Developing Wind Power Projects

lr;J
D E V E ·L 0 P I N G
WIND POWER ' .
PROJECTS j
THEORY & PRACTICE

Developing Wind Power Projects
Theory and Practice
Tore Wizelius
publishing for a sustainable future
London • Sterling, VA
First published by Earthscan in the UK and USA in 2007
Reprinted 2007, 2008, 2009 (twice)
Copyright© Tore Wizelius, 2007
This publication is adapted from the Swedish-language book Vindkraft: i teori och praktile (published
by Studentlitteratur, copyright ©Tore Wizelius and Studentlitteratur) and has been translated into
English by the author. This translation is published by arrangement with Studentlitteratur.
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-1-84407-262-0
Typeset by Composition and Design Services

Cover design by Susanne Harris
For a full list of publications please contact:
Earthscan
Dunstan House, 14a St Cross Street
London, EC1N 8XA, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7841 1930
Fax: +44 (0)20 7242 1474
Email: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk
Web: www.earthscan.co.uk
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA
Earthscan publishes in association with the International Institute for Environment and
Development
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wizelius, Tore.
[Vindlaaft i teori och praktik. eng]
Developing wind power projects : theory and practice I Tore Wizelius.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-84407-262-0 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 1-84407-262-2 (pbk.)
1. Wind power. I. Title.
TJ825.W59 2006
333.9'2--dc22
2006013771
At Earthscan we strive to minimize our environmental impacts and carbon footprint through reduc-
ing waste, recycling and offsetting our C02 emissions, including those created through publication
of this book. For more details of our environmental policv, see www.earthscan.co.uk.
This book was printed in the UK by MPG Books,

an ISO 14001 accredited company. The paper used
is FSC certified.
Contents
List ofboxes, figures and tables vu

Prefoce xm
Part I - Introduction to Wind Power

1 Wind Power Today and in the Future 3
2 Historical Background 7
3 Development of the Modern Wind Power Industry 19
Part II -Wind Energy

4 The Wind 33
5 The Power ofWind 47
6 Conversion ofWind Energy 61
Part HI - Technology
7 Types ofWind Turbine 73

8 The Wind Turbine Rotor 79
9 Nacelle, Tower and Foundation 93
10 Electrical and Control Systems 101
11 Efficiency and Performance 115
Part IV -Wind Power and Society

12 Wind Power Policy 127
13 Wind Power and the Environment 151
14 Wind Power Planning 167
15 Opinion and Acceptance 193
16 Grid Connection ofWind Turbines 205
VI DEVELOPING WIND POWER PROJECTS
Part V- Wind Power Project Development

17 Siting ofWind Turbines 221
18 Economics 241
19 Project Development 257
Acronyms and abbreviations 267

Glossary 269
Bibliography 277
Index 283
List of Boxes, Figures and Tables
Boxes
1.1 Wind power statistics 5
3.1 Types of wind turbines 24
3.2 The wind turbine 28
4.1 Weather and climate 33
4.2 Geostrophic wind 38
5.1 Power and energy 47
5.2 The power of wind 48
5.3 Wind measurements 52
5.4 Wind atlas programs 55
5.5 Wind speed at different heights 58
6.1 The wind in a stream tube 64
8.1 Blade twist 83
8.2 Power control 88
10.1 Control system functions 111
11.1 Generator efficiency 118
12.1 EU targets for renewable energy 132
12.2 The Swedish certificate system 143
12.3 Policy recommendations from RE-XPANSION 148
12.4 Subsidies to conventional power sources 149
13.1 Environment impact from wind turbines 152
13.2 Visual zones for wind turbines 166
14.1 Municipal planning in Thisted municipality in Denmark 169
14.2 Zoning criteria for regional planning, 1997-1998 183
14.3 Environment impact assessment 187
15.1 Results from opinion polls in selected countries 194
15.2 Opinion on wind power, selected areas 196
15.3 Four NIMBY attitudes 200
16.1 Power regulation 210
16.2 Power reserves 213
Vlll DEVELOPING WIND POWER PROJECTS
16.3 Wind prognoses 215

17.1 Estimation from a wind resource map 225
17.2 Wind power PC programs 230
Figures
2.1 Persian windmill 8
2.2 Mediterranean windmill 9
2.3 The Dutchman 11
2.4 Wind wheel as water pump 13
2.5 The wind pump 14
2.6 Battery charger 16
2.7 Grid-connected prototype 17
3.1 Middelgrunden offshore wind farm 26
3.2 Typical wind turbine structure 27
4.1 The Earth's coordinate system 34
4.2 Seasonal changes 35
4.3 Sea breeze 37
4.4 Annual variations of the geostrophic wind south of the island
of Gland on the Swedish east coast 38
4.5 The mean wind speed of the geostrophic wind over northern Europe 38
4.6 Wind gradient 40
4.7 Internal boundary layer 42
4.8 Turbulence from obstacles 43
4.9 Diagram for estimation of impact from obstacles 44
4.10 Hill impact 45
4.11 Increase of wind speed from hill impact 45
5.1 Frequency distribution of wind speed 50
5.2 The Weibull distribution 50
5.3 Yearly averages for the geostrophic wind in Sweden, 1881-1995 53
5.4 Variations in the wind's energy content, Denmark, 1875-1975 54
5.5 Wind atlas method 56
5.6 Wind resource map 57
6.1 Wind against stationary blade 61
6.2 Apparent wind direction 62
6.3 John Smeaton's experiment 63
6.4 Wind in a stream tube 64
6.5 Retardation of wind speed 65
6.6 Optimal retardation 66
6.7 Betz's law 66
6.8 Tip speed ratio diagrams 68
6.9 Aerofoil 69
LIST OF BoXEs, FIGURES AND TABLES rx
6.10 Lift 70
6.11 Stall 70
7.1 Types of wind turbines 73
7.2 The main components of a wind turbine 75
7.3 The Savonius rotor 76
7.4 Efficiency of the Savonius rotor 76
7.5 The Darrieus turbine 76
7.6 Giro mill 77
8.1 Wind turbine with two rotor blades 80
8.2 Wind turbine with one rotor blade 81
8.3 Relation between number of blades and tip speed ratio 82
8.4 Apparent wind direction along a rotor blade with
a wind speed of 9m/s 83
8.5 Lift and circumferential force 84
8.6 Aerofoil diagrams 85
8.7 Apparent wind direction and wind speed 86
9.1 Nacelle: Danish standard concept 94
9.2 Direct drive wind turbine 95
9.3 Hybrid concept 96
9.4 Gravity foundation 98
9.5 Offshore foundations 98
10.1 The moment curve of an asynchronous machine 102
10.2 Power curve for a wind turbine 104
10.3 Asynchronous generator with fixed speed 105
10.4 Grid adapted asynchronous generator 106
10.5 Wind turbine with two generators 107
10.6 Variable speed turbines 108
10.7 Turbine with direct drive ring generator 108
10.8 Asynchronous generator with rotor cascade coupling and
frequency converter 109
11.1 Development of rotor area and annual production 116
11.2 Growth through slimming 117
11.3 Ce-graph for a Siemens 1300 119
11.4 Power curve for a Bonus 600 MkiV 120
11.5 Bonus 1300kW- active stall control 121
11.6 Vestas V66, 1650kW with pitch control 121
12.1 Denmark's wind power policy 136
12.2 Sweden's wind power policy 137
12.3 Wind power plant operator categories in Denmark 145
12.4 Wind power plant operator categories in Germany 145
12.5 Competitiveness of wind power 146
12.6 External costs 147
13.1 Land requirement per MW 154
X DEVELOPING WIND POWER PROJECTS
13.2 Land requirement in relation to productivity 155

13.3 Sound propagation from a wind turbine 159
13.4 Model for shadow calculation 162
13.5 Siting of turbines in the landscape 164
13.6 Visual impact of wind turbines 165
14.1 Wind power plan in Thisted municipality 169
14.2 Unsuitable and conflict areas in Sweden 171
14.3 Plan for offshore wind power in the UK 173
14.4 Wind power areas in Tanum municipality 175
14.5 Wind turbines on Nasudden, Gotland 177
14.6 Wind power plan for southern Gotland 178
14.7 Rostock planning region 180
14.8 Areas excluded for nature and landscape protection 184
14.9 Suitable areas for wind turbines in the Rostock region 185
14.10 Municipal plan in Mistorf, Gross Schwiesow 186
14.11 Wind turbines in the Rostock area in 2005 188
14.12 Economic surplus vs distance to coast 191
15.1 Anti-wind power associations on the internet 193
15.2 Wind power promotion material for children 201
16.1 The electric power grid in northern Europe 207
16.2 Variations in power consumption, diurnal and weeldy 208
16.3 Annual variations in power consumption 208
16.4 Wind power variations 211
16.5 Smoothing effect 214
16.6 Production changes per hour 214
17.1 Power curve of the wind turbine (500kW nominal power) 226
17.2 Frequency distribution of the wind at hub height 226
17.3 The wind atlas method 228
17.4 Roughness classification in sectors 229
17.5 Wind data from a wind atlas program (WindPR02) 229
17.6 Shadow diagram from WindPRO 233
17.7 Wind wake 234
17.8 Wind farm configuration 236
17.9 Photomontage 237
18.1 Cash-flow diagram 252
18.2 Relationship between interest rate and pay-back time 253
19.1 Project development process 258
LIST OF BOXES, FIGURES AND TABLES XI
Tables
1.1 Global wind power capacity in 2005 (MW) 5
4.1 Roughness classes 43
11.1 Development of wind turbine sizes, 1980-2005 115
11.2 Key figures for wind turbines 123
12.1 Project size and EIA-demand in Sweden, Denmark and
Germany, 2005 128
12.2 Certificate quotas in Sweden 143
13.1 Environment impact from different energy sources 151
13.2 The contribution of wind power to reduction of environment
impact in the Nordic power system 153
13.3 Bird mortality from various causes in the US 157
13.4 Sound level from wind turbines/distances (m) 159
13.5 Sound immission according to different calculation models 160
13.6 Distance to 35, 40 and 45dBA 160
13.7 Recommended limits for sound immission in
different countries (dBA) 161
13.8 Maximum length of shadows from wind turbines 163
14.1 Wind power scenarios for Tanum municipality 174
14.2 Wind power in relation to area and population
in different countries, 2005 176
14.3 Minimum distances of wind turbines to dwellings 188
15.1 Public acceptance in Navarre 197
15.2 Belgian public perception of wind farm 6km off the coast 199
16.1 Wind power capacity and voltage level 212
16.2 Reserve requirement in the Nordic system 215
18.1 Cost structure for a wind farm on land vs offshore, o/o 244
18.2 Investment costs for 1MW wind turbine, 60m hub height 244
18.3 Specific costs per installed kW, 60m hub height 244
18.4 Relative cost of increased hub height, €/m 245
18.5 Annual O&M cost in relation to investment cost, 600kW turbine 246
18.6 Key figures for annual O&M costs, 1MW wind turbine 247
18.7 Key figures for annual O&M costs, specific costs per kW 247
18.8 Wind power divided into owner categories, Sweden 254
Preface
You don't have to be an engineer to install a wind turbine- there are reliable wind
turbines available that are ready to use, and installation is often included in the
price. However, to be able to choose the right kind of turbine for the right place,
obtain the necessary permissions and get a reasonable economic return on the in-
vestment, it is necessary to have a sound knowledge of meteorology, environment
laws and economics and a basic understanding of how wind turbines work.
To design and build a wind turbine it is not enough to be an engineer. It takes
at least five engineers with different specialities: one mechanical engineer, one
electrical engineer, one aeronautical engineer for design of the rotor blades, one
computer engineer to design the control system and, finally, a building engineer
to design the foundations.
Furthermore, to work with wind power it is not sufficient to learn how a wind
turbine operates from a technical point of view. It is just as important to be able
to estimate the wind resources at a specific site: the energy content of the wind
should always be the basis for a wind power project.
Commercial wind turbines today cost around a million euros or more, so it is
necessary to understand the project economics to ensure that the investment will
be profitable. It is also necessary to gain the relevant permissions from the appro-
priate authorities. Therefore it is important to know what impact wind turbines
could have on the environment and to be familiar with the laws and regulations
that govern the decisions made by the authorities. Finally, the local community
should also give their consent. To gain approval for a wind power plant it is vital
to inform those who will be affected by the installations and to talce their views
into serious consideration.
This book aims to provide guidance and the information required to develop
commercial wind power plants, through a combination of theory and practice.
Laws, rules and project economics will vary in different countries, and change so
often that these aspects are described in general terms. The reader should check
the specific regulations for the country they are working in.
The Swedish edition of this book, published in 2003, was produced with
support from the Swedish Energy Agency, which has contributed to the dissemi-
nation of knowledge about wind power not only in Sweden but also interna-
XIV DEVELOPING WIND POWER PROJECTS
tionally. I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Ann-Soft Smedman at

Uppsala University, who has scrutinized the facts in Chapters 4, 'The Wind' and
5, 'The Power ofWind'; to Bjorn Montgomerie, wind power researcher at FOI
(the Swedish defence research agency), who has checked the facts in Chapters 6,
'Conversion ofWind Energy' and 8, 'The Wind Turbine Rotor'; and to my own
former teacher Goran Siden at Halmstad University, who has checked the facts
in Chapter 10, 'Electrical and Control Systems'. For this English edition I have
updated several facts and figures and the chapters in Part IV, 'Wind Power and
Society', have been completely rewritten.
I feel greatly in debt to Paul Gipe, whose eminent books on wind power I
have read repeatedly. They have not only been a valuable source of knowledge, but
also a great inspiration for my own writing, and I hope that I too have managed
to explain things in a comprehensible manner. Gipe's latest book, Wind Power, is
a masterpiece in both form and content and a book that everyone interested in
wind power should read.
I am just as grateful to David Milborrow, who has had the patience to check
both facts and the English language in my translated manuscript. I have followed
his expert analyses, published in Windpower Monthly, for years, and have included
some diagrams based on his research in this book. Any faults that may remain in
the book are, of course, solely my responsibility.
Tore Wizelius
PART I
Introduction to Wind Power
Wind power is a renewable energy source that has developed rapidly since the
end of the 1970s. This has been achieved by an energy policy that has created a
market for renewable energy and by research and technical development. In these
few decades wind power has developed from an alternative energy source to a new
fast-growing industry which no longer needs subsidies and manufactures wind
turbines that produce power at competitive costs. This introduction describes this
development.
1
Wind Power Today and in the Future
Wind turbines catch kinetic energy in the wind and transform it into other forms
of energy: mechanical work in water pumps and windmills or electric power in
modern wind turbines. The wind is a renewable energy source; the wind is set in
motion by the differences in temperature and air pressure created by the sun's ra-
diation on Earth. Wind turbines produce clean energy, don't need any fuel trans-
port that can be hazardous to the environment, don't create air pollution and don't
leave any hazardous waste behind.
The sun, the wind and running water are all renewable energy sources, in con-
trast to coal, oil and gas, which depend on fossil fuels from mines or oil and gas
fields. In many countries, for example Sweden, hydropower has already been fully
developed. The technology to use direct solar radiation with solar collectors and
photovoltaic (PV) panels is still waiting for a commercial breal<through that is ex-
pected to come during the first decade of this millennium. Wind power is the new
renewable energy source that has seen the most successful development so far.
Modern wind turbines are efficient, reliable and produce power at reasonable
cost. Furthermore, the wind power industty is growing vety fast, with the leading
companies having increased their turnover by 30-40 per cent per year in the first
years of this decade. Simultaneously the cost per produced kWh has become lower
for each new generation of wind turbines that has been introduced on the market.
From the early 1980s the size of wind turbines has doubled approximately
eve1y four years. The largest commercial turbines today have hub heights of
110 metres, rotors with a diameter of 110 metres and a rated power of 3.6MW.
The next generation, with a rated power of 5MW, have already been built as pro-
totypes. If this development continues, wind turbines may have a rated power of
10MW by 2010.
The technology in the wind turbines has developed in several ways. The con-
trol systems have become cheaper and more advanced, new profiles for the rotor
blades can extract more power from the wind, and new power electronic equip-
ment makes it possible to use variable speed and to optimize the capacity of the
turbines.
Just as wind turbines have grown in size, so installations have also become
larger and larger. In the early days of wind power development, turbines were
4 INTRODUCTION TO WIND POWER
installed one at the time, often next to a farm. After a few years they were installed
in groups of2-5 turbines. Today large wind farms are built, on land and off shore,
with the same capacity as a conventional power plant. The largest wind farms in
Europe consist of up to one hundred turbines.
A problem with the wind as an energy source is that the wind always varies.
When the wind slows or stops, power has to be produced by other power plants.
This could lead to the conclusion that it will always be necessary to have a back-up
capacity with other power plants with the same capacity as the wind power con-
nected to the power system. If this were true, wind power would be very expensive.
However, since wind power only constitutes one part in a large power system, this
is not necessary at all. A moderate share of wind power in a system does not need
any back-up capacity at all, since it already exists in the power system. In Sweden,
for example, power companies can simply save water in the hydropower dams
when the wind blows, and use this saved hydro power when the wind drops.
In a power system power consumption varies continually, during each day
as well as during seasons. Every power system has a regulating capacity to adapt
power production to actual power consumption. This can be used to adapt the
system to the variations in the wind - and the output of wind turbines - as well.
When the wind power penetration (that is the share of electric power produced
by wind in a power system) increases to 10-20 per cent, it may be necessary to
regulate the wind power as well, by reducing power from wind turbines in situa-
tions with low load (consumption) and high production, or by keeping a power
reserve to be used to balance power production with consumption at short notice.
Few countries, however, have yet reached such penetration levels.
Fast market growth

During the development from small single turbines connected to farms to large
wind farms with the capacity of large-scale power plants, wind power has be-
come more competitive: the power produced by wind turbines has grown cheaper.
Today the cost of power produced by wind turbines (in places with good wind
conditions) is competitive with the cost of power produced by oil, coal, gas or
nuclear fuel in new power plants. Within this decade wind power could become
the cheapest energy source available.·
To lower the cost of wind power still further takes mass production of tur-
bines. To attain this, the market has to grow. And indeed it is growing very fast.
Germany, Denmark, Spain and the UK, as well as India and China and the US,
are installing wind power plants on a large scale.
During the last few years the German market has grown fastest. Germany
passed pioneering Denmark in 1994 with respect to installed wind power capacity
and currently has the most wind power installed in the world. German manufac-
turers are now competing with the Danish industry. Both Germans and Danes
WIND POWER TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE 5
Box 1.1 WIND POWER STATISTICS

To indicate how much wind power there is in a country, the total installed capacity is used
as a measure. Every wind turbine has a rated power (maximum power) that can vary
from a few hundred watts to 5000kW (5MW). The number of turbines does not give any
information on how much wind power they can produce. How much a wind turbine can
produce depends not only on its rated power, but also on the wind conditions. To get an
indication of how much a certain amount of installed (rated) power will produce per year,
this simple rule of thumb can be used: 1MW wind power produces 2GWh/a on land and
3GWh/a offshore.
1TWh (terawatt hour) = 1OOOGWh (gigawatt hours)

1GWh = 1OOOMWh (megawatt hours)
1MWh 1OOOkWh (kilowatt hours)
1kWh = iOOOWh (watt hours)
International information on wind turbine installations is available at www. windpower-

monthly.com (the Windicator), www.ewea.org and www.ieawind.org.
have found new large export markets in India and China. Spain has installed
several thousand MW in the last few years, and in the US large wind farms are in-
stalled on the large plains in the Midwest and on the west coast. In Denmark and
Germany development on land has now reached a level where it is harder to find
new sites for wind turbines and consequently growth in their domestic markets
Table 1.1 Global wind power capacity in 2005 (MW)

Country Installed in 2005 Total 2005
Germany 1798 18,247
Spain 1764 10,027
us 2424 9124
India 1430 4430
Denmark 4 3128
Italy 452 1717
UK 465 1353
China 496 1260
Netherlands 141 1219
Japan 144 1040
Other 2192 7436
Total 11,310 58,981
In 2005, 11 ,31 OMW of new wind power was connected to the world's power grids. Total installed
power increased to almost 60GW, an increase of 24 per cent from 2004.
Source: World Wind Energy Association (2006)

has declined. Thus in 2004 Spain took the lead in terms of most installed capacity
in a year. In short, most of the growth so far has been concentrated in a few coun-
tries and there is still an immense potential for market growth in countries where
development has hardly taken off- Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Canada, Poland,
N01way, to mention a few.
There are also ambitious plans to develop wind power plants offshore. Several
offshore wind farms are already installed in Denmark, the UK, the Netherlands
and Sweden. Denmark has decided that wind power shall produce 50 per cent of
the electric power in the country by 2030, a significant increase from the 20 per
cent today, and the development of large offshore wind farms necessary to realize
this ambitious target has already started. The UK has also started an ambitious
plan for offshore development.
2
Historical Background
The ancient Greeks had no windmills, and while they used sails on their ships
to harness the power of the wind, their knowledge of wind power generally was
weak. The Greeks, the Romans and the Vikings used square sails, and steered us-
ing oars instead of rudders, which made it hard to keep a straight course when
the wind came from the side and avoid drifting away in the direction of the wind.
Therefore their ships had large crews - they needed many strong oarsmen and gal-
ley slaves to reach a destination within a reasonable time. When winds increased
to storm force, the sails were taken down, a simple method of power control. In
other words they had respect for the unpredictable and unreliable wind that could
turn even the best of ships into disabled wrecks.
Exactly how long man has known how to utilize wind for work is unknown,
but some kinds of windmills were probably used in China and Japan some 3000
years ago. The first historically well-documented windmill dates from AD947, in
Persia, close to the border with Mghanistan. There, as in many other places on
Earth, the wind varies according to a regular pattern. Some times of the year the
wind always blows from the sea inland, through a pass. Those who built the wind-
mill didn't have to worry about the wind direction.
This windmill had a vertical axis, on which mats were mounted. This is the
same principle as for a small watermill. To make it rotate, half of the rotor has to
be protected from the wind. This was easily done, since the wind always came
from the same direction. A wall surrounded the mill, with one opening facing the
wind, so that the wind only hit the mats on one side of the axis. Power control
was simple. If the winds blew too hard, a door was closed. At the back there was
no wall at all, to utilize the power of wind the air must be able to get away behind
the turbine (see Figure 2.1).
By the end of the 12th century the first windmills in Europe had been built
on the Mediterranean coast and in northern France. These demonstrate a radical
change of technology: while the Persian windmills had a vertical axis, these had a
horizontal one.
To be able to build a horizontal axis windmill, another fundamental techno-
logical item has to be used- the cogwheel. The power has to be transformed from
the horizontal to the vertical axis for the millstones to be turned around. The cog-
Figure 2.1 Persian windmill
The Persian vertical axis windmill is sited inside a building where a wall screens off the part of the
rotor that turns into the wind.
Source: Bo Goran Johansson
wheel had, however, already been invented and was used in watermills. To transfer
this technology to windmills was a simple matter.
With a horizontal axis and a vertical rotor, a new technical problem has to
be solved - how to direct the rotor towards the wind. The windmills used in the
Mediterranean area, which are still used on Crete, for example, were built with
a stone tower. The rotor and the shaft were made of wood, and the wind was
caught by sails made of cloth (see Figure 2.2). The rotor was made with quite thin
wooden bars and had a low weight. The top of the tower was constructed like a
'cap' and could be turned.
The windmills in northern Europe, in France, the Netherlands and the UK,
were at this time so-called post mills. The whole mill was mounted on a strong
stand, with a vertical wooden log, so that the whole mill could be turned and the
rotor directed towards the wind. It was heavy work. A man could turn the mill us-
ing a lever, but if it was too heavy, an ox was used to turn the mill into the wind.
Windmills started their march into Europe in the 13th century and soon
became one of the most important power sources, a position maintained until the
end of the 19th century. By the middle of the 19th century, when the number
of mills reached its peak, there were some 9000 windmills in the Netherlands,
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 9
Figure 2.2 Mediterranean windmill
To transmit power from a water wheel to a millstone, you need cogwheels. The same technology is
used in horizontal axis windmills. The type used in the Mediterranean area has a revolving cap and a
rotor with sails.
Source: Hills (i 996)
18,000 in Germany, 8000 in England, 3000 in Denmark and 20,000 in France.

Those who have read Cervantes' novel Don Quixote know that there were also
plenty of windmills in Spain. Before the steam engine was developed and modern
industrialism took off, hydro power and wind power produced half of the power
each, excluding horses and oxen.
The windmill as a symbol of freedom

During these centuries the windmill also played an important political role. 'The
windmill was a tool for social development, the number of skilled mechanics in-
creased, and it lessened the burden of women, they no longer had to mill their
grain by hand,' writes British historian Edward Kealey, arguing that the windmill
undermined feudal oppression and contributed to women's liberation.
During the 14th centmy the squires and the monasteries had exclusive rights
to exploit and use watersheds, and in that way had a watermill monopoly. And
they used this monopoly position to exploit the farmers. The wind, however, be-
longed to all, and the power in the wind was free. Farmers and artisans built
windmills, and thus liberated themselves from one of the burdens of the feudal
society. These times were characterized by social unrest. For the growing liberation
movement, the windmill became both a tool and a symbol of the idea of freedom
that spread and threatened the foundations of medieval society.
During the following centuries the simple stock mill underwent impressive
technological development. The Dutch, especially, were masters of windmill engi-
neering. They developed a brand new concept that utilized the same principle as
the Mediterranean windmill, with a revolving 'cap'.
The windmills also grew in size. Mills with 20-30 metre brick towers and
20-30 metre rotor diameters were built; these produced some 25-30kW. The
total power produced by all the windmills in Europe at the peal{ of the windmill
era was 1500MW, a level that wind power did not reach again until1988.
The windmills in northern Europe usually had four rotor blades, with the
outer part built as an 'espalier'. When the mill was about to be used, the blades
were covered with wooden plates or with sailcloth. When the wind got too strong,
reducing the cover on the blades could regulate power. There were also advanced
versions with adjustable 'Venetian blinds'. The windmills were not in use continu-
ally but were started when the miller was about to start milling grain and when
there was suitable weather.
The windmill engineers also developed an automatic yaw mechanism, the
so-called Dutchman. This was made of a wind wheel (or two, one on each side
of the tower) that was mounted perpendicular to the rotor. The wind wheel was
connected to a cogwheel on the tower by a gear drive. When the wind direction
changed so that the rotor was hit from a side angle, this wind wheel was activated
and started to turn. The wind wheel turned the 'cap' of the windmill until the
rotor again was directed towards the wind. In that position no wind could hit the
wind wheel and it stopped turning (see Figure 2.3).
Windmills were not only used to grind grain, although that was the most
important application. Another important task they were used for was to pump
water, thus contributing to land reclamation for agriculture. The rotor turned
either a blade wheel or a water screw. Such wind driven pumps made it possible
to increase the land area of the Netherlands. A large part of the country today
Figure 2.3 The Dutchman
Windmill technology developed over centuries. The simple stock mill that was used by farmers was
further developed into the Dutch mill, which spread through Europe in different versions. The Dutch
mill was a tower with a revolving cap and was not used only to grind grain, but also as a sawmill,
rag mill and snuff mill and for flax dressing and other mechanical work. This technically advanced
windmill - a Dutchman in Britain, with a wind wheel for turning the cap and rotor blades with
Venetian blinds for automatic power regulation - is sited in North Leverton and is still in a usable
condition.
Source: Hills (1996)

consists of drained seabed, so-called polders. There were also windmills that were
used to saw timber, to stamp rag that was used to mal<:e paper and for many other
applications. In the industrial area outside Amsterdam there were 700 windmills
in the 19th century providing mechanical power to the factories.
Steam engines finally drove the windmills out of the market, but it was a
surprisingly slow process, in fact talcing a whole generation. Nevertheless, in the
20th century the windmill definitely had had its day and its role is now reduced to
one of heritage. In the Netherlands, where the windmill has become an important
national symbol, the authorities have set a goal to keep at least 1000 windmills in
good shape and many of them are actually set to work a couple of days each year.
The wind wheel of the Wild West

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, on the American prairie, another kind
of windmill played an important role: the wind pump, a wind wheel that was
used for water pumping. According to the American historian Waiter Prescott
Webb there were three inventions that made it possible for man to colonize the
prairie: the revolver, barbed wire and the wind pump. A common saying was:
'Women who can't fire a gun or climb a wind pump have no future here.' The
prairie was described as a land where 'the wind pumps the water and the cows
chop the wood' (since there was no wood dried cow dung was used instead of
firewood).
The wind pump was mounted on a post or a truss tower. The pump was
driven directly by an axle that was made to rotate by the wind. In the beginning,
both the towers and the rotor blades were made of wood; only the axle and some
other mechanical parts were made of iron. The pumps were installed next to the
farms. They had to be oiled and greased regularly and when the winds increased
they had to be turned out of the wind and a brake had to applied manually. They
needed constant surveillance.
In the Midwest industrialization took off in the 19th century and in 1854 a
wind pump with automatic power regulation, developed by Daniel Halladay, was
introduced on the market. It had four twistable rotor blades and when the wind
speed increased the force of the wind twisted the blades so that some of the wind
passed through the rotor. The rotor was directed towards the wind by a wind vane.
This wind pump could work without constant surveillance and could therefore
be used to pump water for cattle far from the farmstead, which made it possible
for farmers to increase their grazing land and increase the number of cattle (see
Figures 2.4 and 2.5).
The market for wind pumps of different sizes grew fast. By the end of the
19th century there were 77 companies that manufactured these types of wind tur-
bines in the US. And simultaneously technical development continued. Halladay's
wind pump met market competition from the Eclipse model, which was simpler
Figure 2.4 Wind wheel as water pump
This wind wheel from Aermotor was a result of the experiments conducted by the American engi-
neer Thomas Perry, who had tested 5000 different rotor options. The rotor is almost solid (it covers
almost the whole swept area) and the blades are slightly cup-shaped.
Source: Gipe (1993)
and had fewer moving parts. This model was, in turn, outshone by Aermotor,
developed by the engineer Thomas Perry. Perry performed a large number of ex-
periments to develop an efficient rotor, testing some 5000 different rotor options!
His wind pump used a wind wheel, an almost solid rotor with a large number of
inclined blades. The efficiency of this rotor was twice as high as competing models
and could be manufactured at 20 per cent of the price.
During the 19th century the US railroad network developed fast and railroad
tracks where built across the prairie. The steam locomotives needed to fill their
water tanks at regular intervals, so next to railway stations out on the prairie very
large wind wheels were built, up to 18 metres in diameter, to pump water.
Wind turbines for water pumping, usually wind wheels with around 2.5m
rotor diameter, are still used in many parts of the world. In the 1990s there were
around 600,000 wind pumps in use in Argentina, some 250,000 in Australia,
100,000 in South Africa and 60,000 on the American prairie. Today there are
more than one million such wind-driven water pumps in use in the world.
Drilled well
Well casing
Well pipe
IV!---Lv inder
Figure 2.5 The wind pump
The wind pumps played an important role in the colonization of the Wild West.
Source: Gips (1993)
Wind charger
In the 1930s a market for a completely different kind of wind turbine was de-
veloped. Electric power had made its entry, but in the early days of electrifica-
tion, there were electric power grids only in the cities, where the generators were
driven by coal, and as small 'islands' around hydropower stations. Large parts
of the countryside were without electricity and there was not much demand for
it either. In the cities, however, more and more electric appliances were being
developed, radios being an example. In the countryside these used crystal receiv-
ers, which only needed a small battery, but when the 'real' radio was developed,
even people in the countryside wanted to listen to it, and to do that they needed
electricity.
To supply farmers in the countryside with electricity a new type of wind
turbine was developed - the wind charger, which charged batteries. The aircraft
industry had been established for some decades, and the manufacturers of these
wind chargers utilized the new knowledge of aerodynamics to give the rotor blades
suitable profiles so that the small two- or four-bladed turbines worked like aircraft
propellers, only the other way around. These so-called fast runners, with a rotor
tip speed five to ten times faster than the wind speed, had a sufficiently high ro-
tational speed to drive a generator without a gearbox. The rotor was connected to
a small generator and the current was fed to batteries, which in turn were used to
supply radios and light bulbs with electricity. Without battery back-up the radio
would be silent during calm days.
The radio manufacturer Zenith and the wind turbine manufacturer
Wincharger joined in a marketing campaign to spread these new commodi-
ties across the countryside. There were hundreds of thousands of wind charg-
ers operating in the US and several thousands in countries like Denmark and
Sweden.
When the electric power grid was finally developed in the countryside the
market for wind chargers died. This kind of small wind turbine for electric power
generation and battery charging is still manufactured, and has a niche market
for different kinds of off-grid applications, being used on oil platforms, in light
houses, for radio transmitters and in research stations in the arctic, and nowadays
also on sailing boats and caravans used for leisure (see Figure 2.6).
Grid-connected wind turbines

The Danes have always been early starters when it comes to wind power. In 1892,
with financial support from the state, Professor Paul la Cour built the first wind
turbine for electric power production. It produced DC power and used batteries
for energy storage, just like the American wind chargers. The Danish turbines,
however, were much larger in size. In 1908 there were 72 wind turbines of 10-
20kW online and at the end of the Second World War there were 18 turbines with
a nominal power of 45kW. Mter the Second World War the Danes also tried to
connect wind turbines to the power grid.
A turbine with 200kW nominal power and an AC generator was built in
Gedser and was put online in 1957 (see Figure 2.7). Simultaneously a wind meas-
urement programme was started to survey the wind resources in Denmark.
In Vermont in the US a gigantic prototype was built in the 1940s, dubbed
Grandpa's Knob. This turbine had a rotor diameter of 53 metres and a nominal
power of 1250kW. It was online for 1100 hours and fed power to the grid.
Figul'e 2.6 Battery charger
Excenter, an American farm windmill for battery charging, was also sold in Europe. One of these
was used at a farm on Got/and, Sweden for several decades. Now it stands as a statue in front of
Got/and University.
Source: Tore Wize/ius

I!!
...
N
Figure 2.7 Grid-connected prototype
The wind turbine in Gedser, Denmark, with 200kW nominal power, was in use from 1957 to 1967.
Source: Sodergard (1990)

During the first half of the 20th century two new types of wind turbines were
invented: the Savonius rotor and the Darrieus turbine (see Figures 7.3-7.5,
page 76).
A serious effort to develop wind power started at the end of the 1970s, when
the oil crises pushed several countries to opt for new energy sources. In the 1980s
a new industrial branch was born and developed very fast - the wind power in-
dustry. Today this new branch has turned into a competitive industrial branch for
large-scale utilization of wind power for energy supply on a global scale.
3
Development of the Modern
Wind Power Industry
The oil crises in the 1970s created panic in the industrialized world. This was
heightened in the 1980s by the nuclear reactor accidents in Harrisburg and
Chernobyl. Both politicians and the public started looking for new energy sources.
The option that appeared was to develop local renewable energy sources - so-
lar energy, biomass fuels, hydropower and wind power. During the same period
threats to the environment became a focus of public concern and found a place
on the political agenda. There was a lively debate about the limitations of the
Earth's natural resources, air pollution that crossed national borders and caused
acidification and eutrophication, and about persistent chemical compounds like
DDT and PCBs. In the 1990s the focus shifted to the ever-increasing emissions
of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that threatened to change the global
climate.
The burning of fossil fuels for power production was the main source of these
emissions; energy policy and environment policy turned out to have a close con-
nection. These sources of damage to the environment were causing great costs
for society, through reduced harvests in the agricultural sector, dying forests and
increased expenses for health care; these are now referred to as the external costs of
energy production. At the UN environment conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992
and in international negotiations about the global climate, aimed at reducing
emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, the necessity for change
to renewable energy sources has been given ever-stronger weight.
National wind power programmes

By the end of the 1970s most politicians agreed that the dependence on oil had
to decrease fast and that it was necessary to develop new and renewable energy
sources. The only disagreements concerned how this should be done, who was to
be in charge, and how long a time it would take.
The first question the politicians raised was 'What is the best way to develop
efficient wind turbines?' Their answer was: 'Invest money in research and devel-
opment.'
The next question was who could do this. The answer seemed close at hand:
power companies and the aircraft industry. The solution involved the state invest-
ing large amounts on research and development (R&D), with the task to develop
wind power given to large power companies and large industrial manufacturers,
since they were most likely to have the competence and the resources necessary
to succeed.
Sweden, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, the US and many other coun-
tries started national wind power research programmes according to this model.
The aim of all these programmes was to develop large wind turbines, with a
nominal power of several MW, which was considered necessary for wind power
to be able to make a significant contribution to power production at a national
level.
During the 1980s a number of very large prototype turbines were erected in
several countries. In Sweden, for example, large turbines with a nominal power
of 2-3 MW, Niisudden I and Maglarp, were built. In the US turbines of this size
were built too, among others by the aircraft manufacturer Boeing. The Germans
built even larger turbines; unfortunately they never managed to get them into
regular operation, although they had invested hundreds of millions of marks in
the project.
Danes make big effort on small turbines

The Danes chose a different strategy. They chose to create a market for wind tur-
bines. The politicians introduced generous investment grants (subsidies) for wind
turbines and a law whereby the state guaranteed a good and reliable price for the
wind-generated electric power. This was an assurance to investors that they would
get their money back.
This was a wholehearted effort: all the political parties in the Danish parlia-
ment supported it. The Danes also invested in R&D as much as other countries,
but this money was spent on a wind power research and test centre, Risoe in
Roskilde.
In Denmark a completely different kind of company started to manufacture
wind turbines. These were farming equipment companies, producing ploughs and
so forth. Companies that manufactured ships and machinery for the fishing in-
dustry also entered the wind turbine business, and a company that manufactured
plastic boats, LM Glasfiber, started to manufacture rotor blades for wind turbines.
These were all small and medium-sized enterprises, workshops and smithies. 'They
started out with the knowledge that was available (in Denmark there had already
been several prototypes tested in the beginning of the last century and also after
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN WIND POWER INDUSTRY 21
the Second World War) and started to produce quite small turbines, of 30-SOkW,
suitable for farms, for the market.
What farmers demand

What kinds of demands do farmers put on their machines? They should be reli-
able and robust, stand up to all kinds of weather conditions, and if they break it
should be possible (and simple) to repair them in the farm workshop. The Danish
companies manufactured wind turbines according to these principles. They did
not opt for high-tech but for simplicity and durability. They manufactured tur-
bines of moderate sizes, suitable for farms. The first models were 15-20 metres
high and with a nominal power of 20-30kW. The manufacturers had a large and
faithful group of customers, a solid market; wind turbines became just another
machine among their products.
Many farmers were interested in buying their own wind turbines, even though
it was a new technology with apparent economic risks. But there was also some-
thing to gain. If they worked well, they would give a reasonable pay-off. And it
was not only farmers who were interested: other Danes, aware of the environmen-
tal crisis, invested in wind turbines. They formed wind power cooperatives, where
a number of persons (households) invested a few thousand Danish kroner each
and bought a turbine together so that they could get clean green electric power
for their households. Today some 70,000 Danes are part owners of wind turbines
or wind farms. The largest wind power cooperative so far was formed in 2000
in Copenhagen, with more than 8000 households collectively owning 10 of the
20 turbines on the Middelgrund offshore wind farm.
The Danes also placed an emphasis on the development of the wind power
research centre at Risoe that would test and certify turbines. This created fruitful
cooperation and feedback between manufacturers and researchers, who had many
good ideas about how the turbines could be developed further. Simultaneously
there was an increasing number of turbines online, providing feedback from prac-
tical experience, which turned out to be a very valuable asset. The size of the
turbines also increased slowly, but at regular intervals, with the nominal power of
the turbines on the market doubling every third year.
In the early 1980s the turbines had a nominal power of about 20kW, by 2000
the rating was approaching 2MW. In other words in 20 years the nominal power
of the turbines increased by a factor of 100! The next generation to enter the mar-
ket will be turbines of 5MW; several prototypes are already online. The strategy to
create a market for commercial turbines by investment grants and other subsidies
in the 1980s turned out to be a much more successful strategy than large invest-
ments in high-tech R&D projects.
The wind rush in California

In California a support programme for wind power development and to create a
commercial market was introduced in the 1980s through tax credits and favour-
able power purchase contracts. This created a wind rush, just like the gold rush in
an earlier century. A lot of different companies entered the wind power business
and started to manufacture turbines with a nominal power of 50-100kW. Some
companies scaled up the once-popular wind chargers (stand-alone turbines with
battery storage for off-grid operation on remote farms) and adapted them for grid
connection. Others focused on newly developed lightweight high-tech turbines.
Thousands of wind turbines of this size were installed in a few years, in Tehachapi,
Altamont Valley and other windy sites in California, and suddenly the US became
the country with most wind power online in the world.
This rapid development of a new industrial branch had an important and fa-
tal drawback, however: the turbines were not reliable. The winds blew them apart
and turned the wind farms into graveyards of iron scrap. Thus investors started
to look for more robust turbines, and these they found in Denmark. This was the
start of the real success story for the Danish wind power industry.
The Californian wind rush came to an abrupt end when the support for wind
power was withdrawn in 1986. Many Danish manufacturing companies entered
an economic crisis, and several bankruptcies and mergers followed. The domestic
market was, however, still alive, and in the beginning of the 1990s Germany intro-
duced its own market stimulation programme, with investment subsidies and guar-
anteed power purchase prices, just like the one Denmark had introduced a decade
earlier. In the same period the investment subsidies in Denmark were withdrawn,
since wind power had now become mature enough to stand on its own feet.
Germany and the US start to chase Denmark

When Germany introduced a 100MW programme for wind power development,
which was soon extended to a 250MW programme, the Danes got a new fast-
growing export market. However, a large share of the support went to Gerrnan
manufacturers, which started to compete with the Danes. In both Germany and
Denmark economic support for wind power was seen not only as a part of energy
and environment policy but also as part of industrial policy: the support vvould
mal{e manufacturing companies grow, creating new jobs and economic grovvt:h.
In the US the market recovered a few years after the withdrawal of support in
1986, and some domestic companies developed wind turbines that could compete
with the Danish models. The UK, the Netherlands and Spain also built some
wind power plants and developed domestic manufacture of turbines.
Since 2000 Spain has seen tremendous growth in wind power, and the Spanish
power companies play an active role in this development. In Spain the political
will to develop wind power on a large scale is not only a part of energy policy but
also of industrial and regional policy. All turbines that are installed in Spain have
to be built in Spain as well, so most large manufacturers have built factories in
Spain in order to talce part in the market. Many disused shipyards on the north-
western Atlantic coast have been talcen over by wind power companies and a lot of
new jobs have been created in this once depressed region of the country.
In Asia India has played a prominent role as a pioneer for wind power. In
the 1990s several European manufacturers established joint ventures there, and
some domestic companies also began to manufacture wind turbines. Today one
of the most successful Indian companies, Suzlon, has started to opt for the export
market and to compete with other manufacturers in Europe and the US. In China
there has been some development as well, and in Japan the pace of wind power de-
velopment has increased in recent years, with the involvement of domestic manu-
facturers like Mitsubishi. Wind power is now utilized on a small or large scale on
all continents and in most countries in the world.
This rapid market growth, however, has so far been concentrated in just a few
countries, like Denmark, Germany, Spain, India and the US. In the coming years
it is expected that other countries - Canada, Australia, Brazil and the countries in
Europe where development has so far hardly taken off- will see the most rapid
market growth.
Ever-growing turbines
In just a little over ten years wind power in Denmark developed into a brand new
industrial branch that could survive without any subsidies. The size of the larg-
est commercial turbines increased from 20kW in the early 1980s to 2000kW at
the start of the 21st century. Five years later turbines twice as big are entering the
market- commercial wind turbines are now bigger than the prototypes that were
built with huge R&D funds in the 1980s. There is one important difference, how-
ever: the commercial turbines of today are competitive and reliable; they work.
And for each increase in size, the cost per kWh produced has decreased.
That commercial turbines would grow as big as they are today has not been self-
evident. This is due to the fact that when you increase the size of a turbine (height
and rotor swept area), costs increase faster than size. If you double the rotor diameter,
the swept area will increase fourfold, but the weight will increase eightfold. This is
due to the so-called square-cube law. If you increase the size of a structure (like a wind
turbine) it will increase in three dimensions (the cube), while the swept area only will
increase in two dimensions (the square). And since price is proportional to weight,
there should be a limit where cost becomes greater than production/income.
Nor is it sufficient to scale up all components to increase the size of a wind tur-
bine - the whole construction and most components have to be redeveloped so that
the increase of weight can be minimized and to reduce the loads on the turbine.
Box 3.1 TYPES OF WIND TURBINES

There are wind turbines of several kinds and for different applications. They can be
classified according to size, construction and function. There is no standard for the
classification of size, since sizes change so fast; however, in 2006 this could be a
reasonable classification:
Micro turbines - very small turbines used to charge batteries on ships and in caravans,
cabins, etc. with less than 1kW nominal power and up to 1m rotor diameter.
Farm windmills - wind turbines with 1-15m rotor diameter and 1-50kW nominal power
used to produce power for a farm/house without grid connection.
Medium-sized wind turbines - commercial turbines for grid connection, with nominal
power of 50-1 OOOkW and 15-55m rotor diameter.
MW turbines- wind turbines for grid connection with 1-2MW nominal power and 56-
SOm rotor diameter.
Mu/ti-MW turbines - wind turbines with >2MW nominal power, mainly offshore
installations.
Wind turbines for water pumping- multi-bladed turbines for mechanical water pumping
are common in countries with cattle farming. The power in the wind is converted to
mechanical work. They are usually quite small, with 3-5m rotor diameter.
Type Power Rotor Hub height Use

diameter
Micro turbine <1kW <1m Ships, caravans,
cabins, etc.
Farm windmill 1-50kW 1-15m 5-30m Off-grid
Medium-sized turbine 50-1000kW 15-55m 30-?0m Grid-connected
MW turbine 1-2MW 55-SOm 45-100m Grid-connected
Multi-MW turbine >2MW >SO m >65m Offshore
-
This is in fact a great technological challenge, and each time a new generation of
wind turbines has appeared on the market, most experts (myself included) have
been convinced that this new size of turbine was the optimum size from a cost-
efficiency perspective. To make even bigger turbines would be technically possible
(many MW turbines had been built as R&D prototypes and some were actually
running), but the cost of the produced power would be higher.
However, each time (so far) this has proved wrong- the bigger turbines
have in fact turned out to be more cost-efficient. This has been due to two
factors: by optimizing components the weight has increased not by the cube,
but only to the power of 2.6 (an exponent), and by increasing the hub height
more energy has been captured by the turbine, since wind speed increases with
height.
Manufacturing strategies
Wind turbine manufacturers have followed two different strategies:
• Off-the-shelf components - some manufacturers used a strategy of buying

cheap standard components, manufactured in large volumes for general pur-
poses (generators, gearboxes, brakes, etc.), to let subcontractors manufacture
components (towers, rotor blades and control equipment) and to just do the
mounting of the parts in their own factory. This was the most common strat-
egy up to the middle of the 1990s. In this approach it is the technological
know-how that is the main asset of a wind power manufacturing company.
• In-house production- other companies adopted the strategy of manufactur-
ing as many components as possible in their own factories so that these spe-
cially developed components wouldn't be available to other competing wind
turbine manufacturers.
Now these two strategies have converged: the market has grown so fast and to
such an extent that subcontractors are able to manufacture components, espe-
cially designed for wind turbines, in long series and using mass production. Some
manufacturers have grown so strong that they have even bought out their former
subcontractors.
The so-called Danish standard concept, a three-bladed upwind rotor with
gearbox, has become the dominant model, as it has turned out to be reliable and
cost-efficient. There are, however, other concepts as well. The German manufac-
turer Enercon's concept with a multi-pole direct-drive generator (without gear-
box) and variable speed is definitely competitive. In recent years a hybrid of these
two concepts has also appeared on the market - turbines with a one-step planet
gearbox combined with a multi-pole PM (permanent magnet) generator. This
concept can reduce weight when the size increases.
From the late 1990s the competition between manufacturers became more
intense. Growth on the world market has been around 30 per cent, a fast growth
rate indeed. The manufacturing companies were introduced on the major stock
exchanges, and this put pressure on them to show good profits. New larger models
were introduced too fast (an obvious mistake in hindsight), without the two to
three years' testing that had been the rule in earlier years. This rapid increase of
size had a price, for manufacturers as well as for the owners. Technical problems
arose, especially with the gearboxes. Manufacturers had to retrofit and/or replace
gearboxes in thousands of turbines. Others had problems with rotor blades, and
the US manufacturer Kenetech Windpower went bankrupt because its blades

broke and the company could not afford to replace them.
This rush for ever-bigger turbines also cost a lot of money. Many manufactur-
ers got into economic problems, and were taken over by companies with more
economic strength. The German company Tacke was bought by the American
power company Enron, which itself went bankrupt a few years later in one of the
largest bankruptcies in the US. In its aftermath General Electric, a giant multina-
tional company from the US, bought Enron Wind.
In Denmark the company NEG Micon bought the smaller manufacturer
WindWorld but was later merged with the largest Danish manufacturer Vestas. In
2004 the multinational German industrial giant Siemens bought another major
Danish manufacturer, Bonus.
During the same period the projects have also grown larger. From installa-
tions with single turbines at farms in the 1980s, groups of three to ten turbines
and even larger wind farms in the 1990s, the focus in Europe from 2000 onwards
has been on the development of large offshore wind farms, with utilities and oil
companies as investors. Today wind power is a major industrial branch in many
countries and has become big business.
Figure 3.1 Middelgrunden offshore wind farm
The Middelgrunden offshore wind farm is located just outside Copenhagen, in the harbour area. lt
consists of twenty 2MW turbines. Half of the turbines are owned by the utility in Copenhagen, the
other half by a cooperative with 8000 members (households from the Copenhagen area).
Source: Tore Wizelius

Offshore wind power

Denmark was also the pioneer with offshore wind power. This rather small coun-
try had made a plan for wind power development in the early 1980s, and accord-
ing to this plan offshore installations would be built in the early 1990s. The first
offshore wind farm was installed at Vindeby, and a few years later a second one
at Tuni:i Knob. Based on these experiences a plan was drawn up to install several
huge offshore wind farms so that Denmark could get 50 per cent of its electric
power from the wind by 2030. The reasons for the offshore emphasis were that
available land for wind farms onshore was limited and that the wind resources at
sea were far better than on land. The cost to install wind power offshore is 40-50
per cent greater, but the increase in production will be similar.
During the last few years several offshore wind farms have been built- Horns
Rev, with 80 turbines of2MW each, and the similarly sized Nysted. Several small-
er offshore installations have also been built, not only in Denmark, but also in
Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK. Several countries in Europe are now plan-
ning for large-scale utilization of wind power offshore, with installations of up to
1OOOMW that can produce as much power as a nuclear power plant. The most
recent 5MW turbines that have been developed are mainly aimed at the offshore
market. With the ambitious plans for offshore development and growing markets
in many other regions of the world, wind power is likely to sustain a growth rate
of 20-30 per cent for another decade.
Technical specifications
Height. The height of a wind turbine is indicated in two ways. Hub height is the
distance from the ground to the hub of the rotor. The hub height is a little higher
than the tower. The total height is hub height plus half of the rotor diameter.
Power. The generator's maximum power is called its rated power (measured in
kW). Sometimes two values are indicated, for example 600/120. This means that
the turbine has two generators (or a so-called double wound generator), a small
one for modest winds and a big one for strong winds. Rated power is reached at
the turbine's rated wind speed (which can vary from 12 to 16m/s on different
turbine models); when wind speed is lower, the generator's power is lower than
the rated power.
Rotor. The size of the rotor is indicated by the rotor diameter (measured in me-
tres), i.e. the diameter of the circle the rotor covers when it rotates, and as swept
area (m2), the area of the same circle. The area is calculated by A= n(D/2) 2 , where
A = area, D = diameter.
Box 3.2 THE WIND TURBINE
The wind turbines that dominate the market today have a rotor with three blades that rotate
at 15-30 revolutions per minute (the rotational speed depends on the rotor diameter -
bigger rotors rotate slower). The wind turbine's main components are its foundations,
tower, nacelle (generator, gearbox, etc.), rotor, control system and transformer. The rotor
size is defined by the rotor diameter and swept area; the height in metres is defined by
the hub height and total height respectively. A typical wind turbine structure is illustrated
in Figure 3.2.
Total height
62-72 m
Swept area
Hub height
40-50 m Nacelle
Rotor diameter
44 m
-!------Tower
Figure 3.2 Tjpical wind turbine structure
Source: Typoform
Rotational speed. The rotor's rotational speed is indicated by revolutions per

minute (rpm). Most older turbines have constant speed; the rotational speed is
independent of the wind speed. Wind turbines with two generators use two difFer-
ent constant rotational speeds, a slower one at low winds (for the small generator)
and a higher speed with stronger winds (the large generator). Ideally, rotational
speed should be proportional to the wind speed. Today most manufacturers there-
fore use variable speed, especially on large models. The rotational speed in this case
is indicated by a range, for example 20-35rpm.
Power control. When the wind speed increases above the rated wind speed, the
power has to be regulated to avoid damage to the turbine. Two different methods
are used for this: stall or pitch or a combination of the two, and active stall.
Wind speed. Three different wind speeds are indicated: cut-in wind speed, the
wind speed necessary to get the turbine to start and produce power; rated wind
speed, the wind speed when the turbine reaches its rated power; and cut-out wind
speed, the wind speed when the turbine's control system will stop the turbine for
safety reasons. The cut-out wind speed is usually set to 25m/s.
PARTII
Wind Energy
The wind is the renewable energy source that wind turbines utilize. In this part
the character and properties of wind are described in Chapter 4, followed by an
account of the power in the wind and how its energy content can be calculated.
How the power in the wind can be captured and converted into mechanical power
is explained in Chapter 6, where the basic aerodynamic properties of blade profiles
used by modern wind turbines are also described.
4
The Wind
Wind is air in motion and wind turbines turn the kinetic energy of the moving air
into electric power or mechanical work.
To get an idea of how this renewable energy source works there follows a
description of how wind is created, the properties of the wind in mid latitudes,
and other factors relevant to wind power. In this context it is the wind climate at
a specific site or within a region that is of interest (see Box 4.1).
Box 4.1 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Weather is the totality of atmospheric conditions at any particular place and time - the
instantaneous state of the atmosphere. The elements of the weather are temperature,
atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, cloudiness, rain, sunshine and visibility.
Climate is the sum total of the weather at a given place during the course of the year and
over a period of years. Since the average conditions of the weather elements change from
year to year, climate can only be defined in terms of some period of time, some chosen
run of years, a particular decade or decades.
Wind climate is the long-term pattern of the wind in a specific site, region or country.
Climate can be studied and analysed at different levels:
• Macro climate, large-scale climate patterns on the Earth,

continents or parts of continents.
• Meso climate, the climate in a country or a region.
• Local climate, the climates within a limited area, such as

a coastal zone, wood or city block.
• Micro climate, the climate at a specific site, a field, a pond

or the sunward or shaded side of a tree.
34 WIND ENERGY
Atmospheric pressure and temperature

Winds are created by differences in atmospheric pressure that in turn are caused
by differences in temperature. The atmospheric pressure tends to be equalized by
movement of air from regions with high pressure (H) to regions with low pressure
(L). Differences in temperature occur because the Earth is round and the angle of
the solar radiation that hits the Earth varies. The Earth rotates around its axis, so
radiation differs during day and night. The Earth is divided by longitudes that go
from pole to pole and latitudes that are parallel to the equator (see Figure 4.1).
The solar radiation will be perpendicular to the equator (at the spring and
autumn equinoxes to be exact). If we keep to the northern hemisphere, the angle
between the sun and the surface of the Earth will decline the further north you
move, so the same amount of radiation will be spread over an ever-larger area. The
distance the radiation has to pass through the atmosphere also increases. Therefore
the sun will heat the surface much more at the equator than at the Arctic circle.
The rotation of the Earth will have a similar effect. The angle of the sun, and
therefore also the solar radiation per unit of area, increases from sunrise until noon
and diminishes in the same way from noon to sunset. In the night-time the Earth is
Equator
Tropic of Capricorn
Figure 4.1 The Earth's coordinate system
The Earth is divided by longitudes (which circle the Earth with each passing through the North and
South Poles) and latitudes (circles parallel to the equator). During a year, when the Earth circles the
sun once, the sun moves (seen from a position on Earth) from the southern to the northern tropical
circle and back again. At the summer solstice the whole area within the northern Arctic circle has
midnight sun, while at winter solstice in the same region the sun never rises above the horizon.
Source: Bogren (i 999)
THEWIND 35
not heated at all; during the night some of the heat that has been stored in the ground
and in the sea radiates back into the atmosphere and finally returns out to space.
Finally, the Earth's axis is inclined relative to the plane on which the Earth
moves around the sun. This inclination gives us different seasons. At the spring
and autumn equinoxes the sun is perpendicular to the equator and day and night
have equal duration. From the spring equinox to the northern hemisphere mid-
summer the sun moves (from a position on Earth) north to the Tropic of Cancer,
23.5 degrees north; it returns to a position over the equator at the autumn equi-
nox and moves on south to the Tropic of Capricorn, 23.5 degrees south, at the
winter solstice and then moves back towards the equator (see Figure 4.2).
During a year, when the Earth passes once around the sun, the height of the
sun varies and so the temperature in different parts of the Earth will vary. Far
north and far south the duration of daylight also varies a great deal.
Several other factors also contribute to increasing or moderating the changes
in temperature. Oceans cover a large part of the Earth, and water has quite dif-
ferent properties for storing heat than solid ground. Solar radiation can penetrate
at least ten metres down into water, and water can store heat better than soil - it
is heated more slowly but it cools off more slowly too. On land the sun only
heats the soil to a depth of a few centimetres, and that heat is released again quite
quickly during the night. Oceans and lal{es therefore have a balancing influence
on temperature. Ocean currents as well as winds contribute to the transport of
heat between different latitudes and to evening out the differences in temperature.
The climate close to oceans, a maritime climate, is quite different from the climate
in the interior of large continents, a continental climate .
.... _,.-- ... -.,.. -------- ............... . . .........

,, .,...,.
.-''
.,., ..
,/
... -- .......... ------- ___ . _......... -""

Figure 4.2 Seasonal changes
The position of the Earth in relation to the sun in July (Aphelium) is shown on the left; that in January
(Perihelium) on the right. Since the axis of the Earth has an inclination, the northern hemisphere will
get more sunshine in the summer than in the winter.
Source: Bogren (1999)
36 WIND ENERGY
Finally there are clouds, floating in the air, which consist of water droplets or
ice crystals. In the daytime clouds can shelter the Earth's surface from direct sun-
light and reduce the heating of the ground. In the night the clouds act as a cover
that reflects heat radiation back towards the Earth, keeping it warm. Night tem-
peratures are generally warmer when it is cloudy than when you can see the stars.
Air movements
These ever-changing temperatures give rise to certain more or less regular patterns
for the movement of air. At the macro level we have winds that vary with the sea-
sons, like the trade winds and monsoons. In the northern mid latitudes, for exam-
ple in the UK, northern Europe and Scandinavia, the weather appears to change
rapidly and be hard to predict, but the climate in this region is part of a larger pat-
tern characterized by moving low pressure areas, cyclones, that are created out in the
Atlantic and then move across the British Isles and Scandinavia. These low pressure
areas are created where the hot tropical and the cold polar air masses meet.
The winds start when air begins to move from areas with high atmospheric
pressures to areas where the pressure is lower. The wind always moves from high
pressure (H) to low pressure (L). And these differences in atmospheric pressure are
in turn created by differences in temperature.
In coastal areas there are local winds, the sea breezes and the land breezes that
give a good illustration of how winds are created (see Figure 4.3).
Weather systems where air circulates between high pressure and low pressure
occur in the global weather system (trade winds), regional systems (monsoons,
cyclones) and in local systems (sea and land breezes).
If the Earth was flat, didn't rotate and was turned perpendicular to the sun,
such pressure differences would be equalized very fast. But since the Earth in fact
is round and rotates, the winds don't move along a straight line from high to low
pressure areas. The Earth's rotation creates forces that make the wind move toward
the low pressure centre in a circle, or a spiral, thus creating a cyclone.
The difference in atmospheric pressure between two areas creates the pressure
gradient force. On meteorological maps the atmospheric pressures, measured in
hectopascals (hPa), are drawn as isobars, lines that connect points with the same
air pressure. Around a low pressure zone the isobars form more or less regular cir-
cles. When the distances between isobars are small, the pressure gradient is strong
(and wind speeds higher).
Gravity (g), which pulls the air towards the Earth's surface, is a better-known
force. In the layer closest to the Earth, the wind is also influenced by friction
against the surface. At a certain height, this influence is negligible; this 'undis-
turbed wind' is called the geostrophic wind. The distance from the ground to the
geostrophic wind varies, depending on weather conditions and surface roughness.
High friction increases the height of the geostrophic wind (see Box 4.2).
THEWIND 37
---....
~
Figure 4.3 Sea breeze
When the temperature of the ground and the sea surface are similar, the air pressure above land
and sea will be similar as well, and there are no local winds (top diagram). On a sunny day land
is heated faster than water. The temperature of the air inland increases, its volume increases,
and the air gets less dense and starts to rise upwards in the atmosphere, resulting in a fall in the
atmospheric pressure at ground level (middle diagram). The colder air over the sea starts to move
towards land to even out this difference in air pressure (the pressure gradient). At a certain height
above ground level the situation is reversed; the atmospheric pressure is higher above land than
over the sea. At that height the air starts to move in the opposite direction, towards the sea {bottom
diagram). Thus the air begins to circulate in a local circulation. In the evening the ground loses tem-
perature faster than the sea; the same mechanism then creates a circulation the other way around
{the land breeze). These local winds are created by temperature differences between land and sea.

38 WIND ENERGY
Box 4.2 GEOSTROPHIC WIND
)an Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Figure 4.4 Annual variations ofthe geostrophic wind

south ofthe island of Gland on the Swedish east coast
Source: Professor Smedman, Uppsala University
The mean wind speed of the geostrophic wind in Sweden is i Om/s. But just like the
wind speed close to the surface, the mean wind speed of the geostrophic wind will vary
during different seasons. In winter it is i 2m/s (monthly average) and in summer it can go
down to 8m/s. Over Sweden the geostrophic wind is strongest in the south and west and
decreases towards the north.
Figure 4.5 The mean wind speed ofthe geostrophic wind over northern Europe
Source: Troen and Petersen (i 989)
The geostrophic wind is strongest over the Atlantic and the North Sea and decreases over
land. This is not due to friction against the ground, but depends on the large-scale weather
systems, where areas with high and low pressure are formed and how they move.
THEWIND 39
The force that makes the wind bend off from a straight line, and that makes the
trade winds blow towards the equator from the north-east and south-east instead
of in a perpendicular direction, is called the Coriolis force. This force diverts the
movement of the air to the right in the northern hemisphere. The Coriolis force is
always perpendicular to the direction of movement and proportional to the wind
speed. It also varies with latitude. At the equator it is zero and it increases towards
the poles. Another better known (but not as strong) force acts in the same direc-
tion, this is centrifugal force.
A wind that blows from the northern hemisphere perpendicular to the equator
is diverted to the right, so the wind will come from the north-east. Winds that blow
north from the equator will also be diverted to the right and will thus come from
south-west instead of from south. In the mid latitudes there is also a so-called west
wind belt, and it is the Coriolis force that makes the winds, and the low pressure
zones, move eastward from the Atlantic towards Europe. If the earth rotated in the
opposite direction, these lows would move towards North America instead.
If we assume that we have a situation where a low pressure zone appears in the
north and a high pressure zone in the south, with parallel isobars from west to east,
then the pressure gradient force will set the air in motion and the wind will blow
from south to north. A so-called air package will accelerate northward. The pres-
sure gradient pulls the air perpendicular to the isobars. As wind speed increases,
the Coriolis force will divert the moving air to the right (east). The higher the wind
speed, the more it will be diverted. Finally a balance will be created where the pres-
sure gradient force and the Coriolis force are equal. And the wind that has this con-
dition, when these forces are in balance, is called the geostrophic wind. This defini-
tion corresponds well with the undisturbed (by friction against the Earth's surface)
wind, above the bounda1y layer that was described earlier in this chapter.
Friction against the Earth's surface

At lower heights, the friction against the Earth's surface influences the wind. The
friction force acts in the opposite direction to the wind's movement. The friction
slows the wind and creates an imbalance between the pressure gradient force and
the Coriolis force, so the wind moves across the isobars (in other words it talces a
short cut to the low pressure centre). Friction will be stronger closer to the surface.
The consequence of this, of course, is that the wind speed will decrease the closer
to the surface you get, also that the wind direction will change, more and more
across the isobars closer to the surface. This change of wind speed and wind direc-
tion is called wind shear.
Wind turbines have grown fast, to become higher and higher, but they will
always stay within what is called the fi'iction layer of the atmosphere. For wind
power it is winds up to 150-200m above ground (or sea) that are interesting. At
these heights the wind is influenced by local conditions, what the terrain looks
40 WIND ENERGY
like at the actual site, and also by the character of the terrain in an area of ap-
proximately 20km radius around the site. The character of the Earth's surface will
influence the strength of the friction force; it is, for example, lower over an open
field than over a hilly forest.
At the surface, the wind speed is always zero. This does not mean that the
molecules of the air don't move, but that the sum of their movements in different
directions adds up to zero. The wind speed then increases with height. How rapid
the increase with height is depends on the friction against the Earth's surface. On
an open plain with low friction, the wind will not be retarded very much, and
the increase with height will not be very big. Over a surface with many obstacles,
buildings, woods and other structures, the wind will be more retarded, so the
wind speed will increase more with height. The relation between wind speed and
height is called the wind profile or wind gradient (see Figure 4.6).
100-lOOOm
..t:
.2.0
Q)
..c
wind speed
Figure 4.6 Wind gradient
The wind gradient, sometimes called wind profile, is a graph that describes the relation between
wind speed and height above ground level (agl). The form of this profile depends on the friction of
the Earth's surface. Water has low friction, so the wind profile over water will be quite vertical (right
graph). Over a plain or areas with agricultural fields, the friction will be stronger and the graph will
be more curved (middle graph). Over a forest, the friction will be quite strong and the profile will be
more curved than over a plain (left graph).
If you look at the graph from a measuring mast that has anemometers at different heights, in real
time the profile does not look as even and smooth as the graphs above. For short periods the
wind speed at, for example, 20 metres can be stronger than at 40 metres, and so on. The form of
the profile will change continuously. The wind profile actually describes a long-term average of the
relation between wind speed and height. At a specific site the wind profile will look different from
different wind directions, since it is the character of the terrain in the area that the wind comes from
that decides the form of the wind profile.

THEWIND 41
Turbulence
Since air is completely transparent, it is hard to observe how it moves. However,
you can see 'fingerprints' of the air's motions, for example leaves that swirl around
on the ground and end up in a heap. A more common sight is to see neatly heaped
leaves spread out by the wind so that you have to do the work all over again. It is
easier to observe what happens when a stream of water meets an obstacle- around
a stone whirls are formed, for example. The air reacts in a similar way: when the
wind hits an obstacle, air whirls or waves are formed. The air will then not move
parallel to the ground (laminar wind), but in different directions around the pre-
vailing wind direction.
These waves in the air can have a wavelength of several hundred metres.
Whirls of air can also be very large, but they will be broken down successively into
smaller whirls and finally to movement on the molecular level and turn into heat.
When wind is measured, these waves and whirls appear as short variations of wind
speed, or turbulence.
Differences in temperature in the air can also create turbulence and reduce the
wind speed. If the air close to the ground is warmer than at higher levels, and the
temperature decreases relatively rapidly with height, warm air will rise upwards.
The horizontal wind will then meet air that is moving in a vertical direction, and
this creates turbulence. When the wind passes through the rotor of a turbine, a
very strong turbulence is created. This whirling wind on the lee side of the rotor
is called wind wake and influences the wind speed up to a distance of 10 rotor
diameters or more behind the turbine.
When the wind blows from the sea and continues over land, the friction
against the surface will change at the shoreline. The air that moves close to the
surface will be retarded and start to rotate. This turbulent air will move upwards
when the wind moves further in over land. An internal boundary layer has been
created. The wind speed below this boundary layer (the boundary between the
laminar wind from the sea and the more turbulent wind over land) will decrease,
while the height of the boundary layer that is formed will stabilize. The wind gra-
dient will also change as a consequence of this.
If the wind blows from land out to sea, the wind close to the water's surface
starts to accelerate. Every time the character of the landscape (and thus the surface
friction) changes, a new internal boundary layer is formed, which will change
the wind speed to a level that corresponds to the friction of the underlying ter-
rain. There is, however, a transition zone: it always takes some time and distance
before this change of friction is transferred to higher layers, and there will be a
delay between the wind energy content and changes in the surface friction (see
Figure 4.7).
42 WIND ENERGY
/
Figure 4.7 Internal boundary layer
The friction against the surface affects the wind. When the wind moves from the sea (left) to land
(right) the turbulence will increase, so the wind speed close to the ground will decrease. An internal
boundary layer is formed between the turbulent wind and the laminar wind from the sea at higher
levels. The height of the boundary layer will stabilize after a while and remain constant until the sur-
face roughness next changes. The wind profile also changes: over land it is more curved than over
sea. The three arrows closest to the surface, which represent wind speed at these three heights,
are shorter over land than at sea. Compare also to the wind profiles in Figure 4.6.
Roughness classes
Terrain is classified into different roughness classes. Five different classes are used,
from 0 to 4. Open water is 0, open plain 1 and so on to roughness class 4 for large
cities and high dense forest (see Table 4.1). Sometimes the expression roughness
length is used. This length has nothing to do with the length of the grass or the
height of buildings; it is a mathematical factor used in the algorithms for calcula-
tions of how the terrain influences the wind speed. A description of how a rough-
ness classification is made is given in Part V, Wind Power Project Development.
Hills and obstacles

The wind is also influenced by different kinds of obstacles. The impact depends
on the height and width of the obstacle, and also by their so-called porosity (how
much wind can pass through the obstacle). If you want to protect yourself from
the wind in your garden, for example, a hedge or a fence that allows some air to
pass through is much more efficient than a brick wall or a tight fence. When the
wind hits a wall strong turbulence is created behind it. If some of the wind can
pass through the fence, there will be much less turbulence. A building or a tree-
lined country lane will influence the wind in front, behind and above the obstacle.
THE WIND 43
Table 4.1 Roughness classes

Rough- Character Terrain Obstacles Farms Buildings Forest
ne ss
Class
0 Sea, lakes Open
water
Open landscape, Plain to Only low 0-3/km 2
with sparse smooth vegetation
vegetation and hills
buildings
2 Countryside with a Plain to Small woods, up to Some
mix of open areas, hilly alleys are i0/km 2 villages and
vegetation and common small towns
buildings
3 Small towns or Plain to Many woods, Many Many Low
countryside with hilly vegetation farms villages, forest
many farms, woods and alleys >i0/km 2 small towns
and obstacles or suburbs
4 Large cities or high Plain to Large cities High
dense forest hilly dense
forest
According to a simple rule of thumb, an obstacle creates turbulence to double the

height of the obstacle, starts at a distance of twice the height in front of it and
continues for 20 times the height behind it (see Figure 4.8).
A more exact estimation of how wind speed is influenced at different distanc-
es and heights from an obstacle can be made using a diagram from the European
Wind Atlas (see Figure 4.9).
Hills also have an impact on the wind speed. A smooth and not too steep hill
makes the wind accelerate and the wind speed will increase up to a certain height
Wind
2H
H
2H 20H
Figure 4.8 Turbulence from obstacles
Close to an obstacle, turbulence will increase and wind speed decrease. The turbulence is stronger
and is spread further on the leeside of an obstacle, but turbulence will also appear on the side
where the wind comes from, since the obstacle interferes with the wind flow. The areas with turbu-
lence will of course vary with the wind direction.
Source: Gipe (i 993)

44 WIND ENERGY
Q)
u
rJ
"'
.0
0
0 2
...
..c;
.!1!!
Q)
~....
:§>
I
Q)
0
)
10 20 30 40 so
Distance from obstacle/height of obstacle
Figure 4.9 Diagram for estimation ofimpact from obstacles
This diagram gives a general picture of the relationship between an obstacle and the reduction
of wind speed at different heights and distances from it. The vertical axis gives the relationship
between the height above ground level and the height of the obstacle. The horizontal axis gives the
relationship between the distance from the obstacle and the height of the obstacle. (Note that the
rectangular area on the y-axis is not the obstacle, but the area that is too close to the obstacle to
make measurements/calculations.)
The figures and curves in the diagram show the reduction of wind speed, as a percentage, at
different points in the diagram. If, for example, we want to find out how much the wind speed will
decrease at 20m agl (H) 100 metres behind a wall that is 10 metres high, then the ratio of H to the
obstacle height is 2 (20/10). The ratio of the distance to the obstacles height is 10 (1 00/10). At the
point (10, 2) in the diagram you can see that the wind speed at a height of 20 metres 100 metres
behind the 10-metre-high wall will be 10 per cent less than the undisturbed wind speed in front of
the obstacle at the same height.
Source: Troen and Petersen (1989)
above the hilltop. On the other side, down slope, the speed will decrease again. If
the hill is steep, the air will start to circulate and the airflow becomes turbulent.
On a steep mountain slope, turbulence will spread just like at an obstacle and the
opposite effect, a decrease in wind speed, occurs (see Figures 4.10 and 4.11).
Terrain with high mountains, deep valleys and steep inclinations is called
complex terrain. When the wind passes over this kind of terrain, special phenom-
ena occur. This makes it very hard to predict the winds without measurements
at the site. Mountain valleys are interesting examples. Along the sides you will
get local winds that are created by the differences in temperatures between the
top of the hillside and the bottom of the valley, which will vary day and night.
In the middle of the valley you may get a so-called tunnel effect - strong winds
that follow the direction of the valley, with a maximum wind speed at a relatively
low height agl.
THEWIND 45
Figure 4.10 Hill impact
A smooth hillside that is not too steep makes the wind accelerate and the wind speed and thus the
energy content will increase up to a certain height above the hilltop. To get this effect the inclina-
tion of the hill should be less than 40 degrees, though if the hillside is uneven and rough the wind
fiow can be disturbed at inclinations of even 20 degrees. On the leeside of a hill the wind speed will
decrease. The wind can, in a similar way, accelerate around the sides of hill, or in a valley, etc.
Figure 4.11 Increase ofwind speed from hill impact
When wind passes over a smooth hill, wind speed increases to the top of the hill. The dark area of
the wind profile on the hilltop shows the increase compared to the wind profile of the wind in front of
the hill (to the left).
When you develop wind power you are interested in how much energy the wind
will contain during the technical lifetime of a wind turbine, say 20-25 years. To
get good production and economy turbines have to be sited in areas where the
wind contains a lot of energy. To find the right spot in the terrain, you also need to
know something about the wind directions. You have to find out the wind climate
46 WIND ENERGY
in the area where you want to build wind turbines. How this is done is described
in the next chapter, The Power ofWind.
5
The Power ofWind
Wind is air in motion. Since air has a mass, the wind has kinetic energy (the
weight of air is a little more than one kilogram per cubic metre). This power can
be turned into electric power, heat or mechanical work by wind turbines.
The energy content of the wind at a specific height at a site is usually speci-
fied in kWh per square metre per year: the energy contained in the winds that
pass through a vertical area of one square metre during one year. This is easy to
calculate - you simply multiply the power per square metre by the number of
hours in a year (365 days x 24 hours= 8760 hours) and you get the kWh/m2 /year.
Be careful, though, not to mix up the concepts power and energy (see Box 5.1).
Box 5.1 POWER AND ENERGY
Power is energy per time unit and is expressed in watts (or kW, MW, GW, etc.). Power is
usually notified by the letter P; i W = i J/s Ooule per second).
Energy is power multiplied by the time the power is used. A wind turbine that produces
i OOOkW power for one hour has produced i 000 kWh. If the wind turbine during a year
produces 300kW power on average, it produces 300kW x 8760 hours= 2,628,000kWh
per year. Power is energy per unit of time; energy is power times time.
The consumption of electricity in a household depends on the size of the household and
type of dwelling. For Sweden, for example, the following average values are applied:
e House with electric heating: 20,000kWh/year

House without electric heating: 5000kWh/year
Flat in apartment building: 2000kWh/year.
Thus a wind turbine with i MW nominal power that will produce 2GWh/year can supply
electricity to:
• i 00 houses with electric heating;

" 400 houses without electric heating; or
• i 000 flats in apartment houses.
48 WIND ENERGY
Sometimes the same measure of the wind is expressed as a power density instead.
This gives exactly the same information - it is the mean power density in a year
expressed in W/m 2 • If you multiply this by 8760 hours and divide by 1000 you
get kWh/m 2 /year.
The wind can be very strong and powerful, strong enough to break branches
off trees and rip the roofs from buildings. Storms and hurricanes can create serious
natural disasters. This is due to the fact that the power of the wind is proportional
to the cube of the wind speed. When the wind speed doubles, the power increases
eight times (see Box 5.2).
Box 5.2 THE POWER OF WIND

The power of the wind is calculated in the following way:
where:
P~" =kinetic power (energy/sec) W (J/s)
m stands for mass flow; m
= pA V
p = air density (kg/m 3)
A= area (m 2)
v = speed (m/s).
When mis substituted by p A V you get:
pkin = Y2 p A v3
The density of air varies with the height above sea level and temperature. The standard
values used are usually density at sea level (i bar) and a temperature of goc, giving
i.25kg/m3 •
The power of the wind per m 2 is then:
P~n = Y2 i .25 V3 = 0.625 VS

The power of the wind is proportional to the cube of the wind speed:
For v 5m/s, P = 0.625 ·53 = 0.625 ·i25 = 78W

For v = i Om/s, P = 0.625 · i 03 = 625W
625 = 8 X 78
When the wind speed doubles, the power increases by a factor of B.
This means that even a small increase in wind speed, for example from 7 to 8m/s, gives a
comparatively large increase in power: the power of the wind will increase by 50 per cent!
(For v = 7m/s, P = 0.625 · 73 = 2i 4W; for v = 8m/s, P = 0.625 · 83 = 320W.)
Therefore it is very important to install wind turbines at sites with the best possible wind
resources.
THE POWER OF WIND 49
The frequency distribution of the wind

If we assume a site where the wind speed is always exactly 6m/s, the energy con-
tent of the wind will be:
0.625 · 63 • 8760 = 1182kWh/m2/year.
In real life, however, the wind speed and wind direction change continuously.
Some days are completely calm; on other days there are storms. The wind will
also change during the day and night, in different seasons and between years. To
be able to calculate the wind energy content (or power density) at a site, you first
have to calculate the average power density.
If you measure the wind at a site during one year, it is easy to calculate the
mean wind speed for that site by adding all the measured values for the wind speed
and then dividing the sum by the number of observations.
If the mean wind speed at a site is 6m/s, you might draw the conclusion
that the energy content should be 1182kWh/m2 /year, according to the calculation
above. Unfortunately it is not that simple. This is due to the fact that the power
is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. The cube of the sum of the wind
speeds (v1+v2+V3+ .. . +vY is not the same thing as the sum of the cubes of the wind
speeds (v13+V2 3+v3 3+ .. . +Vn 3) .
If you have a site where the wind speed is 4m/s half of the year and 8m/s the
rest of the year, the mean wind speed will be:
4/2 + 8/2 = 6m/s

63 = 216
0.625 · 63 · 8760 = 1182kWh/m2/year
But: V2(4 3 + 83) = V2(64 + 512) = 288
0.625 · 288 · 8760 = 1576kWh/m2/year
To calculate the energy content of the wind at a site it is not sufficient to know the
mean wind speed, you also need to know the different wind speeds that occur and
their duration, in other words the frequency distribution of the wind speeds. The
energy content of the wind at two sites with exactly the same mean wind speeds
can differ quite a lot (see Figure 5.1).
Data on wind speeds are sorted into a diagram, with wind speed on the x-axis
and the duration (in hours or per cent) on the y-axis. To calculate the energy
content of the wind during one year, you tal<e cubes of the wind speeds, multi-
ply them by the frequency, add them all up and put the sum into the formula
above.
50 WIND ENERGY
14
12
g1o
~ 8
c
aJ
er 6
:J
aJ
1-
u.. 4
2 n n
0 In 11 1111 nn n
0 V')
N
Wind speed (m/s)
Figure 5.1 Frequency distribution of wind speed
A frequency distribution of wind speeds can look like this. The most common wind speeds are in
the range 5-Sm/s, the wind speed is 6m/s for 12 per cent of the time, and the mean wind speed is
7.5m/s.
The frequency distribution of the wind has proved to fit quite well to a probability
distribution called the Weibull distribution (see Figure 5.2).
12
10
--
,-...
8
~
>.. 6
u
c:
Q)
:l
er 4
~
lJ...
2
0
0 10 15 20 25
Wind speed (m/s)
Figure 5.2 The Weibull distribution
The frequency· distribution of the wind differs at different sites. However, it fits quite well with the
so-called Weibull distribution. A Weibull distribution is defined by two parameters: the form factor C
and the scale factor A A Rayleigh distribution is a special case of the Weibull distribution (with form
factor a constant C=2).
Source: WindPRO, EMD, Alborg, Denmark

In the example above l182kWh/m 2 /year has to be multiplied by 1.33 to give

the correct answer. In practice you can add a factor, the cube factor, to the
formulaEyear = 0.625 · v3 • 8760, to calculate the energy content of the wind
during a year. The value of the cube factor depends on the frequency distribu-
tion of the wind. If the mean wind speed is known but the frequency distribu-
tion is not known, a cube factor of 1. 91 will in most cases give a good idea
of the wind's energy content at a site. This however applies only to places in
mid latitudes, the US and most parts of Europe. In areas with trade winds
or seasonal winds, or dominant local winds, other values for the cube factor
should be used. In Puerto Rico, for example, which has trade winds, the cube
factor is 1.4 and in the San Gorgonio pass in California, with local winds, it
is 2.4.
Wind measurements
The most correct and detailed information about the energy content (or power
density) of the wind at a specific site comes from a measurement mast with an
anemometer. The wind directions are also of interest and can be registered by a
wind vane. The data are collected in a so-called data logger (see Box 5.3).
With a wind measuring mast wind speed and wind direction at several dif-
ferent heights can be measured. With these data average wind speed over any
given period can be calculated; the frequency distribution, power density, energy
content and distribution of wind direction can thus be calculated for the measure-
ment period.
A wind turbine has a technical life of 20-25 years. From wind measurements
you try to estimate the wind speed and probable frequency distribution for the
coming 20 years. You want to mal<:e a prognosis that is based on solid assump-
tions.
Even if we measure the wind very accurately for 12 months, what do we actu-
ally know? The only thing we know in fact is how the wind has blown during this
period. But what conclusions can we make, based on these facts, about the wind's
power density in coming years?
Long-term wind climate

Wind speed, frequency distribution and averages vary significantly during differ-
ent years. And even long-term averages for five- and ten-year periods also vary a
lot. How the power density at a site will vary in the long term is important if you
plan to use the power of wind, and the longer the period you examine, the less
variation you will find, which is very reasonable from a statistical point of view
(see Figure 5.3).
52 WIND ENERGY
Box 5.3 WIND MEASUREMENTS

Wind measurement equipment usually consists of an anemometer, which measures wind
speed, and a wind vane, which measures wind direction. In most countries a national
meteorological institute has measured and collected data on the winds since the 19th
century, from meteorological stations spread over the country and with local weather
observers employed to do this. These have registered wind speed, wind direction,
temperature and other kinds of meteorological data several times a day (every four hours,
day and night, all year around were registered in Sweden, for example). These data were
reported daily to a central institution.
These observations constitute the basis for the wind statistics that are used to describe
the wind climate in different regions and to create so-called wind atlas data that are used
to calculate how much wind turbines can be expected to produce at different sites.
Nowadays wind data are registered automatically. Data are continuously stored in a data
logger and are then transferred by radio or telephone to the meteorological institute. This
is, however, a quite recent development. Not so many years ago, and probably still in
some areas of the world, weather observers read the anemometer every four hours, day
and night. They observed the anemometer for a couple of minutes and noted the average
wind speed for that period.
Both of these methods have their advantages and disadvantages. By manual registration
you get less data and there can be systematic differences between different weather
observers (in Sweden some 'cold spots' and 'hot spots' turned out to be the creation
of weather observers who enjoyed beating 'records'). The advantage is that faults in the
equipment can be detected and corrected immediately. With automatic data collection
the amount of data will be enormous and the statistical data more exact. Automatic wind
measurement equipment registers data continuously and calculates I 0-minute averages
and one-hour averages. In this way variations in the wind will be described better. There
is, however, a risk that the anemometer is giving wrong values, for example if it becomes
covered by frost or ice. This can be hard to detect, and you can get very long series of
data that are wrong. This means that you can never be sure that wind data actually give a
correct description of the wind climate at a site.
The most common type of anemometer consists of three arms with cups on the end that
the wind causes to rotate. There are also more modern anemometers that measure the
wind speed and direction with light (laser) or sound pulses (sonar). This new technology
is, however, still very expensive and not completely reliable.
The power in the wind, energy content or power density can vary between differ-
ent ten-year periods by as much as 30 per cent (see Figure 5.4).
To get good background data for a prognosis, measured data for a much longer
period than one year is necessary. It is, however, not a sensible strategy to measure
the wind for five to ten years before a decision to develop a wind farm is taken.
Wind data from a site that has been logged for a shorter period have to be
adapted to a so-called normal wind year, which is an average for a period of five to
12 .------------------------------------------------,
I
X xX I I I
11 -------~-------~~-~---~--------
X I X X
I
I
X
X X
X
X
~ X
1X
1 1 X 1X X X
9 ------~------~----~-~- -----~------~--------
X I X
8 L-------~------~------~--------L-------~------~
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 zooo
x = one-year average - = two-year average - = five-year average
Figure 5.3 Yearly averages for the geostrophic wind in Sweden, 1881-1995
This diagram shows averages in Svealand (southern Sweden) from 1881 to 1995, based on obser-
vations in Visby, Gothenburg and Lund.
Source: Professor Smedman, Uppsala University
ten years, before it can be used to calculate the wind energy content at the site. The
measured wind data have to be compared with corresponding data from the same
measurement period in the same region, where long-term data are also available.
Then you can check how representative the data from the measurement period are
compared to the long-term data from this second measuring mast. Finally you can
adjust your own wind data so that they will correspond to a 'normal' year.
The Swedish meteorological institute SMHI has gathered wind data for dec-
ades from a large number of meteorological stations in different parts of the coun-
try. On most sites it is possible to calculate the energy content of the wind without
using your own measuring equipment. Instead you can recalculate the wind data
from an existing measuring mast, with long-term data, using the so-called wind
atlas method. Thus in Sweden it is only necessary to make your own measurements
in complex terrain and where available data are unreliable (for example in n:toun-
tain areas, on large lalces and at sea).
54 WIND ENERGY
0
1875 1900 1925 1950 1975
Figure 5.4 Variations in the wind's energy content, Denmark, 1875-1975
This diagram shows how the energy content of the wind at Hesselo in Denmark has varied during
5-year periods from 1875 to 1975, compared to the average for the whole 100-year period.
The wind atlas method

A method to calculate the energy content at different sites was developed by sci-
entists from the Risoe research station in Denmark in the 1980s. The scientists
made careful measurements of how the wind was influenced by different kinds
of terrain, hills and obstacles. From these empirical data they developed models
and algorithms to describe the influence of hills, different kinds of obstacles and
topography (see Table 4.1 and Figures 4.6-4.8 in the preceding chapter).
These algorithms were then used in a computer program, WAsP, that can
be used to calculate the energy content at a given site using wind data from an
existing wind measuring mast with long-term wind data (that are converted to
so-called wind atlas data) and with information that describes obstacles, hills and
the roughness of the terrain within a radius of 20km from the site where the wind
turbine will be installed (see Box 5.4).
A wind atlas program works in two steps. The first step is to convert normal
long-term wind data (covering five to ten years and both wind speed and direc-
tion) from a regular wind measurement mast to so-called wind atlas data. This
means that the wind data from the measuring mast are normalized t:o a common
Box 5.4 WIND ATLAS PROGRAMS
There are several different computer programs for wind power applications, based on the
so-called wind atlas method. All of them have a Microsoft Windows interface, are easy
to work with and give reliable results. They can be used to calculate how much a wind
turbine of a given model can produce at a given site, sound propagation, park efficiency
and visual impact. These programs can also be used to make wind resource maps and
economic calculations.
Wind power researchers at Risoe in Denmark developed the program WAsP; EMD
(Energi- och miljodata) in Alborg developed WindPRO, which is available in many different
languages; and there are two good British programs, WindFarm and WindFarmer. These
powerful programs are very useful planning tools for development of wind power projects.
However, it is always the quality of the data that are fed into the program that will
decide the quality of the output.
There are also other kinds of programs called Mesoscale models. A detailed model of
the landscape, information about atmospheric pressure (it is differences in atmospheric
pressure that makes the air move) and other data are fed into the program, which then
calculates the energy content in the wind for large areas or regions. These are complicated
meteorological models and need very powerful computers and a long time to make the
calculations.
There are also programs that can make wind and power production prognoses, for a
couple of hours to a few days. The program is then connected by modem to a super-
computer for meteorological models used by meteorological institutes to make regular
weather forecasts.
format, so data from different masts are comparable and can be used by the
program.
Wind measurement masts often stand close to buildings and are surrounded
by different types of terrain in different directions and often also by hills and
mountains. The program can 'delete' the influence from obstacles, orography
(height contours) and terrain (roughness), so that the measured wind data are
converted to what they would be if the terrain had been plain (roughness class 1)
without any hills or obstacles, at 10m agl. The first set of wind atlas data consists
of the frequency distribution of the wind in twelve sectors (N, NNW, WNW, etc.)
1Om agl in roughness class 1.
These data are then recalculated to other heights: 25, 50, 100 and 200 metres.
Together these data describe the regional wind climate in an area with a radius of
approximately 20-1 OOkm (the size of the area depends on local conditions) where
the geostrophic winds are the same.
To calculate the energy content of the wind and how much a specific wind
turbine can be expected to produce at a given site, the same procedure is followed,
but the other way around. Within a reasonable distance from the measuring mast
56 WIND ENERGY
that has been used to process the wind atlas data, the properties of the winds at
200m agl should be the same. By entering data about the roughness of the ter-
rain within a 20km radius of the site, data about hills and obstacles, and finally
data about the wind turbine (hub height, rotor swept area, and power curve that
describes how much the turbine will produce at different wind speeds), the pro-
gram calculates the frequency distribution of the wind at the hub height. Finally
the program calculates how much the turbine can produce at that site during an
average wind year (see Figure 5.5).
WfNI} ~~UMATE
Figure 5.5 Wind atlas method
Wind data from meteorological stations are first converted to wind atlas data by clearing away the
influence of obstacles, terrain roughness and heights (upwards arrow). These data are then used to
calculate the wind climate at specific sites by adding the influence of the specific conditions (obsta-
cles, roughness, heights) at that site (downwards arrow).
Wind resource maps

In many countries meteorological institutes have converted wind data (from five
to ten year periods) from a large number of measuring masts to wind atlas data,
which can be used as a database in wind atlas programs. Many are already inte-
grated in, for example, WindPRO. Some are available from the Risoe website
www.windatlas.dk. At www.rsvp.nrel.gov/wind_resources you can also find wind
resource maps for many countries. It is also possible to enter raw data from a wind
measuring mast and convert them to wind atlas data. The programs can also be
used to produce wind resource maps.
In Sweden the meteorological institute SMHI produced wind resource maps
for the southern parts of the countty in 1996 and 1997. The energy content of
the wind is shown as isolines (kWh/m 2 /year) that connect points with the same
energy content. Isolines for wind energy are named isovents.
Since wind speed increases with height agl, the height for the wind resource
map always has to be specified. The standard height for wind measurements is
Figure 5.6 Wind resource map
On a wind resource map the energy content of the wind is shown by lines. According to this map
of southern Gotland, the wind at sea off the west and east coasts, at SOm agl, averages 6400kWh/
m 2/year. The energy is reduced as the wind moves in over the island - 4km from the coast (upper
middle part of map), the energy has already been reduced by 50 per cent.
Source: Krieg et al (1997)

58 WIND ENERGY
Box 5.5 WIND SPEED AT DIFFERENT HEIGHTS

If the average wind speed at a height (hJ is known and you want to find the wind speed
at hub height (h), the following relation can be used:
where:
V0 is the known wind speed at height ho and
vis the wind speed at height h.
The value of the exponent a depends on the roughness of the terrain:
roughness class 0 (open water): a= 0. i

roughness class i (open plain): a 0. i 5
roughness class 2 (countryside with farms): a = 0.2
roughness class 3 (villages and low forest): a = 0.3.
Example: if the average wind speed on an open plain (roughness class i) is 6m/s at i Om
height agl, the average wind speed at 50m agl will be:
V 10 6m/S
h =50m
h 10 =10m
V50 = 6(50/10)015 = 7.6m/s.
There are different values of a in the literature. These values come from the wind atlas
program WindPR02.4 and the method is called the power law. There is another method,
but this simple one usually gives the best results when h 2 50m.
lOm agl. For wind power the relevant height for calculations is the hub height,
which depends on the size of the turbine. SMHI's maps are made for two heights,
50 and 80m agl (see Figure 5.6).
SMHI's wind resource maps have been made with the WAsP wind atlas pro-
gram from Risoe. The energy content has been calculated for a number of points
in a grid covering Gotland. This means that the information is not detailed enough
to make calculations for wind turbines at a specific site, but gives a general idea of
the areas where the preconditions for wind power development are best.
If wind speed is measured at a site during a shorter period, for example 6-12
months, the wind energy during a normal year can be calculated using wind data
from a close measuring mast with long-term data available, if there is a correlation
between the wind at the two sites. The frequency distribution can be assumed to
be the same. By calculating the quotient of the measured average wind speed and
the corresponding average wind speed from the meteorological station for the
same period of time, this quotient can be multiplied by the long-term (five to ten
year) average wind speed from the meteorological station. This normalized aver-
age wind speed is given the same frequency distribution as the winds at the me-
teorological station and then the energy content of the wind at the wind turbine
site can be calculated.
A more advanced method to do the same kind of long-term correction of the
wind at a site is the long-term Weibull scale method. The procedure is basically the
same, but instead of the mean wind speed the Weibull parameters are adjusted
for each of the sectors: Le/LA= Me/MAwhere Le is the long-term form factor, LA
the long-term scale factor, Me the measured (short-term) form factor and MA the
measured scale factor.
The relation between wind speed and height

As a general rule wind speed will increase with height. How large this increase will
be depends on the roughness of the terrain. In areas with high roughness the wind
speed will increase more with height than over a smooth terrain. But the wind
speed at a specific height, for example 50m agl, will always be higher in an area
with low roughness.
With wind turbines you are interested in the wind speed at hub height. This
height varies for different models and manufacturers, but although available wind
data usually represent a different height than the hub height, it is not very difficult
to recalculate these for other heights (see Box 5.5).
6
Conversion ofWind Energy
The winds that move above our heads contain a lot of power. To be able to use this
as a source of energy, this power has to be 'caught' and transformed to a form that
can be used. This can be done with the help of a turbine, which the wind causes
to rotate - the turbine turns an axis that can be connected to a millstone, a water
pump or an electrical generator.
The wind drives the rotor on a windmill in the following fashion: the rotor
blades are inclined in relation to the wind and the moving air pushes against the
blades that start to move in one direction with the air moving in the other, an
example of action-reaction (see Figure 6. 1).
If the rotor is allowed to rotate without any load, it will accelerate, up to a
limit. When the speed of rotation increases, the apparent wind direction will get
closer to the direction of the blade (the chord), until it finally becomes parallel
to the blade direction. Then no further power will impinge on the blade, and the
speed of rotation will decrease (see Figure 6.2). The apparent wind direction will
return to its previous state, the rotor will accelerate again and the procedure will
repeat.
Wind
Wind
Figure 6.1 Wind against stationary blade
When the wind starts to blow on a rotor with simple blades (for example a windmill) while in a
stationary state, the air is forced to move in one direction while the blade is pushed in the other
and the rotor will start to turn.
Source: Typoform
62 WIND ENERGY
Resultant wind
Wind
Figure 6.2 Apparent wind direction
The blade will react to the resulting wind, which is the sum of the vectors from the horizontal wind
speed and the speed of rotation.
Source: Typoform
When the energy in the wind is converted, it is done with a special purpose- to
drive a water pump or an electrical generator, for example - which is called the
load. The axle that is connected to a millstone, a generator or some other device
that has to be turned around and offers resistance. It is important to find a good
balance between the load/work on one side and the ability of the rotor to catch
and convert the energy in the wind on the other. How then should a wind turbine
be constructed to be efficient?
The windmill engineers in medieval times were highly skilled in constructing
very efficient windmills, but their constructions were based solely on experience.
An early example of wind power research was that of Englishman John Smeaton,
who in 1759 started to conduct some practical experiments to try to find the most
efficient blade angle for a windmill. He built a model of a rotor where the blade
angle could be changed and mounted it on a horizontal pole on a device in a barn,
so that the pole could be rotated. He attached a wire to the rotor :ucis that was
drawn over a wheel so that different weights could be attached to the other end of
the wire. One of his farm hands was then assigned the task of setting the pole with
the experimental rotor on the end in motion by pulling a rope that was wound
round a vertical axis, so the experimental rotor moved around in a circle inside
the barn. The wind speed that hit the rotor would be the same as the peripheral
speed of the pole. By changing the angles of the rotor blades and observing which
weights the rotor had the power to pull, he managed to find the rnost efficient
blade angle (see Figure 6.3).
The construction of modern wind turbines is based on much more advanced
experiments and theories, and there are many questions to taclde: How many
CONVERSION OF WIND ENERGY 63
,!'
I
I
I
--· .ll ___ .ll
(i r
!E
- ·' -===+ -=--*
Figure 6.3 John Smeaton's experiment
The set-up of Englishman John Smeaton's 1759 experiment to find the most efficient blade angle:
the rope pulled around the small rotor at the end of the pole; in the tray (P) weights were placed to
measure the power of the rotor. Smeaton tested blades of different forms and angles. He found that
the optimal rotor should have an angle of 18 degrees to the plane of rotation in the inner half of the
blade, and be twisted to 16, 12 and 7 degrees in the three outer sixths of the blade. He therefore
developed a twisted blade.
Source: Hills (1996)
blades should a rotor have? How much of the swept area should they cover? What
form should the blades take?
The wind in a stream tube

Wind is air in motion. Air has mass, and the power of wind is the product of the
cube of the wind speed and the mass of the air that passes the rotor disc during a
specified time. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be con-
64 WIND ENERGY
verted from one form to another; thus to convert the kinetic energy of the wind
the moving air has to be slowed down.
To convert all of the wind's kinetic energy, the moving air would have to be
retarded completely. That is, however, not feasible. If a rotor slowed down the
wind so much that it was stationary behind it, this immovable air would stop the
airflow. If you mount a solid rotor it will stop the airflow and the air will escape
outside its limits. The wind must be able to pass through the rotor, and also be
able to move on behind the rotor. It has to keep some of its wind speed.
The rotor of a wind turbine is a so-called free turbine. The wind and the tur-
bine are unshrouded. In a hydro power station the water is led to a tube and a wall
surrounds the turbine so that no water can escape, and thus it will be possible to
utilize almost 100 per cent of the kinetic energy of the streaming water. With a
free turbine this is theoretically impossible.
Fluid Mechanics is a specialist subject within physics that studies the proper-
ties of fluid matter, liquids and gases. Aerodynamics is the part of fluid mechanics
that is about air. A stream tube is an imaginary tube in the direction of the wind
in which the turbine fits (see Box 6.1).
Box 6.1 THE WIND IN A STREAM TUBE
v1--
\
'---------r-Q:It pel
Figure 6.4 Wind in a stream tube

Source: Typoform
The power in a stream tube is given by P = 1/2 m' v2 . If a wind turbine is placed in the stream
tube a part of this power will be converted to electric power. The power that enters the tube
equals the power that leaves the tube plus the power that has been extracted by the turbine:
pbefore = p e/ + pafler
1h mv/ = P., + 1/2 mv22
P., = 1/2 m(v12 - v22).
The power that can be extracted by the turbine depends on how much the wind speed
is retarded. P.,can be maximized by choosing a suitable value for the retardation of the
undisturbed wind speed v1 .
... A1.
v1
p
(Air density
Upstream kg/m 3) Downstream
Figure 6.5 Retardation ofwind speed
The same amount (kg per second) will pass areas A 1, A and A 2 (otherwise air would accumulate
in the tube). The mass fiow (m = Avp) is the same. This means that A1v1p = Avp = A,v,p. Since
wind speed is retarded (v1 > v > v,), A 1< A< A,. The stream tube expands when the wind speed is
retarded.
Source: Typoform/Ciaesson (1 989)
How efficiently the power in the wind is utilized depends on how much the wind
is retarded by the rotor. If it is retarded too much, or too little, efficiency will be
low. The cross-section area of the stream tube in front of the turbine, and thus the
mass flow that will pass the turbine, will decrease when the wind speed is retarded
(see Figures 6.5 and 6.6).
The modern theory for wind turbines was created by the German scientist
Albert Betz from Gottingen and was further developed by Hans Glauert and G
Schmitz. Betz showed that a wind turbine is most efficient when the wind speed
is retarded by one third just in front of the rotor, and by another third behind the
rotor. The undisturbed wind v is retarded by the rotor to .% v and will decrease to
~ v behind the rotor before it regains its original wind speed due to the influence
of the surrounding winds. The power in the wind is used most efficiently in this
case - 16/27 (59 per cent) of the power in the wind can be extracted, ignoring
aerodynamic and mechanical losses. The rotor of a wind turbine can therefore
at most utilize 59 per cent of the energy content of the wind, according to basic
theory (see Figure 6.7).
The share of the power in the wind that can be utilized by the rotor is called
the power coefficient, C.p Its maximum value is Cpmttx = 16/27 ("'0.593). For real
turbines Cp is lower, due to aerodynamic and medianicallosses, and the value also
varies for different wind speeds. The power that a wind turbine can attain can be
expressed asP= Y2pAvC. p
How should a wind turbine rotor be constructed? Most old windmills had
four rectangular blades that covered about 20 per cent of the swept area. This was
mainly due to practical considerations - they were easy to build and worked well.
Windmills for water pumping that were developed in the US in the 19th century
had blades that covered almost the whole swept area, and the wind passed through
66 WIND ENERGY
··~ H
Figure 6.6 Optimal retardation
In the example to the left M retardation is very strong. The share(%) of extracted power is large,
but it is taken from a very narrow stream tube, so the total extracted power will be small. In the
example to the right (H) a small share is extracted but from a very wide and thus powerful stream
tube. In this case too the total extracted power will be small. The optimal retardation is somewhere
between these extreme cases.
Source: Typoform
V tv
Figure 6.7 Betz's Law
Alfred Betz showed that half of the retardation happens at the turbine and the rest behind the
turbine after the wind has passed through it. The change in wind speed does not happen stepwise
but continuously. The undisturbed wind speed vis reduced to v(1-a) when it passes through the
turbine and to v(1-2a) some distance behind it (the retardation starts about one rotor diameter in
front of the turbine and reaches its maximum about one diameter behind it). The unit a is called the
interference factor. If this factor is 0.5, the wind speed behind the rotor will be reduced to zero. This
means that 0<a<0.5. The theoretical maximum share of the power in the undisturbed wind that can
be utilized is 16/27 or 59.3%. This maximum is reached for a= ,Ys,
which means that the turbine
retards the wind speed by Ys at the turbine and by anotherYs behind the turbine.
Source: Typoform/Ciaesson (1989)

slots between the blades. Modern wind turbines use three slender blades that cover
not more than 3-4 per cent of the swept area. They are, however, much more ef-
ficient than their predecessors.
The optimal rotor has, theoretically, an infinite number of infinitely narrow
blades, and obviously you can't manufacture such a turbine. With blade element
theory it is possible to calculate the optimum total blade width that can then
be divided by the desired number of blades. The fewer blades that are used, the
higher rotational speed is needed to get the same efficiency.
The rotational speed of the rotor in relation to the undisturbed wind speed
plays a crucial role for the efficiency of the turbine. This is called the tip speed
ratio. It is a measure of the relation between the tip speed (the speed of the tip
of the rotor blades) and the undisturbed wind speed (before it has been re-
tarded by the rotor). From practical experience and by theoretical calculations
the optimal tip speed ratio can be calculated for different types of rotors (see
Figure 6.8).
The diagram shows that a windmill has a narrow range of tip speed ratios. It is
most efficient with a ratio of 2, and the same applies for other older types of wind
turbine. Modern turbines with two or three blades have a maximum at a ratio of
10 and 7 respectively. They have a broad span and are quite efficient over a wide
range of tip speed ratios.
If the ratio is 1 the blade tip has the same speed as the wind. The apparent
wind direction will be 45 degrees (to the plane of rotation), but since the wind
is retarded by a third before it reaches the rotor, the apparent wind direction will
be 34 degrees. To be able to utilize the power of the wind, the angle of the blades
has to be smaller than that, and half as big gives 17 degrees. Windmills, with a
tip speed ratio around 2, often have a blade angle (to the plane of rotation) of 15
degrees.
The blade tip of a modern wind turbine has a speed ten times as fast as the
wind speed. It may seem implausible for a wind of 5m/s to drive a blade with a
speed of 50 m/ s. This is, however, what actually happens and the following section
explains how this is possible.
Aerodynamic lift
If we look at other devices that are driven by the wind, like sailing ships or ice
yachts (where the phenomena is more obvious due to lower friction), it will be
easier to understand how it works. When a yacht sails in the wind direction, with
the wind coming from the rear, it can't move faster than the wind. That is quite
obvious. The wind pushes the yacht from behind.
If the yacht beats to windward, that is it sails in a direction where the wind
comes diagonally from the front, the wind can't push the yacht. Instead the yacht
is pulled by the difference in pressure that is created when the wind passes the sail
68 WIND ENERGY
Power
coefficient, Cp Tip speed ratio, 'A
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Turbine free of losses

0.5
Figure 6.8 Tip speed ratio diagrams
The tip speed ratio is the relation between the tip speed vtip and the undisturbed wind speed vo and
is signified by 'A (lambda): 'A= v,i/V0 • The power coefficient CP gives a measure of how large a share
of the wind's power a turbine can utilize. The theoretical maximum value of CP is 16/27 "'0.5926.
The diagram shows the relation between tip speed ratio and power coefficient for different types of
wind turbines: a) windmill; b) modern turbine with three blades; c) vertical axis Darrieus turbine; d)
modern turbine with two blades.
Source: Typoform/Sodergard (1990)
(that has a shape similar to an aircraft wing). With a sailing yacht it is not very
obvious that it will move faster than the wind, since water creates strong friction.
An ice yacht, however, can easily reach speeds of 1OOkm/hour with a wind of Sm/s
(30km/hour). The yacht is moving three times faster than the wind, and it is be-
ing moved by lift, just like an aeroplane is moved upwards and kept in the air by
aerodynamic lift.
If you stretch your arm out through the window of a car that is moving at a
good speed, you can feel your arm pushed backwards. If you hold the arm straight
with your hand parallel to the road, and change the angle slightly, you can sud-
denly feel that it is drawn upwards. The hand and arm work like the wing of an
aeroplane, and with the right angle (of attack) you can feel a strong lift force.
These two forces determine the properties of an aerodynamic blade profile (or
aerofoil). One force pulls backwards, drag (D), and another force pulls upward,
lift (L). It is this lift force that malces aeroplanes fly and the rotor of modern wind
turbines rotate. (The lift force is actually applied also to so-called drag devices,
like windmills and Savonius rotors, but to a lesser degree, otherwise the tip speed
ratio would not pass 1.)
The properties of an aeroplane wing are defined by its aerofoil. It is the form
of the aerofoil, in combination with the angle of attack, that determines lift and
other properties. These properties can be detected by tests in a wind tunnel (see
Figure 6.9).
When a stream of air hits the leading edge of an aerofoil, some of the air passes
over it and some below. When the air stream passes the aerofoil a lift force is cre-
ated, which depends on the angle of the wind direction in relation to the chord,
the angle of attack (see Figure 6.10).
If the angle of attack is too large, the stream of air that passes on the top side
of the aerofoil cannot attach to the profile all the way to the back edge (called the
trailing edge). The flow will stall (whirls are created). When that happens, the lift
force will decrease. When the wind speed increases too much this property is used
by stall-regulated turbines to limit the power of the rotor (see Figure 6.11).
The strength of the lift force also depends on the form and width of the aero-
foil, as well as the wind speed. Modern wind turbines utilize these aerodynamic
properties to optimize the aerofoils that are used on the rotor blades of turbines.
Plane of rotation
Figure 6.9 Aerofoil
An aerofoil is divided by a centreline, the chord. The angle of attack (signified by a) is defined as
the angle between the chord line and the direction of the apparent wind. To get a suitable angle
of attack the blades of a wind turbine rotor are set at an angle to the plane of rotation, known as
the blade angle (or sometimes pitch angle). This blade angle is signified by~· The aerofoil also has
a centre point, c, which is situated on the chord about 25 per cent from the leading edge of the
aerofoil (the distance depends on the form of aerofoil). The sums of lift (and other forces) are sum-
marized (and applied) to this point.
Source: Typoform
70 WIND ENERGY
Lift (L),
(exactly perpendicular to the wind)
Drag (D)
Chord linP.
Figul'e 6.10 Lift
Lift L and drag D are functions of the angle of attack a. The force L is always perpendicular to the
direction of the apparent wind, while the force D is applied in the direction of the apparent wind (and
therefore perpendicular to L).
Source: Typoform/Montgomerie (1999)
Plane of rotation
Figme 6.11 Stall
When the angle of attack a becomes too large, the airflow cannot follow the topside of the aerofoil
all the way to the trailing edge. Eddies are created that reduce lift and increase drag. For a wind
turbine with constant rotational speed and fixed blade angles, the angle of attack will increase when
the wind speed increases as the angle of the apparent wind direction will increase. Therefore stall
can be utilized to reduce lift (and thereby the power) when the wind speed becomes larger than a
specified speed.
Source: Typoform/Montgomerie (1999)

PART Ill
Technology
How wind turbines are designed, the function of different components and tech-
nical solutions used by different manufacturers are described in this part of the
book. It starts with a brief description of types of wind turbine in Chapter 7,
followed by chapters on the wind turbine rotor (Chapter 8), nacelle, tower and
foundation (Chapter 9) and electrical and control systems (Chapter 10). How
all of these components work together follows in Chapter 11, Efficiency and
Performance. The focus is on large commercial wind turbines.
7
Types ofWind Turbine
There are several different design concepts for wind turbines. One basic classi-
fication is Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) versus Vertical Axis Wind
Turbines (VAWT). Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines can have the rotor upwind,
that is facing the wind or downwind so that the wind will pass the tower and na-
celle before it hits the rotor (see Figure 7.1). Today most turbines have an upwind
rotor, but there are turbines, from prototypes in the MW-class to smaller turbines
with a nominal power of20-150kW, as well as water pumping wind wheels from
the 19th century, with downwind rotors.
Upwind rotor Windmill
Windwheel
Downwind High tip-

rotor speed ratio
Wind turbine
Savonius rotor
Darrieus
turbine
Giro mill
Figure 7.1 Types ofwind turbines

74 TECHNOLOGY
Horizontal axis turbines

All these types of wind turbines have been built and used in practice. The wind-
mill and the wind wheel, described in Chapter 2, have a long histoty. The wind-
mill has played its part, but there are around one million wind wheels used for
water pumping in use in different parts of the world. They have a very robust
design, with quite simple components that are easy to maintain and repair. The
advantage with a wind wheel compared to a turbine with few slender blades and
high rotational speed is that it starts more easily, since the blades cover a much
larger share of the swept area. This is an advantage for a water pump, since it takes
a lot of power to get it running.
Turbines with a high tip speed ratio were first used as battery chargers (see
Chapter 2). Today they are used to produce electric power that is fed into the pow-
er grid, though there are still small micro turbines (with two to six blades) for bat-
tery charging. In the 1980s there were many different designs of grid-connected
wind turbines, with two or three rotor blades, some with the rotor downwind and
others with the rotor upwind. The advantage with a downwind rotor was consid-
ered to be that it would automatically adjust itself to the wind direction. However,
with sudden changes in wind direction this did not work At the beginning of the
21st century turbines with a three-bladed upwind rotor completely dominate the
market (see Figure 7.2).
Vertical axis turbines

The advantage with a vertical axis wind turbine is that the generator and gearbox
can be installed at ground level, making them easy to service and repair. Both the
Savonius and the Darrieus turbines are manufactured commercially, but in small
models that are used for different niche applications, like battery charging in areas
without a power grid (see Figures 7.3-7.7).
The Finnish engineer and inventor Georg Savonius developed a vertical axis
wind turbine in 1924, now called the Savonius rotor. It consists of a vertical S-
shaped surface that rotates around a central axis. By slipping the two halves so
that they overlap, and the wind can slip through the middle, efficiency can be
increased. Nowadays Savonius rotors are most commonly seen as advertisement
posters in front of restaurants and shops. They revolve, but produce no power.
There are, however, power producing Savonius rotors as well. They are easy to
maintain and reliable, but need a lot of material in relation to the power produced
and are not very efficient (see Figure 7.4).
The Savonius rotor is used as a battery charger on lighthouses and telecom
masts. It can also be used as a starter motor for a Darrieus turbine (see Figure 7.5).
The French engineer George Darrieus invented this 'egg-beater' shaped wind
turbine in 1925. It can have two to four blades, which form bows from the top of
TYPES OF WIND TURBINE 75
Rotor
Gearbox
Anemometer
Generator
Yaw motor
Transformer
Control system Foundation
Figure 7.2 The main components ofa wind turbine
A wind turbine consists of the following main components: foundation, tower, nacelle (generator,
gearbox, yaw motor, etc.), rotor, control system and transformer. The turbines that dominate the
market today have high tip speed ratios (where the tip speed is 5-7 times faster than the wind), a
rotor with three blades and a rotational speed of i Q-30 revolutions per minute. Most manufacturers
offer several models, with different hub heights and/or rotor diameters, so the turbines can be tailor-
made for specific sites.
Source: Typoform (after Tore Wizelius)

76 TECHNOLOGY
~
(/ ~
Figure 7.3 The Savonius rotor
Source: Typoform/Gipe (1993)
cP
._,
<: 0,6
Q)
·o
!E: 0,5
Q)
8 0,4
....Q)
0,3
3: Savonius rotor
,£ 0,2
0,1
2 4 6 8 10 12 "A
Tip speed ratio
Figure 7.4 Efficiency ofthe Savonius rotor
Source: Claesson (1989)
Diameter
Figure 7.5 The Darrieus turbine

TYPES OF WIND TURBINE 77
Figure 7.6 Giromill

78 TECHNOLOGY
the tower to the machinery that is sited at ground level. The blades are symmetri-
cal and very thin. The form directs the centrifugal force to the points where they
are connected to the central axis, so that the bending moments are minimized.
In most materials the tensile strength is stronger than the bending strength. A
Darrieus turbine does not need much material relative to the power produced.
How can such a symmetric turbine start to revolve? Well, it can't, it needs a
starter motor. But as soon as it starts to revolve, the wind will immediately take
over, since the wind and the revolution speed together form a resulting wind that
creates lift in the direction of revolution.
The swept area on a Darrieus turbine is A = .% IY. It has a narrow range of tip
speed ratios around 6 and a power coefficient Cp just above 0.3. Several Darrieus
turbines have been built, from a large MW prototype in Canada, through com-
mercial turbines in the 150kW range, to small models of a few kW
A giro mill is a turbine with two or more straight vertical blades that form an
H and are connected to a vertical axis.
A mechanical device that changes the blade angle during rotation can increase
efficiency. This device makes it self-starting, but the blade angles have to be ad-
justed in relation to the wind direction to start. The swept area of a giromill is the
height times the diameter: H x D. The strong load on the blades' points of attach-
ment and the bending moments are wealc points of this design. Most prototypes
have crashed and there are no large giromills manufactured commercially.
A giromill is more efficient than a Darrieus turbine and has a wider range of
tip speed ratios, but it is not as efficient as a horizontal axis turbine with high tip
speed ratio.
8
The Wind Turbine Rotor
A wind turbine rotor consists of rotor blades mounted on a hub. Most commercial
wind turbines have a three-bladed rotor. There are, however, turbines with two
blades, and in fact also turbines with only one single blade. The advantage with
fewer blades is that the weight of the rotor and also of many other components
of the turbine will decrease. The share of the power in the wind that can be con-
verted will decrease with fewer blades, but from an efficiency point of view the
differences are negligible, or at least easy to compensate by increasing the length
of the rotor blade a bit.
On three-bladed turbines the connection between hub and blades is rigid.
On a turbine with two blades or one single blade, they can be mounted so that
they are flexible in the vertical plane. On a so-called teetering hub, the two blades
can teeter a few degrees across the hub, which reduces loads on the turbine (see
Figures 8.1 and 8.2).
The tip speed ratio of the rotor

To utilize the power in the wind in an efficient way the rotor has to have suitable
rotational speed relative to its size (rotor diameter) and the wind speed. In other
words it has to have an efficient tip speed ratio (see Chapter 6). The tip speed ratio
of a turbine depends on the number of blades - fewer blades means the tip speed
ratio should increase. This means that for turbines with the same rotor diameter,
one-bladed turbines need a higher rotational speed than two-bladed turbines, which
in turn need higher rpm than three-bladed turbines, and so on (see Figure 8.3).
There is also a relationship between tip speed ratio, rotational speed and the
size of the rotor. The tip speed ratio is the ratio between the speed at the tip of
the rotor blade and the undisturbed wind speed, given by A= w,i /wo. At a given
rotational speed the tip speed increases with the length of the blade.
The rotational speed is usually signified by n and with the unit rpm, revolu-
tions per minute. The tip speed is given in the same unit as the wind speed, metres
per second (m/s). Besides the rotational speed, the tip speed also depends on the
radius of the rotor and is calculated using the following formula:
80 TECHNOLOGY
Figure 8.1 Wind turbine with two rotor blades
The wind turbine NWP I 000 from the Swedish company Nordic Wind Power, recently renamed
Delta Wind, has a two-bladed rotor with a teetering hub. With such a 'soft' design concept the
whole turbine can become slimmer and cheaper.

THE WIND TURBINE ROTOR 81
Figure 8.2 Wind turbine with one rotor blade
These turbines from the Italian manufacturer Riva Calzoni have a one-blade downwind rotor. The
blade, which is balanced by a counterweight, is flexible in the hub and moves backwards when the
wind speed increases, which reduces loads on the turbine.
Source: Riva Calzoni

82 TECHNOLOGY
'A=7
Figure 8.3 Relation between number ofblades and tip speed ratio
Wind turbines with six, three and two blades respectively, and their tip speed ratios.
Source: Typoform/Sodergard (1990)
_ n2rtR I
w,;p- - - - m s,
60
where R is the radius of the rotor.

The tip speed for a rotor with a 10-metre radius and a revolution speed of
30rpm is
_ 30x2nx10m ~
w,;p- ~ 30m1s.
60s
If the radius is increased to 20m the tip speed will increase to"" 60mls.
To keep the tip speed at 30mls when the rotor radius is increased to 20m, the
rotational speed can be reduced to 15rpm.
When the blades of a wind turbine rotate, the speed at the tip of the blade is
higher than at the root or in the middle part of the blade. For a wind turbine with
a 20-metre radius and a rotational speed of 30rpm the tip speed is 60mls but the
speed at the middle of the blade is only 30mls.
Since the speed of the blade segments increases from the root to the tip, the
apparent wind direction will change as well. When you move from root to tip,
the apparent wind direction will move towards the vertical plane. Thus to get the
same angle of attack along the whole blade, it has to be twisted (see Box 8.1).
Lift and circumferential force

The properties of the rotor also depend on the aerofoil used on the blades. In
the early days of wind power (in the 1970s and 1980s), aerofoils developed for
aeroplanes were used, mainly so-called NACA-aerofoils, but since the 1990s aero-
Box 8.1 BLADE TWIST
Figure 8.4 Apparent wind direction along a rotor blade

with a wind speed of9mls
Source: Sodergard (1990)
W 0 = 9m/s
%W 0
= 6m/s (the undisturbed wind will decrease to %just in front of the rotor disc)
w1;p = 60m/s <p 6°
wo.sR = 48m/s <p = 7o
w0 .6R = 36m/s <p = go
w0.4R = 26m/s <p = \4°
w0.2R = 12m/s <p = 2JG
<p =a+~.
where <p = the angle of the apparent wind to the vertical plane,
a = angle of attack, and
~ = blade angle (pitch)
(for definitions, see Chapter 6).
By twisting the blade (the blade chord's angle to the plane of rotation, ~)so that the angle
decreases towards the tip, the angle of attack a can be kept constant (for a given wind
speed): ~ = <p - a.
84 TECHNOLOGY
foils developed especially for wind turbines have been used. One profile can have
several different thicknesses. The last two digits in the type number of an aerofoil
give the relative thickness (thickness in relation to width) in per cent; thus the
maximum thickness ofNACA4412 is 12 per cent of the width.
On a wind turbine the lift from the rotor blades is utilized to make it revolve,
but the circumferential force is not the same as the lift force. The lift is always ap-
plied perpendicular to the apparent wind direction; the blade has a certain (con-
stant or variable) angle to the plane of rotation; and the aerofoil also offers some
friction, drag (D), which is applied in the apparent wind direction. From these
forces we get a circumferential force F. in the plane of rotation, and a force per-
pendicular to the plane of rotation, th~ust F,hrust. The circumferential force that
propels the rotor looks quite small in relation to F,hrust' but the power is large since
the rotational speed is very high (see Figure 8.5).
Fthrust
Plane of rotation
Fcirc
Fcirc =Circumferential force
Figure 8.5 Lift and circumferential force
When a stream of air passes an aerofoil, drag D is created in the apparent wind direction (W.,,) and
lift L perpendicular to this. These two forces have a resultant L,., (upper picture). L,., is divided into
two forces: Fclw ('useful force', which is applied in the plane of rotation and makes the rotor revolve)
and Flhrust ('useless force', which is applied perpendicular to the plane of rotation). This force is
absorbed by the main shaft, main bearing and tower (lower picture).
Source: Typoform/Ciaesson (1989)

The aerofoils of a wind turbine should create a strong circumferential force

and also have other properties suitable for wind turbines. The properties of an
aerofoil can be read from the following diagrams, which show the test results of
profiles from a wind tunnel. The first shows the relationship between the angle
of attack and lift (CL), the second, a gliding ratio diagram, shows the relationship
between the lift coefficient CL and the drag coefficient C0 (see Figure 8.6).
The direction of the wind that passes the blades will vary along the blade; the
angle in relation to the plane of rotation will decrease towards the blade tip. The
apparent wind direction will also change every time the undisturbed wind speed
changes. If the blade angle and rotational speed are constant, the angle of attack
and therefore also lift, drag and gliding ratio will change continuously between
different parts of the blade (see Figure 8.7).
Up to the end of the 1990s most wind turbines had a constant rotation-
al speed, which for turbines with IMW nominal power and about 50m rotor
diameter would be around 25rpm. Some turbines used two different fixed rota-
tional speeds: a lower one for low wind speeds, when a small generator was used,
and a higher one for stronger winds, when the large generator cut in. In this way
Stall point
1.0
0.0
-1.0
-4 7 15 a (o) 0.015
Figure 8.6 Aerofoil diagrams
The left diagram shows the relationship between lift and angle of attack. The aerofoil that the
diagram describes starts to have lift with an angle of attack of -4 o and reaches a maximum at 15°,
after which it decreases. With such a large angle of attack, the airstream cannot stick to the surface
of the aerofoil, so turbulence is created. The airflow separates and the aerofoil begins to stall.
The right diagram shows the relation between CL (the lift coefficient) and C 0 (the drag coefficient).
These are standardized aerodynamic coefficients that make it possible to calculate lift and drag for
aerofoils of different sizes. The best gliding ratio is found at the tangential point of a line from 0 on
the CL axis and the graph. The aerofoil is most efficient with an angle of attack of yo and has a safe
distance to the point where stall occurs at a> 15°.

86 TECHNOLOGY
v0 =6 m/s
~v0 = 4 m/s
<p=7
4 m/s
v0 = 12 m/s
~v0 = 8 m/s
<p = 15
8 m/s
v0 = 18 m/s
~v0 = 12 m/s
<p =22
12 m/s
Figure 8.7 Apparent wind direction and wind speed
Apparent wind direction over a segment of rotor blade with a rotational speed of 30m/s. On wind
turbines with constant rotational speed and blade angle, the angle between the plane of rotation
and the apparent wind speed will increase when the wind speed increases. The angle of attack will
increase simultaneously.
the rotor can operate dose to the optimum tip speed ratio at all wind speeds. In
the ideal case, however, it is the tip speed ratio that should be fixed, and not the
rotational speed, in other words the rotational speed should increase with the
wind speed. However, if the rotational speed of the rotor varies, the generator will
also get a variable speed and the voltage and frequency will vary as well.
Some manufacturers used variable rotational speed combined with power
electronics (rectifier and inverter) back in the 1980s, but in recent years more
and more manufacturers have changed the design concept from fixed to variable
rotational speed. One driving factor behind this has been that the prices for power
electronics have decreased quite substantially. Another is the demand from grid
operators on power quality from wind turbines.
Power control
The wind that makes the rotor revolve also pushes the whole turbine backwards. If
this thrust force gets too strong, the components in the turbine will be overloaded
and can break or the whole turbine can even be pushed over. Strong winds can
breal< the trunks of trees and lift a roof off a house. Wind turbines stand where
they have been installed and have to endure the worst weather conditions that can
appear at the site.
Power control means that the turbine limits the amount of (or share of) the
available power in the wind when the wind speed reaches a preset value, the rated
wind speed. This is usually set to a value between 12 and 16m/s. The rated wind
speed differs between different models and manufacturers. It can also be adapted
to the wind conditions at a specific site by adapting the rotor diameter to the gen-
erator's rated power. When the wind speed increases to storm force, the rotor will
be stopped and parked to protect the turbine from damage. This so-called cut-out
wind speed is set to about 25m/s for most turbines.
There are basically two different methods for power control on large wind
turbines: pitch and stall control. Turbines with pitch control have rotor blades that
can be turned around their longitude axis from the hub. By turning the blades
the angle of attack can be adapted to the wind speed. When the wind speed in-
creases above the rated wind speed, the blades are turned so that the power that
is extracted from the wind is reduced. In this way the power extracted from the
wind can be kept constant, at the rated power, when the wind speed rises above
the rated wind speed; the power curve will thus level out. When the cut-out wind
speed is reached, the blades are turned out of the wind so that the wind can
blow through the rotor without creating any lift and the rotor stops rotating. The
blades are foathered.
Turbines with stall control have a blade profile that creates eddies (turbulence)
on the upper side of the blade when the wind speed increases beyond the nominal
wind speed. The lift decreases and the drag increases. In this way the power that
is extracted from the wind can be kept close to the nominal power of the turbine
even when the wind speed is higher than the rated wind speed. However, it is
difficult to manufacture a rotor blade that will stall exactly as much as desired
at a specific wind speed to keep the power constant at the rated power in strong
winds (in fact this is impossible taking into account variations in air density with
variations in temperature and air pressure). The stall usually increases gradually: it
starts at 8-9m/s and thereafter increases so that the power is kept as close as pos-
sible to the rated power of the turbine when the wind speed increases above the
88 TECHNOLOGY
rated wind speed. When the cut-out wind speed is reached, aerodynamic brakes
are activated to stop the rotor. This brake in most cases is set at the blade tips: the
tip section of the blades is twisted to stop the rotation.
Stall control has been developed into so-called active stall. In active stall systems
the rotor blades can be turned along the longitude axis, just like pitch controlled
turbines. To reduce the extraction of power when the wind speed increases, pitch
controlled turbines turn the blades so that the wind will pass the turbines more
easily by decreasing the angle of attack. Turbines with active stall control turn the
blades the other way, to increase the angle of attack and consequently the stall.
Wind turbines with variable rotational speed don't need to regulate the blade
angle, since rotational speed increases with wind speed to keep the angle of attack
constant (and optimized). When a certain rotational speed and power output has
been reached, this kind of turbine also has to control the power by pitching the
rotor blades.
Box 8.2 POWER CONTROL
The windmills of the past were run manually by the miller. When winds were too strong, the
windmill was not used. When they were out of use, the rotor blades did not have their sails
on (they were made of sailcloth or wood boards), and the rotor was parked with a chain.
If unexpected strong winds appeared when the windmills were running, some windmills
could reduce the coverage of the rotor while running, by a safety measure that stripped
the sails off the rotor. Others had self-regulating sails with shutters, so-called patent sails.
Most windmills, however, had to be stopped with mechanical brakes, or turned out of the
wind manually. This was not easy, and many windmills caught fire from sparks from the
brakes when the rotor got out of control. This is why there are so few windmills left today:
most of them have vanished into smoke.
Wind wheels had other methods for power control. A large oblique vane was a simple
method. When wind speed increased, the pressure from the wind on the vane increased
so much that the rotor was turned out of the wind. On the Excenter turbine the nacelle
(generator, etc.) was mounted eccentrically on the tower, so it started to turn out of the
wind when the winds pressure on the rotor exceeded the rated wind speed. On other
small turbines, the rotor and nacelle are turned over backwards, over a hinge in the back
of the tower top, so the rotor goes into a helicopter position. The power decreases when
the rotor swept area is reduced.
The rotor blades can also be used for power control, either by using an aerofoil that stalls
when the wind speed gets high enough or by making the blades turn along the longitude
axis. Many more or less complicated methods for this have been developed. A centrifugal
regulator consists of a metal bar with a weight, attached to the blade close to the hub.
The blades are turnable, but are held in position by a spring. When the rotor revolves,
these weights apply a force to the blades, created centrifugally. This force increases with
the rotational speed, and when the force gets stronger than the force of the springs, the
blades start to turn and reduce the power extracted from the wind.
THE WIND TuRBINE RoToR 89
Rotor blade design

In practice rotor blades must have many different properties and have to be de-
signed to stand the strong loads that they will face. Therefore it is not suitable
or possible to use ideal blades that give maximum efficiency. Most blades are
designed with three different aerofoils: a very thick one close to the hub, an aero-
foil with average thickness in the middle part of the blade, and a very thin one
close to the tip. The part closest to the hub has to be thick and strong to make a
solid connection to the hub. This part of the rotor blade is almost round, like a
pipe. This innermost part of the rotor has a small area and does not contribute
much to power production.
The outer part of the blade often also has a less than optimum blade width,
since you gain more by increasing the swept area than you lose by using a less ef-
ficient blade width, which needs more material. It is the weight that is the decisive
factor in how long the blades can become.
Stall-controlled turbines wirh a fixed blade angle would be ve1y hard to get start-
ed in slow winds if they were twisted to attain optimum efficiency at their constant
rotational speed. A part of the blade is therefore designed with a blade angle that will
give enough lift to get the rotor to start revolving at a wind speed of 3-5m/s.
When the wind speed approaches the rated wind speed on a stall-controlled
turbine, and the power has to be controlled by stall, the revolutions will become
jerky if the wind stalls along the whole blade at the same time. By choosing a twist
and a combination of aerofoils, so the stall will vary on different segments of the
blade, this can be avoided. The stall starts close to the root of the blade and spreads
over an ever-larger part of the blade as the wind speed increases, so the power lev-
els out when the rated power/wind speed is reached.
Pitch controlled turbines can turn their blades to get the rotor to start to
revolve after a calm. They could in theory also vary the blade angle continuously
to adapt it to the prevailing wind speed. This has, however, not proved a reason-
able strategy, since the wind speed changes so frequently and rapidly. It would be
difficult to regulate fast enough, and components would become worn out very
quicldy. (On new and very large turbines this technology might prove practica-
ble.) The pitch control is mainly used to control the power when the wind speed
is above the rated wind speed. Pitch controlled turbines can use other aerofoils,
since they don't depend on stall. Turbines with variable speed can keep the blade
angle constant since the angle of attack will be constant as well.
Several manufacturers of stall-controlled turbines have developed active stall.
The advantage of this is that the power can be controlled better. The power in
the wind depends not only on the wind speed, but also on the air density, which
varies with air pressure and temperature. In conditions with the sarne wind speed,
the wind will contain more power in the winter when the temperature is -1 ooc
than in the summer when it is 20°C. In the winter a stall-controlled turbine with
nominal power of lMW can thus produce l.IMW, which is not good for the
90 TECHNOLOGY
generator. In the summer the opposite applies, and the turbine can't achieve its
full capacity. By regulating the blade angle the turbine can be adjusted to optimize
the turbine in all weather conditions. The power can also be controlled when the
wind speed is stronger than the rated wind speed, so the power output will stay at
the rated power level.
Wind turbines with pitch control have a pitch mechanism installed in the
hub. Some manufacturers use a hydraulic system for this, with a pump in the
nacelle and a piston that passes through the main shaft to the hub, where the
movement is transferred mechanically to the blades. Other manufacturers use an
electric system, with an electric motor connected to each of the blades. The lat-
est development is to have individual pitch on the blades, so they can be turned
independently of each other. On very large turbines the hydraulic system can be
installed in the hub instead of in the nacelle.
If a rotor runs without a load, it will accelerate very quicldy to its maximum
tip speed ratio. A three-bladed turbine is most efficient at a tip speed ratio of 6-7,
but without a load the tip speed ratio rapidly increases to 18 before the turbine
loses power. A rotor blade on a turbine with 50m rotor diameter will then have
a tip speed of 180m/s (650km/h) at a wind speed of 10m/s. This is usually more
than any blade will bear, so it is liable to break
The load on a turbine that is generating electric power is in the generator. If
the turbine is disconnected from the grid, during a power cut for example, the
load disappears and the rotor runs free. Therefore all turbines must have an aero-
dynamic brake. If the blades can be turned, they can simply be turned so that the
rotor stops. When the blades are turned to a horizontal position, called 'feathering
the blades', they lose their lift and are stopped by the friction from the air. Stall-
controlled turbines have blade tips that can be twisted. The outer parts of the
blades are turned into a perpendicular position in relation the rest of the blade.
Inside the nacelle there is also a mechanical brake which can be applied when the
rotor speed has decreased and which can be used as an emergency brake if the
aerodynamic brakes fail.
Rotor blades are exposed to great strain and stress. Since the wind is con-
stantly changing, the blades are exposed to millions ofload changes and have to be
manufactured with material that can stand such stress and avoid fatigue. Steel and
aluminium can't do this cost-effectively, so most rotor blades are manufactured
using glass fibre or epoxy. Wood is also a material that has good fatigue properties
and there are blades made of laminated wood with a plastic coating. The blades
are built around a load bearing axis. The surface, made of sheets of glass fibre or
epoxy, is mounted around the axis to create an aerofoil. The relative weight of the
blades (kg/m2 swept area) has been halved since the early 1980s, from 3 to 1.5kg/m2
swept area. And with carbon fibre and glass fibre reinforced epoxy the weight
could be reduced even further, down to 0.5-0.7kg/m 2 •
As the turbines have grown in size, rotor blades have been made more elastic.
Some of the loads can thus be absorbed directly by the blades instead of by the
nacelle and tower. With an upwind rotor, however, there is a limit to the elasticity
that can be built into the blades, as obviously they can never be allowed to hit the
tower.
Wind turbines that are built for an arctic climate may also need a de-icing
system for their blades. With cold rain and fog, when the rotor is idle, a crust of
ice will quicldy form; the shape of the aerofoil will thus change and so will the
aerodynamic properties of the rotor. Ice can also create imbalance on the rotor, in
which case the turbine will not be able to start, as the control systern will prevent
unbalanced running. Thus a turbine can lose a lot of valuable production during
the winter. To avoid this, de-icing systems that melt the ice can be used. One
system uses electric heating of the blades and is governed by an ice detector on
the nacelle. The anemometer and wind vane should also be heated to avoid icing
in arctic climates, since they give important input to the wind turbine control
system.
9
Nacelle, Tower and Foundation
The unit mounted on top of a wind turbine tower is called the nacelle, gondola
or machine cabin. Inside the nacelle there is the gearbox, generator and other
mechanical and electrical components. Most large grid-connected wind turbines
have conical steel towers. Smaller turbines can have a lattice tower or guyed mast.
To mal<:e turbines firmly rooted in the ground, so that they will not be turned over
by strong winds, turbines are mounted on foundations of reinforced concrete. If
the bedrock is solid and stable they can be bolted to the rock.
Nacelle
The nacelle of horizontal axis turbines contains a bed plate on which the compo-
nents are mounted. There is a main shaft with main bearings, a generator, and a
yaw motor that turns the nacelle and rotor into the wind. There can be several
other components as well; these vary depending on the model and design concept
used by the manufacturing company.
A wind turbine of the so-called Danish standard concept, which has been
used since the early 1980s (three-bladed upwind rotor with fixed rotational speed
and an asynchronous generator) contains the main shaft (the shaft that is turned
by the rotor) and main bearings, an asynchronous generator and a gearbox that
will increase the rotational speed of the rotor to the 1010 or 15 15 rpm that the
generator demands to produce electric power. There is also a yaw motor and a disc
bral<:e used for emergency stops and parking. On top of the nacelle an anemo-
meter and a wind vane are mounted; these are connected to the control system of
the turbine (see Figure 9.1).
The main shaft protrudes through the front of the nacelle. A rotor hub made
of a steel casting is mounted at the end of the shaft. The hub is covered by a nose
cone that protects the hub and reduces the turbulence in front of the rotor. Wind
turbines with pitch or active stall control also have bearings for the blades and
mechanical or electrical equipment to adjust the blade angles. Turbines that use
a hydraulic system to rotate the blades have a hydraulic pump in the nacelle con-
nected to a piston that passes through (inside) the main shaft out to the hub.
94 TECHNOLOGY
I Spinner 8 Main shaft ISYaw ring

2 Rotor Hub 9 Gearbox 16 Yaw bearing
3 Blade I0 Brake calliper 17 Nacelle bedplate
4 Pitch bearing II Brake disc 18 Yaw gearbox
5 Pitch system 12 Coupling 19 Hydraulic system
6 Main bearing 13 Generator 20 Canopy
7Top controller 14 Meteorological sensors 21 Generator fan
Figure 9.1 Nacelle: Danish standard concept
The nacelle of a Siemens 1.3MW turbine.
Source: www.powergeneration.siemens.com
The purpose of the gearbox is to increase the low speed of the main shaft to the
speed that the generator demands- 1010rpm for a six-pole and 1515rpm for a four-
pole generator. Since a large wind turbine has a rotational speed of 15-30rpm, a sig-
nificant step-up is necessary; this has to be done in several steps. Most wind turbines
therefore use a three-step gearbox. Gearboxes on large turbines also need efficient
lubrication and cooling and thus need an oil pump and oil cooling system as well.
Most wind turbines use so-called asynchronous generators. The generator size
is specified by its nominal power, which will be attained at the nominal wind
speed. When the wind speed is lower, the generator will produce less power. Many
wind turbine models have two different generators, or a so-called double wound
generator (which can alternate between four and six poles, in other words like two
generators in one). The smaller generator is utilized for low wind speeds and the
larger for high wind speeds. There are also wind turbines that have a multi-pole
synchronous generator, which can produce electric power at low revolution speed
and does not need a gearbox. The nacelle of such a turbine contains very few
components (see Figure 9.2 and Figure 10.7 in Chapter 10).
A new and very interesting concept is the so-called hybrid, which combines
a multi-pole synchronous generator with low revolution speed with a robust one-
step planet gearbox.
Wind turbines should have two independent bralce systems, an aerodynamic
brake (described in Chapter 8) and a mechanical bralce in the nacelle. The me-
NACELLE, TOWER AND FoUNDATION 95
Figure 9.2 Direct drive wind turbine
Nacelle of an Enercon E-48 turbine. Wind turbines manufactured by Enercon have a very large
multi-pole ring generator that is connected directly to the rotor. Inside the hub there are three elec-
tric motors for pitch control of the rotor blades, and in the nacelle there are yaw motors to align the
turbine to the wind direction.
Source: www.enercon.de
chanical bral<:e is mainly used as a parking brake when service and maintenance is
performed in the nacelle, but it should have enough strength to stop the rotor if
the aerodynamic bral<:es fail. A disc bral<:e, mounted on the fast running shaft that
connects the gearbox with the generator, is used for this purpose.
Yaw control
To utilize the wind efficiently, the rotor should be perpendicular to the wind di-
rection. When post mills where in use, the miller simply checked the wind direc-
tion, and turned the windmill towards the wind by hand or with the help of oxen
or a winch. But even in the early days of wind power the windmill engineers were
ingenious. They developed the so-called Dutch windmill. The top of the mill, the
cap, was disconnected from the tower so it could be turned on a slide bearing to
bring the sails into the wind. A wind wheel was mounted perpendicular to the ro-
tor. When the wind direction changed so it hit the windmill rotor sideways, this
96 TECHNOLOGY
The rotor is combined to the power unit using a custom-made three-row roller bearing (1).
The roller bearing transfers the rotor loads directly to the main casing past the planetary gear
and generator.
The single-stage planetary gear (2) increases the rotating speed from 8-25 rpm to 44-146 rpm.
The low speed permanent magnet generator (3) produces the electricity.
The rotational speed of rotor is controlled by three independent electric pitches (4).
Figure 9.3 Hybrid concept
Nacelle of the WinWind turbine, manufactured in Finland. it has a robust one-step planet gearbox
connected to a multi-pole synchronous generator.
Source: WinWind
wind wheel started to revolve. And the wind wheel was connected to a cogwheel
that turned the cap towards the wind. When it was back in its perpendicular
position towards the wind, the wind wheel stopped. This robust mechanical yaw
system is still used on some smaller turbine models.
Larger turbines use yaw motors that are controlled by a wind vane. When the
wind changes a specified number of degrees, and this new wind direction lasts a
specified time, the control system sends an order to the yaw motor, which begins
to turn the nacelle back into alignment with the wind. If the nacelle has made
several revolutions in the same direction, the cable from the nacelle down to the
ground has to be rewound; othetwise it will be twisted off. Mter three revolutions
(on most models) the turbine will be stopped by the control system and the yaw
motors turn the nacelle in the opposite direction to rewind the cables.
NACELLE, TOWER AND FoUNDATION 97
Towers
Most manufacturers oflarge turbines use conical tube towers made of steel, paint-
ed in white or grey, which are wider at the base than the top. In the 1980s, when
the turbines were just 30m high, these could be welded in one piece. On large
turbines with hub heights of 40-120m, the towers are manufactured in sections,
which are bolted or welded together when they are mounted. The towers have a
door at ground level, and the control system, displays and some electric equip-
ment are installed inside the tower. There is also a ladder up to the nacelle on the
inside of the tower.
Some manufacturers offer concrete towers as an option. These have a smaller
diameter and the ladder is mounted on the outside (on small and medium-sized
turbines). The control system and electric equipment are installed in a separate
control room in a container next to the tower.
Lattice towers were also often used on small wind turbine models in the
1980s. Nowadays only a few manufacturers use them, but they are still common
for smaller turbines. Lattice towers have many advantages: they use less mate-
rial and have lower weight and price. Another advantage is that the winds can
pass through the tower, which reduces loads on the turbine. Most manufacturers,
however, prefer to use steel tube towers (although there are some MW-turbines
mounted on lattice towers) for practical and also aesthetical reasons. In Denmark,
for example, it is not permitted to use lattice towers for large turbines. Small tur-
bines also often use guyed masts as towers.
Foundations
The foundations that a wind turbine is mounted on have two functions- to carry
the weight of the turbine (to prevent it from sinking into the ground) and to act as
a counterweight to prevent the turbine from tipping over. The design and weight
of the foundations has to be adapted not only to the size of the turbine but also to
the soil properties at the specific site where it will be installed.
On ordinary soil a 2-3m deep cavity is dug in the ground, forming a
square with a 7-12m side. The dimensions depend on the size of the turbine,
its weight and hub height, and the ground conditions. On waterlogged ground
the foundation has to be bigger to compensate for the lifting force from the
groundwater.
When the bottom of the cavity has been levelled, reinforcement bars are
mounted in layers separated by distance pieces. In the centre a pillar is formed up
to ground level that will be used as the mounting base for the tower. Mter that
the concrete foundations are completed. The concrete then has to harden for a
month before it is covered by filling material and the tower can be mounted (see
Figure 9.4).
98 TECHNOLOGY
Figure 9.4 Gravity foundation
Foundation for a 1MW turbine. When the concrete has hardened for a month, the foundation will be
covered by earth to restore the ground.
Source: Nordic Wind Power
Figure 9.5 Offshore foundations
There are three different kinds of foundations for offshore wind turbines: monopiles (left), gravity
foundations (middle) and tripods (right).
Source: Henderson (2002)
If the wind turbine is to be installed on rock, bolts in the rock can anchor the
foundations. A number of deep holes are drilled in the rock, long bolts are inserted
into the holes and expanding concrete is injected that fixes the bolts in the rock.
Each of the bolts has to stand a tractive force of 30 tonnes (for a 600kW turbine).
A mounting base for the tower is then founded and anchored to the bolts.
NACELLE, TOWER AND FOUNDATION 99
For offshore wind turbines many different types of foundations are under
development for use in deeper waters, mainly different types of tripods (three-
legged foundations). So far two types have been used: gravity foundations and
monopiles. The type of foundation that is most suitable depends on the character
of the seabed. Gravity foundations are manufactured at a shipyard and are made
of reinforced concrete. The seabed is levelled out and the foundations are towed
to the site, filled with some heavy material and submerged.
A monopile is simply an elongation of the turbine tower. The monopile can
be inserted in a hole that has been drilled in the bed or driven down by a pile
driver. There are other kinds of offshore foundations as well, but so far only these
two options have been used for large offshore wind farms (see Figure 9.5).
10
Electrical and Control Systems
Most modern wind turbines are used to convert the kinetic power in the wind to
electrical power. The rotor transfers the kinetic power in the wind to a revolving
shaft that drives a generator that generates electric power. A generator is made
of a revolving part, the rotor, and a stationary part, the stator. The rotor in the
generator has a magnetic field, which is created either by permanent magnets or
electromagnets. When the wind turbine starts to revolve, it thus creates a rotating
magnetic field. When this magnetic field passes the stationary coils, an electric
current is induced in them and this current can be fed into the power grid.
Most generators generate alternating current, AC. This means that current
and voltage will change directions several times during each revolution of the ro-
tor. The frequency of the AC current, the number of periods (from 0 to + to 0 to
-to 0, in a sine curve), depends on the rotational speed of the generator. To get
a constant frequency from the generator, the rotational speed of the wind turbine
rotor has to be fixed. If the rotational speed varies, the frequency and voltage will
vary as well.
Electric systems in wind turbines

Wind turbines with generators that are directly connected to the power grid have
a rotational speed that corresponds to the grid frequency. In Europe the frequency
is 50Hz, 50 cycles per second (in the US the frequency is 60Hz). A simple genera-
tor with only two poles (N and S) would then need a rotational speed of 50 x 60
seconds = 3000rpm to give 50Hz. The number of poles in a generator can, how-
ever, be increased to give more than one cycle during one revolution - a genera-
tor with four poles gives 50Hz at 1500rpm. The relationship between rotational
speed and number of poles is calculated as n = 6000/p, where pis the number of
poles. Most mass produced generators have four or six poles.
In the power grid a three-phase AC is used, which means that three alternat-
ing currents run parallel with each other. These three currents are displaced a third
of a period to each other. Thus the generator has to generate three separate AC
currents and needs a set of poles for each of them.
102 TECHNOLOGY
Some manufacturers use so-called ring generators. These have a large number
of poles, not 4 or 6 but 64 or 96 or some other number of poles, depending on the
size and usage of the generator. They also have a large diameter and can therefore
be run with a low rotational speed (the peripheral speed increases with the diam-
eter, just like the tip speed of the wind turbine rotor). By increasing the number of
poles and the diameter, the rotational speed necessary to generate electric power in
a reasonably efficient way can be reduced to the speed of the turbine rotor. With
this design concept a gearbox is not needed.
Two basically different kinds of generators are used in wind turbines: syn-
chronous and asynchronous. A synchronous generator can be connected to the
grid, or work without grid connection (connected to a local grid, battery storage
or local loads such as an electric water pump). An asynchronous generator has
to be connected to a grid to function, since it is dependent on it to magnetize
the rotor and it is governed by the grid frequency. When there is a perfect fit
between the rotational speed of the generator and the grid frequency, the genera-
tor runs idle. To generate power, its rotational speed has to be asynchronous, in
other words a little higher than the frequency. An asynchronous generator with
a nominal rpm of 1000 has to be run at 101 Or pm to produce full power (see
Figure 10.1).
Asynchronous generators are installed in turbines with a fixed rotor speed.
Actually, the rotational speed is not completely fixed - if the rotational speed is
lower than the synchronous speed, the machine will give a positive torque; in
other words it works like an electric motor. If the shaft is revolved (by the wind
turbine rotor) a little faster than the synchronous rpm, it will start to function
as a generator and feed power to grid. The normal operating range is from the
synchronous rpm up to the nominal rpm, which is about one per cent higher (at
Torque
Figure 10.1 The moment curve ofan asynchronous machine
The relationship between the torque of the shaft and the rotational speed for an asynchronous
machine.

ELECTRICAL AND CONTROL SYSTEMS 103
a torque of 100 per cent in the diagram). When the wind speed increases and the
torque increases, the rotor tries to accelerate, but instead the force of the magnetic
field in the rotor is increased, which results in increased power in the generator
and more power fed to the grid.
The operating rpm deviation from the synchronous rpm is called slip and
is expressed as percentage deviation from nominal rpm. This slip will be highest
at the nominal power of the generator, when it is around 1 per cent. When the
generator is working at full capacity, the torque on the rotor shaft cannot be al-
lowed to increase. If the wind speed gets stronger some of the power that turns the
rotor around must be diverted (or spilled) by some means of power control, pitch
or stall. Otherwise the generator will be overloaded. If a situation with too much
power generation lasts too long, the generator will crash (the windings will melt
from the heat, for example).
During a shorter period the nominal power can be exceeded. This happens,
for example, before the pitch control system has adapted the blade angle to a new
higher wind speed, caused by gusts. During short intervals the generator can be
run as motor as well, to avoid the turbine cutting in and out too often when the
winds are close to the cut-in wind speed.
A synchronous generator does not need a grid connection to be able to pro-
duce power. It can be used for a local grid, or be directly connected to an electric
water heater, where the electric resistors that create the heat can be connected
stepwise and adapt the rotor rpm to the wind speed by changing the load. By do-
ing this an efficient tip speed ratio can be maintained. The frequency will vary, but
for a heating load this does not matter.
Relationship between wind speed and power

The size of generator is defined by its nominal power. On a wind turbine this
power will be reached at the nominal wind speed (12-16m/s, depending on man-
ufacturer, model, site, etc.) and higher wind speeds. At lower wind speeds the
power is significantly lower. The relationship between wind speed and power is
shown in power curves (see Figure 10.2).
At a certain maximum wind speed (in most cases 25m/s) the wind turbine
will be stopped and disconnected from the grid. The loads on the turbines will be
reduced when the turbine is stopped and parked and the rotor is not revolving. In
this parked state, wind turbines will survive winds up to hurricane force (60m/s).
The maximum wind speed that turbines are designed to withstand is called the
survival wind speed. The lost production from periods with wind speeds above the
cut-out wind speed, > 25m/s, are negligible, however, since these wind speeds are
very rare and occur only for short periods.
The American Charles F. Brush built the first wind turbine that produced
electric power in 1887-1888. It was operational for 20 years and was used for bat-
104 TECHNOLOGY
~ 1000
800
10 15 20
wind speed {m/s)
Figure 10.2 Power curve for a wind turbine
The power curve shows how much electrical power a wind turbine will produce at different wind
speeds. This turbine starts to produce power at 4-5m/s and reaches the nominal power, 1300kW,
at 16m/s. With higher wind speeds the power levels out, and at 25m/s, the cut-out wind speed, the
turbine is stopped by the control system.
tery charging. In Denmark too wind turbines for electric power production were
developed around the turn of the 20th century. These turbines were made for
stand-alone systems and were used to charge batteries, heat water and run electric
water pumps. The early turbines had DC-generators. In these kinds of generators
the power is produced in the rotor and is transmitted from the generator by a
revolving contact; a commutator. A serious drawback with DC generators is that
the commutator wears out, which increases the need for servicing. These kinds of
generators are therefore not used very much nowadays.
If an AC generator is used to charge batteries, the current first has to be
converted to DC by a rectifier. For this kind of wind turbine, with a power rat-
ing from a few hundred watts to a few kW, there is a considerable niche market
today. They are used as battery chargers on caravans and sailing yachts and in
holiday cottages, and for lighthouses, telecommunications masts and offshore oil
platforms in areas with no grid connection. The rotational speed on small turbines
is so high that no gearbox is needed. Most of them have direct drive synchronous
generators with permanent magnets.
Asynchronous generator with ftxed speed

The first commercial wind turbines for grid connection that were installed during
the late 1970s and the early 1980s used standard asynchronous generators that
Grid
Transformer
n=fixed speed
Figure 10.3 Asynchronous generator with fixed speed
The load in an asynchronous generator will increase in proportion to the power transmitted from the
rotor, so the speed will remain fixed (with very minor variations). To increase the rotational speed to
1500rpm a gearbox is necessary.
were available on the market and rotors with stall control. They had a fixed speed
and used a very simple electrical system (see Figure 10.3).
This simple design caused some problems for grid operators, who claimed that the
wind turbines had a negative impact on power quality, especially when the number
of turbines increased. The impact when a wind turbine generator cut in to the grid
was actually the same as an electric motor of the same size being started. When the
turbines start and are connected to the grid, the generator needs reactive power to
magnetize the rotor, and when the generator is connected to the grid a short but
powerful current, a spike, sets in and the voltage drops for a split second. During
operation the turbines produce active power, but they also consume some reactive
power from the grid. This put unnecessary demand on the grid capacity.
Soft start generator

In those days the turbines were quite small, and the disturbances on the grid were
within tolerable limits. However, additional equipment to reduce these problems
was soon installed on the turbines: capacitors to reduce the reactive power con-
sumption and so-called soft start equipment, a couple of thyristors to reduce the
cut-in currents (see Figure 10.4).
When a generator runs on a partial load (for example a 500kW generator
producing just 100kW) the efficiency of the generator will be considerably lower
than when it is running on full power. With a fixed rotational speed that has been
set to get a good tip speed ratio in relatively strong winds, the efficiency of the
106 TECHNOLOGY
Grid
Transformer
Capaci-
tors
n=fixed speed
Figure 10.4 Grid adapted asynchronous generator
To eliminate spikes when the turbine is cut in to the grid, soft start equipment is used; to reduce the
demand for reactive power, capacitors are installed.
rotor will be comparatively low at low wind speeds, since the tip speed ratio will
be too high.
Double generators
To utilize the power in the wind in a more efficient way, especially in so-called low
wind areas (with low average wind speed), some manufacturers began to install
two separate generators, or a so-called double wound generator (which works as
two generators in one). A small generator with six poles and 1OOOrpm runs on full
load in low wind speeds with a lower rotational speed (better tip speed ratio) on
the rotor. When the wind speed increases over a certain limit (...- 7m/s), the large
generator, with four poles and 1500rpm, takes over and the rotational speed in-
creases to a higher fixed level (see Figure 10.5). By reducing the rotational speed at
low wind speeds, the aerodynamic swish-noise from the rotor will also be reduced,
which is an important advantage since the noise generated is the most important
limiting factor for the siting of turbines in inhabited areas.
Variable speed
To get maximum efficiency in utilizing the power in the wind, the rotational
speed of the wind turbine rotor has to be proportional to the wind speed. With
a variable speed the tip speed ratio can be kept at the optimal level for all wind
speeds. Turbines with a high tip speed ratio operate efficiently over a wide range
of tip speed values; it can vary quite a lot around the optimal value and still main-
n=30
Grid
n=20
Figure 10.5 Wind turbine with two generators
To utilize low wind speeds more efficiently, turbines with two generators were developed, with a
small generator for low winds (and a low rotational speed on the rotor) and a large generator with
the nominal power of the turbine for higher wind speeds (and higher rotational speed on the rotor).
Source: Typoform
tain good efficiency. The introduction of two generators was the first step towards
variable speed turbines.
If a generator is run on variable speed, the frequency of the electric power
will also vary. And the electric current has to be adapted to fit the grid. To solve
this problem, the generator is 'disconnected' from the grid. The AC from the gen-
erator is first rectified to DC and then reconverted to AC by an inverter, which
gives the current the same frequency and voltage properties as that of the grid.
Wind turbines with variable speed have been available on the market since the
late 1980s. They use a synchronous generator combined with power electronics, a
frequency converter (see Figure 10.6).
Direct drive generator

Multi-pole synchronous generators, so-called ring generators, have been used for a
long time in hydropower stations. The advantage of this type of generator is that
it can be operated with a low rotational speed. In a wind turbine a ring generator
can be driven directly by the rotor without an intermediate gearbox. Such a wind
turbine can have a direct drive generator.
The German manufacturer Enercon first introduced this design in 1992 on
its E-40 model. This ring generator has a large diameter, around four metres, and
about 60 poles instead of the four or six that is normal on a standard generator.
The ring generator can produce electric power with the same rotational speed as
the rotor. Enercon turbines have variable speed and use power electronics to adapt
the electric power to the grid (see Figure 10. 7).
108 TECHNOLOGY
Grid
Frequency Transformer
converter
Figure 10.6 Variable speed turbines
Wind turbines with variable speed can use a synchronous generator. The AC current is rectified
and then inverted back to AC with the same frequency as that of the power grid by a frequency
converter.
Grid
SG
multi-pole
ring
generator
Frequency Transformer
converter
Figure 10.7 Turbine with direct drive ring generator
A multi-pole ring generator can be driven directly by the rotor since it has low rpm. Because the
synchronous generator operates with variable speed, the current has to be converted to the grid
voltage and frequency by power electronic equipment.
Other manufacturers have also begun to use this design concept, for example the
French company Jeumont and the Norwegian ScanWind.
One important advantage with a direct drive generator is that there is no
gearbox needing maintenance. The main disadvantage is that large ring generators
are very heavy, so the weight of the turbine will increase. An interesting idea that
has been applied by the Finnish manufacturer WinWind is to design a hybrid - a
wind turbine with a smaller multi-pole ring generator combined with a simple
and very robust one step planet gearbox. SeverallMW turbines and some 3MW
turbines have been installed and are operating in Finland, Sweden and Estonia.
With variable speed the turbine rotor can utilize the wind more efficiently.
The difference in efficiency between turbines with full variable speed and turbines
with two fixed speeds is however almost negligible. There are, though, other ad-
vantages with variable speed. The wind is always more or less turbulent, so loads
on the turbines change all the time, which causes great strain on all components.
If the rotor speed is allowed to vary, the power from gusts can be absorbed by the
rotor, by increasing the rotational speed (it accelerates) and not be passed on to
the main shaft and other components. k turbines get bigger, it will become more
important to reduce these loads.
Generator with slip

Manufacturers who use asynchronous generators have begun to design their tur-
bines so that the rotational speed can be allowed to vary within certain limits.
The technical solution to achieve this involves either changing the resistance in
the rotor windings or controlling the currents in the rotor windings by power
electronics. Vestas has used a system named OptiSlip. This makes it possible to
increase the 'slip' of the generator rpm from 1 to 10 per cent. When wind gusts
give sudden increases of power, the turbine rotor can increase its rotational speed
by 10 per cent without affecting the frequency or power output of the generator.
The excess power is turned into heat.
The next step in the technical development of the asynchronous generators
was to use a slip ring with a rotor cascade coupling (see Figure 10.8). Vestas,
Nordex and several other manufacturers now use this system. In an asynchronous
Frequency
converter
Figure 10.8 Asynchronous generator with rotor cascade coupling

and frequency converter
Rotor cascade enables variable speed. Most of the power is generated in the stator windings. Only
a small share from the rotor windings has to be converted to the grid frequency.

110 TECHNOLOGY
generator currents are also induced in the rotor. This current has a low frequency,
which is governed by the slip of the generator's rotational speed; it is transmitted
through slip rings and the frequency converted to the grid frequency. This concept
mal<:es it possible to govern the rotational speed over a wide range; in other words
it can be variable. In a Nordex 2. 5MW turbine the rpm can vary from 11-19rpm.
With this solution the frequency converter can be much smaller, since only a
small share, about 20 per cent of the nominal power of the turbine, needs to be
converted. Another advantage with this system is that the reactive power can be
controlled.
Grid connection
The voltage level oflarge wind turbines is in most cases 690V, so-called industrial
voltage. Thus they can be connected to a factory without a transformer. Smaller
turbines, up to 300kW, which were common in the early 1990s, have a voltage
of 400V and can be connected directly via a feeder cable to a farm or a house.
Usually, however, wind turbines are connected to the power grid through a trans-
former that increases the voltage level from 400 or 690V to the high voltage,
normally 10 or 20kV, in the distribution grid.
For small and medium-sized wind turbines a suitable transformer is installed
on the ground next to the tower. In large wind turbines the transformer is often
a component of the turbine itself It is often installed in the 'cellar' of the tower,
below the level where the door is. Some manufacturers, however, have installed
it in the nacelle, where it also acts as a counterweight to the rotor; the cables that
transmit the power from the nacelle to the ground, through the tower, can thus
be thinner, since high voltage cables need much less cable area than low voltage
ones.
The electric system in wind turbines has been developed considerably since
the early 1980s; it has been adapted to be '!cinder' to the grid. In modern wind
turbines the properties of the electric power that is fed into the grid can be gov-
erned by power electronics to achieve the phase angle and reactive power that the
grid needs at the point where the turbine is connected. Wind turbines, which
once caused power quality problems for the grid operators, can thus now be uti-
lized to improve the power quality in the grid.
However, the power electronics used to solve the old problems have in turn
created some new ones (this is also the case with the power electronic equipment
used by factories and households). The electronic equipment generates so-called
harmonics, currents with frequencies that are multiples of 50Hz (and even some
that are not), and this has a negative impact on power quality. This 'dirt' can to
some extent be 'cleaned off' by different lands of filters, but such equipment is
expensive and seldom manages to take care of all the 'dirt'.
The control system of wind turbines

Every little movement a wind turbine makes is governed by modern computer
technology and 'spikes' and other 'pollution' in the current are screened by power
electronic equipment. Turbines are connected via modems to the offices of the owner
and manufacturer, who get operational data fed directly to their PCs. If something
malfunctions, an operation alarm alerts the owner or operator of the turbines.
The control system fulfils three different functions: operation control, sur-
veillance and operations follow-up (see Box 10.1).
A computer, in most cases installed at ground level inside the tower, governs
the control system of a wind turbine. Often there is also a terminal with a display
in the nacelle which is used during maintenance. Data collected from anemom-
eter, machine components and the grid are transmitted by fibre optic cables.
The wind is constantly varying - wind direction as well as wind speed will
change almost every second - and to achieve efficient production, the turbine
rotor should be perpendicular to the wind direction. Thus the control system
continuously checks the wind speed and wind direction. This information is proc-
essed in the computer, which can instruct the yaw motor to turn the nacelle a
Box 10.1 CONTROL SYSTEM FUNCTIONS

The control system of a wind turbine has three different functions:
Operation control
The computer in the wind turbine collects data from the wind vane and anemometer,
and if the nacelle has to yaw into wind, it sends a signal to the yaw motor to start
working. On turbines with variable pitch blades the control system also manages
the blade angle adjustments. it also governs when the generator is connected to or
disconnected from the grid.
2 Surveillance
Sensors check the temperature in the gearbox, generator and many other components,
vibrations in the rotor and nacelle, grid voltage, and many other parameters. When a
registered value exceeds its tolerance zone, the turbine will be stopped and an alarm
signal sent to the owner/operator by telephone or staff locator. If no serious error has
occurred, the operator can restart the turbine from an office PC.
3 Operations follow-up
The computer collects data on production, wind speed, outages and many other
things. This information is processed and presented in readable form - graphs,
tables, etc. -on the display in the turbine or on the office PC.
All medium and large wind turbines on the market have advanced computerized control
systems.
112 TECHNOLOGY
specific number of degrees. On turbines with variable pitch, the control system
calculates when and how much the blades need to be adjusted.
However, a wind turbine cannot follow all the unpredictable changes of the
wind. If it did the nacelle would constantly move to and fro and the yaw motor
would wear out very quicldy. Operational reliability is a very important property
for wind turbines, which are often sited in remote places; turbines should be in
operation day and night, all year around, without expensive service and mainte-
nance. Thus the control system has to be designed to optimize not only produc-
tion but also the useful life of the turbine and to protect the turbine against dam-
age from power outages or when a component breal(s or malfunctions.
The control system will therefore not instruct the yaw motor to turn the na-
celle until a change of wind direction seems to be lasting. The new wind direction
has to change at least a preset number of degrees, and keep that direction for a
preset number of seconds or minutes, before the yaw motor is instructed to adjust
the nacelle. The control program also has to keep count of how many times the
nacelle has turned full circle. Mter three full revolutions the cables that hang down
through the tower will have been rwisted into a tight bundle, and the control sys-
tem then stops the turbine and the yaw motor is instructed to rewind the nacelle
and the cables before the turbine is restarted.
The control system keeps close surveillance on all the functions of the tur-
bine. The control system is like a brain, with a nervous system of fibre optic cables
with sensors that check the temperature in gearbox and generator, the pressure in
hydraulic systems, vibrations in machine components and rotor blades, voltage
and frequency in the generator and the grid, and many other parameters. These
kinds of data are saved in the computer's memory for a couple of days to enable a
thorough analysis after operations disturbances have occurred.
If there is a fault in the functioning of the turbine, the control system will stop
the turbine and send an alarm to the operator by telephone or to a staff locator.
The operator can then connect his PC to the turbine, check what kind of fault
has occurred and print out a report. If the fault isn't very serious, the operator can
restart the turbine from his PC.
Wind turbines often have to use the emergency brake even if there is no
fault in the turbine itself; a power failure in the grid is the most common cause.
Another trivial reason for stops is that a sensor used for surveillance breaks. When
a serious fault has occurred, the turbine has to be restarted at the site. The opera-
tor has, however, received a fault report to his PC and knows which spare parts
he needs to repair the turbine. Often it is a component in the advanced control
system that has broken, a printed circuit card or a sensor. The control system itself
is one of the most vulnerable parts of modern wind turbines.
Data technology has developed almost as fast as wind power technology, and
the cost of advanced computer hardware and software has fallen. By using ad-
vanced sofrware to control turbines, efficiency can be increased, and thus software
is one of the manufacturer's most valuable assets. Some manufacturers have mo-
dem connections to wind turbines installed in different places and can upgrade
the software that controls the operations of their turbines from their offices.
The demands on reliability and technical availability will increase even more
when wind power is developed offshore. The next step will be to install advanced
sensors that can give information about the status of components and give warn-
ings when they start to wear out, so they can be replaced or repaired before they
breal{. Double sets of sensors, so a faulty sensor does not cause operational stops,
have already been introduced on many models.
In many countries information about production, fault reports and so on are
collected and published in reports or on the internet. To make these kinds of data
publicly available has been very valuable for the development of wind power.
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
J
11
Efficiency and Performance
How much energy a wind turbine can produce depends on a number of factors:
the rotor swept area, the hub height and how efficiently the turbine can convert
the kinetic power of the wind. Equally important, of course, is the mean wind
speed and the frequency distribution at the site where the wind turbine is in-
stalled.
Ever-larger rotors
The power of the wind available to a turbine is P = V2pAw, in other words power
is proportional to the rotor swept area A and the cube of the wind speed w. The
rotor swept area on series produced wind turbines has increased at a steady rate
and as a consequence so has the rated power of the turbines. Since the early 1980s
the power of wind turbines has doubled evety 4-5 years on average (see Table 11.1
and Figure 11.1).
Table 11.1 Development ofwind turbine sizes, 1980-2005

Year 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Power (I<W) 50 100 250 600 1000 2500
Diameter (m) i5 20 30 40 55 80
Swept area (m 2) i77 3i4 706 i256 2375 5024
Production* (MWh/year) 90 i50 450 i200 2000 5000
* Production on a site with average wind resources.
The rotor swept area has not increased at the same rate as the nominal power of
the turbines. The explanation for this is that the towers have also increased in
height; a larger rotor needs a higher tower. Since wind speed increases with height,
the turbines can catch more power and so it makes sense to use generators with
higher ratings. In the 1980s the Danes, after conducting thorough analysis, found
that the ideal proportion from an aesthetic point of view between the rotor and
the hub height was when the rotor diameter was equal to the hub height.
116 TECHNOLOGY
MWh/a
6000~------------------------
0~--~~--T----.----.---.----,--~
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
®Swept area
Figure 11.1 Development ofrotor area and annual production
The rotor area of wind turbines has increased from barely 200m 2 in 1980 to 5000m 2 in the first
years of the 21st century. Nominal power increased from 50kW to 2.5MW in the same period.
Annual production (vertical axis) has increased at a corresponding rate, from about 90MWh/year
to 5000MWh/year. In other words, the size of the turbines (the nominal power of the turbines that
have dominated the market) has doubled about every 4-5 years. In 2005 there are wind turbines
with a nominal power of 4-5MW available; if development continues at the same rate, there will be
8-1 OMW turbines by 2010.
It is not easy to increase the size of a wind turbine and keep the costs at a com-
petitive level. When the size of wind turbines is increased, these larger turbines
have to produce power at a lower price; otherwise it would be pointless to increase
the size. The problem is that when the radius of the rotor is increased, the swept
area will increase by the square of the radius, while the volume and weight will
increase by the cube. The rotor blades and all other components that have to be
scaled up all have length, width and thiclmess. If a small turbine is scaled up to
a larger size just by increasing the proportions of all components, the weight will
obviously increase much faster that the swept area. And the price is proportional
to the weight.
This seemingly irresolvable problem has however been overcome by advanced
engineering, more accurate calculations of loads, and development of new design
concepts, control strategies and materials. One way of looking at this is that to
grow turbines had to go on a diet to reduce the increase in their weight.
Two factors have made this growth possible. First, cost-efficiency has been
increased by the increase of power with height. And second, the early turbines
of the 1980s were over-dimensioned, which has made it possible to cut weight
from most components. In some cases, however, the diet was too strict, which has
caused some very comprehensive and expensive (for manufacturers as well as own-
ers) retrofits of the gearboxes of some wind turbine models (see Figure 11.2).
It is impossible for a wind turbine to utilize all the power in the wind. How
large a share of the total power in the wind a turbine will utilize is indicated by
the so-called power coefficient, C.
p
The maximum value of Cp is 0.59 (according to
EFFICIENCY AND PERFORMANCE 117
Figure 11.2 Growth through slimming
The figure shows a 2MW turbine to the left compared to a 55kW turbine from 1980 that has been
scaled up to a comparable size. The 2MW turbine is much slimmer and more compact. This implies
that it should be possible to manufacture slimmer and cheaper small turbines today than in the early
1980s.
Source: Stiesdal (2000)
Betz' law, see Chapter 6). The power coefficient varies with the wind speed, and
on most turbines the maximum value that can be attained is 0.45-0.50 at a wind
speed of 8-10m/s. Most turbines are optimized for these wind speeds, which are
often the most frequent wind speeds in terms of the frequency distribution for a
year. The tip speed ratio on most turbines is set below the optimum value to limit
the swishing noise from the rotor blades.
To convert the power from the revolving rotor to electric power, it passes
through a gearbox and a generator, or, for direct drive turbines, through a generator
and an inverter. In this conversion some power will be lost to heat. Furthermore,
the efficiency of the gearbox, generator and power electronic equipment will vary
with the wind speed.
Generator efficiency
A generator is most efficient when it is running at its nominal power. On a wind
turbine, most of the time the generator runs on lower power, when the wind
speed is lower that the nominal wind speed. The generator is then said to be run-
ning on partial load. On a standard generator efficiency will then be reduced (see
Box 11.1).
To minimize these losses and increase the efficiency of the rotor at low wind
speeds (by reducing the revolution speed and using a better tip speed ratio), many
118 TECHNOLOGY
Box 11.1 GENERATOR EFFICIENCY
Reduction in a generator's efficiency at partial load
%of full load 5 10 20 50 100

Efficiency 0.4 0.8 0.90 0.97 I .00
There is also a relationship between the physical size of a generator and efficiency:
efficiency increases with the size of the generator, since losses to heat are reduced.
Relationship between size and efficiency
Nominal power (kW) 5 50 500 1000

Efficiency 0.84 0.89 0.94 0.95
A I MW turbine running at 20 per cent of its nominal power (200kW) has an efficiency
of 0.95 x 0.90 = 85 per cent. Note that the relationships between efficiency, size and
partial load can vary between different manufacturers and models; the above figures are
typical.
models have two generators with different nominal powers and revolution speeds.
Many manufacturers offer one option with just one big generator (a high wind
model) and another with double generators (a low wind model), which is more
expensive but can utilize the power in low winds more efficiently.
The gearbox
On a large modern wind turbine, the rotor has a rotational speed of 20-30rpm,
while the generator will need to rotate at 1515rpm. To increase the speed a gear-
box is used. If the turbine rotor runs at 30rpm a gear change of 30:1520 = 1:50.7
will be needed. One revolution of the main shaft has to be increased to 50.7
revolutions on the secondary shaft that is connected to the generator. The gear-
box has one fixed gear change ratio (you can't change gears like in a car). With
double generators with 1000 and 1500rpm respectively, different speeds from the
turbine rotor are used for the two generators. In this case the rotational speed for
the small generator for low wind speeds (for the small generator with six poles)
will be 20rpm.
A gearbox generally has several steps, so the rotational speed is increased step-
wise. Losses can be estimated at 1 per cent per step. In wind turbines three-step
gearboxes are usually used and the efficiency of the gearbox will then be around
97 per cent.
Wind turbines with a direct drive generator and variable speed don't need
any gearbox. Instead the frequency and voltage of the electric current will vary
with the rotational speed. The current therefore has to be rectified to DC (direct
current) and then converted by an inverter to alternating current (AC) with the
same frequency (50Hz in Europe, 60Hz in the US) and voltage as the grid. The
efficiency of such an inverter is also about 97 per cent; losses are therefore about
the same as for a turbine with a gearbox.
Overall efficiency
The overall efficiency for a wind turbine is the product of the turbine rotor's pow-
er coefficient Cp and the efficiency of the gearbox (or inverter) and generator.
11
fA' tot
- c p
.11 .11
t"'gear ~generator
Sometimes Cp is set to 0. 59 and fA"'rotor

11 (!l)r is used to show how large a share of the
theoretically available power the rotor can utilize. If the power coefficient Cp =
0.49 the rotor efficiency will be llr = 0.49/0.59 = 0.83.
The efficiency of a wind turbine varies with the wind speed. When the wind
speed is below the nominal wind speed, the efficiency of the generator will de-
crease, and if the turbine has a fixed rotational speed, the tip speed ratio will
change meaning that the Cp is also reduced. When the wind speed is higher than
the nominal wind speed, some of the power in the wind will be spilled: an ever-
smaller share of the power in the wind will be utilized and C will decrease suc-
P
cessively. Wind turbines are used to convert wind to electric power, and therefore
another coefficient is used, (, which shows how large a share of the power in the
wind is converted to electric power at different wind speeds (see Figure 11.3).
0.5 _,~,~~-~~-,-~--~"-~""
0.4
c. 0.3
0.2
0.1
0 ~Lr-r-.-~~~~~--~~-r-~~--.~-·~~~
3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
wind speed (m/s)
Figure 11.3 C,-graph for a Siemens 1300
c.
A -diagram shows how large a share of the power in the wind is converted to electric power at
different wind speeds. The turbine is most efficient at wind speeds between 6 and Sm/s.
Source: EMD (2005)

120 TECHNOLOGY
Power curve
A power curve shows how much electrical power a wind turbine will produce at
different wind speeds. The curve can be calculated if the efficiency of the different
components at different wind speeds is known. However, the curve also has to be
verified by measurements when the turbine is online. There are very specific rules
for how such measurements should be performed, and independent certification
institutes or companies carry them out to verifY the power curve.
The wind speed is measured by an anemometer at hub height on a measure-
ment mast erected at a suitable distance from the turbine and the power from
the turbine is measured simultaneously. During the measurement period all wind
speeds, from calm to> 25m/s, have to occur for a specified time. The results from
these measurements are entered into a diagram, with wind speed on the x-axis and
power on the y-axis. Each measurement results in a dot, and together they form
something that is far from an even curve, resembling more a swarm of mosqui-
toes!
The reasons for this are first that there is a short delay before the rotor can
catch a gust and turn it into an increase of power and second that when the wind
slows down the power is kept at the present level for a short time due to the force
of inertia on the revolving rotor - if the wind suddenly calms down completely
the rotor will continue to revolve a turn or so before it stops. By calculating the
average power for different wind speeds, however, a nice smooth curve can be
formed (see Figures 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6).
700
600
~ 500
/
~ 400
/ ----------
'- / --------
~ 300
t£ 200
/
100 /
0 /
3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Wind speed (m/s)
Figure 11.4 Power curve for a Bonus 600 Mk!V
This 600kW turbine from Bonus (now Siemens) is stall-controlled. The power increases relatively
smoothly up to 500kW at 12m/s, where the blades begin to stall. The power continues to increase
up to 600kW at 15m/s (nominal power and wind speed) but decreases after that when the stall in-
creases. With fixed rotor blades only the form of the aerofoil controls the power, and it is hard to get
a level curve above the nominal wind speed. On earlier models the power dropped more dramati-
cally, but by developing the aerofoils it has been possible to make the curve straighter.
Source: EMD (2005)

1400
/
1200
/
~
1000
'-" 800 /
1..
(IJ 400 L
~
0 600
/__
c..
200 /
0
L'
3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Wind speed (m/s)
Figure 11.5 Bonus 1300/eW- active stall control
The Siemens 1300 controls the power by active stall - the rotor blades can be adjusted to control
the stall so that the power curve becomes straight above nominal wind speed.
Source: EMD (2005)
2000
~ 1500 j--------:7""---------1
~
';:"' 1000 .
1 500 . ·----··--····./-·-----.......... --·---- ......... -· ....
3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Wind speed (m/s)
Figure 11.6 Vestas V66, 1650kW with pitch control
The Vestas V66, 1650kW is pitch controlled and has a smooth power curve that is straight above
the nominal wind speed.
Source: EMD (2005)
Production capacity
To calculate how much a certain wind turbine can be expected to produce at a
specific site, it is necessary to know the frequency distribution of the wind speed
at that site at the hub height of the turbine. A histogram or table of the frequency
distribution shows how many hours a year different wind speeds occur. The power
curve for the turbine shows the power it will give at these different wind speeds. Thus
the estimated production in a year can be calculated by multiplying the frequency
distribution by the power curve (see, for example, Figure 17.2, page 226).
How much a wind turbine will produce depends to a high degree on the wind
conditions at the site where the turbine is installed. This makes it quite difficult
122 TECHNOLOGY
to compare the efficiency of different turbine models, since they are installed at
different sites. Furthermore, it is not only the mean wind speed at the site that
matters, the frequency distribution is equally important. And finally it is not the
technical efficiency that is decisive, but the cost-efficiency.
It is, however, possible to tailor a turbine for a specific site. There are several
options for hub heights. Close to the coast or offshore, a low tower may suffice; on
an inland site the tower for the same turbine has to be much higher to get the same
production. For a site with a low mean wind speed, it pays to choose a turbine
with a large rotor and a low nominal wind speed. For turbines in offshore wind
farms the power of the generator and the nominal wind speed can be increased
instead. Besides the hub height, turbines can be adapted to a site by choosing a
good relationship between the size of the rotor and the size of the generator.
Key figures for efficiency

In wind power statistics different key figures are used to estimate efficiency:
Power production/nominal power, kWh/kW.

Power production/swept area, kWh/m 2 •
In both cases mean values for a year are used. However, neither of these key figures
on its own gives a good estimate of the efficiency of a turbine. A turbine with a
large rotor compared to the nominal power achieves high production in relation
to its nominal power, while a turbine with a small turbine and a large generator
will produce a lot in relation to its swept area. You can achieve a vety high value
for one of these key figures by choosing a bad relationship between rotor size and
generator size, but a good turbine should offer good values for both key figures.
Capacity foetor is a third key figure. This is the mean value of the power of a
turbine during a year compared to its nominal power. The same measure is some-
times expressed as full load hours. If the capacity factor is 0.3, this corresponds to
0.3 x 8760 hours: 2628 full load hours.
All these key figures say more about the wind resources than about the ef-
ficiency of the turbines, however.
The most important key figure is the economi~ one: total investment/kWh
a year. This figure sets the total investment in relation to the production at the
site, so it is a useful tool to compare different models, sizes and configurations at
a specific site (or several comparable sites). However, since maintenance costs are
not accounted for, it does not give a final answer as to what the most economic
option will be.
The conversion efficiency for a wind turbine is not so important. The fuel,
the wind, is abundant and free. It is the cost-efficiency that matters. It is not
reasonable to compare the efficiency of a wind turbine with that of conventional

power plants.
Finally there is a key figure for the technical reliability of a wind turbine:
availability. This figure is given as a percentage. If the wind turbine is out of
operation due to faults and ordinary service and maintenance for five days in a
year, the technical availability is 98.6 per cent. This means that the turbine could
produce power for 98.6 per cent of the time if there was always enough wind to
malce it run.
The technical availability of wind turbines on line in Sweden is very high:
98-99 per cent. However, component failures do occur when turbines get older.
A large share of the disabled time for wind turbines is not caused by faults in the
turbine itself, but by unpredicted loss of power in the grid. According to a report
from 1997, the most common reason for downtime in Sweden was problems with
the gearbox (18 per cent) followed by faults in the control system (15 per cent).
The technical lifetime for a turbine is estimated at 20-25 years. The eco-
nomic lifetime can be shorter, however, if the costs for maintenance increase too
much when the turbine gets old. A turbine at a good site can 'pay back' the energy
that has been used in its manufacture in 3--4 months, a very good energy balance
compared to other power plants.
The rapid technical development of ever-larger turbines, which have often
been introduced on the market without adequate test periods, has caused some ex-
pensive mistakes. Many gearboxes on turbines in the 500-1000kW range turned
out to be too feeble and have poor lubrication. Thousands of gearboxes had to
be retrofitted, an operation that turned out to be ve1y expensive both for the
Table 11.2 Key figures for wind turbines

Calculation Units
Production per year
Power/swept area: kWh/m 2
Rotor swept area
Production per year

Power/nominal power: kWh/kW
Nominal power
Production per year

Capacity factor: %
Nominal power x 8760
Production per year

Full load hours: hours
Nominal power
Investment cost
Cost-efficiency: cost/kWh/year
Production per year
8760 hours -stop hours

Availability: %
8760hours
124 TECHNOLOGY
manufacturers and for the owners. In the US, where new models are introduced
on the market even faster than in Europe and sales departments market models
before they have even been manufactured, the largest wind power manufacturer,
Kenetech Windpower, went bankrupt when it turned out that their rotor blades
cracked - they could not stand the wind.
The quality of the components in wind turbines can vary widely. According
to a Swedish technical inspector who examines wind turbines, some components
have Rolls-Royce quality, they are virtually indestructible, while others could have
come from a discount firm for do-it-yourself customers. All manufacturers have
this mix of high and low quality components, but not of the same components,
he claimed. There is obviously more to be done when it comes to quality control
by the manufacturers and their subcontractors.
However, the technical availability of mass produced wind turbines is very
high, and the technical lifetime is estimated at 20-25 years. Furthermore, when
a turbine has served its time, it can be dismantled and most of the components
can be recycled.
PART IV
Wind Power and Society
To install wind turbines it is necessary to have permission from the local munici-
pality, regional authorities and in some cases also the government. The authorities
will assess whether the applications are in accordance with laws and regulations.
The legal framework and the economic rules for production, trading and distri-
bution of power are defined by the energy policy of national governments. In
Chapter 12, Wind Power Policy, laws and rules for wind power are described.
Wind power is a renewable energy source that will reduce the environmental
impact from power production. At the local level, however, wind turbines can
give rise to noise and shadow flicker that can have an impact on neighbours. The
impact on the environment from wind turbines is described in Chapter 13, Wind
Power and the Environment.
To develop wind power in a proper manner, with the energy content in the
wind utilized efficiently and conflicts with other interests avoided, spatial plan-
ning is necessary. How such spatial planning can be undertal{en is described in
Chapter 14, Wind Power Planning. Wind power development can also be con-
troversial, and many projects cause a heated debate in the media. In Chapter 15'
Opinion and Acceptance, the results of opinion polls and other investigations are
described.
Finally in this section, the role of wind power in the power system, the in-
frastructure for distribution of electricity, is described in Chapter 16, Grid
Connection ofWind Turbines.
12
Wind Power Policy
The preconditions for the development of wind power are set by the national poli-
cies of a country and by the laws and regulations that are inaugurated by its parlia-
ment. And politicians also decide the economic rules of the game: taxes, charges,
subsidies and other means of control often affect energy prices, on top of the
actual cost of power production. There are also different ways to promote wind
power and other renewable energy sources. In short, politicians set the framework
for wind power development and thus influence the pace of development.
Each country has it own laws prescribing the procedures and permissions that
are necessary to get permission to install wind turbines, and setting the framework
for the economic conditions for the sale and distribution of wind-generated elec-
tricity. I am familiar with the procedures and the economic framework applied in
Sweden and some other European countries, but it is impossible for me to cover
the situation in all countries. Therefore here I try to give a general view, with ex-
amples mainly from Scandinavia and other parts of Europe, and hope that what I
say applies to most other countries as well.
To install a wind turbine it is in most cases mandatory to obtain building
permission from the municipality, in some cases from the regional authorities -
counties and equivalent- also, or even from the government. The authorities will
assess if the applications are compatible with laws and regulations.
All countries have some kind of energy policy which has been formulated by
the government and approved by the parliament.
At the international level there are also agreements, directives and treaties
concerning energy. In 2001, for example, the EU adopted a new directive on re-
newable energy with recommended targets for its member countries. The Kyoto
Protocol, which was ratified in 2005, also set obligations for industrialized coun-
tries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases, and development of wind
power is considered to be an effective means to achieve that end. These kinds of
international treaties have an impact on the energy policy of specific countries.
128 WIND POWER AND SOCIETY
Permission inquiry
The municipality (or council- terms will of course vary from country to country)
takes up a position regarding planned wind power projects by evaluating appli-
cations for building permission. The building committee or similar institutions
usually have this task, and the members of the board of the committee are local
politicians that represent the inhabitants of the municipality. The decisions taken
have to conform to relevant laws, in this case usually the building law.
The county administration in most countries is a state authority at the regional
level. For larger projects (in Sweden this means projects of 25MW or more from
December 2006), this may be the level at which the decisions on permissions to
develop wind power projects have to be taken. The county administration under-
talces a legal inquiry to see if the project conforms to the relevant laws.
In other words, all wind power projects will need permission from the mu-
nicipality; large projects may need an additional permit from the regional or even
the national authorities.
Environment Impact Assessment

For larger projects it is compulsory to undertake an Environment Impact Assessment
(EIA). The rules for the size of a project that demands a comprehensive EIA vary
from country to country (see Table 12.1).
The processing of applications to get permission for wind power development
differs according the laws and procedures of different countries. In Sweden this
process usually takes at least one year, and in many cases several years if there are
appeals against the decisions made by the authorities.
Table 12.1 Project size and EIA-demand in Sweden, Denmark and Germany, 2005
Country Local municipality Regional authority - EIA Central authority
Swedent <1MW 1-IOMW > IOMW
Denmark 1-3 turbines 4 or more turbines or
< 80m hub height > 80m hub height
Germany 1-2 turbines 3 or more turbines > 1OMW*
*Can be demanded; mandatory for> 20 turbines (see also Box 14.3, page 187).
tIn Sweden the rules were changed from 1 December 2006, so that municipalities can decide for
projects up to 25 MW.
A building permission from the municipality is always necessary. For larger projects it is necessary
to conduct a comprehensive EIA and to get permission from a higher level, a regional or central
authority. The rules for when this is necessary differ in these three countries.
Source: Hansen (2005)

WIND PoWER POLICY 129
Opposing interests
When an application is processed and evaluated, all possible impacts and conflicts
with other so-called opposing interests are investigated. The authorities therefore
have to refer the application to a number of other authorities for consideration.
The most common opposing interests are:
Neighbours
Impact from noise and rotating shadows from wind turbines can be annoying
for neighbours if the turbines are installed too close or in an unsuitable direction
in relation to dwellings or holiday cottages. The project developer usually malces
estimates of these impacts. Rules and methods for calculation of noise and shadow
impacts are described in Chapter 13.
The military
Wind turbines can interfere with military installations for radar surveillance, radio
communication and so forth. In some areas the air force will have objections to
high structures. Since many military installations are secret it is not always a sim-
ple matter to know what areas should be avoided for this reason. You can't simply
ask the military where their secret installations are sited! The only feasible method
here is by trial and error.
The military's opinion carries a lot of weight; indeed in practice it is a veto. In
Sweden and some other countries, however, studies to find out if and how much
interference wind turbines have on military installations have been conducted,
and these studies show that the interference is far less than previously thought.
Telecommunications systems
There is a risk that wind turbines can interfere with signals from radio, TV and
telecommunications masts and (civilian) radar. These kinds of interference, how-
evet; have also proven to be far less than feared. Interference on television can
easily be taken care of by installing a so-called slave station.
The tower of a wind turbine can actually be utilized as a telecommunications
mast that will generate additional yearly revenue for the owner. And telecommu-
nications operators don't have any reserved right for using the air space above pri-
vate grounds. Applications are, however, as a rule sent to the telecommunications
authority and to local telecommunications operators for consideration.
130 WIND PO\'\!ER AND SOCIETY
Safety
To reduce the risk of accidents if, for example, ice is thrown from the rotor blades,
a blade or other parts fall of£ or the turbine falls over, a safety distance may be
necessary. Usually it is up to local authorities that grant building permission to
decide on safety distances to different kinds of installations, residential areas, etc.
A recommended safety distance to a larger road, railway or power line might be
the total height of the turbine plus a 50-metre extra safety margin. These kinds
of incidents are, however, extremely rare. In arctic regions ice can build up on a
turbine and the rotor, but this will generally just cause a standstill. When the ice
melts and falls off it will most likely drop to the base of the tower. Nevertheless, in
areas with extreme weather conditions, hurricanes and severe storms, some wind
turbines have been damaged and even fallen over, in Japan and India, for example,
and this has even happened in Denmark.
Civil aviation
For civil aviation there are very well defined and strict rules regulating safety.
Some of these concern the minimum distance and maximum height of wind tur-
bines and other structures in areas surrounding airports. These rules are available
from the national civil aviation authorities.
Protected areas
In most countries areas that are especially valuable for nature, cultural heritage,
recreation or some other common purpose should be protected according to en-
vironmental laws and similar applicable laws and regulations. These areas are usu-
ally defined by national and/or regional authorities, which also have the task of
protecting them. There are also areas that are protected by international treaties.
For offshore wind power plants the interests of shipping, fisheries and marine
nature protection should also be considered.
Assessments
The fact that an area is protected for some specific purpose - for example as a
recreation area or a Natura 2000 area (the EU network of sites designated by
Member States under the birds directive and under the habitats directive) - does
not by definition exclude wind power development within or close to that area.
Whether wind turbines can be installed in such an area will depend on the actual
impact of the turbines on the ~ssets or values that are under protection therein.
All protected areas have a purpose. If wind turbines don't have a negative impact
on this specific purpose, there are no legal grounds for excluding them from the
WIND PO\\TER POLICY 131
area. These kinds of assessments are made and evaluated in the EIA for specific
projects.
Permission process
The permission processes in different countries are quite similar, at least in Europe.
However, in some countries the time from application to permission is relatively
short, while in other countries it can take years. Another difference is the likeli-
hood of a positive outcome, which also differs greatly. Even if the demands are
similar, building permission and an EIA that has to be approved, the efficiency of
the process itself differs.
The lead time for a wind turbine installation is only three months. If all proc-
esses moved on according to schedule, it should not talce more than six months
from application until the wind turbine is online. However, the time it talces to
realize a project is also a political matter; it is a matter of priority and planning.
In Denmark, where development on land was very fast during the 1990s, the
government commissioned the municipalities and counties to find suitable areas
for wind turbines within their regions. During this planning process much of the
assessments with regard to conflicting interests were made. By this positive plan-
ning, there were only certain practical details left for discussion when applications
were submitted. And the Danes have applied a similar method for their offshore
developments, by creating wind fields at sea for this purpose.
In Sweden and most other countries such planning has not taken place. It is
up to the developer to find a site and then hope that the authorities agree that it
is suitable. Central authorities like the Swedish Environment Protection Agency,
the National Heritage Board and the National Board of Housing, Building and
Planning, have mapped out areas were wind turbines should not be built, in other
words have undertalcen negative planning. So there are no guidelines for where the
chances to get the necessary permissions are good. For each and every new project
a very comprehensive EIA has to be made.
In the UK the situation is similar to that in Sweden. However, for offshore
developments the UK government found a brilliant solution: it created a one-stop
shop.
An office was established where all aspects and permissions were processed
in close dialogue with the developer. The offshore wind farm North Hoyle got
permission to start project preparations in April200 1, in February 2002 building
and environment permissions were approved and the wind farm was online in
December 2003. The share of approved applications increased from 56.5 per cent
in 2000 to 96.1 per cent in 2003. In Spain a similar method has been used at the
regional level. It seems that to reduce the time for the application process is a mat-
ter of political will and administrative skill.
132 WIND POWER AND SoCIETY
Wind power politics

In Europe the development of commercial wind power started in the early 1980s.
Today countries like Denmark, Germany and Spain have several thousands of
MW of wind power online as well as a new industty with thousands of employees.
In other countries, like the Netherlands, the UK and Sweden, development has
been considerably slower. It is not very difficult to find explanations for the large
differences in the pace of development between different countries. The explana-
tion can be found in the wind power policy that has been conducted by different
governments.
Today it is perfectly clear what kinds of political measures, rules and regula-
tions promote rapid development of wind power and what measures can be used
to keep development at a slow and low level.
In Denmark, Germany and Spain it has been profitable to invest in, to own
and to operate wind turbines. The laws and regulations in these countries guar-
antee a fixed and relatively high price for the power produced during the time
period that it tal{es for the owners to get their money back. There have been clear
political signals that wind power should be developed fast, and it has not been too
difficult and time consuming to get the permissions necessary to install turbines
and connect them to the power grid.
Politicians in these countries have had several different motives for their sup-
port for wind power. Renewable energy from wind power will reduce the direct
impact power production has on the environment, as well as the emissions of
carbon dioxide that most countries have been obliged to reduce in accordance
with the Kyoto Protocol. Wind power will thus enable politicians to attain these
goals (see Box 12.1).
Box 12.1 EU TARGETS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
The EU has been working towards the general target of an increase to 12 per cent of
renewable energy's share of gross inland consumption in the EU by 201 0 (compared
to 6 per cent in 2001). To provide a focus for faster progress, the EU has adopted an
operational target for renewable energy in the electricity sector through its Directive
2001/77 /EC on the Promotion of Electricity Produced from Renewable Energy Sources in
the Internal Market. The directive aims at increasing the share of electricity generated by
renewable energy for the EU (including wind power) to 22 per cent in 201 0 from a level of
14 per cent in 2000.
Source: EC (2001)
WIND PO\'\!ER POLICY 133
Comprehensive view
An equally important factor, probably, is that wind power has been considered as a
new and very promising industry with a huge growth potential that can give a con-
siderable pay-back to the economy by increasing employment, economic growth
and export revenues. In Germany the support to wind power has also been a part
of their agricultural policy. Wind turbines give an additional income to farmers,
meaning that they can make a living and stay in the counttyside instead of having
to move to town and line up among the unemployed.
Even if the economic subsidies for wind power during its early stage of devel-
opment are relatively expensive for the economy, politicians have calculated that
in the longer run it will generate economic benefits. In countries where the de-
mand for electric power is increasing, this is sufficient reason for developing wind
power, since it is one of the cheapest ways to produce electric power today, given
sites with good wind conditions.
This comprehensive view, taking into account industrial policy and national
economics, has been lacking in the Netherlands, the UK and Sweden. In these
countries the domestic wind turbine manufacturers languish due to the lack of
a growing and stable domestic market. The rules for power sale and the permis-
sion processes have been complicated, and the purchase price for wind-generated
electric power has been low. One of the aims of such a policy has been to reduce
the cost of wind-generated power to the lowest possible level, with the laudable
ambition to strengthen the competitiveness of wind power. Instead the develop-
ment pace has been retarded and the domestic manufacturing companies have
been nipped in the bud.
New growing industries need good economic margins, since they have to in-
vest large amounts in research and development to be able to keep their competi-
tive strength on the market. Two researchers from Chalmers Technical University
in Gothenburg, Professor Staffan Jacobsson and Anna Johnson, in their article
'The development of a growth industry- The wind turbine industry in Germany,
Holland and Sweden' (Jacobsson and Johnson, 2003), note that Germany has
succeeded in developing a wind turbine manufacturing industty, while the
Netherlands and Sweden have failed. They point out four explanations for the
German success: diversity, legitimacy, markets and industrial policy.
In the 1980s Germany, as well as the Netherlands, went in for diversity, and
within their R&D programmes many different technological concepts were test-
ed, while Sweden put all its money into the development of very large turbines in
the multi-MW class.
Both in Germany and the Netherlands wind power technology was consid-
ered as a legitimate investment. There was a political consensus on the necessity to
develop wind power, and it became legitimate for private capital to invest in this
new branch. In Sweden this legitimacy was missing, due to the hostile debate on
nuclear power that has lasted for three decades. In this debate renewable energy
has been reduced to, and defined as, a substitute for nuclear power. Wind power
development has thus been seen as a threat by Swedish industry, especially basic
industry (steel and paper mills, etc.), with their huge demands on cheap electricity,
but also the power companies that own the nuclear power plants, Jacobsson and
Johnsson argue.
In 1989 Germany introduced an ambitious programme to develop 250MW
of wind power, which created a domestic market for the German companies
that manufactured wind turbines. Mter a year a new law was passed that guar-
anteed wind turbine operators high revenue for an extended period for the
power that they fed into the grid. This created a fast growth that was perceived
as a threat by the German power companies, who started to act to change these
new laws.
However, the fast growth of wind power also created a new group of power
plant owners: farmers, cooperative associations and other private investors. And
at the same time as this new industry was developing, wind power was also gain-
ing political strength and influence. There was strong support for wind power in
the German Federal Diet (der Bundestag) that was able to stop the efforts of the
power industry lobby to impair the conditions for wind power. The Netherlands
also launched a similar 250MW programme, but it failed due to the difficulties of
getting building permissions from the municipalities and because the government
didn't talce any resolute actions to eliminate this bottleneck.
German industrial policy created a quasi-protected market, since the support
that was given within the framework of the 250MW programme was distributed
to different technical concepts, to evaluate which was best. By this measure 60 per
cent of the turbines that received support from the programme could be delivered
by German manufacturers, in spite of the fact that the Danish wind power indus-
uy at that time had a large lead.
In the Netherlands too the domestic manufacturers were favoured: 90 per
cent of turbines were 'made in the Netherlands'. By this exaggerated protection-
ism, however, the domestic manufacturers were locked in on their domestic mar-
ket. Sweden has not had any similar ambitions for industrial policy as part of its
energy policy, which has been governed by the demand of basic industry for cheap
electric power. The market that was created by the investment subsidies intro-
duced in the 1990s was taken care of by Danish manufacturers.
National energy policies

The energy policy of a countty governs the conditions for wind power and its
ability to compete on the electric power market. If the energy policy of Denmark,
where wind power has been a success story, and Sweden, where development still
has not talcen off, are compared, the differences are easy to identifY. In the paper
'Possibility of wind power: Comparison of Sweden and Denmark' (Miyamoto,
WIND POWER POLICY 135
2000) the differences in the energy policy of these two neighbouring Scandinavian
countries are described and analysed.
In Denmark, which has a partly decentralized power system, the government
has had a strong and explicit ambition to develop wind power. A large share of the
electric power in Denmark is produced by coal- and gas-fired power plants. In the
1980s generous investment subsidies were available to farmers and other private
investors in wind power, who could also get favourable loans since the financial
sector did not see any political risk in such credits. Counties and municipalities
were given the task of creating physical space for wind turbines by working out
local and regional wind power plans, which also had a positive impact on invest-
ments.
At the same time the government ordered the utilities to talce an active part
in the development of wind power and to pay a good price for wind-generated
electric power from independent power producers. A very strong domestic market
was developed for the wind turbine manufacturers, who also were helped by the
government to establish themselves on foreign markets.
Denmark has conducted a long-term wind power policy where economic
means of control, planning and other measures have been coordinated. By this
policy Denmark has managed to adapt its power production to environmental
demands, and the obligation to the Kyoto Protocol, to reduce emissions of green-
house gases, which was not on the agenda when the development started. At the
same time Denmark managed to develop a new industry that today is dominating
the world market (see Figure 12.1).
In Sweden, which has a strongly centralized power system, the government
has not had any high ambitions to develop wind power. Since a very large share of
the power is produced by nuclear and hydro-power plants, there has not been any
pressure on the government to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from power
production. The financial sector has not perceived any signals to invest money in
wind power and has had a negative attitude to such investment. The rules and
regulations for permission to develop wind power are more complicated than in
Denmark, which, combined with the Swedish tradition to protect nature and the
lack of coordination between authorities at different levels, has made the permit
process very drawn-out.
The power industry has been passive and the prices for wind-generated power
have been very unstable and unpredictable. Even in Sweden private owners have,
with the help of independent project developers, installed wind turbines, and with
some subsidies from the state; however, this development has been too modest to
create a strong domestic market or a wind turbine manufacturing industry (see
Figure 12.2).
Partly
Decentralized
energy system
Strong governmental initiative

Government
assurance for wind to promote wind power
power investment
,-----------~----
'
''
Financial sector ' ''
Favourable
loan for wind
/
Subsidy for
private
.--------'-----.
Spatial planning by
Regional and local
government
''
' I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
turbine ownership I
I
'--1'"""-----.~Agreement with
\<:1' ;"'"' '

investment I
I
I
I
I
J
I
Positive effect I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Private High Installation by I
I
ownership buy- power industry I
back - I
I
rates I
I
I
I
1
Provisio n of best
Constant demand for / possible.'conditions
wind turbines for expori'ers (indirect
,- _\_ --- -----'---

Domestic wind
export support)
I
I
I
I
I
I
turbine market I
I
creation I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Domestic wind
[.&'_-'
turbine industry
development
Figure 12.1 Denmark's wind power policy
Source: Miyamoto (2000)

Established
Centralized energy
system
I
I
I
I
I Tradition to
preserve nature
Weak governmental
initiative to promote
No signal wind power
from
government
Complicated
legislation around
Lack of coordination building permission
between different
governmental levels
Subsidy for
private Slow process in
Negative ownership getting building Passive attitudes
attitudes
toward
permission at local by power
wind governmental level industry
Unstable
\ Independent
buy-back
rates
ownership wind developer
Weak domestic wind

turbine industry
development
Figure 12.2 Sweden's wind power policy
Source: Miyamoto (2000)
Wind power on the power market

In the second half of the 1990s the deregulation of the electric power markets
was put on the political agenda in the EU, the US and elsewhere. At that time
the supply and distribution of power was a strictly national matter, regulated by
the state and considered as a matter of public service and national security for the
country.
Deregulation advocates argued for a radical change of approach. The first

step would be to separate power production, distribution and trade. Power plants
would compete and get an incentive to cut costs, which would push down prices
for power. All power producers would get free access to the grid. Finally electric
power should be a commodity, bought from power producers and sold to custom-
ers by independent power trading companies. The final step would be to open the
boundaries, to interconnect the power grids of different countries and regions to
create an international power market.
This process towards deregulation has begun, and in some countries, like
Sweden, Norway, the UK, and some federal states in the US, like California, the
markets have been completely deregulated. Other countries have just started with
the deregulation and there are still countries resisting the process.
One important question that has to be solved in the deregulation process is who
will have the responsibility for the overall system balance and how this can be main-
tained. In a power system, supply and demand has to balance at all times, otherwise
power cuts would be commonplace. The power crisis in California after deregulation,
where the power prices skyrocketed and many huge power companies, like Pacific
Gas and Electric, went bankrupt, proved that deregulation is a tricky business. To
avoid such situations, someone has to have the overall responsibility and the legal
power to order power producers to supply the power needed to balance demand.
There is no doubt that the deregulation process will continue, and that it will
work when rules and regulations have been adjusted. Whether this will lead to
lower power prices for customers, however, is not self-evident. In a public service
system the actual cost of production sets the price, while in a market system it
is determined by supply and demand. When demand increases, prices will rise,
irrespective of the cost of producing the power.
Deregulation in Sweden
In Sweden a new electric power law came into force on 1 January 1996. The
power market was deregulated, or re-regulated, as some prefer to say, since there
still is a legal framework that regulates the market. With this new law the mono-
polies on the sale of power were abolished and power trade was opened to free
competition. Every customer can now freely choose from which power company
to buy electric power.
Production, trade and distribution of power are strictly separated. These tasks
used to be managed by the same company- municipal utilities, the state-owned
Vattenfall or private power companies -which had reserved rights to sell and dis-
tribute power within their regions of operation. According to the new law, trade in
power shall be handled by power trading companies and the distribution of power
by grid operators. Many power companies and utilities have created separate af-
filiated companies to handle the power trade.
Grid operation is still a monopoly, since it is considered too expensive and

hardly rational to install competing power grids. The Swedish energy agency issues
licences to grid operators, which get sole rights to distribute power in a specific
region. Prices for this service have to be reasonable and are supervised by the en-
ergy agency. The price for power is, however, completely unregulated, determined
only by the market.
A customer of electric power always has to malce two separate contracts, one
with a power trading company for the purchase of power and another with the
grid operator that distributes the power to the customer. The customer pays one
fee to the grid operator for the distribution of the power and one to the power
trading company for the power. On top of this there are taxes, including electric
power tax and finally value added tax. These three shares, grid, power and tax, are
of about equal size. The only cost that can be changed by choosing another power
trading company is the price for the power, which constitutes a third of the power
bill.
The justification for the deregulation of the power market was to create
competition between different power producers and power traders so that power
prices would be lower. And indeed deregulation led to significantly lower power
prices, for a few years. During the same period, however, in the wake of deregu-
lation, the large power companies bought and incorporated most of the smaller
companies, so that by the beginning of the 21st century ownership in Sweden was
concentrated in three large companies. Since then power prices have increased and
reached the same or even higher levels than before deregulation.
In Sweden today the market mechanism is the predominant politico-economic
doctrine. Wind power has to compete with other power plants on a free power
market. It is, however, always more expensive to produce electric power in new
power plants than in plants that have been online for many years. The reason for
this is not that new power plants are more expensive, but that older power plants
(that often got significant economic subsidies when they were built) have already
paid back a large share of their loans and consequently have much lower capital
costs. This situation, which makes it necessary to give extra economic support
to new power plants, does not apply only to wind power, but to all new power
plants.
To make it possible to build new power plants that can replace the old ones
when they are talcen out of operation, some kind of economic support is neces-
saty.
Support Schemes for Renewable Energy

In the project RE-XPANSION researchers from several European countries have
described and evaluated the different support schemes that have been used to
promote wind power and other renewable energy sources. The result of their
comparative analysis is presented in the report Support Schemes for Renewable

Energy (EWEA, 2005a). Incentives to promote wind power can be grouped into
three categories:
1 green marketing: voluntary systems where the market determines the price
and the quantity of renewable energy;
2 ftxed prices: systems where government dictates the electricity prices paid to
the producer and lets the market determine the quantity; and
3 quotas: systems where the government dictates the quantity of renewable elec-
tricity and leaves it to the market to determine the price.
The first of these, green marketing, has proved inefficient. In surveys quite a large
share of consumers claim that they would pay a little bit more for power from
renewable energy sources like wind power, but when they get this opportunity less
than 1 per cent actually choose this option.
Systems with fixed prices or quotas are regulated by law, and are thus compul-
sory, which mal{es them more efficient. These can then be divided further, and the
report defines five different types of support schemes for renewable energy:
1 investment subsidies;
2 fixed feed-in tariffs;
3 fixed premium systems;
4 tendering systems; and
5 tradable green certificate systems.
Investment subsidies
Investment subsidies have been used by many countries in the early stages of wind
power development, for example Denmark, Germany and Sweden, and have
proved to be quite efficient. The advantages are that it is a simple system and that
the subsidies are paid up front. The support cannot be reduced or withdrawn dur-
ing the lifetime of the project and this gives security to the investor. The drawback
is that it does not differentiate good projects from bad. Investment subsidies have
now been abandoned in most countries, but are still used at the regional level in
Spain.
Feed-in tariffs
Fixed feed-in tariffs have so far proved the most efficient way to promote wind
power. The price paid for wind-generated electric power is fixed, either to a spe-
cific value or in relation to the consumer price. The price can be fixed for the
lifetime of the turbine or until a specified target is reached. The system guarantees
that the investors will always get their money back. It is used by the three coun-
tries that have been most successful when it comes to wind power development so
far - Denmark, Germany and Spain.
Fixed premiums
Fixed premium systems have been used in combination with other promotion
strategies. The premiums, in Sweden called environment bonuses, reward opera-
tors for the health and environment costs avoided by wind power. In practice the
value of the premium is set in relation to the power price to make wind power
competitive.
Tenders
Tendering systems have been used in the UK, in the NFFO (Non-Fossil Fuel
Obligation) system. This didn't work out too well, however, since many of the
projects that won the tenders were never built, and has now been replaced by
a green certificate system. Tendering is still used for offshore developments in
Denmark and the UK.
Certificates
Tradable green certificate systems for renewable energy have been introduced dur-
ing recent years in Italy (2002), the UK (2002), Belgium (2002) and Sweden
(2003). Producers get certificates based on the power produced during a year;
these certificates can then be traded on a certificate market where the price is set
by supply and demand.
Evaluation
In the 'Support Schemes for Renewable Energy' report these different support
schemes have been evaluated based on a survey among more than 500 experts
from the energy field. According to this survey the most important properties of
support systems are investor confidence and effectiveness. The five support schemes
described above have been specified in two versions, one generic and one advanced,
where rules that would make the systems more efficient have been added.
In the survey the feed-in tariff system got the top score, with green certificate
and tendering at the bottom. Both the generic and the advanced version of the
green certificate system got low scores for the most important criteria, investor
confidence and effectiveness, compared to other support schemes. The main re-
sult of the survey is that the feed-in tariff system is the support scheme preferred
by the respondents.
The rules and regulations for these different systems vary; each countty actu-
ally has its own unique system. This mal<:es it difficult to compare and evaluate the
efficiency of the different systems. From a historical point of view it seems obvi-
ous that the fixed price system is most efficient, since it has made development in
Denmark, Germany and Spain so successful. However, there are other countries
that have used the same system with less success, like Greece and France.
The support system is but one of several factors that has to be right. According
to the authors of the report, there are four main ingredients in a potentially effec-
tive overall promotion strategy for renewables:
1 well-designed payment mechanisms;

2 grid access and strategic development of grids;
3 appropriate administrative procedures and streamlined
application processes; and
4 public acceptance.
The systems with tradable green certificates have only been used for a few years,
so it may be premature to evaluate their efficiency, since the mechanisms that
haven't worked so well may be improved. There have been quite strong arguments
for a change from the fixed price system to the tradable green certificate system
after deregulation of the market - the quota system is claimed to be more market
oriented than the fixed price system. The authors of this report have a different
opinion, however:
A system where the government fixes quantity and leaves it to the market
to determine the price is unlikely to be more 'market oriented' than a
system where the government fixes the price and leaves it to the market
to determine the quantity.
The main diffirence between quota based systems and price based
systems is that the former introduces competition between the electricity
producers (e.g. wind turbine operators). Competition between manufac-
turers ofplant (e.g. wind turbines), which is crucial in order to bring
down production costs, is present ifgovernment dictates either prices or
quantities.
It is possible to achieve a specific target (in MW of new power) by a specific

time by giving a guaranteed price for new power produced that will stimulate
the necessary investments. This is exactly what Denmark has done with wind
power. In Denmark development of wind power actually has reached the goals
that have been set several years ahead of schedule. The target set for 2005 was
already reached in 1999.
The Swedish certificate system

In Sweden politicians have chosen other means to stimulate the development of
renewable energy: green certificates (in Sweden called elcertifikat- electric certifi-
cates). With the certificate system different kinds of renewable energy sources-
wind power, biomass and hydro - will compete with each other, and the market
will regulate the price of certificates (see Box 12.2).
Box 12.2 THE SWEDISH CERTIFICATE SYSTEM

Power plants that produce renewable electric power have to be approved and registered
by the Energy Agency.
The following renewable energy sources have the right to get certificates:
• all wind turbines (irrespective of size);

• combined heat and power (CHP) plants using biomass, including peat, as fuel;
• small-scale hydropower plants (< 1500kW);
• new hydropower plants; and
• retrofits of existing hydropower plants (only for the increased output).
These producers of renewable electric power, when they have been approved and
registered, will get one certificate for each MWh/year (1 OOOkWh/year) from the state.
The Swedish national grid company Svenska Kraftnat controls the production of the
power plants.
Source: Swedish Energy Agency (2004)
All power trading companies are obliged by law to have a specific share, or quota,
of renewable energy in the power they sell to customers. They can obtain this share
by buying certificates from power producers and the cost for these certificates can
then be passed on to the customers. The sizes of the quotas are decided by parlia-
ment and to increase demand for renewable energy the quotas are increased from
year to year (see Table 12.2).
Table 12.2 Certificate quotas in Sweden

Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Quota% 10.4 12.6 14.1 15.3 16.0 16.9
Quotas were set only to 2010, which made it impossible to estimate the value of certificates after
that. In 2006 it was decided to prolong the certificate system up to 2030. These quotas can be
revised and changed by parliament at any time, so there is a high political risk connected to the
certificate system.
Ce.&:tificate prices
There is a guaranteed minimum price for certificates and a penalty price for power
trading companies that do not fulfil their quota obligations. Certificates that a
power producer is not able to sell, the state will buy back for the minimum price,
but only up to 2008. Certificates are issued on a yearly basis, but don't have to be
traded in any specific year. There are plans to extend this system to incorporate
Norway in a common certificate market. The EU has also clearly expressed an
intention to create an international market for the trading of certificates in the
future.
The justification for introducing the certificate system was to replace direct
subsidies financed through the state budget (in other words by taxes) with a mar-
ket based system that is paid for by customers. However, the value of the certifi-
cates is set and governed by the politicians: the size of the quotas (demand) and
maximum price (penalty) are decided by parliament. The same system is actually
used in Sweden to regulate the production of milk, where the purpose is to limit
the amount of milk produced. In other words the certificate system can, if it
works, be used either to stimulate or to limit the development of renewable energy
and wind power.
Independent power producers

In most countries wind power has not been developed by the traditional power
companies but by farmers, economic associations and small limited companies
formed to install and operate one or small groups of turbines, so called independ-
ent power producers (IPPs). Only during the last few years have some new very
large actors entered the stage, mainly to invest in large offshore projects. Even in
Denmark and Germany, with a very large share of wind power in the power sys-
tem, most of the turbines are owned and operated by IPPs. In Denmark there are
around 70,000 different owners of wind turbines, many of them private house-
holds that are members of wind power cooperatives and farmers (see Figures 12.3
and 12.4).
In Germany and Denmark the traditional power industry (power companies
and grid operators) have been opponents of wind power and still are to a large ex-
tent. Only during the last few years have some of these big corporations changed
their attitude. The German company Eon, which also operates in the southern
part of Sweden, has invested large amounts in the Danish offshore wind farm
Nysted. And the Danish company Elsam, which owns and operates the other
large offshore wind farm in Denmark, Horns Rev, changed their mind about
wind power by the end of the 1990s. They realized the business opportunities
their experience of wind power held and started their own wind power depart-
ment that is now developing large offshore wind farms in the UK and other parts
of the world.
Installed MW
Power company 352

Cooperatives 567
Private owner 1388
Other ownership 25
Total 2332
Figure 12.3 Wind power plant operator categories in Denmark
In Denmark 85 per cent of the installed wind power capacity is owned and operated by IPPs.
Source: Danish Wind Turbine Owners' Association (2002)
Communal
operators Uii 'mes Company
11% 6% opera1ors
34%
Mise.
companies
15%
Private
'nc!ividuals
32.%
Figure 12.4 Wind power plant operator categories in Germany
The shares are based on a sample of plants that were subsidized under the '250MW Wind' pro-
gramme. These have been quite stable in recent years. In the early development stages, private
individuals (mainly farmers) and communal, local citizen-owned operators (in Germany called
'BOrgerwindparks') strongly dominated the wind power market. More recently, increased separation
of project development and fundraising, the more complex and demanding nature of larger projects,
and the demand for shares in wind park projects from citizens from outside the regions concerned
have called for increasingly professionalized company management and funding.
Source: Enzensberger et al (2003)
Competition on equal terms

When the cost to produce wind-generated electric power is compared with the
cost of power from other energy sources, the factors that are used for the analysis
should be equal; external costs should also be included, since damage to health
and the environment by power production generate costs for society.
By the beginning of the 2000s wind power had become competitive, even
if the external costs of other power plants were excluded. And its competitive-
ness will increase even further in the coming years. In reports from 2001 with
prognoses for 2020, the UK government and the US Department of Energy have
OFFSHORE
€1900/kW
OFFSHORE
Nuclear €1300/kW
Figure 12.5 Competitiveness ofwind power
Electricity cost (€/MWh) for wind, coal and gas based on actual cost of installed plant in 2005 and
quoted industry cost for nuclear.
Source: Windpower Monthly (2006)
pointed to wind power as the cheapest energy source. In 2005 a wind power sta-
tion typically cost €1200/kW installed power on land and €1600/kW offshore.
The cost of a megawatt hour of electricity generated on land ranged from about
€45/MWh at high wind speed sites to up to €80/MWh on sites with a minimal
wind resource (see Figure 12.5).
Even today the power prices do not include the external costs. In 2001 the
Commission of Europe updated calculations of the external costs of different en-
ergy sources in the report 'ExternE: Externalities of Energy' (ExternE, 2002). One
of the conclusions was that the costs to produce electric power with coal or oil
would double, or increase by 30 per cent in the case of natural gas, if the external
costs for impacts on health and environment were included in the power prices
(see Figure 12.6).
If external costs are included in the economic calculation, wind power (with
the conditions described above) was already the cheapest means to produce elec-
tric power with new power plants by the early 2000s. Since the energy source, the
wind, is free, there is no risk that the prices will increase due to changes in the
world market prices for fuels, which can have a large impact on the costs for power
generated by fossil fuels or nuclear power.
Cost of electric power with external costs included

Latest cost estimations from the EC
Wind power
UK NFFO
US DOE
Gas
Nuclear
Coal
0 0,02 0,04 0,06 0,08

Total production cost ($/kWh)
0 Production cost Ill External costs
Figure 12.6 E'i:ternal costs
The diagram shows the total costs (production cost plus external costs), for different energy
sources. For wind power there are two columns, the upper (UK NFFO) shows the actual production
cost for wind farms that were developed in England in the NFFO programme, the lower shows the
price for wind power in the US, estimated by the US Department of Energy. The external costs are
average values from the EU ExternE report.
Source: Milborrow (2002)
Policy recommendations
Wind power is a relatively new power source that differs from conventional tech-
nologies in several respects. Wind power plants are favourable for health and the
environment, since they don't produce any hazardous emissions. Wind turbines
are connected to the distribution grid, and can be used for distributed genera-
tion. They are modular, consisting of small units, compared with conventional
power plants, and can be added to the power system continuously. Finally they are
owned and operated by IPPs.
To be able to compete on equal terms on the electricity power markets, that
have been created for conventional power plants and are dominated by tradition-
al, often very powerful, power companies, however, it is necessary with political
support to eliminate the competitive disadvantage that has been created by dec-
ades of financial and political support for conventional technologies. What kinds
of reforms are necessary to accomplish this has been analysed and from the results
policy recommendations have been formulated (see Box 12.3).
Box 12.3 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM

RE-XPANSION
The Support Schemes for Renewable Energy report (8NEA, 2005a) formulates a number
of policy recommendations:
• Known external costs should be internalized through appropriate pollution taxes on

the polluting energy technologies.
• The costs of climate change are impossible to quantify, so this should be dealt with
in a quantity regime which can assure adherence to safe maximum concentrations of
greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere (by international treaties like the Kyoto
Protocol, etc.).
• If external cost cannot be internalized by emission taxes, feed-in tariffs or premiums
should be used to internalize the differences in external costs between conventional
and renewable energy technologies.
• While reduction targets for GHGs are far from securing safe maximum GHG
concentrations, additional measures should be taken to level the competitive playing
field for renewables.
• Other reasons for the promotion of renewables - security of supply, diversity of
supply, local employment, etc. -should never be overlooked. Such factors need to
be taken into account in the making of renewable energy policies in their own right.
The 'Wind Force 12' report, written by Greenpeace for the Global Wind Energy
Council, calls for 'legally binding targets for renewable energy'. Such targets
will force governments to develop financial frameworks, grid access regulation,
planning and administrative procedures. They also need to be accompanied by
policies that eliminate market barriers and attract investment capital. The mar-
ket has to be clearly defined in national laws and include stable, long-term
fiscal measures which minimize investor risk and ensure an adequate return on
investment.
Further, the report calls for electricity market reform to remove barriers to
renewables and market distortions:
The reforms needed to address market barriers to renewables include:
• Streamlined and uniform planning procedures and permitting sys-

tems and integrated least cost network planning;
• Access to the grid at foir, transparent prices and removal ofdiscrimi-
natory access and transmission tariffs;
• Fair and transparent pricing for power throughout a network, with
recognition and remuneration for the benefits of embedded genera-
tion;
" Unbundling of utilities into separate generation and distribution
companies;
• The costs ofgrid infrastructure development and reinforcement must

be carried by the grid management authority rather than individual
renewable energy projects; and
" Disclosure offitel mix and environmental impact to end-users to en-
able consumers to make an informed choice ofpower source.
An important point is that fossil fuel and nuclear power sources still receive large
subsidies, which distort the markets and increase the need to support renewables
(see Box 12.4). Wind power would not need special provisions if markets were not
distorted by the fact that it is still virtually free for electricity producers to pollute,
according to the Greenpeace report.
Box 12.4 SUBSIDIES TO CONVENTIONAL POWER SOURCES
The UNDP World Energy Assessment in 2000 stated that in the mid-1990s
governments worldwide were subsidizing fossil fuel and nuclear power by around
$250-300 billion per year.
• The World Bank estimated in 1997 that annual fossil fuel subsidies were $58 billion
in the OECD and the 20 biggest countries outside the OECD.
Over the last three decades 92 per cent of all R&D funding ($267 billion) has been spent
on non-renewables, largely fossil fuel and nuclear technologies, compared to 8 per cent
($23 billion) for all renewable technologies.
13
Wind Power and the Environment
Wind turbines use the renewable power from the wind; they don't produce any
emissions or require any fuel transport that can harm the environment. A wind
turbine pays back the energy that has been used to manufacture it in three to nine
months, depending on the wind resources at the site, the size of turbine and the
method of calculation (Elsam, 2004). The turbine can be dismantled without
leaving any lasting traces behind, and most of the material can be recycled. All
other ways to produce electric power in new power plants have greater impacts on
the environment.
From an environmental point of view, wind power is the best option; it has a
positive impact on the global and regional environment. The risks associated with
climate change, acidification and eutrophication and their impacts on agriculture,
forests, lakes, landscape and human health decrease with more electricity being
generated by wind (see Table 13.1).
The concept of environmental impact encompasses a lot of different kinds of
impact. Wind turbines can cause impacts on the environment by noise, shadow
flicker, and changing views of landscapes, flora and fauna, and cultural heritage.
But a positive impact is that the emissions from the power system are reduced.
To be able to do reasonable assessments of these impacts, this concept has to be
specified (Wizelius et al, 2005) (see Box 13.1).
Table 13.1 Environment impact.from different energy sources

Energy source Raw product Emission Other impacts
Combustion Coal, oil, gas C02, NOX, SOX, Oil exploitation, mines,
VOC, ash transport
Combustion Biomass NOX, SOX, VOC, Forestry, transport
ashes
Hydropower Streaming None Exploitation of land and
water watersheds
Wind power Wind None Land use, noise
Solar heating, solar cells Solar radiation None Land use
C0 2 =carbon dioxide, NOx = nitrogen oxides, SOx =sulphur oxides, VOC =volatile organic com-
pounds
Box 13.1 ENVIRONMENT IMPACT FROM WIND TURBINES

The impact on environment can be divided into the following categories:
Eco-system
Chemical/physical impact- acidification, eutrophication, climate change, pollutants, etc.
Health and comfort

Impacts on neighbours that can cause nuisance - noise, shadow flicker, safety.
Culture
Visual impact on landscape; cultural heritage.
Impacts on the environment can be local, regional or global. Burning of fossil fuels
(coal, oil, natural gas) produces emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide,
sulphur and nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds (hydrocarbons, etc.),
heavy metals (lead, cadmium and mercury), as well as soot and particles. The
extraction of fuel from mines and oil and gas wells also has serious local impacts
on the environment, as well as causing further emissions. The transport of the
fuel from source to the power plants requires energy and is yet another source of
emiSSIOns,
The environmental gain that the development of wind power creates depends
on the power system where the turbines are installed: how the power would be
produced without wind power and how that would affect the environment.
Sweden, for example, belongs to a large north European power system. The
power systems in the Nordic countries- Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland-
are interconnected and there are also cables for power exchange with Germany
and Poland. When a new wind turbine starts to produce power in Sweden, it
replaces the same amount of power from a coal-fired plant in the north European
power system. New wind turbines in Sweden do not replace power from
hydrostations and nuclear reactors but imported power from a coal-fired plant
(Holttinen, 2004). Thus by assessing the emissions from coal-fired plants, the
environmental gains can be quantified (see Table 13.2).
The amount of reduction depends on what power plant is used for com-
parison in the calculation. C02 emissions are approximately the same from all
coal-fired power plants; emissions ofSOx and NOx, however, can vary. !able 13.2
is based on a coal-fired power plant with good equipment for emissiOn reduc-
tion.
The amount of reduction not only depends on what types of power plants are
installed in the power system where wind power is connected but also, of course,
on the actual share of wind power in the power production- the wind power pen-
etration. As the penetration increases, wind power will replace not only coal-fired
WIND POWER AND ENVIRONMENT 153
Table 13.2 The contribution ofwind power to reduction

ofenvironment impact in the Nordic power system
Substance 1kWh 1GWh
so X
0.37g 370kg
C0 2 850g* 850 tonnes
NO X 1.2g 1.2 tonnes
* 800-900g/kWh (Holttinen, 2004).
The yearly environmental gain of a wind power project can be calculated by multiplying yearly power
production with the figures in the table. To this solid refuse in the form of dross (clinkers) of around
52g/kWh (52 tonnes/GWh) has to be added.
Sources: Danish Wind Turbine Owners' Association (2001) and Holttinen (2004)
power plants, but also some hydropower and nuclear power in the Nordic power
system. With 4.3 per cent penetration (16TWh/a) C0 2 emissions are reduced
by 700g/kWh (as a result of the wind power), with 12.2 per cent (46TWh) the
reduction is by 650g/kWh (Holttinen, 2004).
In the Baltic power system, where a large share of the power comes from oil-
shale-fired power plants, the reductions are larger, 1.05kg/kWh. However, to get
an actual reduction of the C0 2 emissions, the penetration has to be quite large,
since the fossil power plants only can be regulated in steps of 1OMW. Small shares
of wind power will only increase losses in the grid.
The reduction of C02 and other emissions depends on the design and char-
acteristics of the power system where the wind turbines are installed; these figures
have to be calculated separately for each power system. But in most power systems
wind power will produce a significant reduction in C02 emissions.
Development of wind power contributes to reducing the negative impact
power production has on the global environment, since carbon dioxide emissions
that can change the global climate are reduced. It also contributes to reducing
emissions of cross-border air pollution from sulphur and nitrogen oxides that
cause acidification, eutrophication and other environment impacts at the regional
level. In short, wind power has a positive impact on the global and regional envi-
ronment.
Land demand
It might seem obvious that wind power needs more land than other energy sources.
If you analyse this question and compare wind power with other kinds of power
plants, however, it turns out to be less self-evident. Power plants that use fossil
fuels or uranium use land areas in the whole chain of production, from the exploi-
tation of the raw material to waste dumps - mines, oil wells, refineries, ports and
storage facilities. Wind power's demand on land varies from 0.018 to 0.49ha/MW
154 WIND PO\VER AND SOCIETY
Conventional power plants

Gas-
Nuclear
Coal
;~~~~==~
~
Renewables
Wind power ~·llll::::::===;__j
Geothermal J
Solar collector
PV-cells
Bioenergy ~~~~~~~i~!IIIIIIII!::;:JJ
0.01 0.1
Land demand per MW
Ill Low D High D Other studies
Figure 13.1 Land requirement per MW
Wind power does not necessarily need more land than other energy sources. Other power plants
need fuel, which is taken from mines; the fuel has to be transported and for this harbours and other
infrastructure are needed; and the remains soot, ash, dross and radioactive waste - need large
areas for storage. The diagram shows the land requirement in ha!MW for different types of power
plants (note that the horizontal axis has a logarithmic scale). The land requirement for wind power
varies from 0.018 to 0.49ha/MW for the five wind farms from the middle of the 1990s that are
included in the study.
including foundations, access roads, transformers and other equipment, accord-

ing to an empirical study; aUK nuclear plant requires 0.16ha/MW according to
the same study (see Figures 13.1 and 13.2).
According to the Swedish government report 'Ratt plats for Vindkraft' (SOU,
1999, p75) land requirement, defined as the area limited by a line surrounding the
outer towers in a group of turbines, depends on the configuration. If t:he turbines
are sited along a line, the land requirement is very small; if they are arranged in,
say, three rows of four turbines, the land requirement increases. A group of twelve
1.5MW turbines in a 3x4 group require an area of 81ha, if they are sit:ed in a 2x6
group they only need 47ha. The total nominal power of such group is 18Mw.
which gives land requirements of 4.5 and 2.6ha/MW respectively. However, 99
per cent of this area can still be used as before, so the actual land requirement is
only 0.045 and 0.026ha/MW. And the better the wind resources are used, the
fewer the turbines that have to be installed.
Conventional power plants
Nuclear
Gas
Coal ;::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~==~
Renewables
Geothermal
Wind power
PV-cells
iiii~~~~~~·============J
Solar collector
Bioenergy
10 lOO 1000 10,000 100,000

Power production (kWh/m')
Ill Low 0 High
Figure 13.2 Land requirement in relation to productivity
If the productivity in kWh/m 2 is compared, wind power can still compete with fossil and nuclear
power plants. With the large wind turbines installed in the 2000s the land requirement of wind
power is actually less per kWh than other power plants as the areas between the turbines can
continue to be used as before the wind power plants were installed.
Local impacts
Wind turbines have to be sited in places with good wind conditions. Access roads
sometimes have to be built to make it possible to transport the turbines to the site,
and power lines have to be installed to connect the turbines to the grid.
The energy content of the wind increases with the cube of the wind speed,
and a wind turbine sited at the coast can produce 25-30 per cent more power
than a turbine 2km inland. The wind resource is a crucial factor for the economic
viability of a wind power installation - ultimately it defines the areas where it will
be feasible to exploit wind energy.
Wind turbines are usually mounted on concrete foundations, but can also be
bolted into the ground if it consists of solid stone. A concrete foundation consists
of a large, usually square, foundation cast in a mould a few metres below ground
level and a concrete pole with a steel flange where the tower is bolted. The founda-
tion is covered with earth and the foundation does not cover more area than the
tower base - a few square metres at ground level.
An access road has to be built from the closest road so that excavator, mo-
bile crane and other heavy vehicles can access the site if the ground doesn't have
enough carrying capacity. These roads can be temporary, sometimes consisting
simply of reinforcements of some sections or steel plates being laid on the ground.
The demand on the access road depends on the terrain and the size of the tur-
bines. When the turbines are delivered, the access road has to be able to bear heavy
lorries with trailers and a heavy mobile crane.
The transformer is built next to the turbine and is connected to the grid by
a cable, usually buried in the ground. On large turbines the transformer is pre-
installed in the tower or the nacelle.
The direct physical impact on the environment consists of the foundations,
access road and cables to the grid, and the turbine itself, which will demand some
of the air space at the site. Once the turbines have been installed, however, most
of the land can be used as before, as arable or pasture land, for example.
Wind turbines do not cause any emissions that have impacts on the environ-
ment. The only impacts are that the rotor creates some noise, the turbines are vis-
ible during daytime and when the sun shines the rotor throws a rotating shadow
that moves from west to east from sunrise to sunset.
Flora and fauna

The impact on flora and fauna depends on the types of vegetation and animal life
in the area.
Vegetation can be affected during the building phase or by changes in the
hydrological conditions due to the foundations, cable ditches, etc. This in normal
conditions is seldom a problem. Concerning wildlife, the risk of impacts on birds
has been debated and a lot of research has been done to clarifY this issue.
In the 1980s there were problems in Denmark with small birds that built
nests in the nacelles, so the manufacturers had to cover all openings with lat-
tice. In the US many falcons collided with the rotor blades. The reason for this
turned out to be that the smaller birds that were the falcons' prey built their
nests in the towers. These turbines had lattice towers that had many perfect
branch forks for bird nests. Covering the lattice towers with sheet metal solved
this problem. In southern Spain several vultures were killed at the Tarifa wind
farm. It turned out that the vultures gathered at a large waste dump in the mid-
dle of the wind farm and moving the dump to a better place solved the problem.
The risk of birds colliding with wind turbines has been shown in practice to be
relatively small.
In the Altamont pass in California, however, there are still problems with
birds of prey colliding with turbines, and from August to December 2005 four
dead sea eagles, two of them adults, were found close to the large 150MW wind
farm, with 68 operational wind turbines, on the island of Smi:ila in Norway. The
sea eagles had obviously been killed by the turbines (NINA, 2006).
It should be pointed out in this regard, however, that birds live a fairly precari-
ous life in any case, with about 30 per cent dying during their first year due to col-
lisions with natural or man-made objects (windows, high structures, power lines,
Table 13.3 Bird mortality from various causes in the US

Object Mortality, million birds a year
Power grid 130-174
Cars and trucks 60--80
Buildings 100--1000
Telecom towers 40-50
Pesticides 67
Cats, domestic and feral* 39
Wind turbines 0.0064
* Wisconsin only.
Source: Sagrillo (2003)
etc.). In the US many scientific studies have been made to estimate the number of
bird deaths a year from different causes (see Table 13.3).
Several studies have been conducted on bird mortality caused by wind tur-
bines. The National Wind Coordinating Committee in the US analysed all such
studies to the end of 2001 and estimated the total annual mortality from 3500
operating turbines in the US to be 6400 bird fatalities per year for all bird spe-
cies. This would correspond to 0.01-0.02 per cent of the annual avian collision
fatalities caused by man-made structures and activities in the US (NWCC, 2001).
Thus the frequency of birds colliding with wind turbines has been shown to be
relatively small.
Another impact on birdlife could be that birds are scared away from areas
where wind turbines are erected. This scaring effect seems to vary between spe-
cies, but most birds don't seem to be frightened by turbines and get accustomed
to them quite quicldy.
The impact offshore wind farms have on seabirds has also been investigated
thoroughly. Comprehensive studies have been made at Tuno Knob and Nysted
in Denmark and in the Kalmar Straight in Sweden, where a wind farm has been
installed in the middle of the migration route, meaning that 1.5 million birds
pass the 12 wind turbines each year. The routes of the migrating birds have been
observed visually in daytime and by radar at night and during mist from 1999
(before the turbines were installed) to 2003. During this period only one colli-
sion was observed. The worst-case scenario of birds being killed by colliding with
the wind turbines was estimated at 14 birds a year, which is considered negligible
(hunters kill several hundreds of seabirds each year in the area, for example). The
study shows that birds will spot and avoid the turbines in all kinds of weather.
Important resting habitats and nesting areas for birds are usually designated as
bird protection areas. However, it is always important to investigate the bird situa-
tion in coastal areas and offshore and to adapt the wind farms to these conditions
to minimize the impact.
Wind turbines have a technical and economic lifetime of at least 20 years,

which can be prolonged by exchanging vital components such as gearboxes, gen-
erators and blades. The foundations have a much longer lifetime and could poten-
tially be reused for a new installation at the same place, although the fast technical
development of turbines makes this less likely. Wind turbines can be dismantled
in a day and the site can be restored to its original state. Most of the components
can be recycled. In short, wind turbines do not mal{e a lasting impact on the en-
vironment.
Sound propagation
Wind turbines can cause two different types of noise: mechanical noise from
the nacelle (gearbox, generator and other moving mechanical components) and
aerodynamic noise from the rotor blades. There are carefully specified rules and
methods for how noise from turbines is to be measured, how manufacturers are
to specify the noise produced by their turbines, how the noise immission is to be
calculated at different distances from a turbine, and what sound levels are to be
permitted around different types of buildings.
The main distinction concerning measurements of noise is made between
sound emission and sound immission. The sound emission is the sound that the
turbine emits. The value for sound emission that the manufacturers declare, and
that is used to calculate sound levels at different distances from the turbine, is the
sound emission from the centre of the rotor when the wind speed is 8rn/s at 1Om
above ground, for a turbine sited in an open landscape with roughness class 1.5
(roughness length 0.5).
The sound immission is the value that is measured (or calculated) at a specific
distance from the turbine. If the sound emission and the hub height are known,
the sound immission at different distances from the turbine can be calculated (see
Figure 13.3).
The sound is measured in dBA (decibel A), which is an A-weighted sum
of sound with different frequencies, adapted to the human ear's sensitivity for
sound of such frequencies. The unit dBA gives a measure of the sound that the
ear registers. Normal speech has a sound level of 65dBA, a modern refrigerator
35-40dBA, a city street about 75dBA, a discotheque around lOOdBA and a quiet
bedroom 30dBA.
The sound emission from a wind turbine is about 1OOdBA, varying from
95 to 108dBA. The sound from modern wind turbines all comes from the rotor
blades: the mechanical noise has been eliminated by sound-absorbing materials
in the nacelle, better precision in the manufactured components and damping.
Nowadays mechanical sound can be heard only when a component begins to fail.
The sound from the rotor is an aerodynamic swishing sound. Neither infra- nor
ultra-sound, in other words sound with too low or too high a frequency to be
Table 13.3 Bird mortality from various causes in the US

Object Mortality, million birds a year
Power grid 130-174
Cars and trucks 60--80
Buildings 100--1000
Telecom towers 40-50
Pesticides 67
Cats, domestic and feral* 39
Wind turbines 0.0064
* Wisconsin only.
Source: Sagrillo (2003)
etc.). In the US many scientific studies have been made to estimate the number of
bird deaths a year from different causes (see Table 13.3).
Several studies have been conducted on bird mortality caused by wind tur-
bines. The National Wind Coordinating Committee in the US analysed all such
studies to the end of 2001 and estimated the total annual mortality from 3500
operating turbines in the US to be 6400 bird fatalities per year for all bird spe-
cies. This would correspond to 0.01-0.02 per cent of the annual avian collision
fatalities caused by man-made structures and activities in the US (NWCC, 2001).
Thus the frequency of birds colliding with wind turbines has been shown to be
relatively small.
Another impact on birdlife could be that birds are scared away from areas
where wind turbines are erected. This scaring effect seems to vary between spe-
cies, but most birds don't seem to be frightened by turbines and get accustomed
to them quite quiddy.
The impact offshore wind farms have on seabirds has also been investigated
thoroughly. Comprehensive studies have been made at Tuno Knob and Nysted
in Denmark and in the Kalmar Straight in Sweden, where a wind farm has been
installed in the middle of the migration route, meaning that 1.5 million birds
pass the 12 wind turbines each year. The routes of the migrating birds have been
observed visually in daytime and by radar at night and during mist from 1999
(before the turbines were installed) to 2003. During this period only one colli-
sion was observed. The worst-case scenario of birds being killed by colliding with
the wind turbines was estimated at 14 birds a year, which is considered negligible
(hunters kill several hundreds of seabirds each year in the area, for example). The
study shows that birds will spot and avoid the turbines in all kinds of weather.
Important resting habitats and nesting areas for birds are usually designated as
bird protection areas. However, it is always important to investigate the bird situa-
tion in coastal areas and offshore and to adapt the wind farms to these conditions
to minimize the impact.
Wind turbines have a technical and economic lifetime of at least 20 years,

which can be prolonged by exchanging vital components such as gearboxes, gen-
erators and blades. The foundations have a much longer lifetime and could poten-
tially be reused for a new installation at the same place, although the fast technical
development of turbines makes this less likely. Wind turbines can be dismantled
in a day and the site can be restored to its original state. Most of the components
can be recycled. In short, wind turbines do not mal{e a lasting impact on the en-
vironment.
Sound propagation
Wind turbines can cause two different types of noise: mechanical noise from
the nacelle (gearbox, generator and other moving mechanical components) and
aerodynamic noise from the rotor blades. There are carefully specified rules and
methods for how noise from turbines is to be measured, how manufacturers are
to specify the noise produced by their turbines, how the noise immission is to be
calculated at different distances from a turbine, and what sound levels are to be
permitted around different types of buildings.
The main distinction concerning measurements of noise is made between
sound emission and sound immission. The sound emission is the sound that the
turbine emits. The value for sound emission that the manufacturers declare, and
that is used to calculate sound levels at different distances from the turbine, is the
sound emission from the centre of the rotor when the wind speed is 8m/ s at 1Om
above ground, for a turbine sited in an open landscape with roughness class 1.5
(roughness length 0.5).
The sound immission is the value that is measured (or calculated) at a specific
distance from the turbine. If the sound emission and the hub height are known,
the sound immission at different distances from the turbine can be calculated (see
Figure 13.3).
The sound is measured in dBA (decibel A), which is an A-weighted sum
of sound with different frequencies, adapted to the human ear's sensitivity for
sound of such frequencies. The unit dBA gives a measure of the sound that the
ear registers. Normal speech has a sound level of 65dBA, a modern refrigerator
35-40dBA, a city street about 75dBA, a discotheque around 100dBA and a quiet
bedroom 30dBA.
The sound emission from a wind turbine is about 1OOdBA, varying from
95 to 108dBA. The sound from modern wind turbines all comes from the rotor
blades: the mechanical noise has been eliminated by sound-absorbing materials
in the nacelle, better precision in the manufactured components and damping.
Nowadays mechanical sound can be heard only when a component begins to fail.
The sound from the rotor is an aerodynamic swishing sound. Neither infra- nor
ultra-sound, in other words sound with too low or too high a frequency to be
45 dBA
40 dBA
35 dBA
30 dBA
Figure 13.3 Sound propagation fi'om a wind turbine
Sound immission at different distances from a wind turbine.
Source: Typoform
registered by the human ear, has been registered from wind turbines (Remmers,
1998).
There are no significant sound differences between small and large turbines,
since the sound level depends on the tip speed, which is about the same for
most turbines (small turbines have a higher rotational speed than large ones).
Manufacturers have, however, managed to decrease this swishing sound during
years of continuous development, by changing the form of the blades. The level
of sound emission from a turbine is decisive for the permissible distance to neigh-
bouring houses (see Table 13.4).
The sound from wind turbines differs from other kinds of industrial noise. In
modern turbines noise from the machinery has been eliminated. The aerodynam-
ic swishing noise has the same character as the rustling of leaves or other wind-
induced noise. Turbines with variable speed rotate slower in low winds and the
noise level is lower than the background sound level at almost all wind speeds.
Table 13.4 Sound levelfi'om wind turbines/distances (m)
~
45dBA 40dBA 35dBA
Em1ss1on
105dBA 350m 575m 775m
100dBA 200m 350m 575m
95dBA 120m 200m 350m
The sound emission from a wind turbine (given in the technical specifications for the turbine) is
usually in the range 95 to 105dBA The table shows rounded values to give an idea of appropri-
ate distances and how they differ for various emission values. The decibel scale is logarithmic: an
increase by 3d BA corresponds to a doubling of the sound pressure (power).
Wind turbines can in fact only be heard under certain conditions. When the
wind wanes the turbines stop and can't be heard at all. When the wind speed is
higher than 8m/s the sound from the turbine is drowned by background sounds
from rustling leaves and other wind-induced sound. Wind turbines will be heard
only when the wind speed is between cut-in wind speed, 3-4m/s, and 8m/s; the
recommended values for maximum sound level are reached only at 8m/s at a
height of 1Om. The sound will spread more on the lee side of the turbine. In other
directions the sound level will be lower.
Calculation methods
The sound immission at different distances from a wind turbine can be calculated
with models for sound propagation. There is an international standard method
for this, IS09613-2, but unfortunately the authorities in some countries have
decided to use their own models instead. Their acoustic experts claim that their
models are more accurate for wind turbines than the international standard mod-
el. However, the results from these different models do not differ very much (see
Table 13.5).
The results 500 metres from a wind turbine differ by less than 2dBA.
Considering that the smallest difference in sound level that the human ear can
perceive is 3dBA, the results are in practice the same. For the minimum distance to
a dwelling, where the maximum sound immission is 35dBA, the distance will be a
little more than 500 metres in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden and slightly
less than 500 metres under the international standard used in Germany and other
countries. Close to the turbine the international standard is 'stricter', while the
difference at 40dBA is only 20 metres (Wizelius et al, 2005) (see Table 13.6).
Table 13.5 Sound immission according to diffirent calculation models*

