Basics

1
Wind Energy Basics

#

I. Introduction 2
II. Table of contents
1. Assessing the solar thermal potential (potential analysis) 6
2. Awareness raising: broad campaigns targeting the general public 8
3. Awareness raising: targeted campaigns to develop specific market areas 10
4. Financial incentives: VAT reductions 12
5. Financial incentives: public loans at preferential conditions 14
6. Regulatory measures: energy efficiency requirements for buildings 16
7. Regulatory measures: solar obligations 18
8. Building permits solar thermal in listed buildings 20
9. Quality Assurance: product standards and certification 22
10. Health & Safety requirements 23
11. Qualification of skilled personnel 24
12. Research & Development programmes 25
III. Further Reading 27

ReGrid: Wind Energy Basics

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Wind Energy Basics
Table of Content
1 Introduction to Wind Energy Basics .......................................................................................................... 3
1.1 THE WIND AS A RESOURCE ............................................................................................................................. 3
1.1.1 The Evolution of Wind Energy Technology ...................................................................................... 3
1.1.2 Wind Power Potential ...................................................................................................................... 6
1.2 PHYSICAL BASICS .......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.2.1 Formation of Wind .......................................................................................................................... 9
1.2.2 Wind Power as Kinetic Energy ....................................................................................................... 10
1.2.3 Betz Limit ....................................................................................................................................... 11
1.2.4 Turbulence ..................................................................................................................................... 12
1.2.5 Wind Shear .................................................................................................................................... 13
1.2.6 Wind Measurement ...................................................................................................................... 16
1.2.7 Wind Databases ............................................................................................................................ 18
1.3 WIND TURBINE ELEMENTS ........................................................................................................................... 19
1.3.1 General Design .............................................................................................................................. 19
1.3.2 Rotor Blades .................................................................................................................................. 20
1.3.3 Tip Speed Ratio .............................................................................................................................. 21
1.3.4 Power Control and Power Limitation Concepts ............................................................................. 21
1.3.5 Power Curves of Wind Turbines ..................................................................................................... 22
1.3.6 Nacelle ........................................................................................................................................... 24
1.3.7 Generator and Grid Connection ..................................................................................................... 26
1.3.8 Yawing System ............................................................................................................................... 28
1.3.9 Wind Turbine Towers ..................................................................................................................... 28
1.3.10 Foundation of the Tower ............................................................................................................... 29
1.3.11 Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ............................................................................................................. 30
1.3.12 Standards and Norms .................................................................................................................... 31
1.4 WIND FARM PLANNING AND DESIGN: ENERGY YIELD AND WIND FARM LAYOUT ..................................................... 33
1.4.1 General .......................................................................................................................................... 33
1.4.2 Calculation of Energy Yield ............................................................................................................ 34
1.4.3 Capacity Factor and the Full Load Hours ....................................................................................... 34
1.4.4 Siting .............................................................................................................................................. 35
1.4.5 Shadow Flicker ............................................................................................................................... 36
1.4.6 Noise .............................................................................................................................................. 36
1.4.7 Decommissioning .......................................................................................................................... 37
2 Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................... 38
3 Keyword index ........................................................................................................................................ 40
Literature ....................................................................................................................................................... 44

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Wind Energy Basics
1 Introduction to Wind Energy Basics

1.1 The Wind as a Resource
Educational objectives
Learn the definition of the technical potential, constraint potential and economically
competitive potential of wind energy
Learn the development of the regional and global wind markets
Learn where to find wind speed data

1.1.1 The Evolution of Wind Energy Technology
Wind energy is one of the oldest energy sources and Humans have been harnessing it for some
thousand years
1
. From early Egyptians sailing the Nile, Persian windmills to pump water and grind
grain to grid connected electricity generation, off-grid applications for rural electrification or in
remote areas as well as electricity generation for mobile phones base stations. During the last
decades wind technology has developed very quickly especially for electricity generation. In 1980
wind turbines had a rated power of only a few kilo-Watts. Now the largest turbines have a rated
power of up to 7,500 kW (see figure 1)
Meanwhile the largest turbines have a rotor diameter of 126 m. Bigger turbines are under
development.

Figure 1: Development of rated power, rotor diameter and hub height of wind turbines from 1980 to
2011
2

1
Campbell, Patrice (2010)

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Wind Energy Basics

The past exponential growth of turbine size was driven by a number of factors and mainly the
economic advantages: the costs of controls, grid connection costs and maintenance costs need a
smaller proportion of the capital value of the system if the size increases.
[1]
The first wind turbines
that were built had a rated power of up to 60 kW. Compared to the large ones that are available
nowadays, the small wind turbines were and are still much more expensive per kW installed (/kW or
$/kW). This is partly because towers need to be higher in proportion to rotor diameter to clear
obstacles to wind flow and escape the worst conditions of turbulence and wind shear near the
surface of the earth.
By the end of the year 2011 about 237 GW of wind power were installed on the globe. Compared to
15 years ago the installed capacity has grown more than 38 times (see figure 2).

Figure 2: Development of globally installed wind power capacity until 2012
3

[1]
EWEA (2010) Wind Energy the Facts - Growth of Wind Turbine Size,
[2]
Bundesverband Windenergie (2012) Leistungssteigerung der Windkraftanlagen, http://www.wind-
energie.de/infocenter/technik, accessed June 2012
3
Global Wind Energy Council (2012) Global Wind 2011 Report and further data, Brussels, 2012

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Wind Energy Basics
For many years Europe has been the worlds largest market for wind energy development, but since
2008 new markets driving the growth of wind energy have emerged. In 2009, Europe, Asia and North
America each installed more than 10 GW of new capacity (see figure 3).

Figure 3: Annual installed capacity 2004 to 2012 by region
4

Figure 4 gives an overview of the country specific installation resp. the cumulative installed capacity
in the year 2011. The US, PR China and Germany each run more than 25 GW of wind power. In the
year 2011, more than 3 GW of wind power were installed in the PR China, the US and India.

4
Global Wind Statistics 2012, Global Wind Energy Council, 11.02.2013

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Wind Energy Basics

Figure 4: Global wind energy status 2012
5

1.1.2 Wind Power Potential
All forms of renewable energy (except tidal and geothermal power) ultimately come from the sun
which will continue to shine on the earth for about some billion years more.
About 1 to 2 percent of the solar energy is converted into wind (see chapter 1.2). This is the fuel to
run wind power stations. But not all of this fuel can be used for wind energy. The practical limits to
exploit the global wind power potential are determined by economic, environmental, competing land
use and energy system design factors. The following definitions for different levels of wind energy
potentials are in use
6
:

5
6
European Environment Agency (2009)

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Wind Energy Basics
Technical potential:
The technical potential refers to the highest potential level of wind energy generation. This is based
on overall resource availability and the maximum likely deployment density
7
of turbines, using
existing technology or practices. A calculation of the technical potential takes an analysis of local wind
resources into account primarily based on measured wind speed data and projections of wind turbine
technology development.
Constraint potential:
The constraint potential refers to the amount of the total technical potential that can be produced
once issues such as nature protected areas and biodiversity protection, regulatory limitation and
social preferences have been taken into consideration. Other constraints could be distance to
settlements and touristic zones or limitations imposed by traffic routes, military areas and natural
resource exploration.
Economically competitive potential:
The economically competitive potential describes the proportion of the technical potential that can
be realised cost-effectively in the light of projected average energy costs in the future. A calculation of
the economically competitive potential can include costs predicted for developing and running wind
farms, development of conventional energy generation costs and internalization of external costs
(price / t CO
2
).
A study of Archer et al assumes the technical potential of wind power on land and near-shore to be
equivalent to 54,000 MToE (million tons of oil equivalents) per year. Even if only 20% of this energy
could be captured, it could satisfy the worlds energy demand for all purposes in the year 2000. The
study assumes that roughly 13% are the economically competitive potential for wind farms.
8

The German Advisory Council on Global Change calculated a global technical potential of 278,000
TWh for energy production from both onshore and offshore wind installations. The council assumes
that 1015 % of this potential could be used in a sustainable fashion, bearing in mind that urban
areas and natural areas would not be used.
9
The global electricity consumption in 2006 was 18,930
TWh.
10

A study of the European Environment Agency projected the technical, constrained and economically
competitive potential for wind energy development in the countries of the EU-27 in 2020 and in 2030
as shown in the following table. In 2030 the total technical potential will be 75,000 TWh, the
constrained would be 42,500 TWh and the economically competitive potential will be 30,400 TWh. In
2008 Europe consumed about 4,000 TWh of electricity.

