WIND TURBINES

Wind turbines are manufactured in a wide range of vertical and horizontal axis. The
smallest turbines are used for applications such as battery charging for auxiliary power for boats
or caravans or to power traffic warning signs. Slightly larger turbines can be used for making
contributions to a domestic power supply while selling unused power back to the utility supplier
via the electrical grid. Arrays of large turbines, known as wind farms, are becoming an
increasingly important source of intermittent renewable energy and are used by many countries
as part of a strategy to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. One assessment claimed that, as of
2009, wind had the "lowest relative greenhouse gas emissions, the least water consumption
demands and... the most favourable social impacts" compared to photovoltaic, hydro,
geothermal, coal and gas

Efficiency

Conservation of mass requires that the amount of air entering and exiting a turbine must
be equal. Accordingly, Betz's law gives the maximal achievable extraction of wind power by a
wind turbine as 16/27 (59.3%) of the total kinetic energy of the air flowing through the
turbine.[15]

The maximum theoretical power output of a wind machine is thus 16/27 times the kinetic energy
of the air passing through the effective disk area of the machine. If the effective area of the disk
is A, and the wind velocity v, the maximum theoretical power output P is:

Wind-to-rotor efficiency (including rotor blade friction and drag) are among the factors
impacting the final price of wind power.[16] Further inefficiencies, such as gearbox losses,
generator and converter losses, reduce the power delivered by a wind turbine. To protect
components from undue wear, extracted power is held constant above the rated operating speed
as theoretical power increases at the cube of wind speed, further reducing theoretical efficiency.
In 2001, commercial utility-connected turbines deliver 75% to 80% of the Betz limit of power
extractable from the wind, at rated operating speed.[17][18][needs update]

Efficiency can decrease slightly over time, one of the main reasons being dust and insect
carcasses on the blades which alters the aerodynamic profile and essentially reduces the lift to
drag ratio of the airfoil. Analysis of 3128 wind turbines older than 10 years in Denmark showed
that half of the turbines had no decrease, while the other half saw a production decrease of 1.2%
per year.[19] Ice accretion on turbine blades has also been found to greatly reduce the efficiency
of wind turbines, which is a common challenge in cold climates where in-cloud icing and
freezing rain events occur.[20] Vertical turbine designs have much lower efficiency than standard
horizontal designs.[21]

Design and construction

Wind turbine design is a careful balance of cost, energy output, and fatigue life. These
factors are balanced using a range of computer modeling techniques

Components

Wind turbines convert wind energy to electrical energy for distribution. Conventional
horizontal axis turbines can be divided into three components:

 The rotor, which is approximately 20% of the wind turbine cost, includes the blades for
converting wind energy to low speed rotational energy.
 The generator, which is approximately 34% of the wind turbine cost, includes the electrical
generator, the control electronics, and most likely a gear box (e.g. planetary gear box),
adjustable-speed drive or continuously variable transmission component for converting the
low-speed incoming rotation to high-speed rotation suitable for generating electricity.
 The surrounding structure, which is approximately 15% of the wind turbine cost, includes
the tower and rotor yaw mechanism.
Nacelle of a wind turbine

A 1.5 (MW) wind turbine of a type frequently seen in the United States has a tower 80
meters (260 ft) high. The rotor assembly (blades and hub) weighs 22,000 kilograms (48,000 lb).
The nacelle, which contains the generator, weighs 52,000 kilograms (115,000 lb). The concrete
base for the tower is constructed using 26,000 kilograms (58,000 lb) reinforcing steel and
contains 190 cubic meters (250 cu yd) of concrete. The base is 15 meters (50 ft) in diameter and
2.4 meters (8 ft) thick near the center.[43]

