Transformers & Generators – BEE304

Wind Power Generator

 Wind power or wind energy is the use of wind to provide the mechanical power through
wind turbines to operate electric generators.
 Wind power is a sustainable and renewable energy.
 Wind possesses energy by virtue of its motion.
 Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into electricity or mechanical energy using
wind turbines.
 Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power.
 A generator can convert mechanical power into electricity.
 Mechanical power can also be utilized directly for specific tasks such as pumping water.
The mechanism used to convert air motion into electricity is referred to as a turbine.
 The power in the wind is extracted by allowing it to blow past moving blades that exert
torque on a rotor.
 The rotor turns the drive shaft, which turns an electric generator.
 The amount of power transferred is dependent on the rotor size and the wind speed.

Wind Energy Conversion Systems:

In WECS, a wind turbine and an electric generator are used to produce electrical energy from
the wind. The prime mover and the wind turbine can be connected directly or through a
gearbox configuration. The rotor of the generator is connected to the prime mover, and the
stator is connected to the utility grid or separate loads via an appropriate power electronic
interface. For the utility grid, this system transforms mechanical energy into magnetic energy
and then electrical energy.
Mechanical Components
The mechanical components of a WECS include the rotor, the main shaft, gearbox, mechanical
breaks, nacelle, pitch and yaw drives, and wind measuring equipment,
1. Rotor: It is the most important component of a WECS. It is a large wheel that has blades
attached to it. The rotor is what captures the wind and turns it into mechanical energy.
2. Main Shaft: The main shaft is the shaft attached to the rotor. It is made of steel or
aluminum and connected to the gearbox.
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3. Gearbox: The gearbox is a device that increases the rotational speed of the rotor. It is made
of gears, and it is located in the nacelle.
4. Mechanical Breaks: Mechanical breaks are used to stop the rotor from spinning. They are
located in the nacelle and activated when the wind speed is too high.
5. Nacelle: The nacelle is the housing that contains all of the electrical and mechanical
components of the WECS. It is located at the top of the turbine, and it is made of steel or
aluminum.
6. Pitch and Yaw Drives: Pitch and yaw drives are used to adjust the angle of the blades. They
are located in the nacelle, and a computer operates them.
7. Wind Measuring Equipment: Wind measuring equipment is used to measure wind speed
and direction. It is located in the nacelle and consists of anemometers and wind vanes.
Electrical Components
The electrical components of a WESC include the generator, power converter, step-up
transformer, and wind farm collection points or points of common coupling.
1. Generator: A device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. It is located in
the nacelle and is connected to the main shaft.
2. Power Converter: The power converter is a device that converts DC into AC. It is located in
the nacelle, connected to the generator.
3. Step-up Transformer: The step-up transformer is a device that increases the voltage of the
electricity. It is located in the nacelle, connected to the power converter.

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4. Wind Farm Collection Points or Point of Common Coupling: Are used to collect the
electricity from the turbines. They are located at the turbine's base, and they are connected to
the power converter.

Classification of Wind Energy Conversion Systems:

(1) Based on axis
(a) Horizontal axis machines
(b) Vertical axis machines
(2) According to size
(a) Small size machines (upto 2k W)
(b) Medium size machines (2 to 100k W)
(c) Large size machines (100k W and above)
i. Single generator at single site
ii. Multiple generators
(3) Types of output
(a) DC output
i. DC generator
ii. Alternator rectifier
(b) AC output
i. Variable frequency, variable or constant voltage AC.
ii. Constant frequency, variable or constant voltage AC
(4) According to the rotational speed of the area turbines
(a) Constant speed and variable pitch blades
(b) Nearly constant speed with fixed pitch blades
(c) Variable speed with fixed pitch blades
(i) Field modulated system
(ii) Double output indication generator
(iii) AC-DC-AC link
(iv) AC commutator generator
(d) Variable speed constant frequency generating system

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(5) As per utilization of output

(a) Battery storage
(b) Direct conversion to an electromagnetic energy converter
(c) Thermal potential
(d) Inter convention with conventional electric utility guides

1. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT):

 Horizontal axis wind turbines have the main rotor shaft and electrical generator at the
top of a tower, and they must be pointed into the wind.
 Small turbine are pointed by a simple wind
vane placed square with the rotor (blades),
while large turbines generally use a wind
sensor coupled with a servo motor to turn the
turbine into the wind.
 Most large wind turbines have a gearbox,
which turns the slow rotation of the rotor into
a faster rotation that is more suitable to drive
an electrical generator.
 Since a tower produces turbulence behind it,
the turbine is usually pointed upwind of the
tower.
 Wind turbine blades are made stiff to prevent the blades from being pushed into the
tower by high winds.
 Additionally, the blades are placed a considerable distance in front of the tower and are
sometimes tilted up a small amount.
 Downwind machines have been built, despite the problem of turbulence, because they
don‘t need an additional mechanism for keeping them in line with the wind.
 Additionally, in high winds the blades can be allowed to bend which reduces their swept
area and thus their wind resistance.

