Thesis (Ph.D)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Ronald G. Harley; Committee Member: David G. Taylor; Committee Member: Deepakraj M. Divan; Committee Member: Ganesh Kumar Venayagamoorthy; Committee Member: Thomas G. Habetler. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

This thesis combines measurements with the development of simulation tools for vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT). Numerical models of aerodynamic blade forces are developed and validated against experiments. The studies were made on VAWTs which were operated at open sites. Significant progress within the modeling of aerodynamics of VAWTs has been achieved by the development of new simulation tools and by conducting experimental studies.         An existing dynamic stall model was investigated and further modified for the conditions of the VAWT operation. This model was coupled with a streamtube model and assessed against blade force measurements from a VAWT with curved blades, operated by Sandia National Laboratories. The comparison has shown that the accuracy of the streamtube model has been improved compared to its previous versions. The dynamic stall model was further modified by coupling it with a free vortex model. The new model has become less dependent on empirical constants and has shown an improved accuracy.     Unique blade force measurements on a 12 kW VAWT were conducted. The turbine was operated north of Uppsala. Load cells were used to measure the forces on the turbine. A comprehensive analysis of the measurement accuracy has been performed and the major error sources have been identified. The measured aerodynamic normal force has been presented and analyzed for a wide range of operational conditions including dynamic stall, nominal operation and the region of high flow expansion. The improved vortex model has been validated against the data from the new measurements. The model agrees quite well with the experiments for the regions of nominal operation and high flow expansion. Although it does not reproduce all measurements in great detail, it is suggested that the presented vortex model can be used for preliminary estimations of blade forces due to its high computational speed and reasonable accuracy.

Wind power is the fastest growing sector of electricity generation in the world and the development of offshore wind resources is an increasingly important component of this growth. While more than 1.5GW have been installed in Europe and China, no turbines have been installed in United States waters even though several have been planned. Offshore wind power development in the United States must contend with significant challenges. There are numerous technical considerations including geological issues and undefined environmental conditions that affect the determination of appropriate design loads. Technological advancements are needed, and logistical questions must be addressed. The regulatory structure can be confusing and most permitting frameworks are not well established. Offshore wind projects are capital intensive and concerns exist that the industry will not be able to achieve a suitable economy of scale. Additionally, concerns about offshore wind impacts cross many areas such as the environment, visual and cultural concerns, navigational issues, and competing uses. This research project examines the technical issues of American offshore wind power and models basic project costs to provide an estimate of the total net present value for hypothetical utility-scale offshore wind projects in the United States. Costs have been examined by building a cost model and employing traditional cash flow analysis, regression, design of experiments, and random sampling techniques. / text

Deploying wind power to a larger extent is one solution to reduce negative environmental impacts of electric power supply. However, various challenges are connected with increasing wind power penetration levels. From the perspective of transmission system operators, this includes balancing of varying as well as - to some extent - uncertain generation levels. From the perspective of power generating companies, changes in the generation mix will affect the market's merit order and, hence, their profits. This thesis focuses on provision and use of flexibility in the Nordic electricity market. First, this thesis studies wind power variations and accuracy of wind power forecasts in Sweden using statistical methods. Even though today’s wind penetration levels are still low in Sweden, power systems and electricity markets have to cope with these characteristics of variations and forecast errors to a larger extent in future. Second, it investigates to which extent an increased exchange and use of flexibility that is available in the intraday time-frame could efficiently facilitate system balancing and whether this would also be profitable from the power generating companies' perspective. Here, a simulation model is developed that reflects important aspects of production planning and trading decisions in the intraday time-frame. In a first case study, it is shown that the benefits of internal rescheduling strongly depend on the costs to adjust production plans in the intraday time-frame as compared to real-time. In a second case study, it becomes evident that trading flexibility in the intraday time-frame can reduce the need for system balancing more efficiently than internal rescheduling within each balance responsible party. Motivated by the positive gains of intraday trading and the challenge of appropriately modelling continuous intraday markets, trading activity and price development on Elbas is investigated. The results provide insights into trading behaviour on a continuous intraday market and show that trading is not always in accordance to the power system's physical situation. To the extent to which better information and adaptations in the market design could improve the market participants' base for trading decisions, policy recommendations and further research questions areas suggested. / Att använda vindkraft i en större utsträckning är en möjlighet att minska elproduktionens negativa miljöpåverkan. Det finns dock också olika utmaningar med stora mängder vindkraft. Från ett systemperspektiv gäller det till exempel att hålla balansen mellan tillförsel och konsumtion av el. Från elproducenternas perspektiv bör vindkraftens påverkan på elmarknaden nämnas eftersom det påverka aktörernas vinster. Avhandlingen titta närmare in i hur man kan få tillgång till mer flexibilitet på produktionssidan. Avhandlingen består av tre delar. För det första undersöks variationer och prognosfel av vindkraft i Sverige med hjälp av statistiska metoder. Även om andel vindkraft hittills är låg i Sverige, behöver elsystemet och elmarknader i framtiden hantera samma egenskaper av själva variationer och prognosfel som idag men i en större utsträckning. För det andra undersöks hur den flexibiliteten som finns i tidshorisonten några timmar innan leveranstimmen kan utnyttjas för att integrera vindkraften på ett sätt som är både fördelaktigt från systemets och från aktörernas perspektiv. Undersökningen sker med hjälp av en simuleringsmodell som omfattar viktiga delar i produktionsplanering och intradayhandel. I en fallstudie uppvisas att vinster av intern omplanering är i högsta grad beroende på kostnadsskillnaden mellan omplanering några timmar innan leveranstimmen och anpassning av körscheman under själva leveranstimmen. Resultat av ytterligare en fallstudie uppvisar att det är betydligt billigare och mer effektivt att använda intradayhandel istället för intern omplanering för att utnyttja den befintliga flexibiliteten och för att reducera obalanser som systemoperatörer annars behöver ta hand om under leveranstimmen. Detta är en anledning till att undersöka handelsmönster på Elbas som är en intradaymarknad med kontinuerlig handel. En annan anledning till den här tredje delen är utmaningarna i att modellera kontinuerlig intradayhandel. Studien beskriver handelsaktiviteten på Elbas och hur priserna utvecklas under handelstiden. Ett resultat är att handeln inte alltid återspeglar den fysiska situationen i elsystemet. I den utsträckningen som ett snabbare informationsflöde och förändringar i marknadsdesignen kunde förbättrar aktörernas underlag för intradayhandel, föreslås förbättringar och öppna forskningsfrågor. / <p>QC 20150911</p> / Elektra 36141: Korttidsplanering av vatten-värmekraftsystem vid stora mängder vindkraft: System-perspektivet