7
MW wind power installed/area of land
8
Archer, Cristina L.; Mark Z. Jacobson (2005)
9
German Advisory Council on Global Change (2003)
10
IEA KEY WORLD ENERGY STATISTICS 2008, Paris

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Wind Energy Basics

Table 1: Technical, constrained and economically competitive potential for wind energy development
in the countries of the EU-27 in 2020 and in 2030
11

1.2 Physical Basics
Educational Objectives
Learn basics about how wind is formed
Learn about the influence of wind speed, air density and rotor diameter on the power of wind
and how the wind power density is calculated
Learn how much of the power in the wind can be transferred by a wind turbine rotor to
rotational energy and what efficiencies modern wind turbines have
Learn the meaning of power coefficient of wind turbines and how/why it changes with the
wind speed
Learn how wind turbulence is measured and why it is important to choose a wind turbine for
a specific site
Learn how the wind shear is calculated
Learn how wind is measured and for which task different parameters are necessary
Get an overview of wind databases

11
European Environment Agency (2009)

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Wind Energy Basics
1.2.1 Formation of Wind
Wind energy originates from the sun. Solar radiation falls onto the earth and the temperature
difference between the equator and the poles drives thermal currents or winds which circulate
around the globe. The atmosphere is a big thermal machine continuously producing wind.
Air mass flows between areas of low and high pressure. Up to now winds in up to about 200 m above
ground level can be harvested by the wind industry. In the year 2010 the tallest wind turbine had a
height of 205 m.
12

Wind turbines can generate electricity at wind speeds of 3 m/s to 35 m/s. Some specially designed
wind turbines can work even at lower or higher wind speeds. Hurricanes, typhoon, tornados or
thunderstorms are useless types of wind because they are too strong and can cause serious damages.
Wind often changes its velocity and its direction. Rapid fluctuations are called gusts and lulls. A gust is
a sudden increase in wind speed and lulls are sudden drops in wind speed. These gusts and lulls are
caused by turbulences (see chapter Turbulence).
Local geographic features cause disruptions in the global wind circulation. An example of local air
circulation is the sea to land breeze. During the day the land is warmer than the sea, during the night
it is the other way around. The unequal heating of the land and the adjacent sea surfaces result in a
pressure gradient. This leads to a wind flow between these two surfaces (see figure 5). For example,
due to this phenomenon, Egypt has very good wind sites at the Red Sea coast between Zafarana and
Hurgada
13
.
Figure 5: Local breezes generated by heating of land and sea surfaces
14

Another local phenomenon originates in mountain areas. Mountain and valley winds are formed on
good weather days. The so called mountain-valley-breeze has a periodic sequence, coupled with the
daily heat and sunlight. On days with warm sunshine the mountain slopes heat up stronger than the
free valley atmosphere. Air is forced to rise along a mountain slope. This leads to winds moving from
the valley to the mountain. During the night the effect is the other way around. Air falls down along a
mountain slope.

12
Fuhrlnder (2010), FL 2.5 MW, Brandenburg, www.fuhrlaender.de
13
Mortensen et al Wind Atlas for Egypt
14
Albrecht Tiedemann, RENAC

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Wind Energy Basics
1.2.2 Wind Power as Kinetic Energy
Wind turbines work by converting the kinetic energy in the wind first into rotational kinetic energy of
the rotor. This kinetic energy is then converted via the main shaft, the gearbox (optional) and by the
generator into electrical energy that can be supplied to consumers via the electricity grid. The
amount of generated electricity depends on technical parameters of the wind turbine and on the
quality of the wind resource.
The power of the wind in front of the wind turbine is dominated by the density of the air, the area
that is swept by the rotor and especially by the wind speed. The swept rotor area depends on the
length of the rotor blades. Air density and wind speed are resource specific and depend on the
temperature, the humidity and the altitude. The following equation describes how wind speed, air
density and swept area influence the power of the wind:

With:
P = Power [W or J/s]
= Density [kg/m
3
]
A = Swept area [m
2
]
v = Wind speed [m/s]

The Wind Power Density is calculated by WPD = x x v
3
. The Wind Power Density is independent
of turbine type or size. It only depends on wind speed and air density and has the unit Watt per
square meter. It is a useful way to evaluate the wind resource available at a potential site.

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Wind Energy Basics

Table 2: Wind power density at standard atmospheric conditions (sea level, 15 C)
15

Wind Speed [m/s] Wind Power Density [W/m2]
< 5.5 <100
5.5 6.9 100 - 200
6.9 - 8.7 200 - 400
8.7 - 9.9 400 - 600
9.9 - 10.9 600 - 800
10.9 - 11.8 800 - 1000
11.8 - 14.8 1000 - 2000

1.2.3 Betz Limit
To answer the question how much of the power in the wind can be transferred by a wind turbine
rotor to rotational energy the following considerations can help to answer it. Generally two
situations are not suitable to run wind turbines:
I) If a wind turbine would convert all the kinetic energy of the wind to rotational kinetic energy,
this would mean that no wind will go through the rotor of wind turbine and thus that the wind
speed behind the rotor would be zero. But this would mean that the wind would stop and no
additional wind could flow through the rotor. And it means that the wind turbine would have
the same effect as a wall.
II) If wind speeds in front and behind the rotor would have the same wind speed and then it
would extract no kinetic energy from the air stream. Both situations make no sense. Therefore
an optimum between these extremes must exist.
The German physicist Albert Betz did research on this topic and concluded in 1919 that no wind
turbine can convert more than 16/27 (59.3%) of the kinetic wind energy into rotational energy of the
rotor (Betz Limit or Betz' Law). The percentage of extracted power is defined as the power coefficient
c
p
(dimensionless). The theoretical maximum power efficiency of any design of wind turbine is c
p max
=
0.59. Although, wind turbines cannot operate at this maximum limit due to losses. The best designed
wind turbines achieve c
P
values of 0.35-0.45 because the gearbox, bearings, generator and power
electronics reduce the overall efficiency. The cp value is unique to each type of wind turbine. During
the operation the wind turbine reduces the c
P
if the wind speed gets too high. Therefore, the wind
turbines limit the conversion of power in the wind to rotational energy of the rotor (Wind Turbine
Elements - Power Control and Power Limitation Concepts). Wind turbine manufacturers publish

15

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Wind Energy Basics
validated wind turbine specific c
p
- data in combination with the power curve of a wind turbine (Wind
Turbine Elements - Power Curves of Wind Turbines). The power curve describes how much electrical
power the wind turbine generates at certain wind speeds.

1.2.4 Turbulence
Rapid changes in wind speed and wind direction have important negative impacts on several
mechanical layout issues of wind turbines but also on the economics of wind farms. Chaotic or
unstable eddying motion in a fluid is called turbulence.

Figure 6: Turbulent wind: mean of an actual wind speed
16

The wind speed turbulence is defined as standard deviation from the 10 minutes average wind speed
divided by the average wind speed.

with:
I = wind speed turbulence
Mean = average wind speed

Turbulence of wind occurs in the surrounding of obstacles such as buildings, trees, steep cliffs and
wind turbines. They reduce the energy production because the wind turbine cannot be positioned in
the most efficient wind direction. On the other hand turbulence increases dynamic loads on the
turbine and this leads to more wear and tear. Due to turbulence, the lifetime of turbine components
(especially gear boxes, rotor blades and bearings) can be reduced significantly. Therefore wind
turbines are designed for different turbulence classes. Details are laid down in IEC 61400.

16
samples of number : n
average 10min wind speed :
sample speed wind :
deviation standard :
min 10
v
v
Stdev
i

n
i
v v
n
v Stdev
2
min 10
) (
1
) (

Mean
Stdev
I

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Wind Energy Basics
Sites for wind turbines or wind farms nearby steep cliffs, in regions with a lot of obstacles or
inhomogeneous landscapes should be evaluated very carefully.
1.2.5 Wind Shear
Only high above ground level the wind is hardly influenced by the surface of the earth. In the lower
layers of the atmosphere, the troposphere, the wind speed is affected by the friction against the
surface of the earth. Wind above completely open terrain with a smooth surface, e.g. concrete
runways in airports, mowed grass, behaves differently from wind above villages, small towns,
agricultural land with many or tall sheltering hedgerows, forests or very rough and uneven terrain.
The fact that the wind profile is twisted towards a lower speed as we move closer to ground level is
usually called wind shear. Reasons for this effect are
the roughness of the terrain,
the influence of obstacles and
the influence of the terrain contours (orography of the area).

