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Introduction: Modern Wind Energy and Its Origins

The re‐emergence of the wind as a significant source of the world’s energy must rank as one of the significant developments of the late 20th century. The advent of the steam engine, followed by the appearance of other technologies for converting fossil fuels to useful energy, would seem to have forever relegated to insignificance the role of the wind in energy generation. In fact, by the mid‐1950s that appeared to be what had already happened. By the late 1960s, however, the first signs of a reversal could be discerned, and by the early 1990s, it was becoming apparent that a fundamental reversal was underway. That decade saw a strong resurgence in the worldwide wind energy industry, with installed capacity increasing over fivefold. The 1990s were also marked by a shift to large, megawatt‐sized wind turbines, a reduction and consolidation in wind turbine manufacturers, and the beginning of offshore wind power (see McGowan and Connors, 2000). Since the start of the 21st century, this trend has continued, with European countries (and manufacturers) leading the increase via government policies focused on developing domestic sustainable energy supplies and reducing pollutant emissions.

To understand what was happening, it is necessary to consider five main factors. First of all, there was a need. An emerging awareness of the finiteness of the earth’s fossil fuel reserves as well as of the adverse effects of burning those fuels for energy had caused many people to look for alternatives. Second, there was the potential. Wind exists everywhere on the earth and in some places with considerable energy density. Wind had been widely used in the past, for mechanical power as well as transportation. Certainly, it was conceivable to use it again. Third, there was the technological capacity. In particular, there have been developments in other fields, which, when applied to wind turbines, could revolutionize the way they could be used. These first three factors were necessary to foster the re‐emergence of wind energy, but not sufficient. There needed to be two more factors, first of all, a vision of a new way to use the wind, and second, the political will to make it happen. The vision began well before the 1960s with such individuals as Poul la Cour, Albert Betz, Palmer Putnam, and Percy Thomas. It was continued by Johannes Juul, E. W. Golding, Ulrich Hütter, and William Heronemus, but soon spread to others too numerous to mention. At the beginning of wind’s re‐emergence, the cost of energy from wind turbines was far higher than that from fossil fuels. Government support was required to carry out research, development, and testing; to provide regulatory reform to allow wind turbines to interconnect with electrical networks; and to offer incentives to help hasten the deployment of the new technology. The necessary political will for this support appeared at different times and to varying degrees, in a number of countries: first in the United States, Denmark, and Germany, and now in much of the rest of the world.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of wind energy technology today, so as to set a context for the rest of the book. It addresses such questions as: What does modern wind technology look like? What is it used for? How did it get this way? Where is it going?

1.1 Modern Wind Turbines

A wind turbine, as described in this book, is a machine that converts the power in the wind into electricity. This is in contrast to a “windmill,” which is a machine that converts the wind’s power into mechanical power. As electricity generators, wind turbines are connected to some electrical network. These networks include battery‐charging circuits, residential‐scale power systems, isolated or island networks, and large utility grids. In terms of total numbers, the most frequently found wind turbines are actually quite small – on the order of 10 kW or less. In terms of total generating capacity, the turbines that make up the majority of the capacity are, in general, much larger – in the range of 1.5–15 MW. These larger turbines are used primarily in large utility grids, at first mostly in Europe and the United States and more recently in China, India, and elsewhere. An example of a modern wind turbine, the REpower 5M, is illustrated in Figure 1.1. This turbine was used as the conceptual basis for the NREL 5‐MW reference turbine, which is used as the basis of many examples throughout this text.

To understand how wind turbines are used, it is useful to briefly consider some of the fundamental facts underlying their operation. In modern wind turbines, the actual conversion process uses the basic aerodynamic force of lift to produce a net positive torque on a rotating shaft, resulting first in the production of mechanical power and then in its transformation to electricity in a generator. Wind turbines, unlike most other generators, do not have means to control the resource available to produce energy. It is also not possible to store the wind and use it at a later time. The output of a wind turbine is thus inherently fluctuating and non‐dispatchable. (The most one can do is to limit production below what the wind could produce.) Any system to which a wind turbine is connected must, in some way, take this variability into account. In larger networks, the wind turbine serves to reduce the total electrical load and thus results in a decrease in either the number of conventional generators being used or in the fuel use of those that are running. In smaller networks, there may be energy storage, backup generators, and some specialized control systems. A further fact is that the wind is not transportable: it can only be converted where it is blowing. Historically, a product such as ground wheat was made at the windmill and then transported to its point of use. Today, the possibility of conveying electrical energy via power lines compensates to some extent for wind’s inability to be transported. In the future, hydrogen‐based energy systems may add to this possibility.

Figure 1.1 Modern utility‐scale wind turbine (REpower 5M)

(Source: J. F. Manwell (Book Author))

1.1.1 Modern Wind Turbine Design

Today, the most common design of wind turbines, and the type which is the primary focus of this book, is the horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). That is, the axis of rotation is approximatively parallel to the ground. HAWT rotors are usually classified according to the rotor orientation (upwind or downwind of the tower), hub design (rigid or teetering), rotor control (pitch vs. stall), number of blades (two or three), and how they are aligned with the wind (free yaw or active yaw). Figure 1.2 illustrates the upwind and downwind configurations.

The principal subsystems of typical land‐based and offshore HAWTs are shown in Figure 1.3. In general, these include:

• The rotor, consisting of the blades and the supporting hub.
• The drivetrain, which includes the rotating parts of the wind turbine (exclusive of the rotor) and support bearings; it usually consists of shafts, gearbox, coupling, a mechanical brake, and the generator.
• The nacelle and main frame, including wind turbine housing, bedplate, and the yaw system.
• The support structure, foundation, and stationkeeping system (floating offshore).
• The machine controls.
• The balance of the electrical system, including cables, switchgear, transformers, and often electronic power converters.

The main options in wind turbine design and construction include:

• Number of blades (commonly two or three);
• Rotor orientation. Downwind or upwind of tower;
• Blade material, construction method, and profile;
• Hub design. Rigid, teetering, or hinged;
• Power control via aerodynamic control (stall control) or variable‐pitch blades (pitch control);
• Fixed or variable rotor speed;
• Orientation by self‐aligning action (free yaw), or direct control (active yaw);
• Synchronous or induction generator (squirrel cage or doubly fed); and
• Gearbox or direct drive generator.

Figure 1.2 HAWT rotor configuration

Figure 1.3 Major components of a horizontal axis wind turbine

A short introduction to and overview of some of the most important components follows. A more detailed discussion of the overall design aspects of these components, and other important parts of a wind power system, is contained in succeeding chapters of this book.

1.1.1.1 Rotor

The rotor consists of the hub and blades of the wind turbine. The blades produce aerodynamic forces from the wind. The hub provides for the attachment of the blades and carries the loads (forces and moments) to the main shaft.

Most turbines today have upwind rotors with three blades. There are some downwind rotors and a few designs with two blades. Single‐blade turbines have been built in the past, but none are still in production. Some intermediate‐sized turbines use fixed‐blade pitch and stall control. Most manufacturers use pitch control, and the general trend is the increased use of pitch control, especially in larger machines. The blades on the majority of turbines are made from composites, primarily fiberglass or carbon fiber‐reinforced plastics (GRP or CFRP), but sometimes...