Sizing up wind turbines: How big are they?

For those staying nearby a wind farm, the mighty tall hub with giant fan blades may be your familiar view. But for the rest of us, here is how to get the hint of how big is a standard 1.5MW - 2MW wind turbine.

Study shows that that, the larger the turbine is, the greener the electricity, i.e. smaller carbon footprint. This effect was due both to size of the turbine as well as the learning and experience gained with the technology over time. Currently, as at end-2012, the largest wind turbine is Siemens 6 MW (megawatt) SWT-6.0-154 offshore turbine in Denmark.

Siemens 6MW wind turbine is the largest to date

Siemens 6MW wind turbine Specifications

Rotor
Type                    : 3-bladed, horizontal axis
Position               : Upwind
Diameter              : 154 m
Swept area           : 18600 m²
Speed range         : 5-11 rpm
Power regulation : Pitch regulation with variable speed
Rotor tilt               : 6 degrees

Blade
Type                        : Self-supporting
Blade Length            : 75 m (B75)
Aerodynamic profile  : Siemens proprietary airfoils
Material                   : GRE
Surface gloss           : Semi-gloss, <30 / ISO2813
Surface colour          : Light grey, RAL 7035

Tower
Hub height      : Site specific, could be up to 130 m




The giants are getting bigger!

However, current trend is that wind turbines are getting bigger. In January 2013, British company, Blade Dynamics, announced it was developing blades of up to 100 meters in length dwarfing the size of existing Siemens 75-meter turbine blade. Sitting on top of a tower 170 meters high, the structure will be 270 meters in total.

In comparison, KL Tower stands at 421-metre high while Petronas Twin Towers at 452 metres. So, when completed, Blade Dynamics' 270 metres structure is pretty tall.


Size comparison

Comparing these turbines with other structures, it is easy to see why many people are protesting against large wind farming due to noise pollution and their unsightliness.

How much power can they generate:

Estimated capacity with good wind, i.e. wind blowing within designed range.

Researchers say that bigger wind turbines are more cost effective, but there should be limit somewhere when the cost of building the towers are more that the selling price of electricity generated.

Let's hope they are not near your home.


References (image credits and facts):

1) Wind turbine with the world's largest rotor goes into operation - Siemens
2) Wind Energy - The Facts
3) Solvent Green - Windfall
4) Siemens 6.0 MW Offshore Wind Turbine

Germany's Clean-technology industry to more than Double by 2025

Germany's clean-technologies industry is set to more than double in volume by 2025, creating jobs and maintaining its global market share, a study shows.

Installation of offshore wind mill. Photo: REpower Systems, one of the leading international manufacturers of wind turbines.


Green Technology continues to grow rapidly

The volume of German companies in areas such as resource efficiency, sustainable transport and recycling will rise 125% to €674 billion ($862 billion), Roland Berger Strategy Consultants said. They’ll keep a market share of about 15 percent while creating an expected 1 million jobs, it said.

“Green technologies are growth technologies,” Environment Minister Peter Altmaier, who commissioned the study, said today in Berlin. “We still have a leading position in clean technologies and we will do everything to defend that.”

Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, plans to increase its reliance on renewable sources of power such as solar and wind as it phases out nuclear generation. Domestic technology companies such as Solarworld AG must contend with rising competition from Asia, where investment in clean energy has soared.

The German clean-tech industry is dominated by small- and medium-sized businesses that have helped stabilize the nation’s economy, Altmaier said. The country has a target to raise energy efficiency and lower greenhouse-gas emissions 40% by 2020 from 1990 levels.

The global clean-tech market will more than double to €4.4 trillion by 2025, according to the Roland Berger study.


TheGreenMechanics: As mentioned, the market for green technology will continue to grow rapidly and is becoming the driving force for growth in traditional industry sectors of many developed nations. Malaysia must take cue and not risk itself of missing out on clean energy boom.


The reporter on this story can be reached at snicola2@bloomberg.net. For additional information, visit:
http://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/article/green-tech-market-to-double-by-2025-20120910

Powering half the world with Wind by 2030

Is it possible? Will nations with good wind potential (and those with money) go for it?

In 2011, nearly 200,000 wind turbines around the world met 2.5% of global energy needs. But according to RenewableEnergyWorld, new study tells that there is every possibility that wind could power half the world with clean energy by 2030. That is pretty impressive.

Giant wind-turbine blades belong to GE Energy Financial Services. Photo: GE


Wind power fast growing

Wind power is now the fastest-growing and one of the cheapest renewable energy sources, and in last year 40.5 GW of new wind power was brought on line, bringing the global total capacity up to 238 GW. This is translated into offsetting over 600 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Researchers estimated that 4 million 5MW turbines operating at a height of 100 meters could provide over 7.5 TW of power, at no risk to the environment. This is more than half of our energy needs (which is estd. 5.75 TW) in 2030.


Wind power is the least damaging option

The research team is confident that of all the sources of energy, wind is one of the sources of energy with the least environmental impact. Energy from wind would come from the mixture of onshore and offshore wind turbine, with offshore likely to be more important to the future of wind due to several advantages:

• It’s right there on the coasts, where the people are. Hence lower cost to install,
• Offshore wind tends to peak in the afternoon, which is when people peak with demand for electricity,
• Offshore sites tend to be windier than onshore sites.

Wind turbines are expensive now but at the rate technology is advancing today, it would not be too far-fetched to think about 'affordability' in the near future.

TheGreenMechanics: No doubt, offshore wind turbines are less expensive in a long run, but with gigantic 100m high unsightly poles in waters near you, you'd be in for a less than desirable sea view. Of course you have to compromise a thing or two to get clean energy.


Further readings, please go to: RenewableEnergyWorld