Wind Power

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Researchers from the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton have devised a novel method for forming virtual power plants (VPPs) to provide renewable energy production in the UK. Small and distributed energy resources (DERs), such as wind farms and solar panels, have been appearing in greater numbers in the electricity supply network (Grid).
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Electrical energy storage is the obstacle preventing more widespread use of renewable energy sources. Due to the unpredictable nature of wind and solar energy, the ability to store this energy when it is produced is essential for turning these resources into reliable sources of energy. The current U.S. energy grid system is used predominantly for distributing energy and allows little flexibility for storage of excess or a rapid dispersal on short notice. Drexel University researchers believe they have a solution.
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Offshore wind is an enormous potential resource for the United States - with strong, consistent winds located in the Atlantic, Pacific, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico. As part of a planned six-year $180 million initiative, an initial $20 million will be available from the DOE this year as the first step in supporting up to four innovative offshore wind energy installations across the U.S.
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Sandia National Laboratory researchers have developed a family of liquid salt electrolytes - known as MetILs - that could lead to better batteries and well as devices that can help incorporate large-scale intermittent renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, into the nation’s electric grid.
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Power generated by a wind turbine largely depends on wind speed. In a wind farm in which the turbines experience the same wind speeds but different shapes, such as turbulence, to the wind profile, a turbine will produce different amounts of power. Two researchers say that this variable power can be predicted by looking at atmospheric stability.
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A new superconducting current limiter based on YBCO strip conductors has been installed at a power plant. At the Boxberg power plant of the Swedish company Vattenfall, the current limiter protects the grid for own consumption that is designed for 12,000 volts and 800 amperes against damage due to short circuits and voltage peaks.
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A new geospatial application developed by the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) allows users to map potential renewable energy resources in the United States. The interactive tool is called RE Atlas, and is free to use and available online.
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A miniature turbine measuring just 10 inches high is helping a research team led by Hui Hu - an Iowa State University associate professor of aerospace engineering - understand how hills, valleys, and the placement of turbines affect the productivity of onshore wind farms.
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Powerex (Youngwood, PA) has introduced IGBTs from 300A/1200V - 800A/1200V in conventional packages, allowing users an easy upgrade path for increased system ratings and/or improved reliability due to the increased allowable operating junction temperature. Applications include motor drives, fuel cells, and wind and solar inverters.
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Artificial photosynthesis is the process of converting carbon dioxide gas into useful carbon-based chemicals - most notably fuel or other compounds usually derived from petroleum - as an alternative to extracting them from biomass. An Illinois research team has produced a catalyst that improves the process.
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Smart Power Systems, Inc. (Baltimore, MD) has developed a 25-kW single-phase bi-directional inverter. The SPS-Pavan 25 features minimum harmonic point tracking to reduce harmonic distortion and a unity power factor operation while drawing or supplying power into a single-phase grid.
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The latest issue of Solar & Wind Power has more new feature articles, application stories, tech briefs, videos, products, technologies available for licensing, and research news - all on the latest advances in renewable energy.
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Researchers from California Institute of Technology have been conducting a field tests at an experimental two-acre wind farm in northern Los Angeles County. The farm, known as the Field Laboratory for Optimized Wind Energy (FLOWE), houses 24 10-meter-tall, 1.2-meter-wide vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) - turbines that have vertical rotors.
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Batteries could get an upgrade from an Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovery that increases power, energy density, and safety while reducing charge time. The results could also have significance for applications in stationary energy storage systems for solar and wind power, and for smart grids.
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Inverters/converters are a key element of most renewable energy systems where the power generated is not suitable to either be used locally or to provide power directly to the electric utility. Many renewable sources such as photovoltaics generate DC power, while some renewable sources such as wind turbine systems generate AC, but not at the same voltage and/or frequency required by the utility.
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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers have used a common protein to guide the design of a material that can make hydrogen gas. The synthetic material works ten times faster than the original protein found in water-dwelling microbes - clocking in at 100,000 molecules of hydrogen gas every second.
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The latest issue of Solar & Wind Power has more new feature articles, application stories, tech briefs, videos, products, and research news - all on the latest advances in renewable energy.
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An important aspect of wind power plant impact studies is to evaluate the short-circuit current (SCC) contribution of the plant into the transmission network under various fault conditions such as single, two, and three-phase faults in different network locations.
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Remote villages without access to the power grid must rely on diesel or petroleum generators for electricity, which means they have power only when they can get fuel. Windlift develops portable airborne wind energy (AWE) technology for post-conflict reconstruction, disaster relief, and third-world development.
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Marine Innovation & Technology (MI&T) used digital prototyping software from Autodesk to develop the WindFloat^TM - a small, floating platform capable of supporting large offshore wind turbines - in previously inaccessible locations where water depth exceeds 50m and wind resources are superior.
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Join DOE's Wind Powering America initiative on Wednesday, July 20th, at 3:00PM EDT for an educational webinar. With the release of the Wind Energy Benefits fact sheet, three team speakers will discuss the myths and benefits of wind energy.
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Acoustics researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia are developing a computer model to predict the noise output from wind farms so they can accurately and quickly assess the effectiveness of potential noise-reducing designs and control methods.
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You might think a wind turbine would have more in common with a plane’s propeller than an aircraft wing, but wind blades actually behave a lot more like wings than props. This fact has enabled a valuable spinoff from aerospace to wind energy involving the first software that NASA ever allowed to be commercialized as part of the Agency’s ongoing effort to transfer technology to U.S. business and industry.
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Though considered a promising large-scale energy storage device, the vanadium redox battery's use has been limited by its inability to work well in a wide range of temperatures and its high cost. New research indicates that modifying the battery's electrolyte solution significantly improves its performance - so much so that the upgraded battery could improve the electric grid's reliability and help connect more wind turbines and solar panels to the grid.
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The latest issue of Solar & Wind Power is here. Inside the March issue are more feature articles, tech briefs, application stories, and technologies for license - all on the latest alternative energy solutions.
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