Abstract
The Wind has the potential as an alternative source of renewable energy. Natural wind from the earth’s atmosphere is captured before converted into mechanical energy and then electrical energy. This paper presents a comparison of the efficiency of the horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) and vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT). The efficiency is determined using SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation considering the wind scenario, a constant wind speed of 5 km/h with constant wind direction. It has been found that the drag coeffiecient of HAWT, VAWT–Savonius and VAWT– Darrieus are 0.5175, 0.2605 and 13.5622 respectively. This paper also proposes building a wind farm in Seamatan where the average wind speed is highest in Sarawak, Malaysia ranging from 4 km/h to 9 km/h.
Highlights
As early as 5000 B.C., wind energy was used to propel boats (4C Offshore, 2013a)
During World War II, a 1.25-megawatt wind turbine was made in Denmark known as the Grandpa’s Knob, purposely to fulfil the electricity demanded from the industry and homes (Aeolos Wind Energy Ltd., 2016; AWEC, 2015; Belarusian web portal on renewable energy, 2012; Charles, 2014; Clean Green Renewable Energy, 2016; David, 2010; GWEC, 2015)
Rotor blades are mostly made of carbon fiber to take advantage of its properties – lightweight, low density, and high stiffness, and the alternative materials that can be considered for small wind turbines are aluminum and fiberglass due to heavyweight and leads to material fatigue (World Wind Energy Association, 2014)
Summary
As early as 5000 B.C., wind energy was used to propel boats (4C Offshore, 2013a). Small scale wind plants are used to power farms and residences, while largescale plants used to generate electricity for industry. Due to the availability of cheap oil in the market during the time, has suspended the usage of the wind turbine as the main source of energy. In the 1980s, the wind farm was introduced in the market to reduce the cost of independent wind plants and increase production efficiency (IEC, 2016; Karen, 2012; Merle et al, 2016; Paul, 2012). The cost of installing wind power plants continuously decreased, which promoted wider usage of wind energy. Asia is the biggest wind energy harvester with about 41% of the world’s total wind turbine number, as China controls the wind industry market (GWEC, 2015; Rigzone, 2016). The rotor, generator, and gearbox are located on the base
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