3 ms·
Seems like the turbines rows should be positioned in alternating CW and CCW rows in order to benefit from a potentially substantial (up to 23%) increase in effi
by close04 6y ago
Seems like the turbines rows should be positioned in alternating CW and CCW rows in order to benefit from a potentially substantial (up to 23%) increase in efficiency in the downwind turbine(s) during the night.
But I wonder is the tradeoff is worth it. There would definitely be increased costs with always building 2 mirror versions of the same turbine blades. The logistical effort would also likely increase.
This [0] is the cost breakdown for manufacturing blades. Unfortunately it's hard to tell how much "up to 23% at night" translates to in real life gains.
100 turbines' worth of tooling costs $250K-$1.5M. Two sets of these being recouped from the efficiency improvement alone is a tough sell. Building 10% more "regular" turbines might be cheaper and provide more output. Unless you really need to get the max efficiency out of the lowest number of turbines.
Perhaps as manufacturing gets cheaper, turbines get more popular, we run out of good places to put them and need to max out efficiency, and we get decent energy storage options for night-time generated power this will make more sense.
[0] https://windpower.sandia.gov/other/031428.pdf https://windpower.sandia.gov/other/031428.pdf
- ninju 6y agoAny initial additional costs during construction/installation should be easily recouped in short period of usage allowing for net gains after that point for rest of the lifetime of the turbine
- Someone 6y agoI think that, at the scale we will be building wind turbines, and given the relative scarcity of areas with good wind, having separate production lines will be worth it, even if the difference is ‘only’ about 5%.
- close04 6y agoI agree, it will make more sense when we run out of improvements and upgrading turbines is the only way to squeeze more. It's a very high hanging fruit.
- starpilot 6y agoThere are some massive simulations to determine turbine siting, check it out: https://www-gs.llnl.gov/energy-homeland-security/windpower/technology https://www-gs.llnl.gov/energy-homeland-security/windpower/t... Terrain, weather, etc. all affect power capture.
- sp1107 6y agoShould they really build mirror versions? Can’t they just rotate alternate turbines by 180 degree to achieve the same?
- qsolo 6y agoIf I understand you correctly, you are asking if wind turbines can operate with the wind blowing from behind them? Wind turbine's are designed and built with wind coming in front of them. I am unaware of any designs that would work from both directions (horizontal axis wind turbines of course).
- _Microft 6y agoThe rotor is upwind because the blades would be subjected to frequent jerks when they enter and leave the wake of the tower otherwise.