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 Since turbulence leads to fatigue failures and reliability is so important, most HAWTs are
upwind machines.
Important points to remember
 Much lower cyclic stress
 95% of the existing turbines are HAWTs
 Nacelle is placed at the top of the tower
 Yaw mechanism is required
Advantages of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines:
 The tall tower base allows access to stronger wind in sites with wind shear.
 In some wind shear sites, every ten meters up the wind speed can increase by 20% and
the power output by 34%.
 High efficiency, since the blades always move perpendicular to the wind, receiving
power through the whole rotation.
Disadvantages of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines:
 Massive tower construction is required to support the heavy blades, gearbox, and
generator.
 Components of horizontal axis wind turbine being lifted into position.
 Their height makes them obtrusively visible across large areas, disrupting the
appearance of the landscape and sometimes creating local opposition.
 They suffer from fatigue and structural failure caused by turbulence when a blade
passes through the tower‘s wind shadow.
 HAWTs require an additional yaw control mechanism to turn the blades toward the
wind.
 HAWTs generally require a braking or yawing device in high winds to stop the turbine
from spinning and destroying or damaging itself.
2. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT):
 Vertical wind turbines (VAWTs), have the main rotor shaft arranged vertically.

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 The main advantage of this arrangement is that

the wind turbine does not need to be pointed
into the wind. T
 This makes them suitable in places where the
wind direction is highly variable.
 With a vertical axis, the generator and other
primary components can be placed near the
ground, so the tower does not need to support
it, also makes maintenance easier.
 The main drawback of a VAWT is that, it
generally creates drag when rotating into the
wind.
 It is difficult to mount vertical-axis turbines on towers, meaning they are often installed
nearer to the base on which they rest, such as the ground or a building rooftop.
 The wind speed is slower at a lower altitude, so less wind energy is available for a given
size turbine.
 Air flow near the ground and other objects can create turbulent flow, which can
introduce issues of vibration, including noise and bearing wear which may increase the
maintenance or shorten its service life.
 However, when a turbine is mounted on a rooftop, the building generally redirects wind
over the roof and this can double the wind speed at the turbine.
 If the height of the rooftop mounted turbine tower is approximately 50% of the building
height, this is near the optimum for maximum wind energy and minimum wind
turbulence.

Advantages of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine:

 No yaw mechanisms is needed
 A VAWT can be located nearer the ground, making it easier to maintain the moving
parts.
 VAWTs have lower wind startup speeds than the typical HAWTs.
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 VAWTs may be built at locations where taller structures are prohibited.

 VAWTs situated close to the ground can take advantage of locations where rooftops,
means hilltops, ridgelines, and passes funnel the wind and increase wind velocity.
VAWT Disadvantages:
 In contrast to HAWT, all vertical axis wind turbines efficiency is less.
 Having rotors located close to the ground where wind speeds are lower.

Advantages of Wind energy:

 Wind energy is a free.
 Renewable resource.
 Wind energy is also a source of clean, non-polluting, electricity.
 Low operation cost.
 Wind turbines can be located on land that is also used for grazing or even farming.
Disadvantages of Wind energy:
 A higher initial investment.
 Cost of the machinery is high.
 Environmental concerns.
 The noise produced by the rotor blades.
 Birds and bats having been killed (avian/bat mortality) by flying into the rotors.
 Good wind sites are often located in remote locations far from load centre.

Solar Power Generator

Solar Power Generator is a device which generates power from the sunlight, it converts
the solar energy into electrical energy. This is done either directly by Photovoltaic’s (PV) or
indirectly by concentrated solar power (CSP).

Components Required for solar power generator:

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Solar Cell:
 A solar cell (also known as a photovoltaic cell or PV cell) is defined as an electrical device
that converts light energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect.
 A solar cell is basically a p-n junction diode.
 Individual solar cells can be combined to form modules commonly known as solar
panels.
 The common single junction silicon solar cell can produce a maximum open-circuit
voltage of approximately 0.5 to 0.6 volts.
 A solar cell is basically a junction diode, although its construction is little bit different
from conventional p-n junction diodes.
 When light reaches the p-n junction, the light photons can easily enter in the junction,
through very thin p-type layer.
 The light energy, in the form of photons, supplies sufficient energy to the junction to
create a number of electron-hole pairs.
 The incident light breaks the
thermal equilibrium condition
of the junction. The free
electrons in the depletion
region can quickly come to
the n-type side of the
junction.

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 Similarly, the holes in the depletion can quickly come to the p-type side of the junction.
 Once, the newly created free electrons come to the n-type side, cannot further cross the
junction because of barrier potential of the junction.
 The p-n junction will behave like a small battery cell.

1. Solar Photo Voltaic Panel:

 It is the heart of the solar
power plant.
 Solar panels consists a
number of solar cells.
 It has many solar cells in
one panel.
 The energy produced by
each solar cell is very small,
but combining the energy
of all the cells we get
enough energy to charge a 12 volt battery.

2. Charge Controller
 A charge controller or charge regulator is basically a voltage and/or current regulator to
keep batteries from overcharging. It regulates the voltage and current coming from the
solar panels going to the battery.
3. Battery
 Batteries are used to store the energy produced during day, to be supplied during night.
4. Inverter
 Solar panels produce direct current which is required to be converted into alternating
current to be supplied to homes or power grid.
Working Principle:
 As sunlight falls over a solar cells, a large number of photons strike the p-type region of
silicon. Electron and hole pair will get separated after absorbing the energy of photon.
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 The electron travels from p-type region to n-type region due to the action of electric
field at p-n junction.
 Further, the diode is reversed biased to increase this electric field. So, this current starts
flowing in the circuit for individual solar cell.
 By combining the current of all the solar cells of a solar panel to get a significant output.
Advantages:
 It is an eco-friendly technique which in turn avoids global warming.
 It uses a complete renewable resource.
 It provides energy reliability.
 It is a cheap generator and saves millions dollar.
Disadvantages:
 Solar Cell and Solar panels which are required (Initial investment) are very expensive.
 Sun doesn’t shines 24 Hrs so you cannot get electricity every-time.
 It takes time to generate electricity.

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