A Colorado company is introducing a system that will allow wind turbines to generate power even when the wind is not blowing. The SmartGen hybrid gas-wind turbine enables wind turbines to produce energy at periods of low wind, by turning the turbine with compressed air generated at the base of the tower from a turbo-compressor that is run on natural gas or biogas.
Even more importantly, the SmartGen system can be retrofitted into existing wind turbines, allowing existing facilities to increase their performance. This is likely to be particularly compelling for installations seeking to extend their production while remaining free of fossil fuels. In areas where biogas production is also available nearby, a wind power facility that is generating renewable energy credits could likely also produce power from biogas in this manner as another form of renewable power and thereby remain 100% renewable energy based.
A smart clutch disengages the wind blades from the machinery when the compressor is engaged. The company also notes that the exhausted air from the air motor cools dramatically when it is released, which can help provide cooling for the generator nacelle and may even help prevent fires in the housing.
"Large wind turbines, even in good wind resource areas, typically generate rated power only 30% of the time because the wind blows intermittently or at a low wind velocity," according to the company. Utilizing other fuels to keep the turbines generating power means that the system better employs the investment in equipment, instead of having it sit idle for much of the time.
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written by Yaos, August 26, 2010
Why not just use the natural gas/biofuel directly? It would be more expensive to create generators that specifically use only those sources, than it is to fit them onto the turbines. Because it is only in use while the wind is not blowing hard enough, the compressor will not always be on, saving fuel costs.
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written by Daysi Gonzalez, August 27, 2010
What about putting a solar panel instead of natural gas to get the turbine to generate electricity while there is no wind.
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written by Glen McDiarmid, September 01, 2010
Rubbish. It is good if a wind generator or hybrid can generate electricity even with zero winds but this is the worst implementation I’ve ever seen. When I read the title I immediately thought that it would be a wind – flywheel combo. The flywheel combo has the advantage of making the most of gale force winds (4 times the wind speed = 64 times as much energy), plus it is a great way of avoiding over-speeding the blades, plus a very efficient way of getting the blades up to speed when the wind starts blowing in the morning (instead of requiring a battery and electric motor). Yet another advantage is that it involves less energy conversions – rotational energy stored as rotational energy. I found the following page from a google search:
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea...l_20combo
It was written six years ago.
Consider a hybrid system with 3 flywheels, with relative energy storage capacities of 1, 2 and 4. This provides a total of eight different load levels on the blades including zero. With 8 flywheels you'd get a range of 256 different load levels. In any case it's easy to maintain both a constant blade rotational speed and at same time, meet the demands of the grid 24/7, whether that be extremely low or exceedingly high.
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea...l_20combo
It was written six years ago.
Consider a hybrid system with 3 flywheels, with relative energy storage capacities of 1, 2 and 4. This provides a total of eight different load levels on the blades including zero. With 8 flywheels you'd get a range of 256 different load levels. In any case it's easy to maintain both a constant blade rotational speed and at same time, meet the demands of the grid 24/7, whether that be extremely low or exceedingly high.
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written by Trevor Lyn Whatford, September 01, 2010
Why use wind at all when you can use gravity 24/7,
by using the Geo Genny, its there if the G8 Governments want to develop it,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZTbIAQb2zM
by using the Geo Genny, its there if the G8 Governments want to develop it,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZTbIAQb2zM
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written by ray, September 15, 2010
OK, lets put alternating SmartGen and regular wind turbines across America. The SmartGen will turn the regular turbines like a fan.
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written by russ, September 28, 2010
Ecogeek comes up with some silly stuff from time to time (daily) but this one takes the cake!
Dreamed up by a third grader with a rather low IQ?
Dreamed up by a third grader with a rather low IQ?
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written by gary, October 12, 2010
The cut-away photo looks like a fluid driven turbine driving a Viking, or other positive displacement pump, thru a gear reducer. It certainly doesn't look anything like a generator of electrical power.
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written by Joel, October 12, 2010
I think that the more we save fossil fuel, the more we will protect the environment, and using the technology we
have and fully develop the consistence to use it,we as a race will start to be in valance with our planet, take advantage of our technology and use it to create safer surrounding for our next generation.
have and fully develop the consistence to use it,we as a race will start to be in valance with our planet, take advantage of our technology and use it to create safer surrounding for our next generation.