Ištirti mažos galios horizontaliosios ašies vėjo jėgainės energetines charakteristikas ir nustatyti efektyvumo didinimo galimybes. / Survey energy characteristics of little capacity horizontal axis wind power plant and identify efficiency increase potential.

This thesis investigates the impact of integrating wind power into deregulated power systems. It includes a discussion of the history of deregulation and the development of Independent System Operators and Regional Transmission Operators and their role in managing deregulated power systems. A linear algebra optimization model is used to explore the impact of wind power on the operation of the BC and Alberta power systems. The model is used to evaluate the costs and benefits of reducing carbon emissions by adjusting transmission size concurrently with wind integration as well as the value of BC Hydro’s storage dams. Both drought and normal water year scenarios are considered.

The negative consequences of rising global energy use have led governments and businesses to pursue methods of reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and wind power represent two practical methods for mitigating some of these negative consequences. PHEVs use large onboard batteries to displace gasoline with electricity obtained from the grid, while wind power generates clean, renewable power that has the potential to displace fossil-fuel power generation. The emissions reductions realized by these technologies will be highly dependent on the energy system into which they are integrated, and also how they are integrated. This research aims to assess to cost of reducing emissions through the integration of PHEVs and wind power in three Canadian jurisdictions, namely British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta. An Optimal Power Flow (OPF) model is used to assess the changes in generation dispatch resulting from the integration of wind power and PHEVs into the local electricity network. This network model captures the geographic distribution of load and generation in each jurisdiction, while simulating local transmission constraints. A linear optimization model is developed in the MATLAB environment and is solved using the ILOG CPLEX Optimization package. The model solves a 168-hour generation scheduling period for both summer and winter conditions. Simulation results provide the costs and emissions from power generation when various levels of PHEVs and/or wind power are added to the electricity system. The costs and emissions from PHEV purchase and gasoline displacement are then added to the OPF results and an overall GHG reduction cost is calculated. Results indicate that wind power is an expensive method of GHG abatement in British Columbia and Ontario. This is due to the limited environmental benefit of wind over the nuclear and hydro baseload mixtures. The large premium paid for displacing hydro or nuclear power with wind power does little to reduce emissions, and thus CO2e costs are high. PHEVs are a cheaper method of GHG abatement in British Columbia and Ontario, since the GHG reductions resulting from the substitution of gasoline for hydro or nuclear power are significant. In Alberta, wind power is the cheaper method of GHG abatement because wind power is closer in price to the coal and natural gas dominated Alberta mixture, while offering significant environmental benefits. PHEVs represent a more expensive method of GHG abatement in Alberta, since substituting gasoline for expensive, GHG-intense electricity in a vehicle does less to reduce overall emissions. Results also indicate that PHEV charging should take place during off-peak hours, to take advantage of surplus baseload generation. PHEV adoption helps wind power in Ontario and British Columbia, as overnight charging reduces the amount of cheap, clean baseload power displaced by wind during these hours. In Alberta, wind power helps PHEVs by cleaning up the generation mixture and providing more environmental benefit from the substitution of gasoline with electricity.