Figure 7: Wind shear above different surfaces of the earth (h = height)
17

Wind shear above or in the surroundings of different obstacles and the effect of the orography can be
calculated with software tools like WAsP, WindFarmer, WindPro or WindSim or OpenWind (freeware)
and others. They need information about the roughness of the surface.
The roughness of different landscapes is classified in roughness classes or described by the parameter
roughness lengths (see following table). The term roughness length is the distance above ground level
where the wind speed theoretically should be zero.
18

17
18
Danish Wind Energy Association (2010

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Wind Energy Basics
Table 3: Roughness length (Z
0
) of landscape types
19

Landscape types Roughness length, Z
0
[m]
Water surface 0.0002
Completely open terrain with a smooth surface, e.g. concrete runways in
airports, mowed grass, etc.
0.0024
Open agricultural area without fences and hedgerows and very scattered
buildings; only softly rounded hills
0.03
Agricultural land with some houses and 8 meter tall sheltering
hedgerows with a distance of approx. 1250 meter
0.055
Agricultural land with some houses and 8 meter tall sheltering
hedgerows with a distance of approx. 500 meter
0.1
Agricultural land with many houses, shrubs and plants, or 8 meters tall
sheltering hedgerows with a distance of approx. 250 meter
0.2
Villages, small towns, agricultural land with many or tall sheltering
hedgerows, forests and very rough and uneven terrain
0.4
Larger cities with tall buildings 0.8
Very large cities with tall buildings and skyscrapers 1.6

If wind speed data v
1
are available from a certain height h
1
(for example from a meteorological station
at an anemometer height of 10 m) and the roughness length or the wind shear exponent of that
specific landscape is known, the wind speed v
2
at another height (h
2
) can be approximated with the
logarithmic profile or with the power law (see figure 7). In the power law the exponent is an
empirically derived coefficient that varies depending on the stability of the atmosphere (atmospheric
turbulence). For neutral atmosphere, is approximately 0.143.
20
The coefficient z
0
is the roughness
length of the landscape that is derived from measurements or is estimated for different landscape
types (see Table 3). This approximation is only a good guess and it does not avoid wind
measurements for the site at hub height.

19
Danish Wind Energy Association, 2010
20
Danish Wind Energy Association, 2010

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Wind Energy Basics

Figure 8: Wind shear calculation with logarithmic profile and power law
21

A widely used mathematical approximation for a distribution of measured wind speed is the Weibull
equation. The relative frequency of a wind speed h(v) is formed according to the following equation
with parameters as scaling factor A and a shaping factor k. The shape factor is important because it
indicates the breadth of a distribution of wind speeds.

with:
h
W,i
(v
i
) = probability of wind speed class i [% or s/m]
k = shaping factor [dimensionless]
A = scaling factor [m/s]
v
i
= wind speed class [m/s]
The following figure shows five different Weibull distributions. All have the same average wind speed
of 6 m/s. But each one has a different Weibull k value. When k = 2, the Weibull distribution is called
Rayleigh distribution.
As the graph shows, lower k values correspond to broader distributions of wind speed, meaning that
winds tend to vary over a large range of speeds. Higher k values correspond to narrower wind speed
distributions, meaning that wind speeds tend to stay within a narrow range
22
.

21
22
HOMER micropower optimization model, 2009
V1= V2

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Wind Energy Basics

Figure 9: Weibull distribution; left: different shape factors k and same scaling factor A (A = 2); right:
different scaling factors A and same shape factor k (k = 2)
23

1.2.6 Wind Measurement
Reliable data are the basis for the projection of the average annual energy generation of the planned
wind farm or single wind turbine. They are also necessary to choose the optimal wind turbine for the
specific site conditions. Reliable wind potential analyses are defined by banks as a "conditio sine qua
non" for projects. Sometimes reliable data already exist, but in most cases measurements at the
planned wind farm site are necessary.
24

The wind data are usually recorded using a wind measuring tower with calibrated sensors at the top
of a mast. To avoid the uncertainty involved in recalculating the wind speeds from measurements
near to the surface (meteorological stations) to a hub height of wind turbines, it is recommended that
the measuring mast should have the same height as the expected hub height of the wind turbine to
be used. Met masts being more than 100 m high are in use.
It is common practice to measure wind speeds at a minimum of two anemometer heights and also to
measure the wind directions, air density, air temperature and pressure. Data are continually
recorded, at 1- or 10-minute intervals. Data are saved with a data logger. The measurements should
span a minimum of 12 months, in order to take any seasonal effects into account.
25

23
Both: Albrecht Tiedemann, RENAC
24
Windtest Grevenbroich, 2010
25

17

Wind Energy Basics
Figure 10: Wind measurement equipment
26

Table 4: Units and description of wind speed (Beaufort, knots, m/s, km/h and verbal)
27

Knots Beaufort m/s km/h Description
1 0 0 - 0.2 1 Calm
1-3 1 0.3-1.5 1-5 Light air
4-6 2 1.6-3.3 6-11 Light breeze
7-10 3 3.4-5.4 12-19 Gentle breeze
11-15 4 5.5-7.9 20-28 Moderate breeze
16-21 5 8.0-10.7 29-38 Fresh breeze
22-27 6 10.8-13.8 39-49 Strong breeze
28-33 7 13.9-17.1 50-61 Moderate/near gale
34-40 8 17.2-20.7 62-74 Gale, fresh gale
41-47 9 20.8-24.4 75-88 Strong gale
48-55 10 24.5-28.4 89-102 Storm, whole gale
56-63 11 28.5-32.6 103-117 Violent storm
64-71 12 32.7-36.9 118-133 Hurricane
To also remotely measure the wind profile of the troposphere, SODAR systems (sonic detection and
ranging) or LIDAR systems (light detection and ranging) have been developed. SODAR and LIDAR
systems are like radar (radio detection and ranging) systems except that sound or light waves rather
than radio waves are used for detection. They enable the non-contact measurement of wind
conditions from the ground.
28,29
Thus the expensive installation of wind measuring towers can be

26
27
28
Atmospheric Research Technology LLC, 2010

18

Wind Energy Basics
avoided if the technologies prove their usability.

The following data should be obtained from wind
measurement campaigns. They are needed for purposes mentioned in the following table.
Table 5: Data from onshore wind measurement campaigns and their importance for wind farm
planning and design
30

Task Main Parameter
Calculation of annual energy production (AEP)
Calculation of finances
Probability of wind speed classes
at hub height
Calculation of structural safety Turbulence intensity
Calculation of tower height Height profile of wind speed
Calculation of mechanical loads
Wind shear and vertical wind
component
Micro-siting of wind turbines and wind farm set up
Calculation of wake effects
Wind energy rose
Calculation of air density Humidity, temperature
Decision to choose wind turbine class IEC 61400; I, II, II or IV 50 year wind speed maximum *)

*) Data are available from long term whether monitoring

1.2.7 Wind Databases
Wind data are published as time series (e.g. wind speed or wind direction per time), as a statistical
analysis of a time series (e.g. frequency per wind speed interval or per wind direction, minimum or
maximum wind speeds) or as a mathematical description of a statistical distribution (e.g. Weibull
distribution). Many countries have published wind atlases and these data can be used for a
preliminary assessment of wind resources. It is also possible to synthesize wind data from monthly
average wind speeds. But to evaluate whether a specific side is economically suitable for a wind farm,
it is recommended to base the decision on a proper measurement of wind speed at site because the
wind speed distributions can vary markedly over short distances due to terrain effect.
A number of other websites provide wind speed data. Country specific information on wind atlases
are published e.g. for Brazil at www.cresesb.cepel.br, for Canada at www.windatlas.ca or for many US
states at www.eere.energy.gov. Monthly average wind speed data for many cities around the world
are available at www.weatherbase.com. The Technical University of Denmark maintains a database of
wind characteristics at www.winddata.com. The European wind atlas can be purchased from
www.windatlas.dk as a book. It contains wind data for all of Europe. The US Renewable Resource Data
Center provides information on wind data at www.nrel.gov/rredc.

29
NRG Systems, 2010
30

19

Wind Energy Basics

1.3 Wind Turbine Elements
Educational Objective
Get an overview of the general design of wind turbines
Learn basics about the design of rotor blades, nacelle, generator concepts, grid connection,
the yawing system, towers, foundations and vertical axis turbines
Learn how the tip speed ratio is calculated
Learn about power limitation concepts such as pitch- and stall-control
Learn how to read and use a power curve of a wind turbine
Learn which important standards and norms are used to design wind turbines and measure
wind
1.3.1 General Design
Wind turbines can be constructed to withstand strong storms, operate under arctic or tropical
wheather conditions, in the sea in front of coasts or in deserts. Quite a wide range of different designs
exist for special purposes. Wind turbines are designed with a vertical or horizontal axis, one blade up
to about 20 rotor blades, small capacity of some watt up to some megawatt, with or without gear box
and with direct current or alternating current generator. A general design does not exist, although the
three bladed horizontal upwind turbines are the most successful ones. With these turbines the rotor
blades are facing the wind while with downwind turbines the nacelle is facing the wind (see figure 11
below). Downwind turbines can follow the wind direction automatically. The design is simpler
because it does not need a yawing system. Sometimes it is used for small wind turbines.

Figure 11: Upwind and downwind wind turbines
31

31

20

Wind Energy Basics
1.3.2 Rotor Blades
Rotor blades take the energy out of the wind. They "capture" the wind and convert its motive energy
into the rotation of the hub. The hub is the centre of the rotor to which the rotor blades are attached.
Cast iron or cast steel is used. The hub directs the energy from the rotor blades on to the generator. If
the wind turbines have a gearbox, the hub is connected to the slowly rotating gearbox shaft,
converting the energy from the wind into rotation energy. If the turbine has a direct drive, the hub
passes the energy directly on to the ring generator (see figure 16 and figure 17).
Each manufacturer has its own rotor blade concepts and conducts research on innovative designs;
there are many variations that are quite different. In general though, all modern rotor blades are
constructed in a similar way to airplane wings.
32

Wind turbine rotor blades utilize the same "lift" principle as airplanes or birds: because of the shape
of the wing, the stream of air below the wing is slower than on the upper side. For this reason, it is
the other way around with the pressure. Above the wing the pressure is lower than under the wing.
This leads to a pressure difference (lift effect). These forces make the rotor rotate.

Figure 62: Lift force at rotor blade caused by pressure difference
33

In addition to the currently popular three-blade rotor, two-blade rotors are used too. Traditional
windmills with 20 to 30 metal blades were used to pump water. In the course of time, it has been
found out that the three-blade rotor is the most efficient one for power generation by large wind
turbines. The three rotor blades allow for a better distribution of mass, which makes rotation
smoother and also provides for a "calmer" appearance. The rotor diameter over very large wind
turbines is up to 126 meters, larger ones are under development.
34
The rotor blades mainly consist of
synthetics reinforced with fiberglass, carbon fibers, wood and metal (lightning protection, etc). The
layers are usually glued together with epoxy resin. Aluminum and steel alloys are heavier and suffer
from material fatigue. Therefore, these materials are generally only used for very small wind turbines.
35

32
World Wind Energy Association, 2011
33
34
35

21

Wind Energy Basics

1.3.3 Tip Speed Ratio
A basic parameter with regard to dimensioning rotor blades is the tip speed ratio . It is defined as a
quotient of the peripheral velocity of the rotor blade (V
R
) to the undisturbed wind velocity upstream
of the rotor (V
U
). For example, if a 10 m/s wind is blowing on a wind turbine and the tips of its blades
are rotating at 70 m/s, then the tip speed ratio is 70/10 = 7. These values determine the rotor blade
loading:
= V
R
/ V
U
with:
V
U
=velocity upstream of the rotor (m/s)
V
R
= peripheral velocity of rotor blade (m/s)
The optimum tip speed ratio depends on the number of blades in the wind turbine rotor. The fewer
the number of blades, the faster the wind turbine rotor needs to turn to extract maximum power
from the wind. E.g. Western Wind Turbines with many blades usually have a tip speed ratio of about
1, one-blade wind turbines of about 11. A well designed typical three-bladed rotor has a tip speed
ratio of around 6 to 7. If the tip speed ratio is too low - for example if poorly designed rotor blades are
used - the wind turbine will tend to slow. The peripheral velocity of modern vertical wind turbine
rotor blades usually lies between 75 m/s and 150 m/s. Due to noise protection, velocities higher than
75 m/s are not realized. If the tip speed ratio is too high, the turbine will spin very fast through
turbulent air. Consequently, power will not be optimally extracted from the wind. The wind turbine
will be highly stressed and at risk of structural failure.
36

The tip speed ratio of Savonius wind turbines is always smaller than 1 because it only uses the drag
effect. It hence turns slowly.

1.3.4 Power Control and Power Limitation Concepts
Due to the equation P
~
v
3
, the power of the wind rises very fast if the wind speed is increasing. At a
certain wind speed the rotor would be accelerated too much and the rotational energy of the rotor
would get higher than the rated power of the electrical generator. The generator would be damaged.
Therefore wind turbines use power control and power limitation technologies. Two principles are in
use:
pitch-control
stall-control

36
REUK.co.uk, 2011

22

Wind Energy Basics

Rotor blades with stall control are mounted to the hub at a fixed angle. The profile of the rotor blade
is designed to cause turbulence behind the rotor blade at a particular wind velocity. Therefore, the
flow - at a certain wind velocity - separates from the rotor blade; the transfer of power from the wind
to the rotor blade is reduced.
37

The pitch control concept was developed from 1990 up to 2000. Each individual rotor blade can be
infinitely turned into or out of the wind. The drive for pitch adjustment can be mechanical (for
systems with an output below 100 kW), hydraulic (starting at 300 kW), or electric (the most common
one, especially for large turbines > 500 kW). A controller constantly monitors the turbine's power
output. If the wind gets too strong, the rotor blades are turned out of the wind along their axis,
generally only by a fraction of the degree. This reduces the aerodynamic lift. Thus, the rotor
continues to generate power at a rated capacity even at high wind speeds.
38
This leads to lower
performance coefficients and the torque development at rotor is limited too.
Nowadays pitch-control is widely used for grid connected wind turbines and it has a market share of
more than 90%.

1.3.5 Power Curves of Wind Turbines
The following two graphs show power curves of a pitch and a stall-controlled wind turbine. At wind
speeds above the cut in wind speed both wind turbines start to generate electricity. The power of the
wind turbine rises fast and when the wind speed gets closer to the nominated wind speed then the
power limitation starts. As soon as the rated power of the generator is achieved, the power output of
the wind turbine does not increase. From that moment on, the power curve of pitch controlled wind
turbines is almost flat, power curves of stall controlled ones vary. Both do not exceed the rated power
of the generator. If wind speeds get too high, the wind turbines stop (cut off wind speed). At cut off
wind speed the pitch controlled wind turbines turn the blades into the vane position, stall controlled
wind turbines use aerodynamic brakes.

37
West Texas A&M University, 2011
38
West Texas A&M University, 2011

23

Wind Energy Basics

Figure 13: Power curve of a pitch-controlled wind turbine
39

Figure 14: Power curve of a stall controlled wind turbine
40

The following graph shows how the wind power curve (blue colour, scale on the left y-axis) and the
power coefficient curve (red colour, scale on the right y-axis) are related to each other: In this
example, above the cut in wind speed of 2 m/s, the wind turbine moves the rotor blades into an
operating position. It starts to generate power. The power coefficient rises very fast up to its
maximum value of 0.48 and stays constant for wind speeds of 7 m/s to 9 m/s. Above 9 m/s, the wind
turbine starts to reduce the power coefficient by turning the rotor blades by some degrees into a
position that allows some of the power in the wind to pass by. Above nominal wind speed of 13 m/s
the wind turbine runs at a rated power of 330 kW. The power output can be kept constant at higher

39
Suzlon (2010)
40
Markus Pller and Oscar Amaya (2009)

24

Wind Energy Basics
wind speeds only because the power coefficient is continuously reduced down to values of 0.05. The
cut off wind speed with a power coefficient of zero is not shown in this graph.