1809613-2 Denmark The Netherlands Sweden
34.1 35.5 36.0 35.5
* for a wind turbine with 50m hub height and a sound emission of 1ODd BA; sound immission 500m
from the turbine (dBA).
Table 13.6 Distance to 35, 40 and 45dBA

dBA 1809613-2 Denmark The Netherlands Sweden
35 465 525 555 525
40 305 325 325 325
45 205 195 185 195
Rules and regulations

Rules for which sound immission are recommended for neighbouring houses dif-
fer in different countries. In Denmark the limit for dwellings is 45dBA, in Sweden
the limit is 40dBA. In the UK the sound immission may not increase by more
than SdBA above the background noise level (see Table 13.7).
Table 13.7 Recommended limits for sound immission in difforent countries (dBA)
Country Work areas- Dwellings Villages, farms Recreation
office, industry areas
Denmark 45 45 40
Germany 50-70 40 45 35
The Netherlands 40 35 30
UK + 5* + 5* + 5* + 5*
France + 3* + 3* + 3* + 3*
Norway 40 40 40 40
Sweden 50 40 40 35
* max increase from background noise during evening and night.
Shadows and reflections

During some periods of the day wind turbines can create shadows and reflections
that can be disturbing if the turbines are unsuitably sited in relation to neighbour-
ing buildings. The problem with reflections from rotor blades has been eliminated
already, since the blades on modern turbines have an anti-reflection coating. The
rotating shadows from rotors can also create a stroboscopic effect when they pass a
window, which might be an unpleasant surprise if the risk hadn't been considered
before the turbines were installed.
The risk of being disturbed by shadows is greater the closer a house is to a
wind turbine. However, due to rules of maximum sound immission, the mini-
mum distance to the closest neighbour is usually six to ten rotor diameters, and at
that distance shadows will occur only during some short periods each day in lim-
ited periods of the year. A shadow will also be 'diluted' with distance: its sharpness
decreases and it finally disappears due to optical phenomena in the atmosphere.
Theoretically a shadow from a turbine can reach 4.8km (for a turbine with a
45m rotor diameter), which would occur just after sunrise and just before sunset.
In practice, though, a shadow will have a maximum reach of 1.4km (for a 2MW
turbine with 2m blade width) although shadow effects are calculated for a distance
of2km.
The shadow from a wind turbine moves in the same manner as the shadow of
a sundial, from west through north to east from sunrise to sunset. Since the sun
162 WIND PO\'V'ER AND SOCIETY
Figure 13.4 Model for shadow calculation
Using the hub height (n), the rotor area {A) and the inclination of the sun in relation to the horizontal
plane (v), the location of the shadow can be calculated.
Source: Typoform/EMD (2005)
will rise later in the winter, when the sun's altitude also will be lower, the shadow
will move along different paths in different seasons. Since the altitude of the sun
can be calculated exactly for each time of the day and for different latitudes, the
path of the shadow at each place can be exactly calculated (see Figure 13.4).
A house situated due west of a wind turbine can get shadow flicker at 6 o'clock
in the morning, a house north of a turbine at noon and a house east of a turbine at
6 o'clock in the evening. The shadow is much shorter in the summer than in the
winter, and if houses are 500 metres away from the turbine none will get shadow
flicker for more than rwo short periods of the year, and this for a maximum of 20
minutes per day. During what time of the day a shadow from a wind turbine will
fall in a specific place and for how many hours a year this may occur can be cal-
culated using a web-based calculator that is available on the website of the Danish
Wind Industry Association: www.windpower.org.
The results of these estimates or calculations show the theoretical maximum
time a house can get shadow flicker from a turbine. It shows the 'worst' case,
which is if the sun is always shining and the wind always blowing from a direction
that gives maximum shadow impact (rotor perpendicular to the window). Since
the sky is sometimes overcast and wind speed and direction varies, the real time
for shadow flicker is much lower, less than one third of the worst case. If informa-
tion about sunshine and the distribution of wind directions per month are avail-
able, the time for actual shadow impact can be calculated.
The calculation model in Figure 13.4 is based on simplifications which give
an overestimation of the shadow impact. In this so-called geometrical model the
sun is reduced to a dot and the light/shadow spreads in a vacuum. In reality, how-
ever, the sun covers three degrees of the sky, so 'sunbeams' actually meet behind
the rotor blades and wash out the shadows at a certain distance. Furthermore, in
reality the air also diffuses the light. These two phenomena have been studied by
the German scientist Hans-Dieter Freund, who has introduced a physical correc-
tion factor to get results that better reflect reality.
The maximum distance for a shadow to be visible depends on the hub height
and rotor diameter of the wind turbine. The length of the shadow also varies
with the opaqueness of the air, which depends on humidity and temperature.
On a clear day in winter the shadow can be much longer than on a clear summer
day. The shadow will also be visible at longer distances on a vertical than on a
horizontal surface. According to Freund the maximum length of shadows can be
calculated as shown in Table 13.8.
Table 13.8 Maximum length ofshadows from wind turbines

Summer Winter
Hub height (m) Rotor diameter (m) Horizontal Vertical Horizontal Vertical
25 25 200m 350m 300m 700m
50 50 300m 700m 600m 1250m
75 75 500m 1i00m 850m 1800m
100 iOO 600m 1375m 1100m 2300m
125 120 700m 1650m 1300m 2700m
The maximum distance for a shadow on a vertical surface, like a window or fac;:ade, for wind
turbines with 75 metre hub height and the same rotor diameter, is 1100 metres in the summer and
some 700 metres more during the rare winter days when the air is crystal clear. The size of the
shadow, the area it sweeps, will also decrease with distance.
Source: Freund (2002)
Visual impact on the landscape

Wind turbines are visible objects and consequently have a visual impact on the
landscape, like most other structures, factories, power lines, roads and so on. Since
wind turbines are tall and have a rotating rotor, they attract attention of passers
by. Therefore wind turbines are considered to have a comparatively large impact
on the impression of a landscape. Whether this impact should be considered posi-
tive or negative is a matter of individual opinion and is also influenced by the
type of surroundings. And opinions do differ: some consider wind turbines ugly
machines that turn the environment into an industrial area; others view them as
slender sculptures that visualize the power of the wind, or as a clever and therefore
acceptable way to use the power that nature offers for free.
Farmers usually want to use available natural resources in an efficient way
and consider the surroundings as a production landscape. They also have to mal{e
a living out of them. Tourists and summer cottage owners often view the land-
Figure 13.5 Siting ofturbines in the landscape
lt is important to consider from what places a planned wind turbine installation will be visible and
what impact the turbines will have on the experience of existing buildings and nature. This can be
done by checking the views from different viewpoints. In a valley the hill brows should be kept free,
and distances to churches and other similar buildings should be long enough so that the turbines
don't destroy the impression of them.
Source: Typoform/Liinsstyrelserna i Skane (1996)
scape as a 'postcard' -there to give aesthetic and similar experiences. Furthermore,

opinions and experiences tend to change over time, so after some time turbines
can come to be considered natural and valuable components in the landscape.
It is difficult to determine how wind turbines affect the landscape, since
the experience of the values of a landscape is subjective and people can have
quite different opinions about them. There certainly are some turbines that are
sited in bad places, as well as turbines that suit the landscape well. Obviously
there are some factors that make a difference. However, it is very hard to for-
mulate general rules for the best way turbines should be sited in a landscape
(see Figure 13.5).
A developer who plans to install wind turbines has to choose the site very
carefully to make the turbines produce as much power as possible. The area that
350 m 1 km 5 km
Figure 13.6 Visual impact of wind turbines
Within a distance of 350m (1 0 hub heights) a wind turbine (with a 35m tower) dominates the land-
scape, 1km away the turbine is clearly visible but not dominating, and 5km away the turbine will be
perceived as a part of the landscape.
surrounds the turbines should be as open as possible, with a proper distance to

buildings, groves and other obstacles that can disturb the wind. Usually this is also
a good site from an aesthetic point of view.
The visual impact of wind turbines decreases quicldy with distance. A limit
for when the visual impact can be considered negligible can be set: a common rule
of thumb is that wind turbines dominate the landscape within a distance of ten
times the turbines hub height, in other words within a circle of 600m radius for a
turbine with a 60m tower. This will be outside the 40dBA limit for sound immis-
sion; further away the turbine is clearly visible up to 5km and after that it melts
into the landscape (see Figure 13.6).
A wind turbine will be visible up to a distance of 400 times the hub height, in
other words up to 20km away for a turbine with 50m hub height. However, tur-
bines will melt into the landscape after about 5km, the distance when this occurs
depending on the turbine size and the character of the landscape.
The Swedish government report 'Ratt plats for Vindkraft' (SOU, 1999, p75)
mal{es a different classification, however (see Box 13.2).
The impact on the landscape of a planned wind power project can be illus-
trated with photomontages. Most wind power software programs offer this op-
tion, but it can also be done with Photoshop or similar software.
The number and size of the turbines and their configuration also influence
the visual impact. Experience has shown, though, that it is very hard for the hu-
man eye to distinguish between small and large turbines. The eye will interpret
166 WIND PO\VER AND SOCIETY
Box 13.2 VISUAL ZONES FOR WIND TURBINES
Close zone
Up to 2-Skm: wind turbines are a dominating element.
Intermediate zone
From 3 to about 7km: the visibility of the turbines varies according to the character of
the landscape. In open landscapes with a wide view and unbroken ground (flat terrain)
the turbines are clearly visible, although it can be difficult to perceive their size. If the
landscape is cultivated with many groves, forested areas, building, etc., the visibility is
reduced.
Distant zone
Up to about 12km: even at these distances wind turbines will be clearly visible in an
open landscape with an unobstructed view. However, the forms of the landscape and the
elements in it will reduce the dominance of the turbines.
Very distant zone

More than I O-l2km: in a landscape with an unobstructed view wind turbines can be
perceived as small objects on the horizon, but it can be difficult to distinguish them from
other objects in the landscape.
a difference in height to a difference in distance. It is also hard to note different

patterns in a wind farm.
It is not possible to assess how the values of a landscape will be affected by
new structures or other changes just by reading maps or by interpretations of laws
and regulations. These values are defined by the evaluations made by the people
who work and live in the landscape. The value of different sites and views depend
on the traditions, memories and feelings of the local inhabitants. These aspects
are usually clarified during the public consultations that are a part of the planning
process.
Finally it is important to realize that the landscapes we live in are created by
man. There is no natural landscape. This is the view of modern geographers:
Landscape is not scene1y. . . it is really no more than a collection, a system

ofman-made spaces on the surfoce ofthe earth. The natural environment
is always artificial. J. B. Jackson, quoted in Pasqualetti et al (2002)
A landscape in a sustainable society will look different from the landscape of

today.
14
Wind Power Planning
Wind power planning can mean several things and be undertaken at different
levels by various actors. To start from the top we have international treaties, or
recommendations like the Kyoto Protocol. To achieve the targets for reductions of
C02 emissions, to address the threat of global climate change, an important step is
to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, one of which is wind power.
These kinds of international treaties govern overall ambitions for development of
wind power and other renewable energy sources at the national and international
levels.
Most countries also have some kind of national energy policy, of which devel-
opment of wind power can be a part. These could set a target for how much and
how fast wind power should be developed at the national and sometimes also the
regional level. An important part of this policy is the set of laws, rules and regula-
tions that are applied to wind power development. These aspects were discussed
in the preceding two chapters.
Spatial planning at the local and regional levels is governed by local and re-
gional authorities, which handle building permissions, environmental permits
and so on. In some counties and/or municipalities comprehensive plans have been
worked out whereby suitable areas for wind power development are designated.
On the other side of coin there are the developers, who mal<:e their own plans
for wind power development. Companies have general business ideas, business
plans, strategies and ambitions that result in area surveys for suitable sites for
wind power, feasibility studies and project development programmes. This kind
of planning is described in Part V, Project Development.
In this chapter the focus is on spatial planning. A policy framework - rules
and regulations that stimulate or act as barriers to wind power development- reg-
ulates this planning. The legislation for planning differs in different countries;
since I am most familiar with the situation in Sweden and Denmark, most of my
examples will be drawn from these countries. Since wind power development has
been very successful in Denmark but very slow in Sweden, a comparison will also
produce some ideas on how to implement an efficient planning strategy and to
avoid planning methods that create barriers.
Targets for wind power development

In Denmark the government has set targets for wind power development, the
first in the government energy strategy Energy 81, which set a target of 1OOOMW
of wind energy by 2000. This was followed by the action plans Energy 2000 in
1990 and Energy 21 in 1996, which set a target of 1500MW by 2005, a target
that was already reached in 1999. A long-term target for 2030 was also set at
5500MW, of which 4000MW were expected to be installed offshore. In achiev-
ing this target, 50 per cent of the electric power in Denmark will be supplied by
wind power.
In 1992 a Wind Turbines Act entered into force. The government required
municipal and regional authorities to mal<:e plans for wind turbine siting through
a planning directive. Although no quotas were set, most counties managed to
select sites with good wind resources through extensive public consultation with
local residents. More than 2600MW of capacity were identified.
Spatial planning in Denmark is performed at three levels: national planning
by central authorities, regional planning by the counties and local planning by
the municipalities. The Spatial Planning Act requires counties to designate areas
in their regional plans for new energy projects. In response to the regional plan
municipalities develop local wind turbine plans, which prescribe areas where wind
turbines can be installed, for single turbines, clusters or wind farms, as well as
conditions such as hub height, colour and so forth.
Counties then issue zoning permits and installation permits to the municipal
plan according to the act. Each county sets up guidelines for regional planning
which prescribe the terms for wind turbine installations in the county. Spatial
planning also emphasizes the importance of involving grid operators so that they
can prepare for the expansion by strengthening the grid and the new turbines can
be smoothly connected to the power system (see Box 14.1).
The Environment Protection Act also regulates siting of wind turbines in
Denmark. This act prescribes proximity guidelines such as distances from turbines
to the coastline (300m), lakes and streams (150m), forests (300m), ancient monu-
ments (lOOm) and churches (300m). No other specific permissions were needed
to install wind turbines on land. However, for larger installations an EIA has to
be made as well.
Swedish planning target

In Sweden the government proposed a target for electric power production from
renewable energy sources (wind power, bio-fuelled CHP and small-scale hydro-
power) in 2002. The target was set at 10TWh/a in 2010, with a target for wind
power to reach 10TWh/a by 2015 (Swedish Government, 2002). These proposals
were adopted by parliament in June 2002.
WIND POWER PLANNING 169
Box 14.1 MUNICIPAL PLANNING IN

THISTED MUNICIPALITY IN DENMARK
Thisted municipality on the Limfjord in Jutland has very good wind resources. When
work with the municipal plan started, there were already 99 turbines online, most of them
< 1OOkW. A work group was formed, with representatives from local interest groups
and organizations, such as the nature protection association, the farmers' association,
hunters, the local folklore society, the wind power association and utilities, as well as civil
servants from the municipality and the county.
The starting point was the map of the municipality and the wind resource map. First, zones
exempted in the regional wind power plan of the county were excluded: a large zone
along the coast, minimum distances to buildings, etc. Then all areas that were considered
possible for wind turbines were drawn into the map. All these sites were examined and
areas unsuitable due to local obstacles, etc., were deleted.
The work group then sat around a table with the map and discussed and negotiated until
a consensus was reached on all areas that would be included in the plan. This plan was
then forwarded to the building committee, which examined the proposed areas and made
some slight changes. Then the plan was exhibited to the public before the politicians in
the municipality adopted it.
Figure 14.1 Wind power plan in Thisted municipality
When farmers, the nature protection society, the utilities and other interests had gained a
hearing, the plan could still accommodate 108 wind turbines on the sites with filled spots. The
empty spots had been deleted.
Source: Wizelius (1993)

There is, however, no specific target for wind power development in Sweden or
how large a share of the electric power should be produced by wind turbines. The
planning target just means that the municipalities should designate areas for wind
power development in municipal comprehensive plans or similar documents to
make it possible to produce 10TWh/a by 2015. Whether this will be realized de-
pends on the economic conditions and other rules that politicians apply to wind
power development.
In Sweden the municipalities have a planning monopoly. This means that it
is the municipalities (not the counties or the central government) who have the
exclusive right to decide how land and water areas within their borders shall be
used. Guidelines for land use have to be published in municipal comprehensive
plans (MCPs), which all municipalities are obliged to malce. The municipalities
have to consider different kinds of public interest, however (the county adminis-
tration has to check that this is undertaken). One kind of public interest concerns
so-called areas of national interest, specified in the Swedish Environment Act.
The cultural heritage act, with its rules and regulations to protect and maintain
buildings and areas of special interest, can also have an impact on the planning
and permission process for wind power.
Areas of national interest

In the Swedish Environment Act areas of national interest have been defined and
specified on maps. These areas can be of national interest for nature protection,
recreation, the military, etc., or at sea for fisheries, shipping, etc. According to this
act land and water areas that are especially suitable for certain types of exploita-
tion, for example wind power plants, shall be protected from measures (in other
words exploitation) that can come in conflict with the utilization of such plants.
Areas of national interest should be protected so that they can be used for the
specified purpose.
When these laws and regulations about areas of national interest were intro-
duced, wind power had not entered the stage, so no areas for wind power were
defined at that time. However, in 2004 the Energy Agency, in cooperation with
the county administrations, added areas of national interest for wind power to the
map.
The planning target of lOTWh/a by 2015 has also been portioned out to
counties according to their wind resources and share of power consumption.
However, no efforts have been made to take the next step, to specify targets for
the municipalities. The areas of national interest for wind power have been speci-
fied at the regional level by the counties, but to be of any practical use these also
have to be incorporated in the MCPs of the municipalities. The municipalities,
however, have not been involved in this planning process, and no directive has
been given to them to implement the targets at the local level.
At the national level central authorities have made a feasibility study using
a geographical information system (GIS), which has resulted in a map. On this
map areas where wind turbines should not be built ('stop-areas') and where there
are strong opposing interests have been designated. This can be defined as negative
planning.
The criterion to identify so-called stop-areas has been that several areas of
national interest overlap (for example, nature protection, recreation and the mili-
tary). With this method large areas of Sweden have been excluded from wind
power development (see Figure 14.2).
Figure 14.2 Unsuitable and conflict areas in Sweden
The dark grey areas on the map are defined as stop-areas and the light grey as areas with strong
conflicts. This kind of negative planning - with general classification of areas - is made on too
abstract a level. There are several large and also uncontroversial wind farms online within these
stop-areas.
Source: Boverket (2002)

When this map is compared to reality, it turns out that there actually are several
wind farms installed in stop-areas, for example on Gotland and in Kalmarsund
(offshore). These projects have been quite uncontroversial and have been pro-
cessed with comprehensive consultation with both authorities and the public.
This indicates that a planning method using general criteria to exclude areas for
wind power development isn't feasible: it acts as a barrier instead of a driver for
wind power development.
To serve as a driver for wind power development, planning at the national
level, for territories on land and offshore, has to be positive; in other words ar-
eas where, from a public and national policy point of view, it will be suitable to
develop wind power should be identified and designated. On land this kind of
planning is hard to conduct at a national level, since there are many local circum-
stances to consider, whereas for offshore planning it is entirely feasible and has
been done in Denmark, Germany and the UK (see Figure 14.3).
Regional and municipal planning

Many wind power projects have been developed in regions and municipalities
where there are no plans to direct where they should be sited. In Denmark several
hundred wind turbines were installed in the 1980s without any plans. Spatial plans
were made first in 1992-1994 at the government's request. In Sweden, Germany
and most other countries development has followed the same pattern. The demand
for planning seems to appear first when development has reached a level where poli-
ticians consider it necessary to direct wind turbines to the most suitable sites.
From the developers' point of view spatial wind power plans have both ad-
vantages and drawbacks. Without a plan that expresses a political intention about
the suitability of different geographical areas, the outcome of each application is
uncertain. The risk of spending time and money on projects that will be denied
permission, and thus never generate any income, is higher when there are no
plans. On the other hand it takes time, two years or more, for a municipality or
region to actually work out a plan. During this period, from when the decision
to make a plan is made until it has been worked out and politically approved, it
is usually impossible to get any applications processed at all, since these decisions
will depend on the outcome of the planning procedure. In Denmark develop-
ment slowed down considerably during 1992-1994, but since then it has been
running faster. In the long run local wind power plans should be an advantage for
developers too.
Municipalities that decide not to malce a wind power plan give up the op-
portunity to direct wind turbines to areas that, from a political point of view, are
most suitable for this purpose. To make a usable wind power plan, the civil serv-
ants who undertake this need some special competence and a basic understanding
of what criteria to use when choosing areas for this purpose. Othetwise there is
THE CROWN
\tL}ESTATE
Round One & Two
Wind Farm Sites
Legend
0 Round One Projects • Generating/Under Construction
tiJ Round Ona Projects
!Ill ROi.lnd Two Projects
--- 12NM Umit (as of 18107/05)
~- Isle of Man Wate-rs
Figure 14.3 Plan for offihore wind power in the UK
On this map areas for wind power development offshore have been designated. The smaller areas
close to shore are for round one, and will be developed first, the larger areas further from shore
will be developed when round one is completed. Developers make tenders for development within
these areas.
Source: Crown Estate (2003)

an obvious risk that areas where wind resources are bad and roughness very high,
areas that will never be exploited, will be designated.
Planning methods
There are many very good planning tools available that can be used to develop wind
power plans. The most important input for such plans are wind resource maps. Such
maps can be developed with proper software if wind data are available for the area.
In many regions and countries the authorities have developed such maps. Relevant
geographical data for use in GIS software are also necessaty. However, when prepar-
ing such maps for wind power planning it is always necessaty, and important, to
compare GIS data and maps with reality by malcing surveys in the field.
In Sweden three pilot projects with the aim of developing a good planning
method for wind power were carried out. One of these resulted in the report
'Wind Power Planning in a Coastal Municipality: Case Study Tanum' (STEM,
2001), which was conducted by Scandiaconsult in Gothenburg and consisted of
100 A3 pages, with maps, photos and photomontages in colour.
The report starts out with an investigation of the available wind resources in
the municipality and how these can be utilized when relevant laws and oppos-
ing interests have been taken into consideration. The whole archipelago area at
the coast was excluded, as were other areas where strong conflicts with opposing
interests could be expected. After that the consequences for nature, cultural herit-
age, recreation and visual impact were assessed. Finally these consequences were
balanced against each other and three different scenarios for wind power devel-
opment were worked out, with some offshore developments also included (see
Table 14.1 and Figure 14.4).
Table 14.1 Wind power scenarios for Tanum municipality

Installed capacity (MW) Production (GWh/a)
additional sum additional sum
Present (year 2000) 7 11
Zero-option 32 39 54 65
Development 1st stage 248 287 464 529
Development 2nd stage (including 255 542 664 1193
1st stage)
Development 3rd stage 450 992 1183 2376
(incl. 1st and 2nd stage)
Option 1st stage 495 534 1253 1319
Electric power demand in Tanum (1991) 115
Electric power demand in Vastra Gotaland (county) ea 20,000
Electric power demand in Sweden (1999) 143,900
In the zero-option wind turbines that at the time had received permission but had not yet been
installed are included.
Figure 14.4 Wind power areas in Tanum municipality
The map shows areas according to development stage 1 plus offshore developments according to
stages 2 and 3. This scenario gives three times as much power production than stage 1 , about 1.4
1Wh/a.
Source: STEM (2001)
Tanum municipality's share of the Swedish planning target for wind power
(10TWh/a) is 221GWh/a, if we use criteria based on the region's power consump-
tion and how good the wind resources are. Tanum has 0.22 per cent of the area
but 2.1 per cent of the wind resources (more than 2800kWh/m2/year at 50 m agl)
available in Sweden within its borders.
The report shows that development of just the first stage will give twice as
much wind-generated power than the municipality's share of the national plan-
ning target. If all stages are developed, wind power could produce ten times
as much. This implies that Sweden actually could raise the planning target to
100TWh/a, which is far above any realistic visions for the future. The highest
target that has been mentioned is 30TWh/a, about 20 per cent of total power
production. An important conclusion from this report is that availability of land
(and water areas) is no limiting factor for wind power development in Sweden.
Compared to countries like Denmark and Germany, wind power 'density' is very
low (see Table 14.2).
The Tanum report demonstrates a useful and objective method where a GIS
has been used as a planning tool. It is a good example of how well-founded back-
ground material for the decision-maldng process for a comprehensive municipal
plan for wind power can be developed. It gives a good overview of the actual wind
power potential that can be utilized. However, a comprehensive municipal plan is
a political document that has to be processed by the politicians of a municipality.
Table 14.2 Wind power in relation to area and population

in diffirent countries, 2004
Country Power [MW]* Population [million] kW/capita* Area [km2) kW/km 2
Germany 14,609 82.5 0.18 356,733 41
Spain 6202 40.7 0.15 504,782 12
Denmark 3115 5.4 0.58 43,094 72
The Netherlands 912 16.2 0.06 41,863 22
Italy 891 57.3 0.02 301,300 3
Sweden 442 9.0 0.05 449,964 1
* The amount of wind power is given as installed power. Since there are wind turbines of differ-
ent sizes there is no simple formula to convert installed power to number of turbines. The number
of turbines is usually larger than the installed power; in Sweden there are about 700 turbines, in
Denmark around 5000.
This study has so far not been transformed into a municipal plan, and the mu-
nicipality, as well as the county, has a much more restrictive view on wind power
development.
Wind power planning on Gotland

The island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea is the municipality in Sweden that
has the most installed wind power. In 2005 it had 160 wind turbines con-
nected to the power grid. The first modern wind turbine was installed in 1983
at Nasudden on the southwestern coast of Gotland. This was the prototype
Nasudden I, with 2MW nominal power, a 70 metre concrete tower and a
two-bladed rotor. It was installed on the wind power development area of the
Vattenfall state utility.
In 1990 the first wind power cooperative in Sweden installed three 150kW
turbines in the same area. In the coming years many new cooperatives were started
and there are now ten cooperatives with 1458 members/part-owners that have
invested SEK40 million (about €4.3 million) in wind power. When the market
for cooperatives was saturated in the middle of the 1990s, farmers and companies
started to invest in their own turbines. Most of the turbines were installed at
Nasudden, where there now are 81 turbines online (see Figure 14.5). Wind tur-
bines also spread to other parts of the island- single turbines and small groups in
farming areas and two quite large wind farms at limestone quarries on northern
Gotland.
Although Gotland has been in the front line of wind power development in
Sweden, it was not until the end of the 1990s that the municipality worked out
its first spatial wind power plan. Up to that time applications had been processed
on an ad hoc basis, with permissions granted if the projects did not violate any
Figure 14.5 Wind turbines on Nasudden, Gotland
The wind turbines on Nasudden, Gotland, were installed during the i990s. Each year a number of
single turbines or small clusters have been added. Today there are turbines of many different sizes
and brands. No overall planning has guided the development.
laws and regulations. The municipality had a very positive attitude towards wind
power, and most projects were smaller than 1MW, so permissions from the county
administration were not necessary.
The wind power plan was made in the form of a comprehensive municipal
plan, with areas for large wind power projects on the southern part of Gotland
added to the existing plan. The municipality formally adopted this plan in 1999
(see Figure 14.6).
In the plan it is stated that:
The principle is that development of more than 10 new wind turbines

shall be done within the five new areas (areas 1-5) or at locations for
large wind power installations on the plan map.
The strategy is that the plan map only shows large coherent de-
velopment areas to which the main part offuture development should
be directed. For developments outside these designated areas, it is up to
the developer to find sites for wind power development that manage to
fulfil the criteria for minimum distance to dwellings and other interests.
(Gotlands Kommun, 1999)
Area I. Mastermyr (farming landcope)

Location for large wind power installation
(sanctioned by municipality in 1988)
Area 2. Bog (farming landswpe)
Area 3. Klasarden (offshore) Extension of area for location of large wind power
installation (sanctioned by municipality in 1988)
Area 4. Bockstlgen (expansion of offshore wind farm)
Area 5. Outside Ytterholme, Gri:itlingboudd (offshore) , ,;· Area where wind turbines should not be installed.
·::·~·· The same restrictions apply also for the water
outside these areas.
Development area for wind power

Area on Nasudden intended fortechnical development of wind turbines. Within this area deviation
from regulations concerning hub height close to the coast, i.e. maximum 60 metres, is permitted.
Within the area the developer in the application for building permission has to show how the
development is adapted to the 'pattern' for the whole area.
Figure 14.6 Wind power plan for southern Gotland

The complete plan consists of a 50-page document that gives background and
detailed descriptions of the five areas designated for large wind power devel-
opment, including photomontages that show how these areas will look when
wind turbines have been installed. Nasudden and other areas that the munici-
pality approved back in 1988 are also included. The plan has been worked
out in close dialogue with local inhabitants, wind power developers and other
interested parties. The plan also has strong political support. Criteria for dis-
tance to dwellings are also included in the plan: the basic rule is 1000 metres,
but the building committee may consider a protection zone of 500-1000 me-
tres.
This means that the minimum distance to dwellings should be 500 metres,
with preferably 1000 metres. Another rule says that the distance between new
installed turbines or wind farms and existing wind turbines should be at least 3
kilometres. This does not, however, apply to turbines that are installed next to a
farm or an already existing turbine (to extend it to a wind farm).
The plan designates both areas for large wind power installations and areas
where wind turbines are not allowed. In other areas applications for single tur-
bines or small groups of turbines will be examined as before the plan was made,
according to the building and environment laws. The plan does not guarantee
that applications for building permissions will be approved within the designated
areas, since these kind of plans (comprehensive municipal plans) do not have any
legal status.
Mter this plan was adopted a proposal for wind power development areas has
been also worked out for the rest of the island. This proposal was ready in 2002,
but had still not been adopted in 2006. Since work on the new plan has been
ongoing, no applications for new wind power installations have been processed.
The planning work itself has proved to be an efficient barrier to wind power de-
velopment on Gotland.
An evaluation of the plan for southern Gotland is not very encouraging either.
Since the plan was adopted, no new turbines have been developed within the new
areas. There is a large offshore project in the pipeline for area 3, but no decision
has yet been made to actually build it. In the area north of this, an extension of
an area from 1988, a large onshore wind farm was approved by the municipality,
county and the environment court, but turned down by the government. In area
1 project development started but has now been abandoned due to difficulties to
connect it to the grid. Area 2 has too low wind resources, and no developer has
shown any interest there; nor has any interest been shown in developing area 5
(offshore), due to the lack of grid capacity.
Regional planning
In Germany, with some 16,000 wind turbines online, spatial planning for wind
power has been conducted at a regional level. One example of a regional plan and
how it has been worked out will be presented here. This description is based on a
paper by Matthias Plehn (2005) from the regional planning office in Rostock.
The Mittleres Mecldenburg/Rostock Region is one of four planning regions in
the federal state ofMecldenburg-Western Pomerania in the northeast of Germany
(see Figure 14.7).
By the end of the 1990s there were around 70 wind turbines erected in the
Rostock region. The project developers chose the locations. The regional planning
(t A1RL l\ll.tJR 08105
@ Giistrow
Figure 14.7 Rostock planning region
The planning region consists of the city of Rostock and the counties of Bad Doberan and GOstrow,
with i 28 communities. The planning association is responsible for the regional development pro-
gramme, which sets the framework for local land use planning and for giving permission to install
wind power plants. The region has 430,000 inhabitants, around 200,000 of them in the city of
Rostock, the economic and industrial centre of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Agriculture and
tourism are important bases of the economy. Around 70 per cent of the region is agricultural land,
i 5 per cent forest and i 0 per cent settlements and roads. One third of the region's area consists of
legally protected nature reserves, landscapes and bird protection areas. The coastline extends for
70 kilometres.
Source: Plehn (2005)

authority evaluated projects individually and concerned authorities and munici-

palities were given the chance to make their statements about the project at an
early stage of planning, so that problems could be identified before the actual
permission procedure, which included checks of building regulations, nature con-
servation and noise prevention requirements.
Single turbines and small wind farms were installed in all parts of the region,
at near-shore locations as well as in the interior. The average power was 430kW
and the average plant was of only two turbines, with the largest wind farm consist-
ing of six.
In northern Germany wind turbines had begun to change the scenery and
there was an obvious need for better control by planning authorities. Changes
were made in German town and regional planning law in 1997 to strengthen the
legal instruments pertaining to planning outside built-up areas.
Suitable areas
According to German town planning law, buildings are generally not allowed in
undesignated areas outside settlements and development sites. Only farm build-
ings, public supply facilities and certain projects that have a severe impact on the
environment are 'privileged' to be built in outlying areas. In 1996 wind turbines
were added to the list of so-called privileged projects. In the following year con-
centration zones were introduced into German town and regional planning law to
avoid uncontrolled development of wind power plants. Regions and municipali-
ties may designate certain parts of their territory for wind turbines and thereupon
prohibit wind power developments in the rest of the territory.
F01·wind energy plants, suitable areas were defined. In the state ofMecldenburg-
Western Pomerania the designation of suitable areas was undertal{en at the re-
gional planning level, using common criteria for all planning regions. Preliminary
investigations were carried out by order of the state government of Mecldenburg-
Western Pomerania. The formal designation of wind energy areas had to be final-
ized by the four regional planning associations which are responsible for setting up
the regional development programmes.
Suitability analysis
The preliminary investigations in Mecldenburg-Western Pomerania started in
1992-1993 and were finished in 1997. The investigation was carried out in five
parts:
1 Landscape quality (visual appearance)

The whole state territory was divided into small units, bounded by visual
barriers like edges of forests, hills or settlements. These units were assessed
and classified by experts. Assessment criteria were the visible diversity,
naturalness, beauty and uniqueness of the scenery. Landscape units of which

the visual quality was estimated as 'medium', 'high' or 'very high', were ex-
cluded. These areas cover more than 50 per cent of the state territory.
2 Important biotopes for wild animals
The basis of the assessment was the current type of land use and vegetation.
All available data about the occurrence and distribution of wildlife species in
the state was taken into account to further differentiate area evaluation. The
result was four different categories. Areas of 'medium', 'high' or 'very high'
importance for wild animals were excluded from further planning. Areas of
these three categories amount to 50 per cent of the state territory, much more
than the legally protected nature reserves. Furthermore, around these areas,
additional buffer zones were defined.
3 Migratory bird density
The shoreline of the Baltic Sea, rivers and lakes serve as guidelines for migra-
tory birds. Lakes and adjacent fields are important resting and feeding places.
Three different zones of bird migration density were defined. The areas of
high density were excluded from further planning. These areas cover the whole
Baltic Sea shoreline and the main rivers and lake systems.
4 Wind speed
Average wind speed was calculated for 30 metres agl, using a 1000 metre grid.
A wind speed of 5.2m/s was regarded as the limit of economic feasibility, but
areas with a wind speed between 5.0 and 5.2m/s were taken into consideration
as well.
5 Protection zones
Zones around human settlements, infrastructure, forests, lakes and rivers
were set. The minimum setback distances were defined for wind turbines
of the 1MW generation, assuming a total height of around 100 metres (see
Box 14.2).
As result of the preliminary investigations - regardless yet of wind conditions -

only 1.4 per cent of the state's area remained without restrictions. These areas were
regarded as being available for wind energy use (see Figure 14.8)
Suitable areas for wind turbines

The Rostock regional development programme was updated in 1997/1998 to
include the wind turbine areas and approximately three-quarters of the proposed
areas were incorporated into the draft regional programme. Mter a hearing of
concerned authorities and municipalities, however, the wind turbine areas dimin-
ished to a quarter of those originally proposed, due to previously undetected local
obstacles pointed out by the involved authorities.
Several proposed areas that were situated vety close to each other were with-
drawn to avoid a concentration of concentration zones. But the main reason for
Box 14.2 ZONING CRITERIA FOR REGIONAL PLANNING,

1997-1998
The following list defines the criteria for distances between wind turbines and settlements,
infrastructure, etc. 'Minimum distance' means the total height of a wind turbine.
Farmhouses 300 metres

Villages, rural settlements 500 metres
Towns, urban areas 1000 metres
Campsites, holiday homes 1000 metres
Motorways, federal highways overall height of wind turbine (at least 50m)
State and county roads overall height of wind turbine (at least 50m)
Railways overall height of wind turbine (at least 50m)
Radio relays lOO metres
Overhead electricity lines > 20 kilovolt 50 metres
Military facilities outer protection zone
Airfields protection zone
Nature preservation minimum distance
Forests, tree-lined alleys 200 metres
Coastal waters, lakes > I 00 hectares 1000 metres
Rivers of first category 800 metres
Small lakes (I-I 00 hectares) 400 metres
Important biotopes for wildlife animals minimum distance
Areas of very high importance 1600 metres
Areas of high importance 800 metres
Areas of medium importance 200 metres
(These areas were identified by special investigation, as described above, and cover a
much larger proportion of the state territory than the officially protected areas of nature
conservation.)
Areas of natural beauty

Landscape units of high or very high visual quality were excluded;
Landscape units of medium visual quality to be examined individually, mostly excluded.
(These areas were identified by special investigation, as described above, and cover
a much larger proportion of the state territory than the officially designated areas of
landscape protection.)
Bird migration corridors areas of high migrant bird density excluded

Wind conditions average wind speed 30m agl < 5m/s excluded.
this reduction was that many communities refused to have wind power plants
on their territory. The regional plan is legally binding for local planning, but the
consent of the local council was made a condition for the designation of suitable
areas.
The results of the planning process were 25 suitable areas, a total area of
1100 hectares, 0.3 per cent of the region's territory. These areas were officially
© AlRL MWR 08105

Data Source: {.,ande5rullt
filr Umwe!t, Natursdlutz
und GeoJogie MN
W Biotopes with. buffer zones,

areasofnotural beauty and
bird migration corridors
Figure 14.8 Areas excluded for nature and landscape protection
The near-shore areas that have the best wind conditions were completely excluded, because exclu-
sion zones for reasons of bird migration, landscape quality or biotopes covered them all. A size of
20 hectares was regarded as minimum for a suitable area. All smaller areas were not taken into
further consideration. After taking out small and low-wind areas, 1 .2 per cent of the state's territory
came out as usable area for wind turbines.
designated in the regional development programme, which was approved by the

responsible state ministry in 1999 (see Figure 14.9).
The municipalities were encouraged to define these areas more precisely at the
local planning level. Of the 25 wind turbine areas, 17 were adopted in local land
use or project plans. In cases where communities did not set up land use plans,
the regional development programme is the basis for permission for turbines (see
Figure 14.10).
Turbine locations were often fixed by negotiation and informal agreements
between the project developer, the local authorities and the regional planning
authority. Changes were approved without conforming changes to the regional
plan. This kind of informal adaptation and the generous attitude towards local
desires has to be questioned due to the increasing willingness of project developers
to take their cases to the courts and sue for permission: obvious deviations from
the regional plan make it quite easy to find a cause for legal action. In fu rure up-
dates of the regional development programme, area outlines will be more strictly
© AIRL MM!R 08/05
Suitability areas for wind turbines

designated in the Rostock Regional
Development Programme 1999
Figure 14.9 Suitable areas for wind turbines in the Rostock region
The results of the regional planning process were 25 suitable areas for wind power, in total 11 OOha,
0.3 per cent of the area in the region.
binding. The influences of objective criteria and political will in the planning
process shall be clearly separated.
Permission Procedures
Until the end of 2004 permission procedures depended on the size of the project.
For small plants of one or two turbines, building permission was given by coun-
ty and city administrations. Since 2005 all turbines with a total height of more
than 50 metres require a licensing procedure according to the Federal Immission
Control Act. The state environmental authorities are responsible. A public hearing
is only mandatory for larger projects, which require a formal EIA (see Box 14.3).
In the Rostock region, there had been no formal EIA of any wind power project
until2005.
Mistori, lamdknais Gustrow
'1::'·
Regional Progrsmme Location of Generators
Figure 14.10 Municipal plan in Mistorf, Gross Schwiesow
This example from Mistori shows an area that is divided by a municipal boundary. Since consent of
local councils was set as a condition for the designation of wind turbine areas, only the eastern part
of the originally proposed area became an area of suitability. Gross Schwiesow council rejected the
western part. The western part is, however, more suitable for large wind turbines, because some
dwellings lie close to the eastern part. Gross Schwiesow council eventually changed their minds so
that the area could be used in an efficient way.
Outcome and future

By the end of 2004, 121 turbines have been erected inside the 25 suitable ar-
eas, covering a total area of 1100 hectares, which were officially designated in
the Mittleres Mecldenburg/Rostock regional development programme in 1999.
About 15 turbines are still projected but 85-90 per cent of the areas are already
occupied. There is an average of six turbines inside each designated area and the
average rated power is 1.4MW. The designation of concentration zones in the
regional development programme has been successful, and no new developments
have taken place outside these concentration zones (see Figure 14.11).
There is still a strong demand for development of new wind power projects
and new wind turbine areas. Zoning criteria in Mecldenburg-Western Pornerania
in the late 1990s were defined for wind turbines with a total height of 100 metres,
but technological developments during the last five years have led to ever-larger
wind turbines. Although larger turbines do not necessarily malce more noise, their
impact is farther reaching. Regulations for noise and shadow are no longer suf-
ficient and the state government has issued new recommendations on minimum
distances around human settlements (see Table 14.3).
If the new thresholds were applied to the existing suitable areas, most of them
would have to be withdrawn. Only 20 per cent of the designated areas are situated
outside the newly defined protection zones around settlements. The lower thresh-
old values for turbines below 100 metres are met by approximately 50 per cent
Box 14.3 ENV1RONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT

According to the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (2001) in Germany an EIA is an
integral part of the legal permission procedures. Obligation of formal environmental impact
assessment depends on the size of the project. The current (2005) rules for wind power
projects are:
• For turbines < 50m no assessment is necessary.

• For wind power plants of I or 2 turbines, no assessment is necessary.
• For wind power plants of 3-5 turbines, assessment obligation is subject to
consideration of licensing authority: assessment shall be made only if the environment
of the proposed site is likely to be extraordinarily sensitive.
• For wind power plants of 6-19 turbines, assessment obligation is subject to
consideration by the licensing authority.
• For wind power plants of 20 or more turbines, environmental impact assessment is
mandatory.
Turbines of different owners to be built at the same location and at the same time are to
be regarded as one project. If turbines are added to an existing plant, and the threshold
for assessment is reached, environmental assessment is necessary.
The assessment and permission procedure has the following steps:
• first hearing of concerned authorities, definition of the scope of investigations;

• environmental investigations and documentation of expected impact by the project
developer;
• consultation of authorities and participation of the public;
• consideration of hearing results and investigation outcomes by the permission
authority; and
• conclusion of the expected environmental impact and decision on the project.
of the designated area. Less than half of the existing turbines in Rostock region's
suitable areas could be erected again at the same location.
In Germany approximately 0.5 per cent of the territory will be available for
wind power plants, according to an expert report to the German environment
minister. The current proportion in the Rostock region is 0.3 per cent. Since
Mecldenburg-Western Pomerania is a coastal state with good wind conditions, the
proportion of wind energy should be higher than the national average, Matthias
Plehn from the regional planning office in Rostock argues (Plehn, 2005).
The growing size and farther impact of turbines require a complete revision of
the zoning criteria applied in the 1990s. Exclusion zones for nature conservation in
the 1990s were fixed quite generously, because there was comparatively poor lmowl-
edge about the impact of wind turbines on wild animals. For the revision of regional
development programmes, the exclusion zones for nature conservation purposes are
to be redefined. More precise and current data, especially on migratory birds, is
now available, and new protection zones will be defined around resting, feeding and
© AfRL ~u.1/R 08t05
187 turbines erected until

31st Apri12005, rated puwer
per turbine in megawaltf
Inside suitability arear,
mostly erected qfter 1999:
e 0.5- 0.9 megawatts
Et 1 1.9megawatts
2- 2.5 megawalfs
Outside suitability areas,
mostly erected before 1999:
0 0.1-1.0 megawatts
Figure 14.11 Wind turbines in the Rostock area in 2005
By the end of April 2005 there were 187 wind turbines online in the Rostock planning region· In
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wind power covers almost 30 per cent of the state's electric
power consumption.
Table 14.3 Minimum distances ofwind turbines to dwellings

1998 2004
Hamlets, farm houses 300 metres 800 metres
Mixed use areas, village areas 300 metres 1000 metres
Residential areas 500 metres 1000 metres
Residential-only areas,
campsites, holiday homes 600 metres 1000 metres
Recommended distances for wind turbines, to be applied by local planning authorities, accordi~g to
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Government instructions from 1998 and 2004. Categones
and threshold values in the first column slightly differ from the criteria in Box 14.2, which were
defined in 1997. The 2004 values in the second column refer to turbines with a total height of more
than 100 metres. For new turbines of less than 100 metres, the thresholds are still 500 instead of
800 and 800 instead of 1000 metres.
breeding places of birds and bats, and along their major migration routes. By such a
revision space can be found for further development of wind power in the region.
Second generation planning

In Denmark and Germany, where thousands of wind turbines are online and
some are approaching the end of their technical lifetimes, planning for a second
generation of wind turbines has started, referred to as G2 planning. In these coun-
tries land with reasonable wind resources have become scarce. Turbines installed
in the 1980s or the early 1990s already occupy the best sites. By replacing some of
these small and old turbines with a few large ones, the number of turbines can be
reduced while the power produced can be significantly increased.
The technical lifetime of a wind turbine is usually estimated to be 20-25 years,
however, and to remove and replace turbines before they have reached this stage
has proved a difficult matter. For the owner of the old turbines, there is no obvious
reason to take them out of service. The investment has been repaid, so there is no
capital cost left to pay and these turbines have become very profitable. The land
lease contract for a good site is also a valuable asset.
In Denmark politicians introduced measures to introduce second generation
turbines back in the 1990s by offering owners of old turbines a premium for
dismantling them. Very few were tempted by this offer, but new regulations with
the same intent have recently been introduced. According to this programme 175
new large turbines shall replace 900 small turbines, a generation shift that will
increase the installed wind power in Denmark by 350MW.
This process has got under way but the generation shift is progressing more ·
slowly than intended. This is also due to difficulties with planning. Sites for small
turbines are often not suitable for large ones, since distance to dwellings criteria
can't always be fulfilled: in Denmark the rule for minimum distance to dwellings
is four times the hub height. The counties and municipalities have also had diffi-
culties in finding sites for new large turbines on land. Still, many old turbines have
been tal<:en down, and for a couple of years there has been quite a large market for
second-hand turbines, which after a retrofit can be installed on farms and similar
sites. Many of these are also being exported to other countries.
A G2 planning project has also started at Nasudden on Gotland. In this
project 17 turbines with 150 to 500kW nominal power will be replaced by six
3MW turbines. The small turbines have many different owners and some are
operated by wind power cooperatives with hundreds of members; all have to agree
on the deal. An application for this G2 project is under way, however, and if suc-
cessful the number of turbines will be reduced by two-thirds and the installed
power will increase at least fourfold, with power production increasing even more
since the hub heights of the new turbines will much greater. This G2 project has
received very strong support from the municipality, which expects it to reduce the
visual impact on the environment.
Planning methods
In this chapter several different approaches to wind power planning have been
presented, some that have proved to be efficient and others that rather act as bar-
riers to wind power development. When targets are set, these can be interpreted
as minimum or as maximum demands. The first interpretation will be a driver
to wind power development, the second a barrier - when the target is reached
no more wind turbines will get permission. It has to be made clear that targets
are minimum demands, 'floors' and not 'ceilings'. It is also important to set these
targets into a time frame.
The development of wind power planning has followed a similar path in most
countries and regions. After a period without planning, the demand for planning
has grown when the number of turbines has increased. This seems quite logical.
An important distinction, however, is the difference between negative planning,
defining areas from which wind turbines should be excluded, and positive plan-
ning, designating areas suitable for wind turbines. Negative planning acts as a bar-
rier, positive planning as a driver. Which of these approaches is applied depends
on political decisions.
Wind turbines are relatively new structures to fit into a spatial planning con-
text. In existing regional and local plans, most areas have already been defined
and in some cases also protected for a specific purpose, nature protection, infra-
structure, agricultural land and so forth. On top of this, criteria for noise, shadow
impact and minimum distances have to be added. When all these zones have been
excluded, the areas that remain can be used for wind power. In GermanY this
turned out to be somewhat less than 1 per cent, which in most countries would
represent quite a considerable area to be designated for wind turbines. However,
when all these areas have been used, the preconditions for this kind of planning
have to be reconsidered, which is what they are now doing in Mecldenburg-
Western Pomerania and other regions of Germany.
It is quite easy for planners to be guided by the simple yes-no dichotomy. In
the municipal wind power plan for Gotland, planners have been more nuanced.
All coastal areas on Gotland are of national interest for recreation (some also for
nature preservation, birds, etc.). However, in the plan some coastal areas have
been designated for wind power while others have been excluded. The choice has
been guided by which coastal areas are actually used by tourists and islanders for
recreation and to get a view of the sea.
The borders of areas for nature protection and so forth have in manY cases
been quite generously set, often with additional buffer zones. But experience of
the actual impacts from wind turbines on different aspects of the environment
and on neighbours should be taken into account to adapt the criteria used in des-
ignation. All protected zones have a purpose; the question that should be evalu-
ated in the planning process is whether wind turbines sited in or close to such a
zone will have a negative impact on that purpose. According to Matthias Plehn
from the regional planning office in Rostock, this is what planners in Germany
now are doing.
There are many very good planning tools available nowadays, and most plan-
ning offices at national, regional and local levels use GIS. The most important
aspect when planning for wind power is the energy content in the wind. Wind
resource maps are not included as standard in ordinary GIS software, but in fact
they should be the starting point for all wind power planning since small changes
in average wind speed malce a big change in energy content and have an even
larger impact on the economic feasibility ofwind power projects (see Figure 14.12).
There are wind resource maps available for most countries nowadays, and these
have to be included in the planning methods and procedures that are applied.
There are, however, also special planning tools for wind power planning, like
the WindPLAN module in WindPRO. This is also a GIS program, but it has been
developed especially for wind power applications. There are tools for checking dis-
tances to dwellings, creating maps that show zones of visual impact (where in the
area the turbines can be seen) and many other useful applications. Wind resource
maps can also be imported or developed. The most interesting tool in this context,
however, is the one for weighted planning.
1200
1000
BOO
600
II:] Earnings
400 ja Surplus
200
coast !km 5km 15 km

Surplus 100% 79% 50% 0%
Figure 14.12 Economic surplus vs distance to coast
The diagram shows the relationship between economic surplus (annual earnings minus costs) and
how the surplus will change when the energy content decreases with the distance from the coast
for a 1MW wind turbine. The relationship between economic surplus and energy content is basi-
cally similar in all countries; quite moderate reductions of annual earnings will wipe out the entire
surplus. The diagram is based on conditions in Sweden: at the coast the turbine will produce 2.2
GWh a year; annual earnings SEK0.5/kWh; SEK1.1 million/year; capital costs (6 per cent interest,
15 years depreciation) SEK782,000/year; O&M SEK80,000/year; economic surplus at the coast
SEK238,000/year).

