Investigating Wind Energy

In the Southwest Washington Coastal Region

A focused analysis of wind energy prospects off-shore, directly off-shore, and directly on-shore in the

Long Beach corridor.

And,

An interactive exploration of potential efficiency amplification (in Watts/square meter) using vertical axis wind-turbine arrangements - via simulation and replication to-scale for various sites and constraints.

A Research Proposal Prepared forEnergy Systems & Climate Change

The Evergreen State CollegeFall 2011-Winter 2012

Involving:

By Zach Baugher

Why Clean Energy, Doesn’t it Cost More than Coal and Natural Gas?

By Region: The United States: 5,461,014 China: 7,031,916 Washington: 82,560 Sweden: 49,050

Global CO2 Output in 2007 : 29,888,121 (in thousands of metric tons/yr.)

http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/documents/pdf/CO2FFC_2007.pdfhttp://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=749&crid=

% of Global Output:

18.1123.33. 28.16

Global Rank:2nd1st43rd

59th

Our State (Pop. 6.5 million) was ranked 27th in the nation for carbon emissions, yet 43rd among world nations.

That’s just less than the entirety of the Philippines (Pop. 94 million) and more than 173 UN countries.

* 2007 Data

Burning of Fossil Fuels is convenient and economical, but does literally incalculable damage to delicate, unpredictable natural systems via pollutants.

Global climate change is approaching tipping points across the board, those who are serious about human survival are serious about stifling greenhouse gas emissions now.

Luckily, Washington has a vast untapped, clean, and abundant natural resource – the task is changing our means…

So, Washington has an unfair impact on CO2 emissions? I

thought we were ahead of the curve!

Just as one-hundred square miles of Arizona desert receives enough of the Sun’s energy to meet the nations electricity needs - the prevailing and energy-rich gulf stream hovering over our state literally knocks at our doorstep with a wealth of under-utilized energy potential.

While wind generation grew by 24% globally in 2010, and continues to expand both here and abroad, I intend to show that the approach to wind farming in Eastern Washington is less than ideal. More importantly, to demonstrate the many advantages and feasibility of coastal wind farms.

What Alternative Energy Sources Can Our Region Provide?

Some of the strongest winds in the nation are right in our

backyard

Air with higher density exerts more force on the rotor resulting in a greater output.

Density is a function of altitude, temperature and pressure. Density increases as altitude and temperature decrease.

Therefore a wind turbine in colder climates will give more energy output than a wind turbine in warmer climates. A beachside turbine more than in the high plains, etc., given an equivalent average wind speed.

And…

Current Turbine and Farm Design

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) Dominate the large-scale farm market on-shore and off Produce as much as 6-10 MWe per turbine Require up to 1 mile of spacing due to turbulence Average around 2-3 Watts per m2 of land use Typically 50-100 meters tall – able to tap into stronger

winds in more places Huge embodiment of materials and energy in construction

(Approx. 335 tons of steel, 4.7 tons of copper, 1,200 tons of concrete, 3 tons of Aluminum, and 2 tons of rare earth minerals.)*

High maintenance costs Present a serious threat to migrating fowl, ice throw,

failures…

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) Gearbox and generator can be ground located for

easy access, tower supports less weight Effective in gusty, shifting winds Blades rotate slower and more visibly to birds, at

lower sound levels than HAWTs As ‘Not in My Back Yard’ is a real roadblock to

turbine proliferation in the U.S., VAWTs have tremendous promise in minimal visual and environmental impact.

New research shows 21 to 47 watts of power per m2 of land use - even with 50% of the mechanical efficiency of best HAWTs. (1)

Current Turbine and Farm DesignContinued

Most datasets available represent 50-80m, surely this varies from ground-level velocities… so how do I estimate the energy density

of wind where VAWTs would typically operate? Finding more extensive ground-level data via Bureau of Land

Management, USGS, WindAlert.com, AMS… collecting my own readings at multiple locations and comparing with

all of the data records I can amass. I’m interested in any other wind-data resources you can suggest!

An average velocity could be derived for a locale, for further calculation

“the global wind power available 30 feet off the ground is greater than the world's electricity usage, several times over” (1)

Arriving at qualitative wind data for siting and modeling a VAWT

installation.

A series of calculations will lead me to find that the wind power density, P/A or wind power per unit area is:

Where ρ (Rho) represents air density and U its velocity. Wind power (P) is thus proportional to the rotor area (A)

swept by wind.This will provide a baseline figure to compare with

results from my scale representation.

Determining Wind Energy and Array productivity

Analyzing VAWT Arrangements

“…these results are a compelling call for further research on alternatives to the wind-energy status

quo.”-J. Dabiri

Follow my latest findings via SlideCast at:http://www.slideshare.net/ZBaugher

Deliverables

Final Research Proposal

Searchable excel wind/power potential-

database

Scale test bed/ Interactive visual aid

Final Report to involved parties, class.

Thanks for your time!

Happy Holidays!