Course Abstract:
Wind power is the fastest growing source of renewable energy in the US, with an average annual rate of growth of 25% for the last five years. The reasons are clear: the energy source is free and nonpolluting and harnessing wind power helps reduce dependence on foreign fossil fuel supplies. This one-day seminar will look at the potential for wind power generation and the current turbine technology.
Topics will include:
1. Wind Power Overview.
A. Wind as a resource.
i. Where does it come from?
ii. What about its variability over time, over location?
iii. How much power can we expect to obtain from a location’s wind profile?
iv. How accurately can wind be forecasted?
B. Historical use of wind.
C. Current statistics on wind power generation, US and global.
2. Fluid Mechanics of Wind Power.
A. Motivation for understanding the fluid mechanics of wind turbines.
B. Introduction to the fundamentals of wind energy.
C. Energetics of wind turbines from a fluid mechanics standpoint.
D. Current status of research efforts at PSU.
E. Outlook and direction of future research on wind energy.
3. Modern Wind Turbine Generation Technologies and Applications.
A. Review of state-of-the-art WTG designs on the commercial market.
i. Small-scale wind versus utility-scale wind.
ii. Key components that comprise a modern wind turbine, illustrated by the Danish design.
B. Wind power plant design.
i. Collection system.
ii. Substation.
iii. SCADA.
C. Wind facility siting, permitting, and regulatory considerations.
D. Current projects.
Presenters:
1. David Sailor, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Portland State University.
2. Raul Bayoan Cal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Portland State University.
3. Steven Saylors, P.E., Chief Electrical Engineer at Vestas Americas.