Weighted planning and the 'round-table' method

The weighted planning method is based on fuzzy logic: instead of the simple
yes-no dichotomy a scale with several values (1-3, 1-5, 1-10, in fact anything
but 1-2) is used. Wind resources, nature, visual impacts and so forth can be di-
vided into, for example, five bins. On the map different areas are assigned values
(for wind resources, nature, etc.) and the program will produce a map that shows
where the best sites can be found after both wind resources and restrictions have
been talcen into account. This method also includes a subjective bias, since the
values have to be assessed by someone before they are entered as input.
Weighted planning, of course, can be (and is) also used without special soft-
ware. The values for different aspects in different areas can be entered in a decision
table. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania an option would be to decide not to
exclude the whole coastal zone from wind power development, but to restrict, say,
only 90 per cent of it. The remaining 10 per cent could then be identified by giv-
ing different parts of the coast different values, and weight these in relation to the
wind resources. A method using decision tables is also used in EIAs. This kind of
planning will probably be more common in the future.
Another very efficient way of planning is the round-table method. This was
described above in Box 14.1 about Thisted municipality in Denmark. The pre-
condition for this is that wind turbines will be built - the question is not if, but
where and on what conditions. In Thisted the group worked out a plan in three
meetings.
This method has also been used in Sweden to make a plan for offshore devel-
opments in Kalmarsund. There are four municipalities that belong to two differ-
ent counties that border Kalmarsund. A workgroup was formed with representa-
tives from these municipalities and counties, civil servants and politicians. In only
two years, after preparing and evaluating all the necessary background material,
and after some quite heated discussions, they agreed on a common plan where
areas for offshore wind farms were designated and incorporated into the com-
prehensive municipal plans. The one-stop shop permission process in the VK for
offshore developments can also be described as a round-table method.
15
Opinion and Acceptance
When wind power is developed it is important that the inhabitants that live in the
vicinity of the wind turbines accept these new elements in their living environ-
ment; that wind power has a high acceptance. In many countries it is easy to get
the impression that there is strong opposition to wind power among the public
when you read reports and letters to the press about protests against planned wind
power projects.
If a systematic review of the press coverage is made, however, you will most
likely find as many articles that are positive or at least neutral to the subject of
wind power, as well as letters to the press that promote the development of this re-
newable energy source. In several countries there are some organizations that very
actively oppose wind power, like Country Guardians in England, the Association
for Protection of the Landscape in Sweden and Windkraftgegner in Germany, but
these only represent a minority in these countries (see Figure 15.1).
How wind turbines are perceived is a subjective matter: different individuals
perceive wind turbines in different ways. People can also change their opinion
in time when they get used to wind turbines. There are, of course, some wind
Welcome to Country Guardian's web site

Country Guardian is the NatiOnal Campaign to oppose wind turbines fn Britain's precious landscapes and promote enero'l conservation, we strongly
advocate the need for drastic cuts in energy consumption but object_ to windfarms.
A wlndf;mn on the freeway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas
Home I~ J Country Guardian I Environment I Effectiveness I Guides I Climate I~ j.Li.l:!.@ry_ I Case 2006
Figw·e 15.1 Anti-wind power associations on the internet
Source: www.countryguardian.net
power projects that have been planned without regard for the natural environ-
ment, visual intrusion or impact on neighbours, and sometimes people who have
a positive attitude to wind power in general can have good reasons to oppose a
specific wind power project.
Although attitudes to wind power are subjective, it is still possible to find
objective measures of public opinion in surveys carried out using proper scientific
methods. And almost all opinion polls and surveys conducted so far show that a vast
majority of respondents have a positive attitude to wind power. This applies both to
national surveys and to surveys among inhabitants in areas with many wind tur-
bines installed in the vicinity (see Box 15.1).
Box 15.1 RESULTS FROM OPINION POLLS

IN SELECTED COUNTRIES
Denmark
A nationwide survey in I 993 in Denmark showed that 82 per cent of Danes wanted
more wind power and that 61 per cent thought that wind power was well suited to the
landscape. The survey also showed that Danes who had a wind turbine within sight of
their home, workplace or school had the most positive attitude to wind power.
Another nationwide survey, in 2001, posed the question: Should Denmark continue to
build wind turbines to increase wind power's share of electricity production?
Yes, answered 68 per cent of respondents, while I 8 per cent found the current level
satisfactory, 7 per cent were of the opinion that there were already too many and 7 per
cent were undecided (Danish Wind Turbine Owners' Association, 2002).
Germany
Germany is the country with the most wind power installed in the world, and also where
development has been fastest. A nationwide survey in Germany in I 997 showed that 88
per cent of Germans wanted to have more wind power. Among parents with one or two
children, 94.5 per cent wanted more wind power.
A similar survey conducted in 2002 showed that 88 per cent of respondents supported the
construction of more wind farms in Germany as long as certain planning criteria were met.
Only 9.5 per cent considered that there were already enough (Wind Directions, 2003).
The UK
Many opinion polls have been conducted in the UK by various organizations since the
first wind turbines were installed in I 991 . The British Wind Energy Association has made
a summary of 42 different surveys carried out from 1990 to 2002. The summary shows
that 77 per cent of the public are in favour of wind energy, while 9 per cent are opponents.
A survey of 2600 persons in 2003 came to a similar result: 74 per cent of respondents
supported the government's aims to generate 20 per cent of the UK's electricity from
renewable energy sources by 2020, and further development of wind power, 7 per cent
were against and I 5 per cent were neutral (Wind Directions, 2003).
OPINION AND AccEPTANCE 195
France
In 2003 a survey of 2090 persons was conducted in France: 92 per cent of respondents
were in favour of further development of wind energy, considering both the environmental
and economic advantages of the technology, and also as a substitute to other energy
sources, including nuclear power (Wind Directions, 2003).
The US
According to a national survey in 2005, 87 per cent of respondents considered it a good

idea to build more wind farms (Yale University, 2005).
Australia
In a nationwide survey in 2003 building new wind farms to meet Australia's rapidly
increasing demand for electricity was supported by 95 per cent of respondents.
Australia has large coal mines and many coal-fired power plants, and a strong lobby
that protects the coal industry. However, for 71 per cent of the respondents, reducing
greenhouse pollution outweighed protecting industries that rely on reserves of fossil fuels
(Wind Directions, 2003).
Sweden
The attitude of Swedes is accounted for in reports from the SOM Institute at Gothenburg
University. This nationwide survey, conducted in 2000, showed that 73 per cent
of respondents had a positive attitude to wind power, not only in general, but also to
installations of wind turbines in their own municipality. Only 9 per cent were negative, while
18 per cent didn't express any opinion.
In another report from the SOM Institute from 2004, 64 per cent of respondents expressed
the opinion that investments in wind power should increase, with 22 per cent believing that
they should remain at the current level. This means that 86 per cent of Swedes want wind
power to be further developed in Sweden (Hedberg, 2004 and Wizelius et al, 2005).
According to all these surveys, most of them conducted in countries with signifi-
cant amounts of wind power installed, there is a very broad acceptance among the
public of wind power in general, and the benefits of this renewable energy source
in particular. It seems that general acceptance of wind power is high in all coun-
tries. This does not necessarily imply, however, that the respondents would accept
wind turbines in their immediate environment.
The best wind resources are found at sea and along the coasts, and most wind
turbines are installed close to the coast. A closer look at the reports from Sweden
shows that people who live along coasts are just as positive to wind power as peo-
ple who live inland. It shows that people who already have wind turbines in sight
in the landscape where they live generally don't have any objections. There were
no differences in attitude related to sex or education, though the very young and
very old were a little less positive than the average and people from urban areas,
Stockholm especially, were less positive than those living in the countryside.
Box 15.2 OPINION ON WIND POWER, SELECTED AREAS
The UK
In the UK less than two out of ten would oppose development of wind power in the vicinity
of their dwellings. More than a quarter would have a very positive attitude to this, according
to a national survey from 2003. Of respondents that lived in areas where there were
already wind turbines installed, 94 per cent would be positive to a further development
and only 2 per cent were negative (Taylor Nelson Sofres, 2003).
Scotland
According to a survey conducted for the Scottish Executive, 82 per cent of those who
lived close to Scotland's ten largest wind farms wanted more electricity generated by
wind farms, and 50 per cent supported an increase of the number of turbines at their
local wind farm.
The poll covered 1800 people living within three zones, up to 5km, 5-1 Okm and 10-20km
away from operating wind farms. People who lived in their homes before the wind farm
was developed say that, although in advance they thought that problems might be caused
by its impact on the landscape (27 per cent), traffic during construction (19 per cent) and
noise during construction (15 per cent), the reality reduced these figures to 12 per cent, 6
per cent and 4 per cent receptively (Wind Directions, 2003).
The Aude region, France
In a sample of 300 persons living near wind turbines in the Aude region of southern
France, 46 per cent agreed that wind turbines affect the countryside, but 55 per cent
considered wind farms to be aesthetically pleasing (Wind Directions, 2003).
Cape Cod, US
A planned offshore wind farm in the Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod in Massachusetts has
caused a lot of debate. Opinion Dynamics Corporation carried out a survey of 600 local
residents. To the question of which energy resource, coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear or wind,
the respondents preferred, wind power was chosen by 42 per cent of respondents. On
the question of whether they favoured the planned offshore project, 55 per cent were in
favour, 35 per cent opposed it and 10 per cent were undecided (Wind Directions, 2003).
Sottunga, Aland, Finland
In a survey on Sottunga on the island of Aland in the Baltic Sea, where a wind turbine has
been online for some years and more turbines were planned, none of the 55 permanent
inhabitants were negative to wind power. Half of them had gained a more positive attitude
to wind power since the wind turbine was installed than they had had before.
Source: Wizelius, 1993
A Danish report has shown that those who have wind turbines within sight of
their dwellings, schools or places of work in fact have a more positive attitude than
other people. A closer analysis shows that those who live permanently in an area
with wind turbines are more positive to wind power than those who visit it or have
holiday cottages there. Finally the positive attitude is stronger where people are of-
fered the chance to buy shares in the turbines and when they have been informed
about the advantages for the environment.
Many opinion polls and surveys have been made in municipalities and re-
gions where there are many wind turbines installed and where people have practi-
cal experiences of wind power (see Box 15.2).
Stability of opinion over time

In a region where wind power has developed rapidly, one would expect that ac-
ceptance among the population would change during the years as the number
of turbines increased. In some regions of Spain such rapid development started
in the late 1990s, and in 2004 Spain had the fastest growth of neW wind power
capacity in the world. Social acceptance of wind power has been studied in three
regions in Spain, Navarre, Tarragona and Albacete, where many wind turbines are
installed.
In Tarragona four studies were conducted from 2001 to 2003, with 600 peo-
ple in each poll. These four polls show that the strongest support comes from peo-
ple living near wind farms. In Albacete a study was conducted in 2002; it showed
that 79 per cent of respondents considered wind energy to be beneficial.
In Navarre a study from 2001 showed that 85 per cent were in favour of the
implementation of wind power in Navarre, with only 1 per cent against. The
study also showed that acceptance increases while new wind farms are being devel-
oped and installed: for most people the benefits of wind energy compensated for
any negative impacts experienced during implementation (see Table 15.1) ·
Table 15.1 Public acceptance in Navarre

1995 1996 1998 2001
Turbines* 6 72 187 659
Positive% 85 81 81 85
Negative% I 2 3
Indifferent/don't know % 14 17 16 14
*most 660kW
From 1995 to 2001 the number of turbines increased from 6 to 659, while the share of the inhabit-
ants that have a positive attitude to wind power has remained constant.
Source: EWEA (2003)

Wind turbines in the living environment

In 2004 Gotland University made case studies in three different areas on the is-
land of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, where the inhabitants were living dose to wind
turbines. In the village ofNar everyone who lived within 1100 metres of two large
wind turbines was interviewed, in Klintehamn a sample of those who could get
shadow flicker during sunset, and in Nasudden those households situated in the
middle of a large wind farm with 81 turbines. In total 94 persons from 69 house-
holds were included in the investigation.
Considering that all respondents lived close to wind turbines, the nuisances
reported were surprisingly small. Very few of them were annoyed by noise or
shadows or considered that their view of the surrounding landscape had been
destroyed. Of the total number of persons interviewed, 85 per cent were not an-
noyed by noise from the wind turbines around their homes. For rotating shadows
the share of those not annoyed was even bigger, 94 per cent. Relatively few of those
living in Nasudden, where there are 81 wind turbines online, think that their view
of the surrounding landscape has been negatively affected by this - 13 per cent.
Of all the residents in the three areas, 89 per cent expressed the opinion that wind
turbines had not disturbed their view. The acceptance of wind power among peo-
ple living with wind turbines as close neighbours was high (Widing et al, 2005).
Wind power and tourism

Since wind turbines should be installed at sites with good wind conditions, many
wind farms are sited at the coast, onshore and, in recent years, also offshore. Many
coastal areas are also popular tourist resorts, so there is an obvious risk of a conflict
of interest. The same conflicts can also occur in mountain areas, at the wind farms
in Scotland, for example, and around ski resorts. Several surveys have been made
to find out if wind turbines will scare away tourists from attractive holiday areas.
A survey among tourists in Germany in 2003 showed that 76 per cent consid-
ered that nuclear and coal-fired power plants spoiled the landscape, while only 27
per cent though the same about wind turbines (Wind Directions, 2003).
A survey on tourism in Schleswig Holstein showed that the wind industry
does not affect tourism in the region. Visitors are aware of the increasing number
of turbines, but this does not influence their behaviour (EWEA, 2003).
In Belgium there are plans to develop an offshore wind farm 6km off a stretch
of coast where there are many holiday resorts. A survey conducted in 2002 by the
West Flemish Economic Study Office showed that 78 per cent of the public were
either very positive or neutral about this offshore wind farm (see Table 15.2).
Two separate polls have looked at the impact on tourism in Scotland. A MORI
poll in 2002 found that over 90 per cent of visitors would return to Scotland for a
holiday whether or not there were wind farms in the area. Another survey by the
Table 15.2 Belgian public perception ofwind form 6km ojfthe coast
Group Negative Neutral to positive
Residents 31.3 66.5
Second residence 10.2 88.8
Frequent tourists 18.7 81.3
Occasional tourists 19.5 80.5
Hotels etc. with sea view 19.5 80.5
Other 15.3 84.7
Average 20.7 79.3
Visit Scotland tourism agency found that 75 per cent of visitors were either posi-
tive or neutral towards wind farm development in general, but less positive about
their visual impact. However, those who actually had seen a wind farm during
their visit were more positive than those who had not (EWEA, 2003).
There are other surveys that have investigated how different groups of inhab-
itants evaluate the view of the landscape. They show that permanent residents
in the countryside consider the landscape as a natural resource that should be
utilized in a sensible way, while those who use the landscape for recreation have
a more aesthetic view and consider it as a 'picture postcard' that should remain
unchanged. According to the surveys made in Scotland and Schleswig Holstein,
it seems that wind turbines can be an accepted element in the tourists' picture
postcards.
NIMBY attitudes
People who have a positive attitude to wind power in general sometimes can have
another attitude to the development of wind power close to their homes or holi-
day cottages. This phenomenon is often called NIMBY - 'not in my backyard'.
The Dutch researcher Maarten Wolsink, who has studied the NIMBY phenom-
enon, defines four different types of NIMBY reactions (see Box 15.3).
This NIMBY effect can be measured. A typical NIMBY curve starts at a rath-
er high level. In a survey on the general attitude to wind power within a group of
people, say 75 per cent express a positive attitude. When a project to install wind
turbines in the vicinity starts, some of these people get worried about the impact
on their living environment - noise, shadows, changed views and so forth - and
the share of those with a positive attitude tends to decrease to around 60 per cent.
When the wind turbines have been installed and have been running for a couple
of months, the share of those with a positive attitude recovers to the initial value,
actually often even higher.
The general public has a very positive attitude to wind power, according to
surveys from many different countries, regions and local areas. If those that are
Box 15.3 FOUR NIMBY ATTITUDES

NIMBYA
Positive attitude to wind power installations in general, but negative attitude to installations
in the immediate vicinity.
NIMBY B
Generally negative attitude to wind power.
NIMBYC
Positive attitude to plans to develop wind power, which change to negative when there are
plans to install wind turbines in the vicinity.
NIMBY D
Negative attitude to the planning procedure rather than to wind power.
Source: Hellstrom (i 998)
concerned are informed about the environmental advantages - notably that wind
turbines produce electric power without any hazardous emissions - the attitudes
tend to be even more positive. The attitudes also depend on how people in the
vicinity of a planned wind power project are informed about the plans.
The Swedish utility Vattenfall has made great efforts to inform the public
about wind power, first in Lysekil before a prototype wind turbine was installed
there, and then, in the form of a public consultancy, in the Kalmarsund area for a
planned offshore wind farm. Several thousand households were informed by mail
and a survey was conducted to get good information about the opinions of people
living in the area. The project had its own website, where questions could be asked
about the project.
The developers of the Utgrunden offshore wind farm in the same region also
invested a lot in informing the public in Torsas municipality, which was the base
for the development. Schools and local inhabitants were invited to visit the wind
farm by boat while the turbines were installed and an exhibition hall with bin-
oculars to look at the wind farm and with a wind tunnel was established in the
harbour. They even printed a wind turbine colouring-book that was distributed
to day-care centres and schools (see Figure 15.2). Follow-up studies have shown
that these efforts have increased acceptance of wind power in the community to
a considerable degree.
Some other large offshore projects in Sweden have, however, been received
by strong protests. These reactions could be categorized as NIMBY D - they
have not been opposed to wind power in general, but to the planning procedure
and the design and size of the projects. The public information about these
V\NQMQLLA?
Figure 15.2 Wind power promotion material for children
Did you Ever Hug a Wind Turbine? is the title of this booklet, with cartoons that explain some basic
facts about wind turbines and the environment for the very young. The booklet was distributed to all
children in day care centres, kindergartens and junior schools in the Torsas municipality in Sweden
while a large offshore wind farm was being developed.
Source: Enron Wind
projects was badly managed. By providing good information NIMBY effects

can be avoided.
The NIMBY concept has been under discussion for some time, and there is
no doubt that a NIMBY reaction can occur among inhabitants in areas where new
wind power developments are planned. However, if wind power development in a
country is slow, and the targets set are not met, as in the Netherlands and Sweden
for example, this cannot be blamed on resistance from the local inhabitants. The
reasons are more likely to be institutional barriers: government policy and the
laws and rules that regulate the permission process and the economic conditions
for wind power. Institutional factors have a greater impact on wind energy facility
siting than public support, according to researcher Maarten Wolsink (Wolsink,
2000).
Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany had 1800MW of wind power in-
stalled in 2002, which produced 30 per cent of the region's energy consumption.
A study (Eggersgli.iss, 2002) showed that most people accept the siting of wind
turbines if the following principles are followed:
0 sufficient distance to residential areas;

0
quiet turbines are chosen;
• the population is kept properly informed;
• there is a financial benefit for the community;
• the developer is from the area; and
• landowners' views are sought when the site is chosen.
If all wind power project developers followed these simple rules of conduct, ac-
ceptance at the local level would probably be as high as the general acceptance of
wind power.
Acceptance problems at higher levels

Surveys that have been conducted to find out the public opinion on wind power
prove that acceptance of wind power by the general public is not a problem. Wind
power has in fact very strong support from the public. Problems with accept-
ance are usually found at higher levels, although this obviously differs in different
countries.
In Sweden and many other countries, the authorities, politicians, grid opera-
tors, power companies and industry all have problems with accepting wind power
and raise barriers that delay or stop its development. Acceptance is also low among
scientists working in the energy field, since many have strong interests in conven-
tional power technology such as fossil fuel combustion and nuclear power. Many
leading scientists are still repeating the same unfounded arguments against wind
power that power companies have used since development started in the 1970s.
In the article 'Phase out of nuclear power proof of ignorance' published in a
major Swedish morning paper, four members of the Royal Swedish Academy of
Science included the following statements about wind power:
The contribution to electric pown·production from wind power is mod-

erate (0.3 per cent). Further development is possible and within 20
years, with massive investments, up to I OTWh (7 per cent) could be
produced. Even after being fully developed, wind power would only give
a marginal contribution.
Since wind power cannot be regulated (due to variations in wind
speed), power balancing is always necessary, and this can be done only by
hydropown: For such a high share of wind power as I OTWh an exten-
sive development ofhydropower will be necessary as well. To that must
be added that the Nordic power grid needs to be reinforced. Wind forms
OPINION AND ACCEPTANCE 203
also need very large areas. Altogethn; the cost will be significantly higher
than for other power plants, which makes it impossible for wind power
to compete without large subsidies. (Kullander et al, 2002)
The type of disinformation about wind power that the quoted article exemplifies
has been spread since wind power development started in the early 1980s. These
misconceptions have been propagated by representatives of power companies and
by researchers with interests in nuclear power.
In the first paragraph the authors assert that wind power can only make a mar-
ginal contribution to power production even when it is fully developed. However,
the contribution of wind power obviously depends on how much wind power is
installed. In Germany and Spain wind power that can produce 1OTWh/year is
currently developed in about two years (in 2005 Germany installed 1808MW
and Spain 1764MW). With the same pace in Sweden, wind power could produce
30TWh within ten years and contribute 20 per cent of the electric power. Wind
power does not have to play a marginal role in power production.
In the second paragraph the authors assert that an extensive development of
hydropower is necessaty to integrate wind power in the power system. This claim
is also wrong. Grid operators had to learn to regulate the power in the power sys-
tem long before wind power was at hand. The diurnal power fluctuations are far
greater than could be caused by a large share of wind power in the system. The
capacity of hydropower to regulate the power will actually increase when wind
power is developed, since water can be saved in the hydropower dams when the
winds are strong. This saved water can then be used for power regulation.
In the same paragraph they assert that the Nordic power grid needs reinforce-
ments. But whether this will be necessaty depends on the geographical distribution
of large wind farms. Like all new power plants, wind farms have to be connected
to the power grid. The grid itself does not, however, need any reinforcements, at
least not until wind power penetration (share of total production in the power
system) reaches a level of more than 10 per cent. The statements that wind power
needs more space, and that wind power never can become competitive without
subsidies are wrong too (see Figures 12.4, 12.5, 13.1 and 13.2).
Although these arguments against wind power have been refuted time and
time again in scientific articles, government reports and newspaper articles, they
reappear and are presented as undisputable facts by persons with high status in
the science community. These arguments will, however, never become valid, not
even by eternal repetition.
16
Grid Connection ofWind Turbines
Most wind turbines are connected to the electric power grid. Wind turbines are
not only a new kind of power plant that transform wind energy into electricity,
they also have other traits that power companies, utilities and grid operators are
not used to. Wind speed is constantly changing, in a way that is hard to predict,
and so the power production will vary. Wind turbines are comparatively small
and are usually connected to the distribution grid, while large conventional power
plants are connected to the transmission grid, with much higher voltage levels.
The power grid

Electricity is not an energy source, but a form of energy that is used to transport
energy in the form of electric power from power plants to power consumers. The
electric power grid constitutes a practical and cheap means to transport power
from power plants that exploit the kinetic energy in running water (hydropower
stations) or the wind (wind turbines) or that boil water (with uranium, oil, bio-
mass or other fuels) to run a steam turbine that runs a generator that in turn
produces electric power. This power is then transported on the grid to consumers,
who with different types of equipment transform the electric power into light,
heat or mechanical work.
When the use of electric power started around a hundred years ago, the power
grid was built just in the close vicinity of the power plants. The grid at that time
consisted of small isolated 'islands' in cities and around hydro power stations where
there were different kinds of factories, which had exploited the energy in the run-
ning water by water wheels to run sawmills, smithies and so forth in earlier days.
Such local grids were very vulnerable. If the river ran dry or the power plant
had a failure or needed servicing, no electric power could be produced. To avoid
this, back-up power plants were needed. Mter some decades these isolated grid-
islands were connected to each other to form larger regional and finally national
power grids. The need for back-up decreased and was almost eliminated, since the
many power plants connected to the grid could replace each other. Today national
power grids are also interconnected across borders.
In most countries the backbone in the power system consists of a national

transmission grid, with a voltage level of 400 or 230kV, that is managed by a trans-
mission system operator (TSO). In Sweden, for example, this is the state-owned
company Svenska Kraftnat AB. This very high voltage transmission grid is used to
transmit large amounts of power over long distances. The next level is the regional
grid, with a voltage level of 130 or 70kV (in Sweden), which transmits power
from the national transmission grid to the local distribution grid. These have lower
voltage levels, 40,20 or 10kV, and are used to distribute power to factories, house-
holds and other consumers. Before the power enters the consumers' low voltage
grid, the power is transformed to 690 or 400V (see Figure 16.1).
Just as the road network is used for transport of people and commodities, so
the power grid is used for the transport of energy. And just as motorways are built
for a large flow of heavy transports, so the national transmission grid is set up for
large flows of energy, while the distribution lines in the outskirts of the grid cor-
respond to dirt roads that are too wealc for heavy lorries. Like roads for vehicles,
the dimensions and voltage levels of the grid sets limits to how much power can
be fed into the grid and what size of power plants can be connected to different
parts of it.
In Sweden the power system is based on a few very large power plants, hydro-
power plants in the north of Sweden and nuclear reactors in the south. There are
also some CHP plants that produce heat and electric power simultaneously and
some gas turbines that are used for pealc power when the loads are extremely high
during cold winter days or to balance sudden increases in power consumption.
Electric power consumption in Sweden is about 150TWh/year. During dif-
ferent periods of the year power is also imported or exported. The share of wind
power was still less than 1 per cent in 2005, compared to around 20 per cent in
Denmark.
Power consumption is constantly changing, during each day and also dur-
ing the year. The need for power is of course less at night, when factories are idle
and people are sleeping. In the morning, when people prepare breakfast, power
consumption increases fast, and you get the same increase in the evening when it
is time for dinner.
When the football world championships are shown on TY, power consump-
tions pealcs during the half-time brealc, when hundreds of thousand of kettles are
turned on to make tea and coffee (see Figure 16.2).
In Sweden, where many homes use electric heating, electric power con-
sumption is much higher in the winter than in the summer. The peak usually
occurs in January or February, when it is cold all over the country and the wind
is blowing as well. Then the power demand is at its highest and all power plants
run at full capacity, with some power also imported (see Figure 16.3). In other
countries the annual variations in power demand look different. In California,
for example, the peak appears in the summer, when air-conditioning is running
day and night.
GRID CONNECTION OF WIND TURBINES 207
Kroftnatet l Nordv6steuropa
Figure 16.1 The electric power grid in northern Europe
The power systems in the Nordic countries, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, are inter-
connected (Nordel) and have a common power market (Nordpool). There are also links to power
systems in other countries, for import or export of electric power.
Source: Svenska Kraftnat

12,000
10,000
8000
s~
6000
4000
2000
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Time (hours)
Figure 16.2 Variations in power consumption, diurnal and weekly
The diagram shows the variations in power consumption during an ordinary week. The vertical axis
shows the power demand (power consumption) and the horizontal axis the hours during a week.
Power consumption has a minimum around midnight; there is a peak around 8-9 in the morning
and another one around 6-7 in the evening. During weekends the peaks are considerably lower
than on weekdays.
Source: Soder (1997)
1Wh
2
1,5 A/\ '\

~ -.... / /
~
0,5
2 13 26 39 52
Figure 16.3 Annual variations in power consumption
The diagram shows the weekly variations of power consumption in a region in Sweden during one
year. In a cold week in winter power consumption is more than twice as high as during the summer
holiday weeks.
Source: Blomqvist (1997)

Electric power is a perishable commodity, and power production in the grid

has to match the power consumption at all times. If it doesn't, the frequency
will change. If power production is larger than consumption, the frequency will
increase; if consumption is larger than production, the frequency will decrease.
When there is a mismatch, electric equipment can be damaged or the grid brealcs
down and a power cut results. This vety seldom happens, however, because grid
operators understand how to manage the power system and to handle the balance
of supply and demand.
Different power plants have different roles in the system. In Sweden nuclear
reactors are used for base load; they run day and night most of the year, and it's a
slow and complicated matter to regulate the power output. Hydropower is very
easy to regulate, and is thus used for regulating purposes. Gas turbines can be
started within seconds and are used for peak power and when there is a need for
very fast power regulation. Nowadays peak loads are often handled by import of
power from neighbouring countries.
Different parts of the power grid have different voltage levels. In Sweden the
national transmission grid has a voltage of 400,000 or 230,000V. With high volt-
age, losses are reduced. A power line of any given dimension (cross-section area)
can transmit more power the higher the voltage level is. To transmit large amounts
of power over long distances it is most cost-efficient to use as high a voltage as
possible. With all transmission of electric power, however, losses (in the form of
heat) are unavoidable. How large these losses will be depends on the dimensions
and lengths of the power lines. In the Swedish power system around 10 per cent
of the power that is fed into the grid will be lost. The TSO is actually also the
largest power customer in Sweden, since the power that is lost has to be bought
and paid for.
The voltage level is reduced in several steps on the way from the power plant
to the consumer. In the first step it is transformed from the national grid (230 or
400kV) to the regional grid (70 or 130 kV), then to the distribution grid (10-
40kV). Before the power is fed to the consumers, it will be transformed to 690V
(factories) or 400V (households). When the voltage is decreased losses increase,
but power lines and other equipment will be much cheaper.
The TSO has the overall responsibility for the operation of the power system.
The local grid operators, who manage the distribution grid, have to predict and
order how much power they will need in the coming year, and then also specifY
the power needed 24 hours in advance. If the actual power consumption is higher
than that, the grid operator has to pay penalties. If power production does not bal-
ance consumption, the TSO can order power plants to increase or decrease their
production (see Box 16.1).
Box 16.1 POWER REGULATION
The principle for the power system is that production with low operating costs is run all the
time and the production with high operating costs is run only when the load is high. Wind
power has low operating costs, and since it is difficult to regulate it has the right to feed all
power produced into the grid at all times.
In a deregulated market, the task of balancing supply and demand falls to balance
responsible players (BRPs), power trading companies. All production and consumption
goes through a contract with someone who has a contract with a BRP.
These BRPs give production schedules to the TSO one day ahead, but they can change
the schedule up to the hour of delivery. During the operating hour, responsibility shifts to
the TSO.
If the scheduled power production (supply) does not fit the actual power demand, the
power production has to be regulated (increased or decreased). To handle this need
there is a regulating power market. Producers bid the regulating power to this market
(offer a price for supply of additional power) and the TSO determines the use of reserves
(and the regulating power market) according to the net imbalances in the Nordic system.
After each operating hour the net imbalances of all BRPs are calculated and charged for
according to country-specific rules.
Wind turbines in the power system

Wind turbines are quite small power plants that should be sited where winds
are strong. Therefore they are often located at the periphery of the grid, where
the grid is weak. One or a few turbines can always be connected directly to the
distribution grid.
A wind turbine's production varies with the wind speed. Wind energy can't be
used for base loads, since the production varies. Nor can it be used as regulating
power, since the energy from wind turbines cannot be increased with demand.
Nor can it be used as peak power, for the same reason. From point of view of
the electric power system, wind power works in a completely different way from
conventional power plants. Wind turbines are usually connected to the distribu-
tion grid, the same power lines that consumers (households, industries) use. They
function as decentralized power plants.
The grid operator can handle the variations of power produced by wind tur-
bines in the same way as variations in load (power consumption). When the wind
speed decreases the power from other power plants, for example hydropower, will
be increased. As long as the share of wind power is below 10 per cent of the total
power production this is no problem (see Figure 16.4).
Power companies and grid operators are still not used to this (at least not in
countries and regions where wind power development still hasn't started), but it
GRJD CONNECTION OF WIND TURBINES 211
7000
6000
s 4000
2
2000
1000
169 337 505 673

Hours
Figure 16.4 Wind power variations
The diagram shows how loads (consumption) and wind power production varied in January 2000 in
Denmark. The variations are handled just like ordinary load variations, when wind turbines produce
a lot of power the contribution from other power plants is reduced, and vice versa.
Source: Holttinen (2004)
is not a problem to integrate quite a large amount of wind power into the power
system.
Grid connection of wind turbines

Wind turbines are connected to the grid via a transformer that raises the voltage
from 400V (turbines up to 250kW) or 690V (larger turbines) to the grid voltage,
which can be 10, 20 or 40kV (kV denotes kilovolt, 1000V; voltage levels can vary
from country to country). The developer has to install and pay for the transformer,
which is usually sited on the ground next to the turbine. Several small turbines can
be connected to the same transformer. Larger turbines (SOOkW and more) have
their own transformer, and MW turbines often have the transformer integrated in
the tower, with the transformer included in the price of the turbine.
The distance from a wind power plant to the existing grid is an important
factor to take into consideration. The cable from the turbines to the grid connec-
tion point has to be paid for by the wind power developer, and since the price per
kilometre of cable is significant, the distance will have a considerable impact on
the investment cost.
The capacity of the grid sets a practical/technical limit on the amount of wind
power that can be connected to a specific power line. There are several technical
factors to take into consideration (the dimensions of the lines, voltage level, power
flows, distance to the closest transformer station, loads, etc.), and only electric
power engineers can make these kinds of calculations.
There are, however, some rules of thumb that give an idea of how many MW
of wind power can be connected to power lines with different voltage levels. One
Table 16.1 Wind power capacity and voltage level

Connection point Maximum capacity (MW)
10kV line 1-2
1OkV transformer 8-10
20kV line 5-8
20kV transformer 15-18
40kV line 13-18
40kV transformer 30-38
130kV line 30-60
Close to the transformer station, where the 10kV line is transformed to a higher voltage level, more
wind power can be connected than close to the end of a power line.
Source: Burton (2001)
such rule is that grid connection capacity increases with the square of the voltage
level (when voltage level is doubled, wind power capacity can be increased four-
fold). According to an official document in Sweden, 3.5MW can be connected to
a 10lcV line, and 15MW to a 20kV line (and according to this rule 60MW to a
40kV line). In an engineering textbook on wind power published in the UK other
figures are recommended (see Table 16.1).
According to the technical rules (so-called grid codes) used in Sweden, the
short-circuit power at the point of connection should be 20 times larger than the
nominal power of the turbine. There are no harmonized rules on this at an inter-
national level, however; each country has its own grid codes. (The grid codes for
different countries in Europe are listed in 'Grid connection requirements for wind
power technology', a chapter in EWEA, 2005b.)
Local production for local consumption

In the early days of wind power, when the turbines were quite small (20-250kW)
they were intended to produce local power that could be used in the near vicinity,
and even today many turbines still function in that way. This is an obvious advan-
tage for the power system, since it will reduce the losses in the grid (the further
power is transmitted, the larger the losses). As long as the maximum power from
the wind turbines is less than the minimum load in the local grid, all their power
will be consumed in the local area.
Factories with an even and large power demand can use all the power from a
wind turbine. On Gotland, for example, there is a fodder factory in the harbour
of Klintehamn that runs day and night all year around, has its own wind turbine
(SOOkW) and feeds the power directly into the factory, where all the power is
consumed. (The factory is of course also connected to the grid, otherwise the
machines would stop when the wind stops blowing.) A sawmill nearby also has its
own wind turbine onsite.
High wind power penetration

When wind power penetration (wind turbines' share of power production) first
reaches a level of 10 per cent, the grid and power system may need to be adapted.
So far only Denmark has reached this level nationally, but Denmark is part of the
larger Nordic power system. In some regions wind power penetrations are already
higher: Schleswig-Holstein and Mecldenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany
have reached 30 per cent, for example, but these are also integral parts of a much
larger power system.
But it is no problem to use a much larger share of wind power in the power
system than for the local minimum load. Power systems have good power regula-
tion capacities to keep supply and demand in balance; this is done every minute
of the year, with or without wind power, and there are always power plants with
reserve capacity in the system (see Box 16.2).
There is always a certain amount of back-up capacity in a power system, since
all power plants have limited availability and unplanned shutdowns will occur. If
wind turbines are installed in different geographical parts of the grid, it rarely hap-
pens that all turbines stop at the same time, since regional variations in the wind
are considerable. The wind will almost never disappear at all places at the same
time, and much of the variation will be smoothed out. It will not be necessary to
build back-up power plants even with quite a large share of wind power in the
power system (see Figures 16.5 and 16.6).
The more power systems in Europe are interconnected, the less back-up
capacity will be needed. Denmark plans to produce as much as 50 per cent of
Box 16.2 POWER RESERVES

To be able to follow changes in the load (consumption), power reserves have to be
available. Primary reserves are power plants with very short start-up times, from one
second to one minute; these are used for fast regulation. The power plants used for this
are gas turbines and hydropower. Power from these is replaced by secondary reserves,
power plants with longer regulation times, i 0 minutes to an hour, and lower operational
costs. When the secondary reserves increase their production the primary reserves are
replaced.
To prevent a power cut if a failure occurs at a large power plant and it has to close down
with short notice, there is always also a reserve in the power system. The size of this
disturbance reserve is based on the largest power plant that could trip off. In the Nordic
power system the disturbance reserve is i 200MW, the size of the largest power plant (a
nuclear reactor) in the power system.
100% -Nordic average 27%

£ 90%.
~ 80% .. - - DK West, average 25 %
0..
r.l 70% Single turbine, average 26 %
0 60%
'if!- 50%.
c 40%
0
~ 30%
::J
"0 20%
e
0.. 10%
0%
741 1481 2221 2961 3701 4441 5181 5921 6661 7401 8141
hour
Figure 16.5 Smoothing effect
With large-scale development of wind power, when thousands of turbines are installed at hundreds
of different sites, the changes in the power productions from wind power will be smoothed out,
according to a study made by Hannele Holttinen from VlT in Finland. This diagram, with the hours of
the year on the horizontal axis and production in relation to the total installed wind power capacity
on the vertical axis, illustrates the smoothing effect. For a single turbine production will vary between
0 and 100 per cent (the steepest curve). For all turbines in western Denmark (Jutland) production
will be 0 for just a few hours, and total production will not be over 90 per cent (middle curve). In the
whole Nordic system, production below 5 per cent or above 70 per cent of installed capacity will be
rare.
25%
'S
"(3 1-Nordic I
ro 20%
0..
- - - DK\1\fest (Eitra)i
rl 15%
c
'cS 10%
:S
B
Ill 5%
~·~
O%t-~~~~~~~~==~~~
5
~
0 -5% --~-~s
~ -10% ..... .
0
~ -15%
0
§ -20% + - - - - - -~------------------------;
ffi
> -25% _j___-----·~------~-----~~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.._
741 1481 2221 2961 3701 4441 5181 5921 6661 7401 8141
hour
Figure 16.6 Production changes per hour
The changes in production within one hour will be small. For 98 per cent of the time the changes
within one hour will be within ± 5 per cent of capacity in the Nordic power system (bold curve).

Table 16.2 Reserve requirement in the Nordic system

Wind power penetration MW Share of peak load or capacity
5% 80---110 0.8-1.2%
10% 310-420 1.6-2.2%
20% 1200-1400 3.1-4.2%
When wind turbines, geographically well distributed in the Nordic countries, produce 5 per cent of
the total electric power, 80-11 OMW of new power plants for reserve capacity have to be available.
With a 20 per cent penetration, up to 1400MW extra reserves will be needed in the Nordic power
system.
its electric power using wind turbines within the next few decades and will man-
age the balance with the help of hydropower from Norway. This is probably an
exceptionally high share of wind power. In most other countries about 20 per
cent seems a more practical target. With a high wind power penetration, reserve
requirements and costs for wind power integration will increase, but not very
much (see Table 16.2).
The value of wind-generated electric power can be increased with good wind
prognoses that make it possible to predict power production during the coming
hours or days with high accuracy. Prognoses will, of course, not have any impact
on the production of the turbines, but they will have a considerable economic
value. If predictions and actual production coincide, the penalties for grid opera-
tors for deviations from 'ordered' power will decrease (see Box 16.3).
Box 16.3 WIND PROGNOSES
Computer programs for wind predictions for 6 to 72 hours ahead started to be used in
1997, when researchers at Risoe in Denmark introduced the Prediktor software (see www.
prediktor.dk; also Risoe National Laboratory, no date). Today there are several different
programs in use: Risoe has developed a new one called Zephyr, the American company
True Wind Solutions (now part of AWS Truewind) offers an internet-based program, eWind,
and German researchers have developed the program Previento.
These programs use input data from national weather institutes or local meteorological
stations. These data are processed by statistical methods and are recalculated to derive
predictions of the power production of specific wind farms.
Short prognoses for 1-3 hours have an accuracy of 80-90 per cent, but for longer
prediction times the accuracy is considerably lower. The prognoses are updated several
times a day. Some of these programs are available on the market and are used by wind
farm managers or grid operators, while other companies sell prognoses as services for a
subscription fee.
Source: Dragza (2001)

When wind power penetration increases above 10 per cent, it will be necessary
to have quite good predictions of the power turbines will supply during coming
days. The TSO will then also, at least for large wind farms, put the same demands
on wind power plants that other power plants have to comply with. This means
that wind farms will have to participate in power regulation: they will have to be
operated so that they can reduce the power that is fed into the grid or increase
power output at short notice. This kind of demand will probably apply only to
large offshore wind farms and is possible from a technical point of view, although
it will increase the cost of wind power. When cost-efficient means to store electric
power, or convert it to hydrogen, have been developed, the integration of very
large shares of wind power will be possible.
Remaining barriers
The laws that regulate electric power management differ from country to country.
In the EU, however, there are some directives and recommendations that should
apply to all member states. Before these enter into force, however, they have to be
passed by national parliaments. The EU has taken the decision to deregulate the
electric power system and to enable free power trading across national borders.
Some countries have already deregulated their power markets, while others have
hardly started this process.
On a deregulated market, power production, power trading and power dis-
tribution should be completely separated, in other words performed by different
companies independent of each other. In many countries, however, huge and ver-
tically integrated power companies (that produce, distribute and sell power), often
owned by the state and with a monopoly on the market, still remain.
On the deregulated market all independent power producers have the legal
right to get their power plants connected to the power grid if it is technically pos-
sible. In several countries the power companies that operate the grid are still very
reluctant to let independent power producers connect wind turbines, however.
This is sometimes prevented by the introduction of very strict technical require-
ments on wind turbines. The European Wind Energy Association has described
the situation thus:
Grid codes and other technical requirements should reflect the true tech-
nical needs and be developed in cooperation between independent and
unbiased TSOs, the wind energy sector and independent regulators...
Grid codes often contain very costly, challenging and continuously chang-
ing requirements and are developed in a highly non-transparent manner
by vertically-integrated power companies, who are in direct competition
with wind farm operators. (EWEA, 2005)
The capacity of the grid can be a limiting factor for the development of wind
turbines. For large projects it will sometimes be necessary to reinforce the grid,
which takes a quite large investment. The question of whether these investments
should be made by the project developer or by the grid operator is a matter of
constant controversy, at least in countries were there aren't strict legal provisions
in this regard.
PART V
Wind Power Project Development
To develop a wind power project requires planning, the acquisition of consents,

installation and finally operation of the wind turbines. This process includes many
different steps that can vary depending on the preconditions. During the feasibil-
ity study, described in Chapter 17, the developer will have to decide after each step
if it is worth continuing, or if it is better to end the project at an early stage. The
most important basis for this decision is the result of the economic calculation,
described in Chapter 18. If the preconditions are good enough, the wind turbine
has to be sited, or the wind farm designed, to optimize the output, at the same
time as the demands from authorities on environment impact and so forth have
to be fulfilled for the necessary permission to be given. This process is described
in Chapter 19.
17
Siting ofWind Turbines
When looking for a good site for wind turbines many different factors have to be
considered. The most important is of course the wind resource. Local conditions
like hills and mountains, buildings and vegetation influence the wind and have to
be considered in a more detailed calculation of how much wind turbines will be
able to produce at the site.
The wind turbine has to be transported to the site, installed and connected
to the grid. The distance to existing roads and/ or harbours, the costs of building
access roads, ground conditions that influence the design and cost of the foun-
dations, and the distance to the grid are thus important factors that have to be
included in the calculations.
When the wind turbine has been installed it should not disturb people who
live close by. In Sweden and most other European countries there are rules about
the maximum noise level that is acceptable and this defines the minimum distance
to buildings close to the site. Rotating shadows from the rotor must also be con-
sidered and care taken to ensure that they will not be too annoying.
Usually it is also necessary to get permission from the authorities to build a
wind turbine. These rules and regulations are specific for every country, but in
general the authorities will check that a wind turbine will not interfere or create
conflicts with other kinds of enterprises or interests. So it is both wise and nec-
essary for a developer to check what kind of opposing interests there may be at
a potential site: airports, air traffic in general (turbines are quite high), military
installations (radar, radio links, etc.) nature protection areas, archaeological sites
and so forth. Information about opposing interests can usually be supplied by the
county or the municipality.
Finding sites with good wind resources

If the task is to develop one or several wind turbines or wind farms within a
specified geographical area - a country, region or municipality - the first step is
to make a survey of the area to find suitable places, followed by an evaluation to
choose the most promising sites for feasibility studies.
222 WIND POWER PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
The most important precondition for a good wind power project is that there
are good wind conditions at the site. Always start by studying wind resource maps
for the area, if available. If there are no such maps available, gather information
about wind conditions however possible, for example by analysing data from me-
teorological stations (see Figure 5.5, page 56).
Feasibility study
When a couple of areas with good wind resources have been identified, other
preconditions for wind power have to be studied. The following in particular have
to be clarified:
• Neighbours. Noise and flickering shadows should not disturb neighbours.

