Centralised Mt Wilson/Mt Irvine Power Options Task
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Centralised Mt Wilson/Mt Irvine Power Options Task: The purpose of this short paper is to examine the options for replacing the current Integral power lines with a sustainable power source(s) which will be a central generator which will be dispersed to all the houses in Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine. It is task of others to examine the generation of power on a local (house by house) mode. There appears to only be two general options for generating sufficient power for the community (both Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine), without relying on fossil fuel as currently – wind and solar. Background: The two villages consume about 500KW in average time and have a peak demand of 1MW . Any power solution must be able to provide 1MW continuously. Wind: Integral has installed two wind generators at Hartley. The facts concerning the Hartley wind farm are below: Name: Hampton Wind Park Owner: Hampton Wind Power Company – (Hugh Litchfield) / Wind Corporation Australia (CVC-REEF) / SEDA Installed: 2001 Details: 2 x 660 kW Vestas V–47 turbines Power Output: 1.32 MW, enough energy for approx. 470 homes Dimensions: 74 metres in total height, and with rotors of 47 metres in diameter. Each rotor consists of three blades and rotates at 28.4 revolutions per minute. The rotors do not turn in very low winds. They start turning when the wind sustains 4 metres per second (14 km/h) and reach nominal generation at 13-16 m/s (46-58 km/h). They stop turning at over 25 m/s (90 km/h) to avoid damage. Cost: $2.4m Project Manager and Engineer: Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) Commercial and financial management services and provision of funds: CVC REEF Power purchaser: Integral Energy EPC Contractor: Vestas Financing and commercial details : Wind Corporation Australia, the NSW Sustainable Energy Development Authority, Integral Energy and Hickory Hill Wind Energy, the landowner's company, are partners in the project. Wind Corporation Australia provided technical and commercial expertise as well as capital. SEDA provided initial financial assistance. Wind Corporation Australia received funding from the CVC Renewable Energy Equity Fund (REEF), a $26.5 million venture capital fund established by the Federal Government to increase investment in renewable energy technologies. Specific tasks undertaken by SKM included: • preliminary electrical design for the installation and preparation of specification and tender documentation for the electrical equipment and installation works • tender review and negotiations for the electrical equipment supply, electrical installation works, civil/structural and cranage contracts • investigation of future study options, and preparation of application for Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) Renewable Energy Industry Development funding • Grid Connection Agreement negotiations and technical review • coordination, planning and management of the site construction works, contract administration, review of commissioning and QA documents, resolution of construction issues and liaison with the network provider for the physical grid connection • liaison with local government, the project stakeholders and the local community. Name: Blayney Wind Farm Output: 10MW Details: 15 wind turbines, each with an electricity capacity of 660 kW. The height of the tower is approximately 43 metres above the ground and its approximate diameter is 3 metres at the base and 2 metres at the top. The tower is located on a reinforced concrete foundation with dimensions of about 10 metres x 10 metres. The foundation is located below ground level and after construction is backfilled with soil and then grassed. Each turbine is 3-bladed, about 47 metres in diameter and rotates at approximately 28 revolutions per minute when operating. The blades are constructed of a fibreglass material and are attached to a steel hub and drive. The turbine hub height is 45 metres above the ground. The nacelle is the housing, constructed of steel and fibreglass, that is mounted on top of the tower. The nacelle encloses the rotor bearing, gearbox, generator and controls. Weather monitoring equipment located on top of the nacelle provides data for the automatic operation of the wind turbine. The wind turbines have a control system that faces them into the wind so that the turbine is upwind of the supporting tower. The controls start the turbines at a wind speed of about 4 metres/second (15 kmh). The turbines reach full output at 16 metres/second (55 kmh) and the controls shut the turbines down for safety purposes when the wind speed reaches 25 metres per second (90 kmh). Name: Crookwell Wind Farm Operation since: July 1998 Details: There are eight turbines, each 45m high, with rotors over 44m in diameter. Each turbine has a 600kW capacity with a total generation of 4.8MW. Auto start-up will occur when wind speed exceeds 15 km/hour. 54 