Figure 15: Power curve and power coefficient curve of a 330 kW wind turbine
41

1.3.6 Nacelle
The nacelle holds all the turbine machinery. Because it has to be able to rotate to follow the wind
direction, it is connected to the tower via bearings (see chapter yawing system). The nacelle includes
the drive train that consists of the following components: rotor shaft with bedding, gear box (direct
drive turbines have none), brake(s), coupling, generator, power electronics, cooling/heating and a
small crane.
The gearbox takes the task of matching the rotation speeds of the slow-moving rotor (18-50
rpm) and the fast-moving generator (most common 1500 rpm). Gear boxes generally have
several steps to cover various wind conditions.
The generator in a wind turbine converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. In general,
a distinction is made between asynchronous and synchronous generators. Slow-running
multi-pole ring generators do without a gearbox as mentioned above.
There are generally two types of brakes: aerodynamic brake systems and mechanical systems.
The details of the arrangements in the nacelle vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

41
Albrecht Tiedemann, 2011

25

Wind Energy Basics

Figure 76: Wind turbine without gear box
42

1 oil cooler 6 crane 11 brake 16 pitch cylinder
2 water cooler 7 generator 12 foundation 17 hub controller
3 transformer 8 disc coupling 13 blade bearing
4 wind sensor 9 yaw gears 14 blade hub
5 converter 10 gearbox 15 blade
Figure 87: Wind turbine with gear box
43

42
www.enercon.de

26

Wind Energy Basics
1.3.7 Generator and Grid Connection
At the beginning of grid connected wind energy development generators were quite simple.
Conventional induction generators (type 1 generator) or wound-rotor induction generators with
variable rotor resistance (type 2 generator) dominated the market. Nowadays more and more doubly-
fed induction generators (type 3 generators) and generators with full converter interface (type 4
generators) dominate the market due to advanced grid code requirements.
Type 1 generators were commercially very successful. They were relatively simple, reliable and had a
robust design. Due to the energy-crisis in the 80s, Danish producers gained much experience by
selling wind turbines with this generator concept in great numbers to the USA. In the early 90s Danish
manufacturers were market leaders in the 150 kW to 300 kW turbine range. The wind turbines had
horizontal axis machines with a three-bladed upwind rotor. They were directly connected to the grid
and ran at constant rotor speed. They had an active yawing and the power was limited by stall effect.
Type 2 generators used an external resistance and already a power electronics circuit (diodebridge
and DC chopper). To keep the rotor speed from runaway conditions and to reduce the mechanical
loads on the blades and the turbine structures, the power output was limited by controlling the pitch
angle of the blades.
44

Type 3 generators: The stator of the induction generator is directly connected to the grid whereas the
three phase rotor winding is supplied through slip rings by power electronics (converter). The
advantage of this type is the lower rating of the converter compared to type 4 generators. The
converter capacity amounts to around 30-40% of the total power of the generator. The wind turbine
works with variable rotor speed and a gear box.
Characteristic of a type 4 generator is that the total amount of generated power is supplied to the
grid via a converter. The converter changes the power from alternating (AC) current to direct current
(DC) and then vice versa. The generator can be optimally adapted to the wind speed. Some
manufacturers skip the gearbox that presupposes a low speed synchronous generator equipped by a
large number of poles. The typical nominal speed of wind turbines without gearbox ranges between
10 rpm and 25 rpm.

43
www.vestas.com
44
NREA (2006)

27

Wind Energy Basics

Figure 18: Generator types: Type 1 conventional induction generator; Type 2 wound-rotor
induction generator with variable rotor resistance; Type 3 doubly-fed induction generator and Type
4 full converter interface
45

Wind turbines and wind farms are connected to the grid via a transformer, because the voltage of the
generator is not very high. Typical voltage levels of wind turbine generators are in the range of 120
volts to 3300 volts. A connection to the medium voltage of high voltage grids requires voltages of
30000 to 380000 volts. This level is achieved by transformers. A small sized converter connects the
wind turbine with the internal grid of the wind farm. At the point of common coupling (PCC) a larger
transformer connects the wind farm with the distribution or with transmission grid.

45
National Renewable Energy Laboratory WIND GENERATOR DEVELOPMENT, Appendix V MODEL VALIDATION OF WIND
TURBINE GENERATOR, 2007

28

Wind Energy Basics
The following table gives an overview which wind farm capacities are usually connected to the
different voltage levels of the grid.

Table 6: Connection of wind turbines and wind farms to different grid levels
46

Size of wind turbine or wind farm capacity Suitable grid level for grid connection
Small to medium wind turbines,
up to 300 kW
Low voltage grid
( ca. 1 kV)
Medium to large wind turbines and small wind
farms, up to 2 5 MW
Feeder of the medium voltage grid
(ca. 1 35 kV)
Medium to large onshore wind farms,
up to 10 40 MW
Medium voltage grid, transformer
substation to high voltage grid (ca. 1 35
kV)
Clusters of large onshore wind farms,
up to 100 MW
High voltage grid
(ca. 35 110 kV)
Large offshore wind farms,
> 0.5 GW
Extra high voltage grid
(ca. 220 or higher)

1.3.8 Yawing System
To enable an efficient conversion of kinetic energy of the wind into rotational energy of the rotor,
wind turbines have a system to follow the wind direction. Electrical motors move the whole nacelle.
This is called a yawing system. It changes the position of the nacelle according to the wind direction
which is measured with a wind vane on top of the nacelle. Exceptions are Savonius or Darrieus wind
turbines.

1.3.9 Wind Turbine Towers
Wind turbine towers are made of concrete, metal, wood or a combination of these materials.
Most large wind turbines are built with tubular steel towers, which are manufactured in sections.
Steel towers usually consist of two to four segments. Each has a length of 20-30 meters with flanges
at either end. They are bolted together on the wind farm site.
Concrete towers can be made by using specially developed sections fastened together at wind farm
site. The tower sections themselves are manufactured entirely in a pre-casting plant. It is also
possible that the tower is completely constructed on site with a climbing formwork (called in-situ
concrete). Work often has to be interrupted at low temperatures (winter).
The lattice tower construction method is based on the principle of using material only at points
where forces have to be fed into the structure. By using this method it is possible to reduce the

46

29

Wind Energy Basics
weight of the tower. Compared to tubular towers material expenses are low and the transport of steel
profiles is easy, especially in complex terrain. The need for maintenance and servicing could be
relatively high because many steel profiles have to be checked regularly.

The construction of lattice and in-situ concrete towers on site takes more time than the construction
of tubular towers. This is a disadvantage. The general advantage can be found in the transport sector.
The logistics are generally challenging for wind farm planning because wind farm elements can have a
weight up to some hundred tons (e.g. nacelle) and the elements are large (e.g. rotor blades, turbine
towers).
Hybrid towers combine a pre-cast concrete segmented tower with tubular steel sections on top. The
advantage is that the segments can be easily transported via ordinary trucks especially in those
countries where the transportation of steel towers with large diameters is problematic and where the
concrete segments can be produced locally.
Guyed tubular towers are only used for small wind turbines. They are light and can be set up without
a crane.
Some wind turbine towers are equipped with elevators; all have stairs to climb up and down.
The decision on the height of the tower depends very much on the economics, the wind resource and
on the type of wind turbine. Obviously, higher towers are needed for large wind turbines with long
blades. But higher towers also mean higher wind speeds and therefore a higher energy yield. The
optimum height of the tower is a function of
tower costs per meter
variation of local wind with the height above ground level (large roughness makes taller tower
more useful),
revenue for an additional electricity that is generated at larger height.
Manufacturers often deliver towers where the tower height is equal to the rotor diameter.
Aesthetically, many people find that turbines are more pleasant to look at if the tower height is
roughly equal to the rotor diameter.
47

1.3.10 Foundation of the Tower
The foundation has to guarantee the stability of a wind turbine. Depending on the consistency of the
underlying ground different construction methods are used.
Onshore the most commonly used type of foundation is a large concrete plate under the earth that
forms the footing for the wind turbine (plate or shallow foundation). A foundation with piles into the

47
Danish Wind Industry Association

30

Wind Energy Basics
earth is also used, especially in soft subsoil. Special anchors connect the wind turbine foundation to
the ground. Their length depends on the stability of the subsoil and the technical parameters of the
wind turbine (weight, length of tower, length can be up to 30 meters).
Offshore
48
gravity concrete foundations are placed on the sea floor. Due to their large weight, they
are so stable that they do not need any more fixations to the sea bed.

Tripod foundations connect the tower to the sea bed with three steel piles. Each pile is fixed in the
sea bed with approx. 10 - 30 meters long nails.
A bucket foundation consists of a steel cylinder which is open towards the bottom. First of all the
cylinder is placed on the sea bed and then pumped out. The high pressure outside the foundation
presses the bucket into the ground.
A monopile consist of a single steel pile. The monopile is driven approx. 10 30 meters deep into the
sea floor.

