Performance analysis of renewable energy sources

Date

1997-05

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech University

Abstract

Renewable energy such as wind and solar is a clean source of energy that can be integrated with convention ways of producing energy. Power utility companies are looking at ways to integrate renewable energy with convention methods. The Central and South West (CSW) company is investigating the role of solar and wind energy in a utility system. Although CSW is a profit making company, the CSW renewable project is research based with a goal of helping the company understand renewable energy for future use.

The CSW project gives the opportunity to investigate the problems that are encounter when operating renewable energy sources and also to come up with solutions. One approach to help analysis a system is to develop model for the system. A mathematical model for a grid connected wind farm is developed and modeled in Mathcad. A circuit model representing a wind connected wind farm is also developed. The transient behavior of a wind farm under different conditions is also investigated. The availability of the turbines at the wind farm is calculated and the results are presented. The caused of blade passing and its effect on the turbine power and current is also investigated. The problems encountered since the turbines were on line will also be discussed. A method was developed which shows why the hub height wind velocity can be used to evaluate the power output of a wind farm.

Description

Citation