Distributed Generation Drivetrain For High Torque Wind Turbine Applications

Publication Number:    CEC-500-2011-002

Abstract:

Designing wind turbines to reduce the cost of energy and increase the life of system components is a major goal of the wind industry. As the power rating of modern wind turbines increases, gearboxes are becoming increasingly expensive per kilowatt of rated power. Reducing the cost, size, and weight and increasing the reliability of the turbine gearbox and generator systems are critical elements toward achieving this goal.

The trend toward large turbines has resulted in very expensive gearboxes. These gearboxes are more expensive per kilowatt than smaller turbines due to the large increase in rotor shaft torque. The rotor torque increases as the cube of the rotor diameter while the power increases with the square of the diameter. This is due to the constrained rotational speed of large wind turbines due to aero‐acoustic noise. The rotor torque increases as the cube of the rotor diameter increases in size; therefore, resulting in an increase of the produced power. Multiple generator drive train configurations can reduce the drivetrain cost for large turbines while improving reliability and increasing energy capture.

The distributed generation drivetrain development program engineers, builds, and tests an optimized solution to provide a cost‐effective, commercial‐scale (1.5 megawatt) drivetrain. The benefits of this program to California include advancement of the state‐of‐the‐art wind turbine technology, a reduction in the cost of energy from a non‐polluting, renewable energy resource, and the ability to reduce California’s dependence on fossil fuels and their associated negative environmental and health impacts.

Author(s):  Amir Mikhail

Commission Division:    Technology Systems Division - R&D, PIER (500)

Office/Program:    PIER: Public Interest Energy Research

PIER Program Area:    Renewable Energy Technologies

Date Report Completed:    January 2011

Date On Line:    01/03/2012

Acrobat PDF File Size: 87 pages, 6200 kilobytes