Figure 19: Gravity, monopile, jacket and tripod foundation for offshore wind turbines
49

1.3.11 Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
A Savonius or Darrieus wind turbine is a type of vertical axis wind turbine. The Savonius is a drag-type
which operates in the same way as a cup anemometer (pictured below). Savonius wind turbines
typically have low efficiencies. Around fifteen percent of the wind power hitting the rotor is turned

48
For more information about offshore wind energy see: http://www.alpha-ventus.de/index.php?id=80
49
Source: Stiftung Offshore Windenergie, fascination offshore, www.offshore-stiftung.de, exhibition, 2010

31

Wind Energy Basics
into rotational mechanical energy. This is much less than can be achieved with a Darrieus wind
turbine which uses lift rather than drag.
Savonius turbines do not scale well to large kW sizes; however, they are useful for small scale
domestic electricity generation - especially in locations with strong turbulent winds. They are better
suited for applications such as pumping water and grinding grain for which slow rotation and high
torque are essential.
50

Figure 20: Savonius rotor
51

1.3.12 Standards and Norms
During the last decades many standards and norms have been developed for wind energy. The IEC
61400 family is the most important one, particularly for wind turbines and wind farms. It defines
design requirements for large, small and offshore wind turbines, acoustic noise measurement
techniques, sound power level declaration and tonality, power performance measurements for single
wind turbines and for whole wind farms, measurement and assessment of power quality
characteristics of grid connected wind turbines, lightning protection, conformity testing and
certification as well as communications for monitoring and control of wind power plants. Today all
important wind turbine manufacturers offer wind turbines that are tested on a test site. Therefore,
their power curves can be based on measured data.
To ensure high quality wind farm planning project developers should use only products that are
tested and certified under the IEC 61400 standard by an independent institution that is accredited to
ISO/IEC 17025:2005.
To connect the wind turbines or the whole wind farm to the grid, international bodies like the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the European Committee for Electrotechnical
Standardization (CENELEC), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) or the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) developed standards on specific topics such as for the connection
of fluctuating installations to medium, high and extra high voltage power systems (IEC 61000-3-7), on
voltage characteristics of electricity supplied by public distribution systems (EN 50160), for
interconnecting distributed generation with electric power systems (IEEE 1547) or the already

50
REUK.co.uk: Savonius Wind Turbines http://www.reuk.co.uk/Savonius-Wind-Turbines.htm, download 2011
51

32

Wind Energy Basics
mentioned standard IEC 61400 part 21 which defines standards for measurement and assessment of
power quality requirements for grid connected wind turbines.

On grid integration of wind turbines in particular, many transmission or distribution system operators
have developed standards to connect the turbines to the grid. These grid codes define the behaviour
during normal operating conditions, power quality, operational restriction and requirements for
restart of generation after disconnection from the grid. Examples are the German grid codes for
Renewables connected to the high voltage transmission grid and the codes for connection to the
medium and low voltage distribution grid. The European Wind Energy Association supports an
approach to harmonise grid codes at least in the European Union. This shall reduce the development
costs for wind turbines.
Additional regulations, defined by independent companies, e.g. German Lloyd Wind Energy GmbH
(GL), Det Norske Veritas (DNV) or Deutsches Institut fr Bautechnik (DIBt), exist. These rules contain
load assumptions for design of WEC components, guidelines for design of wind turbines or site
specific rules for tower and foundation. It is important to always check for the latest rules for target
counties.
Table 7: IEC 61400 series of standard for wind turbines and wind farms
Part Content of IEC 61400
-1 Design requirements for large wind turbines
-2 Design requirements for small wind turbines
-3 Design requirements for offshore wind turbines
-11 Acoustic noise measurement techniques
-12-1
-12-2
-12-3
Power performance measurements
Power performance based on nacelle anemometry
Wind farm power performance testing
13 Measurement of mechanical loads
14 Declaration of apparent sound power level and tonality values
21
Measurement and assessment of power quality characteristics of grid connected wind
turbines
22 Conformity testing and certification
23 Full-scale structural testing of rotor blades
24 Lightning protection
25 Communications for monitoring and control of wind power plants

Designs have to take extreme loads into account occurring from gusts, although this is very seldom.
The average wind speed, the turbulence and the 50 year maximum wind speed are design
parameters too. Four different wind turbine classes exist according to IEC 61400-1:

33

Wind Energy Basics

Table 8: Wind turbine classes according to IEC 61400-1
Wind turbine classes**) I II III IV
Reference wind speed

(m/s) 50 42,5 37,5 30
Annual average wind speed (m/s) 10 8,5 7,5 6
50-year return guest speed (m/s) 70 59,5 52,2 42
1-year return guest speed (m/s) 52,5 44,6 39,4 31,5
**) Further classification in high / low turbulence classes exist

1.4 Wind Farm Planning and Design: Energy Yield and Wind Farm Layout
Educational objectives:
Learn how to calculate the energy yield of a wind turbine for a specific wind turbine and
measured wind speed data
Learn the meaning of capacity factor and the full load hours and how to calculate them
Learn basics how to find a site suitable for a wind farm
Learn the meaning of shadow flicker and occurrence of noise
Learn about disposal routes for wind farm components

1.4.1 General
Generally, the planning phase can be divided into three steps: initial investigations, site analysis and
actual planning procedure.
During initial investigations, the basic feasibility of the selected project site is examined. Relevant
technical planning aspects are the estimation of wind conditions, energy yield, wind farm layout and
the local frameworks.
For wind farm design reliable information on the expected power of the wind and the energy output
of each wind turbine is necessary to calculate its economic viability. Besides resource specific
information, also environmental aspects influence the wind farm layout. The number and rated
power of turbines or the distance of the wind farm to e.g. residential homes can be dominated by
noise emissions, shadow flicker or the visual impact.

34

Wind Energy Basics
1.4.2 Calculation of Energy Yield
To calculate the annual energy production of a wind farm, quite a lot of information is necessary. But
two parameters are basic. One is the distribution of wind speed at the planned site and the other is
the power curve of the wind turbines.
E
i
= P
i
(v
i
) x t
i

With:
t
i
= Duration of wind speeds at wind class [h, hours]
E
i
= Energy yield of wind class [Wh, watthours]
P
i
(v
i
) = Power of wind class v
i
of wind turbine power curve [Watt; joule per second]
E
= E
1
+ E
2
++ E
n

E
= Energy yield over one year [Wh]

If more than one wind turbine is built, the wind turbines influence each other negatively; this means
the energy yield in a wind farm is smaller than that of a single wind turbine (wake effect). Further
parameters are the availability of the wind turbines or the downtime of grid connection. Losses in the
internal electricity grid of the wind farm are not negligible. Software tools support the developer of
wind farms. Generally, the annual energy production at the point of common coupling can be
calculated as follows:
Annual energy production [Wh] = Energy yield of wind farm [Wh] x Percentage of internal
grid losses [%] x Availability of wind turbines [%] x Availability of grid connection [%]
Professional tools like WAsP, WindPro, Windfarmer, WindSim, OpenWind and HOMER can be used to
calculate the energy yield.

1.4.3 Capacity Factor and the Full Load Hours
The capacity factor and the full load hours describe the performance of a wind turbine or of a whole
wind farm. They are a measure of the productivity of an object over a period of time at a specific site.
Both parameters take the amount of generated energy into account. The time period is usually one
year (duration of period = 8760 hours). They describe the quality of the wind resource in combination
with the quality of the technology and its availability.
Because the wind speed does not always achieve the nominal wind speed of the wind turbine and the
wind turbine does not always work at rated power, the capacity factor is dimensionless and always
smaller than 1. Therefore, the total energy generation is always smaller than the theoretical maximal
possible energy generation of the wind turbine or the wind farm. To calculate the capacity factor and
the full load hours, the following data are necessary:
Amount of energy that a wind turbine generated during a time period

35

Wind Energy Basics
Theoretical maximum of energy that the wind turbine could generate if the wind would blow
always at nominal wind speed this means that the wind turbine would be technically
available all the time (no downtime due to maintenance or repair work is assumed).
The capacity factor can be calculated by dividing the total energy production during a period by the
theoretical maximum energy generation or by dividing it by the rated power of the wind turbine and
by the duration of the period:

Full load hours are also used to analyse the performance of a wind turbine or wind farm at a specific
site. Its unit is usually hour / year. The theoretical maximum (if a wind turbine runs the whole year at
rated power) would be 8760 h/a. But the wind does not always blow that strong. Full load hours of
wind turbines range from 500 h/a at very poor sites (e.g bad sited small wind turbines) up to 4500 h
/a at very good sites (e.g. offshore or at coastline).