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written by Charlie Greenwood, October 12, 2010
Why not use the excess power to charge batteries, supercacitors or pump water uphill into a reservior?
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written by Peter Stratigos, October 12, 2010
The laws of physics are simple: No form of energy conversion is 100% efficient, therefore every time you convert one form of energy into another YOU LOOSE! Simple example: The heat generated by a transformer (or a motor) is waisted energy = inefficiency. That's why we cannot achieve perpetual motion...
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written by Allen Rogers, October 12, 2010
Windmills do create electricity - but VERY expensive electricity. The fact that other power plants must be on "hot backup" to enable instant switchover when the wind does not blow, increases costs tremendously, because the fuel consumed at "idle" is approx 25-35% of that at full load. Then there are the huge increases in maintenance costs because there are literally hundreds of times more of everything to keep running, compared to a normal gas or coal-fired power plant. In addition, there are the numerous failures associated with windmills. Just take a quick look at some of the You-Tube videos.
It would make much more sense (and cents) to build (gasp) nuclear power plants. One nuke plant sits on about 3/4 square mile of land, while the area required for a windmill 'farm' which produces the same amount of power takes over 100 square miles. Do the math folks.
It would make much more sense (and cents) to build (gasp) nuclear power plants. One nuke plant sits on about 3/4 square mile of land, while the area required for a windmill 'farm' which produces the same amount of power takes over 100 square miles. Do the math folks.
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written by Laurie Cook, October 13, 2010
Wind turbine towers: Why not make the towers out of a material such as steel and use the hollow structure as a chimney that the rising air within can run a turbine also improve efficiency by painting or anodising it black.
Laurie
Laurie
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written by Malcolm Bartlett, October 13, 2010
I agree with Allen, these wind-powered systems in general don't make good sense for large scale applications. I can imagine something like this being useful on a smaller scale, like a yacht. There you are often forced to hold waste (in a harbour) that could produce biogas, and every yacht has a wind turbine anyway. If the increase in efficiency could justify the cost, it would then make sense to utilize the extra energy available.
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written by kilo, October 13, 2010
I thought that the article would point out that when excess wind is available, the 'power' is 'stored' in form of compressed air or electricity to drive a compressor which will turn the turbine when wind is low or gone. I don't see why one cannot do that instead of the complications of a hybrid in this case.
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written by matt, October 13, 2010
Why not just shut off a few hundred thousand unnecessary street lights and fore go all of these options?
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written by John, October 14, 2010
The point is that you have a perfectly good turbine generator sitting idle with no wind blowing.
Solar would only be useful during the day.
Biogas is the least expensive and least complex
method. perhaps geothermal could also be used.
Solar would only be useful during the day.
Biogas is the least expensive and least complex
method. perhaps geothermal could also be used.
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written by Phil Heitz, October 14, 2010
Bio-Gas is a fact of life on planet earth. It is the result of decomposition of organic waste. Since it is basicly methane mixed with other noxious gasses such as hydrogen sulfide, it is not only a powerful greenhouse gas, but can be toxic in nature. That is why you see torches burning the gasses escaping from land-fill waste sites. That resulting heat can obviously be useful but is currently wasted.
The suggested plan is superior to some of the other alternative mentioned in the attached comments when you consider the fact that some wind generators are producing only 30% of what their potential would otherwise be. There is not enough stroage capacity from other "waste energy" sources to optimize output from these generatirs the opther 70% of the time when they are non-productive.
Question: How can the bio-gas be routed to the generators for use?
Piping it to the site is not very viable. The H2 gas is so caustic that piping would likely have a short life and the handling of the bio-gas becomes an expensive ordeal.
The suggested plan is superior to some of the other alternative mentioned in the attached comments when you consider the fact that some wind generators are producing only 30% of what their potential would otherwise be. There is not enough stroage capacity from other "waste energy" sources to optimize output from these generatirs the opther 70% of the time when they are non-productive.
Question: How can the bio-gas be routed to the generators for use?
Piping it to the site is not very viable. The H2 gas is so caustic that piping would likely have a short life and the handling of the bio-gas becomes an expensive ordeal.
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AUG 26
"Why not just shut off a few hundred thousand unnecessary street lights..."
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