km/hour wind speed for maximum power, Auto cut-out mechanisms shut down the turbine in very high winds greater than 72 km/hour. 45 metre hub height from ground, 44 metre blade diameter, 28 rpm rotational speed, 360º directional movement of nacelle, 105m³ of reinforced concrete foundation, 36 tonne steel tower, 27.5 tonne nacelle, hub and blades (total) Conclusions Regarding Wind: The villages would only need a project the size of the Hampton Wind Farm – two turbines – one in Mt Wilson and one in Mt Irvine would work. I am concerned about the wind spends needed for operation. Wind amps are available (for a price) and the history of the Hampton project itself would be a good guide. However Integral are not currently measuring the output of Hampton so information is available from this source. Solar: Fundamentals: 1. Normal Solar Arrays: During a typical sunny day, an array of solar cells one metre square exposed to the sun at noon will receive approximately 1 kilowatt (kW) of power. BP Solar’s multicrystalline cells convert roughly 15% of this into electricity, hence 1m² of cells generates 150 electric Watts in full sunshine. Thus in order to generate 1MW of power using an array of solar cells 1000/0.15 = 6,666 sqm of solar cells would be needed. This is 0.67 of a hectare or a little over 1.5 acres. For example, SunPower Corporation's subsidiary, PowerLight Corp., has completed construction of Mungyeong SP Solar Mountain, a 2.2-megawatt (MW) solar electric power plant in Mungyeong, Korea. The plant is comprised of 10,500 panels and covers an area of approximately 43,000 square meters (4.3 hectares). Contrary to most people's intuition, solar electric panels actually generate more power at lower temperatures with other factors being equal. This is because solar cells are electronic devices and generate electricity from light, not heat. Like most electronic devices, solar cells operate more efficiently at cooler temperatures. In temperate climates, solar panels will generate less energy in the winter than in the summer but this is due to the shorter days, lower sun angles and greater cloud cover, not the cooler temperatures. 2. Solar Trough System Trough systems predominate among today’s commercial solar power plants. Because of their parabolic shape, troughs can focus the sun at 30 to 60 times its normal intensity on a receiver pipe located along the focal line of the trough. Synthetic oil captures this heat as the oil circulates through the pipe, reaching temperatures as high as 390°C. The hot oil is pumped to a generating station and routed through a heat exchanger to produce steam. Finally, electricity is produced in a conventional steam turbine. In the US, a 1 MW plant is being built by Arizona Public Service's at its Saguaro Power Plant and a 64 MW plant is being built in Eldorado Valley near Boulder City, NV. Solargenix is the prime contractor on both projects in conjunction with EERE/NREL. SHOTT North America is supplying the receivers. 3. Solar Dish/Engine Systems These systems, with net solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies reaching 30%, can operate as stand- alone units in remote locations or can be linked together in groups to provide utility-scale power Solar dish/engine systems convert the energy from the sun into electricity at a very high efficiency. Using a mirror array formed into the shape of a dish, the solar dish focuses the sun’s rays onto a receiver. The receiver transmits the energy to an engine, typically a kinematic Stirling engine (although Brayton-cycle engines are also being considered), that generates electric power. Because of the high concentration ratios achievable with parabolic dishes and the small size of the receiver, solar dishes are efficient at collecting solar energy at very high temperatures. Tests of prototype systems and components at locations throughout the United States have demonstrated net solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies as high as 30%. This is significantly higher than any other Example: Cloncurry Solar Power Station Cost: A$7 million Details: 10-megawatt power station would be able to generate electricity on rare cloudy days and at night from the station, which runs off heat stored in graphite blocks. 8,000 mirrors will reflect sunlight onto graphite blocks Water will be pumped through the blocks to generate steam which generates electricity via turbines. Heat stored in the graphite produces steam well after the sun goes down, allowing electricity generators to keep running at night Example: Keahole Solar Trough Project Sopogy is finally moving forward with the construction of its one-megawatt solar farm at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii after a year of working through state and county permitting processes. The Keahole Solar Power concentrated solar farm is situated in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. The project is using $10 million in state-backed special-purpose revenue bonds, approved during the 2007 legislative session.