1.4.4 Siting
Wind farm design needs information on the local wind resource and information on general technical
and ecological aspects that dominate the economics and the acceptance of the wind farm. Often the
following aspects are already taken into account by planning authorities that develop and publish
maps with areas that are suitable for wind energy development. If these maps are not available, then
project planners should analyse the following aspects.
52

Grid connection: capacity of grid connection, distance to suitable point of power coupling to
the electricity grid
Access to site: adequacy of local access roads to facilitate construction of the project and
transportation of large machinery and turbine parts to the site
Land use: information on the ownership of the location to be used for the wind turbines,
transformer station, cabling and space needed for cranes and other equipment during the
construction phase and associated remedial works thereafter
Ground conditions, including soil stability, site drainage

52
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local, Government of Ireland, 2006, Dublin

36

Wind Energy Basics
Interference with air traffic and radio/television broadcasting
Environment: local environmental impacts including noise, shadow flicker, impact of the
project on natural heritage, visual impact issues of wind turbines and transformer stations
and of access roads (size, scale and layout and the degree to which the wind energy project is
visible over certain areas)
Disposal or elimination of waste/surplus material from construction/site clearance and
decommissioning considerations

1.4.5 Shadow Flicker
When the sun is low in the sky wind turbines, like other tall structures, can cast long shadows
especially after dawn and before sunset. Sometimes, the blades of a wind turbine cast a shadow over
a window in a nearby house and the rotation of the blades causes the shadow to flick on and off. This
effect is called shadow flicker. It does not last for long and only in certain specific combined
circumstances, e.g. when
the sun is shining at a low angle, and
the turbine is directly between the sun and the affected property, and
the wind speed is above cut in wind speed of the turbine (to ensure that the turbine blades
are moving).
Shadow flicker can be influenced by careful site selection, design and planning. Wind farm planning
software can calculate and quantify the effect of different wind farm layouts. The results can be used
to evaluate and to reduce the possibility of shadow flicker.
53

1.4.6 Noise
The operation of wind turbines is associated with aerodynamic and mechanical noise. Mechanical
noise is created by the operation of mechanical wind turbine elements which are in the nacelle
(generator, gearbox and other rotating parts of the drive-train). Aerodynamic noise is influenced by
factors including blade design, tip seed ratio, wind speed, blades passing the tower and turbulence of
the wind inflow. Generally, aerodynamic noise is a mixture of many different frequencies
(broadband). It can display some character (swish). Mechanical noise from a wind turbine is tonal in
nature.

Turbine noise increases as wind speeds increase, but at higher wind speeds noise from wind
has the effect of largely masking wind turbine noise. Noise from wind turbines is radiated more in
some directions than others, with areas down-wind experiencing the highest predicted noise levels.
54

Effective technical measures to reduce noise emissions are e.g. the change from lattice to tubular
towers, the operation with variable speed and reduction of tip speed ratios (associated with 3 instead

53
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government of Ireland,, 2006, Dublin
54

37

Wind Energy Basics
1 or 2 blade turbine designs). Mechanical noise can be reduced by advanced gearbox design, gearless
direct drive train design and the use of anti-vibration techniques.
55

Carefully considered wind farm layout is essential to ensure public acceptance at noise sensitive
locations. These include any occupied dwelling house, hostel, health building, areas of particular
scenic quality or areas frequently used for relaxation or activities.
56

Separate noise limits are applied for daytime and for night-time. In general, noise is unlikely to be a
significant problem where the distance from the nearest turbine to any noise sensitive property is
more than 1000 meters.

1.4.7 Decommissioning
At the end of the wind turbines life time, the owner of the wind farm is responsible for
decommissioning and fulfilling legal requirements. Usually the manufacturers responsibility ends up
with the delivery of the product and commissioning. Up to now no European-wide legislation is in
place for the recycling of wind turbine elements. Country specific regulations define responsibilities.
The following table describes recycling routes of wind farm components.
Table 9:

Recycling routes of wind farm components
57

Component

Material

Possible disposal route

Foundation

Concrete, steel

Recycling and building material

Tower

Steel, concrete

Metal for recycling / building material

Drive train

Cast iron, steel lubricants

Recycling or reprocessing

Generator

Cast iron, copper, electronics

Recycling or reprocessing

Electronics

Cable, switchboard

Recycling, energetic recycling

Nacelle

Metals, fibre components

Recycling (metals), incineration

Rotor blades

Fibre components, sandwich core

Incineration, fibre recycling

55
56
57

38

Wind Energy Basics

2 Abbreviations
A = scaling factor in Weibull equation
AC = alternating current
ANSI =American National Standards Institute
Btu = British thermal unit
CENELEC 0 = European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
DC = direct current
DIBt= Deutsches Institut fr Bautechnik
DNV = Det Norske Veritas
EIA = Environmental Impact Assessment
EIS = Environmental Impact Statement
GL = German Lloyd Wind Energy GmbH
GWh = Giga Watt (10
9
W)
GWh = Giga Watt hour (10
9
Wh)
h = hour
h
i
(v
i
) = Duration of wind speed class i [s] in Weibull equation
Hz = Hertz
I = wind speed turbulence
IEC = International Electrotechnical Commission
IEEE = Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
J = Joule
K = shaping factor [dimensionless] in Weibull equation
km = 1000 m, kilometer
kW = kilo Watt (10
3
W)
kWh = kilo Watt hour (10
3
Wh)
m = meter
Mean = average wind speed
mph = miles per hour
MToE = million tons of oil equivalent

39

Wind Energy Basics
MW = Mega Watt (10
6
W)
MWh= Mega Watt hour (10
6
Wh)
n = number of samples
PF = plant feeder
PPC = point of power coupling
PW = Peta Watt (10
15
W)
PWh = Peta Watt hour (10
15
Wh)
s = second
SAC = Special Area of Conservation
SCADA = Supervision Control and Data Acquisition
SPA = Special Protection Area
Stdev = standard deviation
TW = Terra Watt (10
12
W)
TWh = Terra Watt hour (10
12
Wh)
V
10min
= Wind speed 10 min average
v
i
= wind speed class i [m/s]
W = Watt
WEC = wind energy converter (same as WT)
WT = Wind turbine
ZTV = Zone of Theoretical Visibility
ZVI = Zone of Visual Influence

Units:
1 kg = 1000 g
1 knot = 0,514444 m/s
1 kWh = 3412,14 Btu
1 kWh = 3600000 J
1 kWh = 3,6 MJ
1 m/s = 1,94385 knot
1 m/s = 2,23694 mph
1 m/s = 3,6 km/hr

40

Wind Energy Basics
1 mph = 0,44704 m/s
1 t [tonne] = 1000 kg

3 Keyword index
Anemometer:
Equipment fixed on a mast to measure wind speed over a particular site. Anemometry masts are
usually slender structures fixed to the ground with guy wires.
Annual energy output:
Total energy produced by a wind turbine over the course of a year.
Availability factor:
The percentage of time that a wind turbine is able to operate and is not out of commission because
of maintenance or repair. The availability can also be calculated in relation to the theoretically
possible total amount of energy.
Background noise level:
A measurement of the noise level already present within the environment in the absence of wind
energy development operation.
Capacity factor:
A measure of the productivity of a wind turbine in comparision to the theoretical maximum of
energy.
Current:
Rate at which electricity flows through a conductor; measured in amps (A).
Cut-in speed:
The wind speed at which the turbine blades begin to rotate and produce electricity.
Cut-out speed:
The wind speed at which the turbine automatically stops the blades from turning and rotates out of
the wind to avoid damage to the turbine.
Decibel (dB or dB(A)):
Measurement of sound, the scale in which sound power and pressure level is expressed. When
measuring environmental noise, a weighting network is used which filters the frequency of sound,
and is expressed as dB(A). An A-weighted decibel - a measure of the overall noise level of sound
across the audible frequency range (20Hz-20kHz) with A- frequency weighting (i.e., A weighting) to
compensate for the varying sensitivity of the human ear to sound at different frequencies. The
decibel scale is logarithmic.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA):
An ordered exercise designed to enable the environmental impacts of a proposed
development/project to be anticipated before the project is carried out.