As wind turbines have grown, new installation areas become possible. Placing wind turbines in forested landscapes introduce uncertainties to the wind resource estimation. Even though close-to-canopy processes have been studied intensively during the last thirty years, the focus has mostly been on exchange processes and the height span of the studies has been below the rotor of a modern wind turbine. This thesis contains analysis of new measurements from a 138 m high tower in a forested landscape. The previous knowledge of near-canopy processes is extended to the region above the roughness sublayer. It is shown that above the roughness sublayer, the surface layer behaves as over low vegetation, and Monin-Obukhov similarity is shown to hold for several variables. However, in stable stratification, effects that could be linked to the boundary layer depth are shown to be present in the measurements. These include wind turning with height, the behaviour of the turbulence length scale and the curvature of the wind profile. Two new analytical models are presented in the thesis. One is a flux-profile expression in the roughness sublayer, which allows for analytical integration of the wind gradient. The model suggests that the roughness-sublayer effect depends on stratification and that the aerodynamic roughness length changes with stability. A decrease of roughness length in stable stratification is confirmed with a new method to determine the roughness length using measurements from the 138 m tower. The other model determines the spectral tensor in stable stratification using analytical solution to the rapid distortion equations for stratified shear flow, with homogeneous stratification and shear. By using a formulation for the integration time of the distortions of an isotropic spectrum, a model is derived which provides the cross spectra of velocity and temperature at any two given points in space. Finally the existence of waves in the wind over forests is investigated and it is concluded that the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability can create waves which are coherent in time and exist over the entire height span of wind turbine rotors. Linear wave theory is shown to be able to explain certain features of the waves. / Vindforsk III, Wind power in forests / Vindforsk IV, Forest wind

Daktaro disertacijoje tyrinėjamos vėjo elektrinių balansavimo galimybės panaudojant energijos kaupimo sistemas ir sprendžiamas balansavimo galių valdymo uždavinys. Darbo metu buvo ištirta vėjo elektrinių prognozavimo paklaidų įtaka balansavimo galioms, sudaryti balansavimo galių valdymo ir energijos kaupimo sistemų dinaminiai modeliai ir nustatyti tokių sistemų parametrai vėjo elektrinių galių subalansavimui atsižvelgiant į valdymo signalo kitimo greitį ir balansuojančių elektrinių galios keitimo spartą. Darbo išvados ir sukaupta informacija yra reikšminga integruojant energijos kaupimo sistemas į automatinio generavimo valdymo sistemos darbą. Pasiūlyti sprendimai leidžia tiksliau nustatyti reguliavimo rezervo apimtis bei pagerinti sistemos režimo parametrų valdymo kokybę. / Wind power balancing using energy storage systems as well as balancing control strategies are investigated in the thesis. The wind power balancing options are expanded by proposed dynamic models according to control signal rate of change and power plants ramp rates. The influence of wind power forecasting errors to regulating power reserve was investigated. The required energy storage system parameters for wind power balancing were determined and the regulation intensity of conventional power plants was reduced. The results obtained in the thesis are useful for energy storage systems integration into the central automatic generation control system. The solutions proposed let to increase the determination accuracy of regulating active power reserves and improve the quality of the system control parameters.

An eight-lot residential subdivision in central Wairarapa is being developed to demonstrate the principles of sustainable resource management. Local energy sources for low and high grade use, including electricity sourced from proposed grid-integrated, on-site, distributed generation will supplement imported network electricity. A unique component is an internal loop grid for lot connection that interfaces with the local network through a single connection point. A decision model was designed as a decision-support tool for the development based on the annual supply-demand electrical energy balance, site infrastructure covenants and a range of economic and technology criteria. Solar and wind resources were assessed for potential supply of electricity to the community energy system. Three demand profiles were developed using supplied and estimated electrical demand data; and included assumptions on thermal performance of the houses, the use of low-grade heat, user behaviour, and appliance use. Supply and demand were analysed as daily average profiles by hour for each month of the year. The decision model outputs were designed to give a graphic view of the system options. The accompanying output datasets also enabled a number of scenarios for connection configurations, load management, and economic sensitivity to be explored for their impact on the communal approach to managing energy. The viability of the community energy system is significantly influenced by managing demand level in conjunction with system size, capital cost management, and tariffs for electricity import and export. Energy requirements could be best met in the short term by installing a site-wide mixed generation system of sized capacity between 5 and 11kW, supported by metering and information technology to deliver management data to the residents. Future research opportunities exist to continue monitoring technical, economic and social outcomes from this unique community development. Incentivising private investment in userfocussed energy innovations is an option for New Zealand to consider in the current climate of market-driven large scale electricity developments.