed, stall control, and drive trains with gearboxes the newer models are being equipped with
variable speed, pitch control, and drive trains with or without gearboxes. Becoming cheaper as
technology advances increases the rate of transition into renewable sources. More often than before
are wind turbines being connected to grid through custom generators and power electronics.
Between 1998 and 2002 the wind power capacity was starting to show evolution based on the
data from BTM Consults. The annual growth between that span was 37.1%. There was a drop in capacity
from 2003 to 2004 but BTM Consults find it temporary according to the 2005-2009 forecast, implying
that it will continue to grow. “The world’s capacity in 2004 is almost ten times the amount it was in
1995. It grew from 5 Gigawatts to 48 Gigawatts (Hansen and Hansen 2007).” That 48 Gigawatts comes
from turbines installed across more than 60 countries. Europe remains the leader, with 73% of the
global capacity. Within Europe Germany leads European capacity at 49% with 17 Gigawatts, which
equates to 35.5% of the worlds capacity. In Denmark wind power had generated over 20% of the
electricity used by 2004 (Hansen and Hansen 2007).” That is expected to increases as time continues
and technology advances. To describe a wind turbine there are two parts, the speed control and the
power control. There are two speed controls, fixed and variable. For power control, or blade control,
there are 3: stall control, pitch control, and active stall control. The main difference among these
distinctions deal with the generating system and their efficiency. Fixed speed wind turbines draw
various amounts of reactive power from the grid. For a variable speed with a variable rotor resistance, a
reactive power compensation and a soft starter are required. A variable speed with a partial scale
frequency converter s economically appealing, plus it is capable of reactive power compensation and
smooth grid connection. The only con is that it uses slip rings. A variable speed with a full scale
frequency has a larger speed range than the partial scale but it is more costly ad losses more power but
still has the same capabilities.
Denmark holds the number one spot for supply of wind turbines with a three way competition
for second alongside Germany and the US. The types C and D turbines are becoming more common in
use today. The success of future turbines and their advancements depends on their ability to be
economically friendly and meet utility companies’ requirements. With all this information it is easy to
see that variable speed is the direction of the future. This will help it distinguishing the Archimedes Liam
F1 model from the rest and highlight its specifications and its capabilities, and its connectivity to the
grid.
Info:
Type of wind turbine the Archimedes is
The various ways a turbine can be built and its connections to the grid
The general direction wind turbines are advancing and their appeal
Leaders of wind turbine supply and wind energy capacity/ production
Resource:
Hansen, Anca D., and Lars H. Hansen. 2007. “Wind Turbine Concept Market Penetration over 10 Years
(1995–2004).” Wind Energy 10 (1): 81–97. doi:10.1002/we.210.