The Winga E-Generator
The Low Velocity Wind Turbine Solution
There is a definite and urgent need for a low wind turbine that can supply the Smart Grid, that can improve the profitability for energy developers and that can permit industry to reduce the energy intensity of their production. OrganoWorld has developed such a turbine and it opens the door to a dramatic increase in the size of the wind energy market with new players from the industrial sector and provides a more viable business case for jumping into wind energy production
The Winga E-Generator is a new generation
of augmented wind turbine that can produce up to 5.4 MW of power at
wind speeds of 4.0 m/s. As illustrated by its power curve, typical for
each of the three 1.8 MW generators per turbine, full power can be obtained
at wind speeds as low as 4.0 m/s and in turn this increases the turbines
capacity factor to above 80%. This performance is achieved through much
higher flow stream velocities obtainable using the augmentation effect
of a convergent, divergent and ducted tunnel design, and through the
use of a high solidity, annular rotor design.
Wind velocity through the blades is
the critical operating parameter for all wind turbines. In the case
of the Winga E-Generator, the convergent operates as a funnel to push air
through the rotor blades and the divergent serves to create vacuum and
pull air through the rotor blades. This push-pull augmentation increases
both the pressure differential and the air stream velocity many times
that possible with the simple diffuser augmentation associated with
older generation Diffuser Assisted Wind Turbines (DAWT).
The Winga E-Generator can be installed in
many areas unsuitable for standard 3-bladed wind turbines and will produce
energy that is cheaper than coal, quieter, more predictable, more distributed
and highly suitable for supplying energy to smart grids. Its simple
enclosed design using advanced computerized controls produces high quality
energy from each standalone unit. Energy producers can expect
improved profitability based on lower production costs and installations
closer to markets with higher selling prices.
The Energy Challenge
There is little debate now that
the reduction of carbon dioxide and other green house gas emissions
is our greatest environmental challenge.
The world is turning towards "Smart
Grids" to manage electrical power use, provide source management and
to incorporate renewable energy.
Today's conventional wind turbines
are difficult to incorporate into Smart Grids because they only operate
in moderate to high wind speeds giving them a capacity factor of less
than 45 percent.
The blue on this map shows moderate
to high windspeed regions where conventional turbines can be installed
today.
But what about these large areas
in red showing lower speed Class 2 regions? With growing public concerns
about fossil fuel power and the advent of electric vehicles, shouldn't
low wind regions be able to benefit as well?
OrganoWorld has developed an innovative
way of generating utility scale electricity at average wind speeds of
only 4 meters per second. That's about 9 miles per hour. We can offer
a greater capacity factor at a production cost equal to coal power generation.
We'll briefly discuss conventional
turbine design, then the principles that we have used to improve efficiency,
and finally show how they can be applied to a new generation product.
Here is the power graph of a conventional
one point eight megawatt wind turbine. It has a cut-in velocity of 4
meters per second and a rated wind speed of 12 meters per second.
On an average 7 meters per second
wind site, the most frequent wind speeds are between four and seven
meters per second.
The power produced by this turbine
at 7 meters per second is only 650 kilowatts - less than 50% of the
generator rating.
As a result it is producing full
power less than 15% of the time, and will likely have a capacity factor
of less than 45%.
Organoworld's design produces
its rated power at only 4 meters per second, opening up new markets,
and speeding the implementation of Smart Grids.
The Scientific Basis
Organoworld used wind tunnel tests
and new and advanced aircraft design software to find and verify a solution.
We began with the simple wind turbine
and the application of accepted principles of fluid mechanics.
We then examined a proven method
of increasing a wind turbine's efficiency by 30 percent adding a diffuser
behind the duct.
But we needed to increase the speed
and energy density of the airflow many times. To achieve this, we replaced
the diffuser by a larger divergent, creating more vacuum which pulls
the air through the unit.
Next, we added a Borger optimized
convergent to compress, align and accelerate the wind in the ducted
channel, creating a venturi.
We replaced the traditional 3-bladed
turbine with three high-solidity, multi-bladed annular rotors. The rotors
extract energy through higher torque, and each rotor feeds its own independent
generator to increase reliability and availability.
The push-pull effect created by
the convergent and divergent greatly increases the air stream flow velocity
through the turbine blades - a critical process parameter.
The wind energy then available
for conversion is proportional to airstream flow velocity cubed. Triple
the wind speed, and the energy produced increases by 3 cubed, or 27.
The Winga E-Generator
Because our design requires an
enclosed, ducted channel around the rotors, any noise will be confined.
And the shape and size of the convergent will keep birds and bats away
from the rotor blades.
Our design features three annular
rotors, each eight meters in diameter. The 27 pivoting airfoil blades
are less than one meter long.
The increased wind velocity traveling
through the blades close to the rotor's circumference produces greater
torque, increasing the energy they produce at their optimum rotation
of 300 rpm.
Each rotor drives a 1.8 megawatt
generator for a total installed capacity of 5.4 megawatts. Controls
vary the diameter of the cone to keep the rotation of the rotors constant,
providing the higher quality electricity needed by the Smart Grid.
Helping the Winga E-Generator achieve
a capacity factor exceeding 80% at low to moderate wind speeds, is its
position on a motorized platform that turns to face the wind.
The platform sits on a sturdy,
multiple concrete or steel column tower. The platform is built
on the ground, where the frame and turbine are assembled. The platform
is jacked up and the legs are added until the tower reaches its optimal
height, generally lower than conventional turbines.
It uses standard construction materials
and methods, boosting the local economy. Most parts and components fit
into standard shipping containers.
The Winga E-Generator's power curve
looks like this. Between 4 and 7 m/s when the winds are the most frequent,
each of the three generators are at full power - 1.8 megawatts for a total of 5.4 MW.
Benefits for Developers
It doesn't have to be located
in isolated wind parks. And by locating the Winga E-Generator closer to energy
consumers you can reduce the capital, maintenance and environmental
costs of transmitting electrical energy.
Install it in parallel with remote
or offshore turbines and you can reduce the impact that varying wind
conditions have on your energy supply portfolio.
Because The Winga E-Generator produces
substantially quieter and more predictable power than conventional wind
turbines it's a more efficient and economical smart grid component.
Installed near a remote community,
a Winga E-Generator, equipped with batteries, could replace current diesel
generators.
The Winga E-Generator - a revolutionary
low velocity wind turbine. Supplying more predictable, more distributed,
more competitive and higher quality wind energy to smart grids and power
distribution networks.
Summary:
For worldwide green energy production to advance more rapidly we must address the commercial challenge of competitive production costs and profitability that is not based on government subsidies. The Winga E-Generator allows energy developers to increase their profitability while at the same time it can offer cheaper electricity to the consumer and advance the production of zero emission energy. This is obtained by the innovative techniques applied to maximise energy production at low wind speeds. The environment, the consumer, the energy developer and industry are at last united in a win-win situation. Investments in the Winga E-Generator energy production lead to benefits for developers that include:
- Improved profitability/energy production using low velocity sites
- lower energy production costs,
- lower energy intensity for industrial production
- higher energy selling prices by better market proximity
- reduced project size and capital investment per site
- high power quality from each stand alone turbine
- less performance risk in the event of inferior site wind conditions
For information: