Wind/Hybrid Electricity Applications

Abstract

Wind energy is widely recognized as the most efficient and cost effective form of new renewable energy available in the Midwest. New utility-scale wind farms (arrays of large turbines in high wind areas producing sufficient energy to serve thousands of homes) rival the cost of building new conventional forms of combustion energy plants, gas, diesel and coal power plants. Wind energy is not subject to the inflationary cost of fossil fuels. Wind energy can also be very attractive to residential and commercial electric customers in high wind areas who would like to be more self-sufficient for their energy needs. And wind energy is friendly to the environment at a time when there is increasing concern about pollution and climate change. However, wind energy is an intermittent source of power. Most wind turbines start producing small amounts of electricity at about 8-10 mph (4 meters per second) of wind speed. The turbine does not reach its rated output until the wind reaches about 26-28 mph (12 m/s). So what do you do for power when the output of the wind turbine is not sufficient to meet the demand for energy? This paper will discuss wind hybrid technology options that mix wind with other power sources and storage devices to help solve this problem. This will be done on a variety of scales on the impact of wind energy on the utility system as a whole, and on the commercial and small-scale residential applications. The average cost and cost-benefit of each application along with references to manufacturers will be given. Emerging technologies that promise to shape the future of renewable energy will be explored as well.