Supply

A study of the material consumption trends and requirements for wind energy in Europe
found that bigger turbines have a higher consumption of precious metals but lower material input
per kW generated. The current material consumption and stock was compared to input materials
for various onshore system sizes. In all EU countries the estimates for 2020 exceeded and
doubled the values consumed in 2009. These countries would need to expand their resources to
be able to meet the estimated demand for 2020. For example, currently the EU has 3% of world
supply of fluorspar and it requires 14% by 2020. Globally, the main exporting countries are
South Africa, Mexico and China. This is similar with other critical and valuable materials
required for energy systems such as magnesium, silver and indium. In addition, the levels of
recycling of these materials is very low and focusing on that could alleviate issues with supply in
the future. It is important to note that since most of these valuable materials are also used in other
emerging technologies, like LEDs, PVsand LCDs, it is projected that demand for them will
continue to increase.[53]

A report by the United States Geological Survey estimated the projected materials
requirement in order to fulfill the US commitment to supplying 20% of its electricity from wind
power by 2030. They did not address requirements for small turbines or offshore turbines since
those were not widely deployed in 2008, when the study was created. They found that there are
increases in common materials such as cast iron, steel and concrete that represent 2–3% of the
material consumption in 2008. Between 110,000 and 115,000 metric tons of fiber glass would be
required annually, equivalent to 14% of consumption in 2008. They did not see a high increase in
demand for rare metals compared to available supply, however rare metals that are also being
used for other technologies such as batteries which are increasing its global demand need to be
taken into account. Land, which might not be considered a material, is an important resource in
deploying wind technologies. Reaching the 2030 goal would require 50,000 square kilometers of
onshore land area and 11,000 square kilometers of offshore. This is not considered a problem in
the US due to its vast area and the ability to use land for farming and grazing. A greater
limitation for the technology would be the variability and transmission infrastructure to areas of
higher demand.

Permanent magnets for wind turbine generators contain rare earth metals such
as Nd, Pr, Tb, and Dy. Systems that use magnetic direct drive turbines require higher amounts of
rare metals. Therefore, an increase in wind production would increase the demand for these
resources. It is estimated that the additional demand for Nd in 2035 may be 4,000 to 18,000 tons
and Dy could see an increase of 200 to 1200 tons. These values represent a quarter to half of
current production levels. However, since technologies are developing rapidly, driven by supply
and price of materials these estimated levels are extremely uncertain.[55]

Reliance on rare earth minerals for components has risked expense and price volatility as
China has been main producer of rare earth minerals (96% in 2009) and had been reducing its
export quotas of these materials.[56] In recent years, however, other producers have increased
production of rare earth minerals and China has removed its reduced export quota on rare earths
leading to an increased supply and decreased cost of rare earth minerals, increasing the viability
of the implementation of variable speed generators in wind turbines on a large scale.[57]

Due to increased technology and wide implementation, the global glass fiber market might reach
US$17.4 billion by 2024, compared to US$8.5 billion in 2014. Since it is the most widely used
material for reinforcement in composites around the globe, the expansion of end use applications
such as construction, transportation and wind turbines has fueled its popularity. Asia Pacific held
the major share of the global market in 2014 with more than 45% volume share. However China
is currently the largest producer. The industry receives subsidies from the Chinese government
allowing them to export it cheaper to the US and Europe. However, due to the higher demand in
the near future some price wars have started to developed to implement anti dumping strategies
such as tariffs on Chinese glass fiber.[58]

Wind turbines on public display

A few localities have exploited the attention-getting nature of wind turbines by placing
them on public display, either with visitor centers around their bases, or with viewing areas
farther away.[59] The wind turbines are generally of conventional horizontal-axis, three-bladed
design, and generate power to feed electrical grids, but they also serve the unconventional roles
of technology demonstration, public relations, and education.

Small wind turbines

Small wind turbines may be used for a variety of applications including on- or off-grid
residences, telecom towers, offshore platforms, rural schools and clinics, remote monitoring and
other purposes that require energy where there is no electric grid, or where the grid is unstable.
Small wind turbines may be as small as a fifty-watt generator for boat or caravan use. Hybrid
solar and wind powered units are increasingly being used for traffic signage, particularly in rural
locations, as they avoid the need to lay long cables from the nearest mains connection
point.[60] The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
defines small wind turbines as those smaller than or equal to 100 kilowatts.[61] Small units often
have direct drive generators, direct current output, aeroelastic blades, lifetime bearings and use a
vane to point into the wind.