Best Practices in Wind Energy Feasibility and Concept Design. How to get started Rich Stromberg - Wind Program Manager

Transcription

1 Best Practices in Wind Energy Feasibility and Concept Design How to get started Rich Stromberg - Wind Program Manager

2 Energy Efficiency First Make homes, workplaces and communities energy efficient thru weatherization and efficient lighting/appliances. Because of PCE, residential rate payers won t see much benefit from a wind farm but Energy Efficiency results in immediate savings by reducing the monthly kilowatt hours billed. Once efficient, pursue renewable energy. Otherwise, money is wasted to build an oversized system. EE makes economic sense faster payback than any other option and immediate reduction in monthly heat and electric bills.

3 Is Your Existing System Ready for Wind? Do you have newer diesel gensets with fast, electronic injection controls or mechanical governors? Are your gensets sized so that you can run at optimum fuel efficiency both when the wind is blowing and when it s calm? Are your distribution lines, transformers and meters up to code? Are your phases balanced? If you can t answer yes to all of these questions, you could save more money by fixing your existing power system first.

4 Community Support and Involvement Project stakeholders must be partners - MOU Community outreach and education Are engineering services available through the local or regional Native corporation? Every successful wind project has a champion!

5 Wind Resource Assessment A minimum, one year meteorological (met) tower study must be performed at the turbine location. Monthly and seasonal wind patterns can vary significantly. Check the data once a month! Sometimes sensors or dataloggers require repair. Proposed turbine sites can be failed on less than one year of data (e.g. lack of wind or turbulence) or due to icing. Address site control, FAA and USF&W issues early to avoid monitoring a site where a turbine cannot be installed.

6 Picking Potential Sites Pick a site that is close to the existing power distribution grid. Site should have little or no tall vegetation and no buildings to block prevailing winds. Consult AEA s Energy Pathway document, the Community Database and the state wind resource maps. Remember when picking the met tower site that there is the potential for a wind turbine to be installed there for the next 20 years.

7 Understanding the Community s Energy Demands At a minimum, hourly load data from the power plant and major commercial loads should be collected. At a minimum, monthly heating oil usage for community and other large buildings should be collected. Coupling wind, electrical and thermal data together allows a holistic approach to the Wind-Diesel Conceptual Design in order to displace the most possible diesel.

8 Project Sizing and Economics Penetration Class Operating Characteristics Instantaneous Penetration Average Penetration Very Low Low Medium Diesel runs full time Wind power reduces net load on diesel All wind energy goes to primary load No supervisory control system Diesel runs full time At high wind power levels, secondary loads are dispatched to insure sufficient diesel loading or wind generation is curtailed. Requires relatively simple control system Diesel runs full-time At medium to high wind power levels, secondary loads are dispatched to insure sufficient diesel loading. <60% 60% - 120% 120%-300% <8% 8%-20% 20%-50% High More complex secondary load control system is needed to ensure that heat loads do not become saturated during extended windy periods. Diesels may be shut down during high wind availability Auxiliary components are required to regulate voltage and frequency Requires sophisticated control system 300%-900% 50%-150% Projects that are too small won t take advantage of economies of scale. Projects that are too large may have excess power that never gets used.

9 Feasibility Phase Modeling Multiple turbine types and quantity configurations should be modeled. Turbine availability is not 100%. Actual observed newt capacity factor is about 82% of gross capacity factor. Results must estimate the amount of excess energy and make note of when excess energy is produced. A detailed stability analysis is not required in the feasibility phase. It is assumed that steps to insure system stability will be required in the design phase.

10 Conceptual Design Report Address required upgrades in the current system. Geotechnical Reconnaissance should identify the required type of foundation. List the type of permits required and expected hurdles to acquiring those permits. Recommendations should include siting, turbine type and quantity, secondary load installations and dispatch strategy.

11 Economic Impacts Reduction in State PCE spending. Please note, this does not affect how PCE reimbursements are calculated or cap the amount of funding a community can receive from PCE. Reduction in community dependence on Diesel Stabilized electrical rate Possible reduction in commercial electricity rate. (Dependent on rate structure.) Decrease in community spending on diesel could lead to funds availabe in other areas of need.

12 Closing Thoughts Pick the low hanging fruit first. Erecting a wind turbine is the easy part. Each project must be looked at holistically. There is no one size fits all wind-diesel system. A lower penetration system which works consistently will out perform a higher penetration system which is poorly integrated.

13 Alaska Energy Authority 813 W. Northern Lights Blvd. Anchorage, AK (907) (toll free in Alaska)