41

Wind Energy Basics
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS):
A statement of results from the ordered exercise which focuses on anticipating all environmental
impacts of significance of a proposed development, prior to implementation or construction, and
which specifies those measures which should be taken to eliminate or mitigate such impacts to an
acceptable level.

Gearbox:
The gearbox adjusts the rotor speed to the generator speed. Different stages are achieved by spur or
planetary gears.
Hertz (Hz):
Unit of frequency of sound, in cycles per second. E.g. frequency determines pitch of sound.
Hub height:
Height of wind turbine tower from the ground to the centre-line of the turbine rotor.
IEC Standards:
Guidelines defined by the International Electric Committee (IEC) how to carry out type approval.
KWh (kilowatt-hour):
A unit of energy that measures the amount of power produced or used over a 1-hour time interval.
Nacelle:
incorporates the entire machine unit of the wind turbine. It is mounted at the top of the tower.
Natura 2000 Site:
Designated European sites that constitute Natura 2000 network of protected sites for habitats and
species across the EU. They are defined in combination of Special Areas of Conservation and Special
Protection Areas.
Performance coefficient C
P
:
An non-dimensional value describes the ratio of power that is captured by the wind turbine and fed
into the grid. It is used to measure the wind turbine efficiency.
Pitch control:
Power limitation via movement of the rotor blade along its horizontal axis. Pitch controlled rotors are
generally operated at variable speeds.
Power curve:
Graph that depicts the power output of a wind turbine as a function of wind speed. The power curve
is one of the most important criteria for selecting the optimum wind turbine for specific wind
conditions at selected sides.
Power limitation:
The power limitation avoids that the wind turbine accelerates above design criteria.
Power output:
Amount of power produced by a wind turbine at a given speed.

42

Wind Energy Basics
Rated Power
Power of wind turbine at a given rated wind speed
Rated wind speed:
The wind speed at which the turbine is producing its nameplate-rated power production.
Reference yield:
Energy output according to average wind speed of 5.5 m/s at 30 meters height and Rayleigh
distributed wind speeds with a shape factor k = 2 and Roughness length Z
0
= 0.1 m

Rotor diameter:
The Rotor diameter describes the circle diameter that is sweapt by the rotor. As a rule of thumb:
doubled rotor diameters quadruples the wind turbines rated power output.
SCADA:
Supervision Control and Data Acquisition has the task to monitor, collect, store and analyse operating
data.
Scoping:
Process of identifying the significant issues that should be addressed by a particular Environmental
Impact Assessment.
Shadow Flicker:
Term used to describe the short-lived effect of shadows cast by rotating blades of wind turbines when
the sun passes behind them, which occurs under certain combinations of geographical positions and
time of day.
Sound power level:
Sound power level describes the ability of a source to produce noise (strength of source). IEC 61400-
11 is a standard for turbine noise measurement. Sound is measured using units of decibels (dB).
Sound pressure level:
Sound pressure level is a measure of the noise level at a receptor (neighbor of wind farms,
microphone). Sound is measured using units of decibels (dB) and (dB(A)).
Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Protected area under Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), designated for rare, vulnerable and endangered
habitats and species (e.g. plants, mammals and fish), listed in Annexes I and II Habitats Directive.
Special Protection Area (SPA):
Protected area under Birds Directive (79/409/EEC), designated for bird species listed in Annex I of the
Directive, in particular internationally important concentrations of migratory and wetland birds.
Designation is focused on habitats of these species.
Stall control:
Power limitation via air flow separation on the rotor blade. Stall controlled rotors are generally
operated at two speeds.

43

Wind Energy Basics
Voltage:
Measure of the electric potential difference between two points; usually expressed as volts (V).
Wind power class:
A system designed to rate the quality of the wind resource in an area.
Yaw control:
Allows that the nacelle changes the position towards the wind direction.
Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV):
The maps produced are theoretical because they estimate exposure of proposed development based
upon landform data only, and take no account of intermittent screening by vegetation or structures.
ZTV maps estimate visibility of the proposed development in the surrounding landscape and not its
visual influence.
Zone of Visual Influence (ZVI):
Provides a visual representation, usually presented as a map with markings or colourings, of the area
over which a site and/or a proposed development may be visible.

44

Wind Energy Basics

Literature
Archer, Cristina L.; Mark Z. Jacobson (2005): "Evaluation of global wind power",
http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/winds/global_winds.html (download 2010)
Atmospheric Research Technology LLC (2010) About Sodar, www.sodar.com/about_sodar.htm
Bundesverband Windenergie (2010): Entwicklung der Windenergieanlagen, www.wind-energie.de,
download 2010
Campbell, Patrice (2010): A 5,000 Year Look at Wind Energy - History of Harnessing Wind as
Renewable Energy, http://www.suite101.com/content/a-5000-year-look-at-wind-energy-
a187696, 2010
Danish Wind Energy Association (2010): Guided wind energy tour,
www.talentfactory.dk/en/stat/unitsw.htm#roughness, (download 2010)
EN 50160 : 1999-11 - Voltage characteristics of electricity supplied by public distribution systems
European Environment Agency (2009): Europe's onshore and offshore wind energy potential - an
assessment of environmental and economic constraints Technical report No 6/2009
European Wind Energy Association (2009): Wind Energy, the Facts, EWEA, Brussels, earthscan,
London
Fuhrlnder (2010), www.fuhrlaender.de (download 2010)
German Advisory Council on Global Change (2003): World in Transition Towards Sustainable
Energy Systems, Berlin
http://www.gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/GWEC-PRstats-2012_english.pdf
HOMER micropower optimization model (2009): www.homerenergy.com, 2009
IEC 61000-3-7 (IEC, 1996), Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) - Part 3-7: Limits - Assessment of
emission limits for the connection of fluctuating installations to Medium, Hight and Extra High
Voltage power systems.
IEC 61400-21 - Wind Turbine Generator Systems Part 21: Measurement and Assessment of Power
Quality Requirements for Grid Connected Wind Turbines, 2001-12);
IEEE Std 1547-2003 - IEEE Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power
Systems
National Renewable Energy Laboratory WIND GENERATOR DEVELOPMENT, Appendix V MODEL
VALIDATION OF WIND TURBINE GENERATOR, 2007
Markus Pller and Oscar Amaya (2009): Wind Turbine Generators Physical Principles and Generator
Concepts, DIgSILENT GmbH, 2009

45

Wind Energy Basics
Mortensen, Niels G.; Said, Usama Said et al, Wind Atlas for Egypt,
http://www.windatlas.dk/egypt/Download/Wind%20Atlas%20for%20Egypt%20paper%20(ME
NAREC3).pdf, Cairo (without year)
NRG Systems (2010): WINDCUBE Lidar wind measurement, www.lidarwindtechnologies.com,
download 2010
NREA (2006) WECC Wind Generator Development, Appendix V Model Validation of Wind Turbine
Generator, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, University of California, CIEE Report,
2006
REUK.co.uk: Wind Turbine Tip Speed Ratio, http://www.reuk.co.uk/Wind-Turbine-Tip-Speed-
Ratio.htm, download 2011
Royal Academy of Engineering, RWE npower (2009): Wind Turbine Power Calculations, download
2011
Stiftung Offshore Windenergie, fascination offshore, www.offshore-stiftung.de, exhibition,
download 2011
Suzlon (2010): download from website www.suzlon.com, December 2010
Tiedemann, Albrecht: Wind Energy Fundamentals, RENAC seminar documentation , Berlin 2011
University of North Dakota Wind Glossary,
http://www.undeerc.org/wind/literature/Wind_Glossary.PDF (2010)
West Texas A&M University The Structure of a Modern Wind Turbine An Overview
www.windenergy.org, download 2011
Windtest Grevenbroich (2010): Wind Potential Measurements, http://www.windtest-
nrw.de/index.php?page=112
World Wind Energy Association, Wind Energy Technology: An Introduction, www.wwindea.org,
download 2011

46

Wind Energy Basics

Renewables Academy (RENAC) AG
Schnhauser Allee 10-11
10119 Berlin (Germany)
Tel: +49 (0) 30-52 689 58 70
Fax: +49 (0) 30-52 689 58 99
E-Mail: info@renac.de, Sept. 2013

http://www.renac.de/en/projects/regrid/

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= Energy yield over one year [Wh]

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