Low Wind Speed Turbine Project Phase II: The Application of Medium-Voltage Electrical Apparatus to the Class of Variable Speed Multi-Megawatt Low Wind Speed Turbines; 15 June 2004--30 April 2005

Research output: NRELSubcontract Report

Abstract

Kilowatt ratings of modern wind turbines have progressed rapidly from 50 kW to 1,800 kW over the past 25 years, with 3.0- to 7.5-MW turbines expected in the next 5 years. The premise of this study is simple: The rapid growth of wind turbine power ratings and the corresponding growth in turbine electrical generation systems and associated controls are quickly making low-voltage (LV) electricaldesign approaches cost-ineffective. This report provides design detail and compares the cost of energy (COE) between commercial LV-class wind power machines and emerging medium-voltage (MV)-class multi-megawatt wind technology. The key finding is that a 2.5% reduction in the COE can be achieved by moving from LV to MV systems. This is a conservative estimate, with a 3% to 3.5% reduction believedto be attainable once purchase orders to support a 250-turbine/year production level are placed. This evaluation considers capital costs as well as installation, maintenance, and training requirements for wind turbine maintenance personnel. Subsystems investigated include the generator, pendant cables, variable-speed converter, and padmount transformer with switchgear. Both current-source andvoltage-source converter/inverter MV topologies are compared against their low-voltage, voltage-source counterparts at the 3.0-, 5.0-, and 7.5-MW levels.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages119
StatePublished - 2005

Bibliographical note

Work performed by Behnke, Erdman & Whitaker (BEW) Engineering, San Ramon, California

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/SR-500-38686

Keywords

  • COE
  • cost of energy
  • low wind speed
  • low wind speed turbine project
  • variable speed
  • wind energy
  • wind turbines

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