Can the turbines be sited so that such disturbances can be avoided?
• Grid connection. Is there a power grid with sufficient capacity to connect the
wind turbines to within a reasonable distance?
'" Land. Who owns the land in the area? Are there landowners willing to sell or
lease land for wind turbines?
'" Permission. Is the chance of obtaining necessaty permissions reasonably good?
'" Opposing interest. Are there any military installations, airports, nature con-
servation areas or other factors that could stop the project?
'" Local acceptance. What opinion do local inhabitants have about wind power
in their neighbourhood?
Impact on neighbours
To avoid neighbours being disturbed, a minimum distance of 500 metres to the
closest dwellings should be ensured. For a large wind farm this distance may have
to be increased. There are rules and recommendations about sound levels, and
sometimes also for shadow flicker, that are acceptable at nearby dwellings and
holiday cottages. To be able to fulfil these demands, the site where the turbines
are to be installed has to be quite large and open. A good rule of thumb is to have
a minimum distance of 500 metres for single turbines and a few hundred metres
more for wind farms. With such distances the impacts from noise (see Table 13.4,
page 159) and shadows will be well within limits (see Table 13.8, page 163).
Grid connection
Power lines are usually indicated on maps, so it is quite easy to estimate the dis-
tance from the turbines to the grid. However, it is also necessary to lmow the
voltage level, since that sets a limit to the amount of wind power that can be con-
nected. With a little experience this can be estimated by taking a look at the py-
lons and the power lines: the bigger they are the higher the voltage. A look at the
SITING OF WIND TURBINES 223
insulators (which look like a pile of saucers) can give a hint as well; one insulator
is 101<:\1, three 30kV and so on (this applies to older power lines in Sweden). The dis-
tance to the closest transformer station is also a decisive factor. To get this information
right it is usually best to consult the local grid operator (see Table 16.1, page 212).
Land for turbines

What kind of landowners there are in an area is usually quite easy to guess. In an
agricultural district local farmers usually own the land. In that case it's quite likely
that it will be possible to find a landowner who is prepared to lease some land for
wind turbines. After all, the land can be tilled like before, but there will be extra
income for the farmer. Making money out of air is good business. In other cases
other private landowners, companies, local communities or the state can own the
land. Information on land ownership can be found in the land regisuy. During
the feasibility study it's not necessary to make an agreement with landowners; this
can wait until a decision is taken to try and realize the project.
Permission
It's no use spending time and money on projects that can't be built. To evaluate
the prospects for getting the necessary permissions from the authorities is one of
the most important parts of the feasibility study. The developer has to be familiar
with all the rules and regulations that can be applied to a wind power project and
how the authorities interpret them. If there are any municipal or regional plans,
these can give a good idea of the prospects for the project in an area.
Opposing interests
The possibility of realizing a project can be stopped by so-called opposing interests.
The first thing to check is if there are any military installations that might be dis-
turbed by having wind turbines close by. Milita1y installations for radar or signal
surveillance, radio communication links and so forth are secret, so you can't find
them on the map. The developer should mal<:e contact with the appropriate milita1y
command to find out if they will oppose wind turbines at the site. If this is the case,
you can ask them to suggest a place that will not interfere with their interests.
Wind turbines are high structures and can pose a risk to air traffic, especially
if there is an airport close by. There are strict rules on how high structures close
to the flight paths to and from an airport may be. These rules are available from
national aviation authorities.
In most countries there are areas that are classified as areas of international
or national interest, to protect nature or cultural heritage, for example: national
parks, nature reservations, bird protection areas. Avoid such areas, since it likely
will be difficult to get the permissions necessary for wind turbine installations.
Such areas are usually indicated on public maps.
224 WIND PO\XTER PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Local acceptance
The attitude of the local inhabitants to a proposed wind power project in their
vicinity is largely dependent on how the developer performs. In Europe, according
to opinion polls and experience, most people have a very positive opinion about
wind power (see Chapter 15). At the local level however, there always seem to be
some people who strongly oppose wind turbines in their neighbourhood.
How local inhabitants react depends on how they learn about the project. If
they get good information at an early stage most of them will be positive. When the
developer has decided to realize the project, it's important to create a dialogue with
both local authorities and the public and to tal<:e the opinions of local inhabitants
about distance to dwellings and other practical details into serious consideration.
When the turbines are online it is valuable to have local support as local people will
then be more inclined keep an eye on the turbines and report any problems.
There are also, however, those who are dedicated opponents to wind power,
and organizations for these wind power opponents. Their view is that wind turbines
will turn the beautiful landscapes in the countryside into industrial areas and spoil
the unbroken view of the horizon at the coast. Even if these opponents are few, they
can delay, increase the costs of or even stop projects that are planned by appealing
against the building and environment permissions given by the authorities.
This mal<:es it even more important to give proper and good information to
all those who may be affected by wind power projects: locals have to feel that they
are not being ridden roughshod by the project developers.
Estimating power production

If the feasibility study shows that there is a good site for wind power, one that
does not create problems for neighbours, that it is possible to connect to the grid
at a reasonable distance, that there are landowners willing to lease or sell land to
install the turbines on, and that the prospects to get the necessary permission are
good, it is time to mal<:e a calculation of how much the wind turbines at the site
will produce. The result of this calculation will be the most important input to the
economic calculations on which the final decision to go through with the project
or not should be based.
Production analysis
A simple estimate can be made directly from a wind resource map (see Figure 5.6,
page 57), which shows the energy content of the wind in kWh/m2 /year and also
represents specific height agl. Such maps should not, however, be used to calculate
a wind turbine's production at a specific site, since they have been calculated with a
low resolution. What they do provide is good information about areas where the best
wind resources can be found. This distinction between site and area is an impor-
BOX 17.1 ESTIMATION FROM A WIND RESOURCE MAP
If we are interested in a site on a wind resource map for 50m height agl, where the
wind energy content is estimated at 4200kWh/m 2/year, and we want to know how much
energy a wind turbine with 50m hub height and 50m rotor diameter will produce, we can
make an estimation.
With a 50m rotor diameter the swept area will be calculated as follows:
The turbine can be estimated to utilize about 25 per cent (C. = 0.25) of the available
energy in the wind. The turbine would thus produce:
4200 · 1963 · 0.25 = 2,060, OOOkWh/year.
The estimation of the capacity factor can be based on data from existing wind turbines
in the same area, or in areas with the same energy content and hub height. The capacity
factor will increase with height.
tant one. Maps can still be used to estimate the production on a site in an area,
but this estimation always has to be complemented by a more careful calculation
during the feasibility study (see Box 17.1).
To malze an exact calculation of how much a wind turbine will produce at a
given site, two things have to be lmown:
1 the power curve of the wind turbine; and

2 the frequency distribution of the wind speed at the hub height at the site.
The power curve shows how much power the turbine will produce at different wind
speeds. It is shown as a table, graph or bar chart and is available from the manufac-
turers (see Figure 17.1). These power curves are verified by independent and author-
ized control agencies.
It is also necessary to have quite detailed information about the winds at the
site. It is not sufficient to lmow the annual average wind speed but is also necessary
to lmow the wind's frequency distribution; in other words how many hours a year
the wind will blow at each different speed (see Figure 17.2).
These data should represent the wind speed distribution during a normal year,
so average values for a 5-10 year period also have to be recalculated for the hub
height of the turbine. Then the power produced at each wind speed is multiplied
by the number of hours this wind speed occurs. The frequency distribution is
sometimes given as a percentage. If this is the case the percentage value must be
simply multiplied by the number of hours in a year (8,760) and divided by 100, to
convert it to hours per year.
Power curve
600
~
~ 300
0
"-
200
100
0
0 m N l()
N N
Wind speed m/s
Figure 17.1 Power curve ofthe wind turbine (500k W nominal power)
Frequency distribution
1200
1000
.... 800
ro
())
~
~ 600
:::1
0
.s=
400
200 -
0
Wind speed m/s
Figure 17.2 Frequency distribution ofthe wind at hub height

How many kWh of electric power the turbine will produce at this site during a
normal year can be calculated as the sum of values for the power produced by the
turbine for each wind speed multiplied by the hours at that speed. Thus, £rom
values shown in Figures 17.1 and 17.2, annual production = (880 · 10) + (9 50 ·
25) + ... + (3 . 500) = 1,227,450kWh.
The wind atlas method

A more accurate way to calculate expected production at a site is to use the ""-'ind
atlas method, which makes it possible to transform wind data from existing me-
teorological masts to describe the wind's properties at specific sites within a radius
of up to 1OOkm. These data can then be used to make accurate calculations on the
expected production at these sites.
Meteorological measurement masts collect wind data in many different places.
These data about wind speed and wind direction over time at a given height (1 Om
agl if no height is specified) are representative only for the place where the mast
stands, however. Since topography influences wind at each site, these data cannot
represent other sites in the vicinity, with other kinds of terrain. To malce it possible
to use data from one site to calculate the energy in the wind at another site in the
same region, the wind data have to be transformed into so-called wind atlas data.
To do this the area surrounding the measurement mast is analysed. The
roughness of the terrain is classified, buildings and other obstacles are measured
and contour lines are registered. The impact of these factors on the wind is known
by practical experiments and measurements that have been generalized into algo-
rithms that are used for these calculations. Wind data from the measurement mast
are recalculated by this method to represent wind data for the site that would have
been registered if a plain horizontal area with roughness class 1, without any hills
or obstacles, surrounded the mast. Finally these data are recalculated for a number
of different heights agl (see Figure 17.3).
A wind atlas data set consists of wind speeds (frequency distributions) for 12
different directions (sectors) with one set for each of the following heights: 10, 25,
50, 100 and 250m. In Sweden the state-owned meteorological institute has pre-
pared wind atlas data for some hundred measurement masts from different parts
of the country. Wind atlases with wind atlas data are available for most countries
in Europe and for many countries on other continents as well. They are available
at www.windatlas.dk.
Roughness of terrain
How much a wind turbine can produce depends not only on the character of the
terrain at the site, but also on the terrain in an area with 20km radius around it.
The terrain conditions close to the site have the greatest influence on the turbine's
production, and roughness usually varies in different sectors and thus also with
the wind direction.
When a production calculation is made with the wind atlas method, wind
atlas data from one or several measurement masts within reasonable distance are
used as input. An area with a 20km radius around the turbine site is divided
into 12 sectors, and a roughness classification is then carried out sector by sector.
Information on obstacles (within 500m of the site), hills and, if the terrain is com-
plex, contour lines are entered into the program (see Figure 17 .4).
The wind atlas program then recalculates wind atlas data to wind data at hub
height for each sector (see Figure 17.5).
WIND ATLAS
Model for:
11 Jt
Orography
Input: Height contour lines
11 j _L
Model for:
Roughness of terrain
Input: Roughness classification of telTain
1I ~~
Model for:
Obstacles
Input: Obstacles positions and dimensions
11
WIND DATA FROM
~t
WIND CLIMATE IN
METEOROLOGICAL SPECIFIC SITES
MEASUREMENT
STATIONS
Figure 17.3 The wind atlas method
With the help of meteorological models wind data from measurement masts are transformed to
data that describe the regional wind climate, wind atlas data. These data about the regional wind
climate can then be used to calculate the actual wind climate at a specific site within the region
using the same meteorological models.
Source: Troen (1989)
Hills and obstacles

If a wind turbine is sited on the top of a hill or on a slope, this could increase its
production. If there are large obstacles close to the turbine, production could be
reduced. For large turbines the impact from obstacles is comparatively small, since
the impact depends on the difference between the turbine's hub height and the
height of the obstacle. The turbulence from an obstacle will spread to twice the
Roughness class 0
Roughness class I
Roughness class 2
Roughness class 3
Roughness class 4
Figure 17.4 Roughness classification in sectors
Source: EMD (2005)
\\~b.iHDEtrb.ttb1
Figure 17.5 Wind data from a wind atlas program (WindPR02)
The program analyses wind data from the site and calculates how much a wind turbine of a
specified model, hub height and rotor diameter can be expected to produce there. The frequency
distribution at hub height is indicated by a Weibull distribution (top left) and is compared with the
distribution for roughness class 1 at the same site. The wind's distribution between different wind di-
rections (sectors) is presented as three different wind roses: the frequency for different directions in
per cent (bottom left), mean wind speed for each sector (bottom right) and finally the wind's energy
content in the different sectors (top right).
Source: EMD (2005)

230 WIND PO\XTER PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
obstacle's height. The rotor of a turbine with a 60m hub height and a 60m rotor
diameter has its lowest point 30m agl, which means that an obstacle has to be
more than 15m high to cause turbulence within the rotor swept area. Low obsta-
cles should be included in the roughness classification and not entered as obstacles
in the program in such cases.
The speed-up effect from hills has most impact at lower heights above rhe
hilltop, and this effect increases with the size of the hill. Steep slopes can have rhe
opposite effect, however: if the inclination is greater than 40 degrees, the slope
creates turbulence that will decrease production. If the surface is rough or com-
plex, this could happen with an inclination of 10 degrees. A wind atlas program
will calculate the impact of hills and obstacles on production.
The wind atlas program first calculates the wind's frequency distribution at
hub height for each sector and then multiplies the frequency distributions with
the turbine's power curve. The results are weighted according to the frequency
for each wind direction and finally summarized. If the terrain is not extremelY
complex this method gives very accurate results. However, it talces quite a lot of
practice and experience of how different kinds of terrain in a region should be
classified, along with experience of how far from the measurement mast the wind
atlas data are still representative, to make accurate calculations with this method.
There are several different versions of software based on the wind atlas method
available (see Box 17.2).
Box 17.2 WIND POWER PC PROGRAMS
There are several different pieces of software for wind power applications.
WAsP
This program has been developed by Risoe National Laboratory in Denmark and is th 6
basis for all wind atlas programs. lt can be used to make wind resource maps, wind
atlases for whole countries and production calculations for single turbines or large wind
farms. Further information is available at www.wasp.dk.
WindPRO
This program can do the same kinds of calculations as WAsP and has additional mod u I es
for noise, shadow and visual impact, planning tools and many other functions, as we I as
a comprehensive database with wind turbine models and wind atlas data for regions ond
countries. lt has been developed by Energi og Milj6data in Aalborg, Denmark. Furtt~er
information is available at www.emd.dk.
WindFarm
This program has been developed in the UK by the company ReSoft and can do "the
calculations necessary for project development, including optimization and visualizat c:;>n.
Further information is available at www.resoft.co.uk.
WindFarmer
This program can do the calculations necessary for project development, including
optimization and visualization. it has been developed by Garrad Hassan and Partners in
the UK. Further information is available at www.garradhassan.co.uk.
Greenius
This program has been developed by a German company and can be used for wind
analyses and to calculate production and economic feasibility. it can also be used for
photovoltaic (PV) and solar heating systems. Further information is available at www.
f1.fhtw-berlin.de/studiengang/utldownloads/greenius/.
Freeware
RETScreen
The CANMET Energy Technology Centre in Canada has developed a comprehensive
website with education, databases and simple software for Excel for different renewable
energy sources. Further information is available at www.retscreen.net.
ALWIN
This software, developed by the German company Ammonit, which manufactures wind
measurement equipment. can be used to analyse wind data and to calculate wind power
production. it is available only in German. Further information is available at www.ammonit.de.
Wind resource maps

Wind resource maps can be found at www.windatlas.dk, www.awstruewind.com and
www.worldbank.org/astae/, to mention just a few of the interesting sites currently on the
internet.
Source: Quaschning (2003)
Sources of error
The accuracy of the calculation depends of course on the quality of the data that
are entered into the program. Wind atlas data are based on measured data from
different periods (which sequence of years the data are based on is indicated in
the database and can vary for different measuring masts). These periods can be
too short or not representative enough for the long-term averages. Both wind
data and the transformation of these to wind atlas data can be impaired by faults,
due to technical faults in the measuring equipment or systematic errors when
the data are registered. There is also a certain amount of rounding when data are
transformed to the Weibull parameters that are used in the software.
The roughness classification is never absolutely correct, and the roughness
can change from season to season and over the lifetime of the turbine. The pow-
er curve of the turbine is a third source of error. The form of the power curve
depends on the conditions when it was measured and does not give an exact rela-
tion between wind speed and power: in different surroundings with different ter-
rain and wind regime it may differ somewhat from the certified one.
These and other factors can be considered to create an error margin of 10 per
cent in the calculations, an estimation that has been confirmed by experience.
This means that 10 per cent should always be subtracted from the result of the
calculation (this is done by software).
Wind atlas programs like WAsP or WindPRO are quite expensive but are a
necessity for a professional wind power developer. For single projects, on the other
hand, a consultant can do the calculations. Manufacturers also sometimes do the
calculations for their customers. When consultants or manufacturers malce the
calculations, it is important to check that they have talcen the error margin of -10
per cent mentioned above into account.
Sound propagation
Wind turbines emit sound. There are rules and regulations about the sound level
that is allowed at neighbouring dwellings, which differ from country to country
(see Table 13.7, page 161). And the methods (formulas) for calculation differ too.
Some countries or municipalities also have rules for minimum distances between
wind turbines and dwellings. Some simple programs that calculate sound imrnis-
sion levels at different distances from turbines, based on their sound emission, are
available on the internet.
The wind atlas program WindPRO has a module- Decibel- for sound calcu-
lations. The sound level at different dwellings can be calculated and maps plotted
where sound immission levels at different distances from the turbine are shown.
Different country-specific calculation methods can be chosen.
Sometimes it can be hard to find positions for wind turbines that manage to
cope with the noise criteria. Several manufacturers therefore offer control systems
that can be tuned to different sound emission levels. Operations to decrease sound
emission unfortunately also reduce production; such adaptions have a price. On
the other hand, sound emission levels can be tailored to the rules, so sound emis-
sions (and production) can be higher during the day than at night, when the
restrictions are stricter, for example.
Shadows
The rotating rotor of a wind turbine can create disturbing shadows when the sun
is shining and the shadows pass windows in nearby buildings. A shadow diagram
will give a picture of how many hours this can occur and during which titr1 e of
the day. Such a diagram is useful during a feasibility study to avoid disturbing
shadows on buildings. The size and form of the areas where shadows can appear
depend on the latitude of the site.
For an application and during public consultations more exact information may
be needed. The software used for project development often has a tool for shadoV"J cal-
culations as well. The WindPRO module Shadow can, for example, print a so-called
shadow calendar, which specifies the exact time and date for shadows on windows for
all the houses in the vicinity of a planned wind turbine. The time is calculated by the
geometric method (see Chapter 13) and for the worst case, i.e. the sun always shines
and the wind always blows from the direction that will give the maximum shadow
(rotor parallel to the window). If data on actual sunshine time in different months
are available, a more realistic estimation can also be made. The shadow impact can be
illustrated graphically as a shadow diagram (see Figure 17.6).
A: Shadow Receptor: 1.0 x 1.0 Azimuth: 105.8° Slope: 90.0°
~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~: ~ ~ 1: ~ ~:: ~!:: ~:: ~t ~7f~: ~!: :~~~t ~::::!: ~:: ~ ~t~ ~:: ~ t ~:: ~ t: ~:::
21:30
21:00
I I I 1/ I I I I I I I
20:10
20::00
19:30 ~~:::1:::::1:::::~:~:::::1:::::~::::::f::_:-~::::::f:::::1:::::~::::::
19:00 -----~-----~-----
I l I
------~-----j···--~------L-----~---
I I I I I
.. L ••••• j
I I
••••• ~---···
I
18:30 -----~-----f----- ,------r-----~-----~------~-----~----- ~-----~-----~------
18:00 -----i-----f---
1
-~------~-----i-----~------~-----~------~
I I
---i-----~------
I I I I I I I I
17:30
-----~----- ----i------;-----~-----i·-----~-----i------;--- t-~-----i·-----
17:00 -----,--- 1
·T·----,------~-----,-----,------r-----,------~-----,-----,------
I I I I I I I I I I
16:30
16:00 ~~z-~-~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~r~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~r:~~::~:~~:~~r:~::::~::~~:~~:::
15;30 - ...... J .......... l .......... J ............ ~ ......... J .......... J ............ L ......... J ............ ~ .......... J ....~ .. J .......... ..
I I I I I I I I I J •. _ I
15:00 - - .. - - ~ - - -- - f .. -- - - -:- - - .. - -:- .. - - .. - ~ .. - - .. - -: .. - - - - - t --.. ---: . -----:-- . --- ~ . --- -l':-=---::-::'
I I I I I I I I I I I
14:30 -----,-----T·----~------~-----,-----~------r-----~------,-----,-----~------
' I I I I I I I I I I
14:00 .......... , .......... T .......... , ............ ~-----,-----,------r-----,------~-----,-----,------
1 I I I I I I f 1 I I
13:30 -----,-----v-----~------~-----,-----,------r-----~------r-----,-----~------
13:00
I
1 I
I
I I
. . . . . . . . J . . . . . . . . ~-----~------~-----J
I
I
~
I I I
.......... ...........
I I I
L . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . J ......... ~ .......... ..
I I I I I I I I
. . . . . . . . . J .......... ~ . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . ~ .......... J . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . L .......... ~ ........... ~ .......... J . . . . . . . . . ~ ......... ..
12:30
"E 12:00 -----~-----f-----~------~-----i-----~------~-----~------~-----~-----~------

I= 11:30 -----i-----f-----~------~-----~-----~------~-----~------~-----~-----~------
I I I I I I I I I 1 I
11:00 -----,-----T·----,------r-----,-----,------r-----,------~-----,-----,------
1 I I I I I I I I I I
10:30 -----,-----y·----,------~-----,-----,------r-----,------~-----,-----~------
1 I I I I I I I I I I
10:00 - .... - - ..., - - - - - oi .. - - - - -1- - - - - - .... - - .. - ..., .. - - - - _,_ - .. - - - + - - - - - _,_ - - .. - - .. -- - .. -..., .. - - - - -I- - - - ....
.......... ~ ......... ~ ......... J ............ ~ .......... ~ .......... ~ ............ L .......... ~ ........... ~ .......... ~ .......... J .......... ..
09;30
I I 1 I I I I 1 I I I
09;00 .......... J .......... l .......... J ............ ~ .......... J .......... J ............ L ......... J ............ ~ ......... J ......... J .......... ..
I I I I I I f I I I I
~ ~ :-~j:: ~:: t: ~::: j: ~ ~:: ~~::::: j:: ~: ~ j: ~:::: t:::: ~ t ~ ~:: ~t: ~ ~:: j: ~ ~: :t?~
08;30
08:00
~~--~ I I I I I I I I /I
07:30
-----~~-:~:-----~------~-----~-----~------~-----~------~r~--~-~------
~~~~~~~~~~:~::~~~:~~~~t~~~~~~~~~~~j~~~~~~t~~~~~j~~~t:~~~~~~~j~~~~~~
07:00
06:30
06:00
05:30 ----- ~-- --- !::~~--

1
I
--~ --- --~--- . . J... -- --~-- .... ~---- -~-- .. --~---- _J ___ ---
I
I
I
I
I I
I
I
I
I
1 ./
/I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
05:00
04:30
04:00 :~~::j:~~~:r~~:::j::~~::t~:~~Jt~~~~~~:::j:::~::t:::::j:~::~j:~::::
F•b May Nov
J•n Jun Jul
Month
Aug S•p O<t
""
Figure 17.6 Shadow diagram ftom WindPRO
The diagram shows that rotating shadows from the wind turbine rotor will pass the building in the
first half of April and in the beginning of September at around 7.30 each evening. The curved lines
indicate times for sunrise and sunset.
Source: EMD (2005)
The probable actual shadow time can also be calculated quite accurately. In
many countries there are data on the share of sunshine and cloudy weather for
different regions. On Godand, for example, the sunshine time is 25 per cent in a
winter month Qanuary) and 60 per cent in a summer month Quly). Wind data
will give the probability of the wind blowing as well as a frequency distribution for
different wind directions. With these data the probability for actual shadows can
be calculated. In most cases this probability is 30 per cent (or less) of the 'worst
case'. This figure can be used as a rule of thumb.
Such detailed calculations are, however, only necessary if the estimations
made show that shadows could become a problem or a matter of dispute. In that
case the limitations of the geometric model described in Chapter 13 should be
considered as well. If a neighbour risks getting shadow flicker at an unacceptable
level, modern control programs can avoid this. A sensor that is connected to the
wind turbine's control system registers if the sun is shining and the turbine is
stopped during periods (in most cases 10-20 minutes) when annoying shadow
flicker would occur.
Groups and wind farms

If more than one turbine is installed at a site, this will have an impact on each
turbine's production. How large this impact will be depends on the distance be-
tween the turbines and the wind direction. On the leeside of a rotor a wind wake
is formed: the wind speed slows and only regains its undisturbed speed some ten
_____,.., u 1---
Figure 17.7 Wind wake
The wind speed (u) is retarded by the rotor (vc). Behind the rotor the wind speed increases again (v)
as the wake gets wider.
Source: EMD (2005)

rotor diameters behind the turbine (see Figure 17.7). This factor has to be taken
into account when the layout for a group of several wind turbines is made.
The wind speed is retarded by the wind turbine rotor and behind the rotor
the wind speed increases again until it regains its initial speed. The extension of
the wind wake determines how individual turbines will be sited in relation to each
other in a group. Behind the rotor the width of the wal<:e increases by about 75
metres per 100 metres and the wind speed will increase with distance. The rela-
tion between wind speed v and distance behind the rotor x is described by the
formula:
where:
v is the wind speed x metres behind the rotor;
u is the undisturbed wind speed in front of the rotor;
R is the radius of the rotor; and
a is the wake decay constant (a measure of how fast the wake widens behind the
rotor).
The wake decay constant a depends on the roughness class. On land this value is
set to 0.075, offshore to 0.04.
In a group of two or three turbines they are usually placed in a straight line
perpendicular to the predominant wind direction. The distance between turbines
is measured in rotor diameters, since the size of the wind wake depends on the
size of the rotor. A common rule of thumb is to place the turbines a distance of
five rotor diameters apart if they are set in one row. Larger installations, wind
farms, can consist of several rows. In that case the distance between rows is usually
seven rotor diameters (see Figure 17.8). In areas where one or two opposing wind
directions are very dominant (regions with trade winds for example) the distance
between the turbines in rows can be reduced to three rotor diameters.
The actual layout of a wind farm, however, is often dictated by the limits set
by local conditions: distance to dwellings, roads and the power grid. If there are
height differences on the site, this will also influence how the turbines should be
sited in relation to each other to give optimal production. It is usually not reason-
able to increase the distance between turbines to eliminate the impact from wind
wakes completely as this is an inefficient use of land. The park efficiency can be
calculated with a wind atlas program. The park efficiency for groups of five to ten
turbines usually is 95 per cent or more.
Wind atlas programs calculate park efficiency and there are even tools that
can find the most efficient configuration to optimize the production of a specified
number of turbines within a limited area. If the area isn't absolutely flat the optimal
Predominant X
Wind direction
X
Sd
i X
X
~
X
x+-7d
d =rotor diameter ofwind turbines
Figure 17.8 Wind farm configuration
configuration will be irregular, with distances between turbines differing and the
turbines not set along straight lines. In practice, however, the layout is also guided
by aesthetic and practical concerns, whether the turbines are set along a coastline,
road or headland, in a regular pattern or in a bow like the Middelgrunden offshore
wind farm outside Copenhagen (see Figure 3.1, page 26). There they are sited no
more than three rotor diameters from each other- much too close to get optimal
production - because aesthetic concerns were given a lot of weight.
Visual impact
A good way to illustrate how wind turbines will influence the view of the land-
scape is to mal{e a photomontage, where the turbines are copied into pictures of
the landscape taken from different viewpoints. There are tools for this as well in
wind atlas programs, for example the WindPRO module Visual. Pictures of dif-
ferent wind turbines are available in catalogues and can be copied into the pictures
at the right scale. Other software, like Photoshop, can also be used to create photo-
montages (see Figure 17.9).
'····~
(.
!
I
•• D-
Jw
1\ -"
I' A
' \
Figure 17.9 Photomontage
This photomontage from Ebeltoft in Denmark shows a row of existing wind turbines on the pier in
Ebeltoft harbour and an additional row with five larger turbines that are planned to be built offshore.
The viewpoint for the montage is at sea, the background photo was taken from a ferry. The point
where the photo is taken is shown on the map below the photomontage, viewpoint A.
Source: EMD (2005)
Wind power in cold climates

There are many places in mountainous areas in arctic regions with very good
wind resources. In some of these areas there are already wind turbines installed,
in the US and in northern Scandinavia. The arctic climate conditions put special
demands on the wind turbines. Ordinary standard turbines would not survive for
long, but they can be adapted to the strains that the climate will cause.
Ice build-up
Several different types of ice can be built up on the turbines: rime, fog frost and
ice proper. Ice build-up on towers has not caused any problems, but build-up on
rotor blades has proved to be difficult matter. Even a very thin ice coating will
change the blade profile and thereby also its aerodynamic properties. Efficiency
thus decreases and power regulation, especially on stall-controlled turbines, is up-
set. When this happens the generator will be overloaded and can catch fire.
Ice build-up on the anemometer can also cause problems: this affects the
control system, so the turbine may be stopped. For wind turbines to work well in
arctic climates, both the rotor blades and the anemometers should be heated. This
kind of heating equipment has been developed, and about 1 per cent of the power
produced will be used for heating these turbine components.
Extreme temperatures
When the mercury drops down below minus 20°C, the properties of steel and
other materials, as well as lubricating and hydraulic oil, will change. Electronic
equipment is also sensitive to the cold and if the control system starts to malfunc-
tion safety will be at risk. Steel generally becomes brittle in extreme cold, but there
are steel types that are able to withstand it.
Cold-adapted grease has to be used in bearings and the hydraulic oil has to
be of the same quality that is used in aircraft. The oil and the gearbox have to be
heated to working temperature before the turbine can be allowed to start. While
they are operating, the low temperature doesn't matter, since the components in
the nacelle generate heat as well. To keep the control system computers at a proper
working temperature, excess heat from the transformer, if it is installed in the 'cel-
lar' of the turbine, can be utilized.
Extreme heat seems to be less of a problem, since most turbines have cool-
ing systems installed. In tropical climates the humidity in the air can also be very
high, however, and may make it necessary to install extra equipment for air-
conditioning.
Extreme wind speeds

Most wind turbines are designed to survive extreme wind speeds of at least 60m/s,
but only for a few seconds, in other words extreme gusts. For sites where the wind
speeds can get higher than that, turbines can be specially designed for such con-
ditions. This will, of course, also increase the cost of the turbines. Several severe
storms, hurricanes and typhoons have passed over areas with many wind turbines
installed, so the survival ability has been tested in practice. In Denmark most of the
thousands of turbines installed survived the severe storms that have occurred during
the last years, storms that felled tens of thousands of trees in southern Scandinavia.
The turbines that were damaged were old ones, and at fault was neglected mainte-
nance. In India, however, hundreds of turbines were severely damaged by a typhoon
in the late 1990s, and in Japan too turbines were felled by a typhoon. In areas where
hurricanes and typhoons are parts of the normal climate, wind turbines have to be
designed to survive them, even if malces the turbines more expensive.
Offshore wind power

In Denmark, where several thousand turbines have already been installed on land,
and it has become difficult to find good sites for more turbines, the first really
large offshore wind farms have already been developed, at Horns Rev in the North
Sea and at Nysted in the Baltic Sea. Both these offshore wind farms have a cap-
acity of 160MW and both will be further developed in the coming years (this
work has already started).
In Germany, which is in the same situation as Denmark, several thousand
wind turbines will be installed offshore within this decade. This development is
still (in 2006) in the planning stage, but the necessary permissions for several large
offshore wind farms have already been approved. In the UK several full-scale off-
shore wind farms are already online and there are very ambitious plans for offshore
development in the coming years.
The wind resources are better at sea than on land. It is, however, also much
more expensive to develop wind power offshore. Although several very large off-
shore wind farms already have been built, the offshore technology has still not
reached full maturity. These first large wind farms have had to cope with many
unexpected problems with transformers, retrofits of generators and damaged
foundations. There are still some teething problems to solve, but that is just a
matter of time and experience.
Much effort is being made to find cost-efficient ways to transport and install
wind turbines at sea, and manufacturers are competing fiercely to develop ever-
larger turbines for offshore installations. A large offshore wind farm can produce
as much power as the largest power plants on land. And developing such large
wind farms is possible only at sea.
To develop wind power offshore careful investigations of the sea floor have
to be made, as well as wind measurements at the sites. The turbines and their
foundations have to be dimensioned to withstand the loads from waves and drift
ice. To interconnect the turbines and transmit the power to the shore by sea cables
also takes advanced and expensive technical solutions. The turbines also have to
be designed for minimum maintenance, since it is difficult to get to them far out
at sea and waves malce it difficult to get 'on board' in bad weather.
Everything, including project management and development, will be more
expensive and difficult than on land. However, there is today extensive experience
in offshore developments, from the oil and gas fields, so there is no doubt that the
problems that arise can be solved when the time is ripe to realize the large-scale
development of offshore wind power. How to develop offshore wind farms is,
however, outside the scope of this book.
The final step

The purpose of a feasibility study is to find out if the preconditions for wind
power in an area or at a specific site are good enough for a successful project.
If the wind resources are good enough to guarantee high production, if there
are potential sites where turbines will not disturb people who live there or other
values, if the prospects of getting the necessary permissions seem good, and if it
is possible to connect the turbines to the grid, it is time to continue with the last
and most important step in the feasibility study, the economic analysis. The final
decision about the project, in other words to stop or to realize it, depends on the
result of this analysis. How the economic calculations are done will be described
in the next chapter.
18
Economics
To be able to make an informed decision about a wind power project, a thorough

economic analysis is necessary. The wind turbines have to generate enough in-
come to guarantee that the investors, or the banks that give loans, will get their
money back and a decent return on their investments.
To be able to make a good economic analysis, the first task is to do a realistic
calculation of how much electric power the turbines will produce at the chosen
site. This is done with a wind atlas program like WindPRO or WAsP or by on-
site wind measurements that are normalized to long-term averages. The results of
these calculations will tell you how many kWh the turbines can be expected to
produce in a normal wind year, i.e. on average during the turbines' lifetime.
The next task is to estimate the investment costs, to make a budget for all the
investments that will be necessaty to realize the project. When the turbines have
been installed and start to produce power, the income has to cover the costs and
should also generate a profit.
There are several different methods to calculate the returns on an investment:
the annuity method, the present value method and the pay-back method. A cash-
flow analysis illustrates the annual returns on the investment during the turbines'
lifetime. All these calculations are, however, fairly uncertain, since they are based
on assumptions on future power production (while winds vary), power prices,
interest rates and so forth that cannot always be accurately foreseen. Therefore the
economic analysis should be followed up with a sensitivity analysis that will show
the risks and opportunities of the investment.
Finally a plan for the financing of the project that ensures that there always
will be enough money in the project to pay interest, repayments ofloans and other
bills. A wind power project can be financed in different ways- by loans from a
bank, by private investors and so forth. It also talces money to develop the project,
to build access roads, etc., before any incomes are generated. These costs are usu-
ally covered by a building loan from a bank.
Investment
The costs of buying wind turbines, installing them at the site and connecting
them to the grid are estimated by an investment calculation, or budget. In a feasi-
bility study, rounded estimations can be used. The purpose of the feasibility study
is to find out if the project is worth realizing or not. After the decision is made
to actually go ahead with the plans, a new more carefully calculated investment
budget is made, based on tenders for turbines and ancillary works (access roads,
foundations, grid connection work and equipment, etc.). This carefully calculated
investment budget is presented to the bank as part of a loan application and to
prospective investors.
The investment budget consists of the following entries:
Wind turbine
Prices of different models and sizes of wind turbines are obtained from price lists
or directly from the manufacturers or their agents. During the procurement pro-
cess prices and conditions can be negotiated. If the turbines are manufactured
in another country (with another currency) the price will also depend on the
exchange rate, which sometimes can change quite fast. The transport of turbines
from the factory to the site, mounting, installation and connection to the grid are
performed by personnel from the manufacturer and are usually included in the
purchase price. The costs of mobile cranes and some ancillary transport costs have
to be covered by the developer. For wind turbines installed on land, the cost of the
turbine amounts to about 80 per cent of the total investment cost.
Foundations
The cost of foundations varies a little between different manufacturers. The price
for a rock-foundation and a gravity foundation is, however, about the same. The
manufacturer will give the technical specifications for the foundations (size, weight,
etc.), and the project developer will then ask a local building company to con-
struct them. For offshore installations the foundations are much more expensive.
Roads and miscellaneous

The cost of access roads depends on the size and weight of the turbine, ground
conditions and the length of road that has to be built. In many cases it will be
sufficient to reinforce existing roads, so trucks and a mobile crane can get to the
site. It is often simpler and cheaper to prepare an access road when the soil is hard
and dry. When the turbine is online, the road only has to carry an ordinary small
van for the service crew. This cost depends on local conditions. The costs for the
ECONOMICS 243
mobile crane and special transportation costs (by ferry, etc.) have to be covered
by the project developer. A mobile crane is usually rented by the day and if the
weather is bad (if too much wind makes mounting impossible, for example), this
cost can rise fast.
Grid connection
To connect the turbine to the electric power grid, you need a transformer, a cable
to the closest grid power line and an electrician to cany out the work. The cost
depends on the size and model of the turbine, the distance to the grid and the grid
voltage. Large turbines often have an integrated transformer, either in the nacelle
or in the base of the tower. The price for the transformer is then included in the
price of the turbine. A telephone line to monitor and control the turbine also has
to be connected.
Land
If a landowner is to own the turbine installed on his own land, the cost is negligi-
ble, just a few square metres will be needed for the foundations and access road.
Wind turbines are, however, often installed on land that is leased. In this case a
land lease contract is negotiated and signed that will give the turbine owner the
right to use the land for a wind turbine for 25-30 years. The landowner will ei-
ther get a yearly fee or a down payment for the total period when the turbine is
installed. The total sum for the turbine's lifetime should be included in the invest-
ment budget.
Project development
This includes costs for planning, in other words the time the developer has to
spend working on the project, fees for building permission, interest payments dur-
ing construction and so on. These can all vary quite considerably depending on
the time needed for the development process and what fee the developer takes.
It is often hard to calculate the total investment cost correctly before the de-
velopment actually starts. In a budget you need to get a rough idea and add a
margin for unexpected costs. The relative costs for different budget entries, based
on actual figures from Denmark, vary considerably for developments on- and off-
shore (see Table 18.1). These figures and relationships are likely to differ between
countries and may change with time.
Figures that can be used for a preliminary investment budget, based on costs
in Sweden in 2005 (in Swedish kronor, with rough equivalent values in US dol-
lars and euros), are presented in Tables 18.2 and 18.3. (The exchange rates as
of January 2006 were €1 = SEK9.3, US$1 = SEK7.7, SEK100 = €10.75 and
SEK100 = US$13.)
Table 18.1 Cost structure for a wind farm on land vs offihore, %

Land Offshore
Turbine (ex works) 80 40
Foundations 4 23
Electric installation 2 4
Grid connection 9 21
Consultancy 10
Land 2
Control systems 2
Financial costs
Road
Total 100 100
For offshore wind farms the investment costs are considerably higher than for turbines on land. The
cost for foundations is much higher, as is that for the undersea cables that connect the turbines to the
grid. Rgures are based on 600kW turbines in Denmark in 1997 on land and offshore (Tuno Knob).
Source: Red linger et al (2002)
Table 18.2 Investment costs for IMW wind turbine, 60m hub height
SEK € US$
Wind turbine 8,000,000 860,000 1,040,000
Foundations 600,000 65,000 78,000
Road and mise. 100,000 11,000 13,000
Grid connection* 600,000 65,000 78,000
Land 250,000 27,000 32,000
Project dev. 200,000 22,000 26,000
Total cost 9,750,000 1,050,000 1,267,000
*grid connection fee included.
Table 18.3 Specific costs per installed kW, 60m hub height
SEK € US$
Wind turbine 8000 860 i040
Foundations 600 65 78
Road 250/m 27/m 33/m
Grid- cable 350/m 38/m 45/m
Land 250 27 32
These two tables give examples of key figures, excluding VAT. The costs for different entries vary
for different manufacturers, nominal powers, rotor diameters, hub heights and local conditions. The
table gives an approximate picture of how the total investment cost is divided into different parts. In
Sweden in 2001 the average total investment cost for new wind turbines was SEK8126 per installed
kW, according to statistics from the Swedish Energy Agency STEM. In 2005 this investment cost
had increased to SEK9,750,000 per MW, according to information from Swedish project develop-
ers. In 2006 prices increased further due to rising demand and steel prices.
ECONOMICS 245
By increasing the hub height the wind turbine will increase its production, since
wind speed increases with height. This will, however, also increase the investment
cost. To find the optimum hub height from an economic point of view, a simple
key figure can be used: total investment cost/calculated annual production (kWh/
year). The cost of an increased hub height depends on the size (and therefore
weight) of the turbine. The relative cost (cost/metre) will increase with height,
since the additional height is added at the bottom of the conical tower, meaning
that the diameter of the additional tower sectors increases and consequently also
the material needed (see Table 18.4).
Table 18.4 Relative cost ofincreased hub height, €/m

Size 50-60m 60-70m 70-BOm 80-90m
600kW 1800
IMW 3000 4000 5250 9000
2MW 6000 6500 11,000
Figures are averages from different manufacturers based on a price list from Germany in 2004. The
price per metre for increased hub height can vary between manufacturers, but these figures can be
used to find an optimum hub height in relation to investment cost and production.
Economic result and depredation

It is, of course, just as important to find out the economic outcome after the wind
turbine has begun to deliver power to the grid. Then the turbine starts to gener-
ate income but also draws some costs, and to generate a profit the incomes clearly
have to be larger than the costs. To calculate future costs is not so difficult; it is far
trickier, however, to calculate the income, which depends on the type of power
purchase agreement (PPA).
There are basically two kinds of costs, capital costs (interest and repayment of
loans), and costs for operation and maintenance (O&M). The actual capital costs
depend on how the project has been financed. If it has been financed by loans
from a bank, the conditions are specified in the loan agreement. If private inves-
tors have financed it (for example as a shareholding company or a cooperative),
the project will be financed in cash, but the stakeholders expect a good return on
their investments.
Commercial wind turbines are designed for a technical lifetime of20-25 years.
The actual technical lifetime is not well known, since few turbines have reached
that age yet. How much retrofitting is necessary when a turbine gets old is also a
factor of uncertainty.
Maintenance costs will, however, increase with age (see Table 18.5). Therefore
the economic lifetime may be shorter than the technical lifetime. Mter 15-20 years
the maintenance costs may be so high that it makes sense to replace a turbine with
Table 18.5 Annual O&M cost in relation to investment cost, 600kW turbine
Year 1-2 3-5 6-10 11-15 16-20
600kW turbine 1.0% 1.9% 2.2% 3.5% 4.5%
The O&M costs for 1Q-20 years have been estimated from smaller turbines.
Source: Redlinger et al (2002)
a new and more efficient one. In economic calculations the depreciation time is
usually set to 20 years, but owners usually opt to pay back loans on shorter terms,
in 10 or 12 years. This means that the capital cost (loan plus interest) should
always be paid back within 20 years. If the turbine continues to produce power
without problems, profits will thus be higher thereafter unless the incomes disap-
pear into repairs and retrofits.
Operation and maintenance

Service
A wind turbine needs regular servicing, just like any other machine. The service
crew will mal<:e regular checks of the condition, usually twice a year (this depends
on the manufacturer). The oil has to be checked and changed every couple of
years. The service costs for the first two years are often included in the price, but
oil and other materials are not. After that period the manufacturer or a service
company offers a service contract, which will cost about SEK40,000 a year (in
Sweden) for a 1MW turbine.
Insurance and administration

During the time of the guarantee, usually two years, insurance for fire and public
immunity costing about SEK3000/year is needed. When the guarantee runs out,
a machine insurance is usually added. The total cost of insurance for a 1MW
turbine is then about SEK40,000/year. To own and run a turbine also requires a
certain amount of administrative work: invoices have to be paid, as do VAT and
other taxes, and the book-keeping has to be taken care o£ At least SEK5000/year
should be reserved for administrative costs. To have a telephone connected to the
turbine costs about SEK2000/year. Then there are usually taxes and fees to be
paid. In Sweden there is a fee to the municipality of SEK1 000/year and a property
tax of SEK32/kW. The grid operator takes a fee for measuring the production
that is fed into the grid; in Sweden this costs about SEK7000/year. The O&M
cost for a 1MW turbine in Sweden adds up to SEK127,000/year (see Tables 18.6
and 18.7).
ECONOMICS 247
Table 18.6 Key figures for annual O&M costs, IMW wind turbine
SEK € US$
Servicing 40,000 4300 5200
Insurance 40,000 4300 5200
1
Measurement 7000 750 900
Telephone 2000 215 260
Taxes 2 32,000 3440 4155
Fees3 1000 110 130
Administration 5000 540 650
Total costs 127,000 13,655 16,495
1
by grid operator; 2 property tax; 3municipality.
Table 18.7 Key figures for annual O&M costs, specific costs per kW
SEK € US$
Service 40/kW 4.3/kW 5.2/kW
Insurance 40/kW 4.3/kW 5.2/kW
Measurement Fixed fee/turbine
Telephone Fixed fee/turbine
Taxes 32/kW 3.4/kW 4.2/kW
Fees Fixed fee/turbine
Administration Independent of turbine size
Total costs 15,000 + 12/kW 1615+12/kW 1940+14.6/kW
Note that the values in euros and US dollars are values expressed in these currencies of the O&M
costs in Sweden and cannot be directly applied for O&M costs in other EU member states or the
US since many of the entries are country specific.
Income
The basic income for a wind power installation is the revenue from selling the
electric power. The owner has to make a PPA with a power trading company
that buys and sells electric power. In many countries the power market has been
deregulated during recent years; in others there is still a monopoly. The condi-
tions for a PPA as well as the price per kWh can vaty substantially between
countries.
There are also special bonuses for wind-generated power in most countries
based on the goal of supporting the development of renewable energy sources that
have no emissions that harm the environment. Some countries have a C02 tax
reduction (e.g. Denmark), others have green certificates (e.g. Sweden, the UK) and
others offer a special and long-term purchase price for the power (e.g. Germany,
Spain). The Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement on measures to control
the emissions of greenhouse gases, offers a further opportunity: to get C02 emis-
sion credits.
Although all the countries mentioned above are members of the EU, rules,
regulations, conditions, taxes and market situations differ so much that it is neces-
sary to undertal\:e a specific analysis for each. Since rules are changed and future
market prices are not known, even this is a very complicated and uncertain task.
National wind power associations, state energy agencies or ministries can provide
country-specific information on rules, tariffs and so forth.
To calculate the economic result it is necessaty to make an assumption about
a price per kWh for the coming 20 years. This assumption has to be based on the
facts that are lmown when the calculation is made. Since this calculation will be
the basis for the investment decision, it should be supplemented with a calcula-
tion for a worst-case scenario and also a best-case scenario. By doing this you are
making a sensitivity analysis to estimate the economic risk. The higher the esti-
mated risk, the more expensive it is to borrow money for the project: higher risk
means a higher interest rate.
In this context it is not possible to make these kinds of detailed analyses for
each country. In the examples below SEK0.50/kWh (certificates included) will be
used. This corresponds to €0.055 or US$0.065 and is a very low figure- prices in
Sweden are low by international standards.
Calculation of economic result

The economic result is the same as the annual profit and is calculated thus:
Pa =1-
a
C-
a
OMa
where P. = annual profit, J. = annual income, C. = annual cost of capital and

OMa = annual cost for O&M.
Example 18.1
A 1MW turbine in roughness class 1 will produce about 2,400,000 kWh/year.
The total investment cost is SEK9,750,000.
Price for power (certificates included): SEK0.50/kWh.
Annual O&M cost: SEK127,000.
The annual income is then 2,400,000 x 0.50 = SEK1,200,000.
The annual net income will be Ia- OM:a 1,200,000- 127,000 = SEK1,073,000.
The investment has been financed by a loan, which gives an annual cost for capital
while the loan is being paid back to the bank, including interest.
The annual cost for capital is calculated by the annuity method. The annuity
is the sum of amortization (pay-back of loan) and interest where the ~urn of the
EcoNOMICS 249
amortization plus interest will be constant, i.e. the same each year. The annual
capital cost C. is calculated by the so-called annuity formula:
C=aC
a 1
where a = annuity and ci = investment cost;

rqn
a=--
q" -1
where r = interest rate, n = depreciation time in years, and q = 1 + r.

If the interest rate is 6% and depreciation time 20 years, then:
o.o6 x (1.o6yo
a= = 0.087185
(Lo6yo -1
c a
= 0.087185 X c = 0.087185
1
X 9 750 000 = SEK850,054.
The annual profit P. = net income- annual capital cost C.:
Pa = 1,073,000- 850,054 = SEK222,946
Present value method

Another method to calculate the economic result for an investment in wind tur-
bines is the present value method, also called the discounting method. With this
method the value of an annual income or expense that will occur for a specific
number of years is given the value at a specific time, usually the day when the tur-
bine starts to operate. If the present value of the revenues is larger that the present
value of the investment and expenses, the investment will be profitable.
The present value is calculated by this formula:
PV=fcxR
where PV = present value, fc = capitalization factor and R = revenue.
where r = real interest rate (interest- inflation), n = number of years and q = 1 + r.

Example 18.2
Assuming an operation time for the turbine of 20 years and a real interest rate of
6%,
. 1' . f + 1.0620 -1
cap1ta 1zat10n actor 1 c = ; !c =11.5.
0.06 X 1.0620
The present value of the net income is:
N = 11.5 X 1,073,000 = SEK12,339,500.
The profit during 20 years of operation will thus be the present value of the net
income minus the investment cost:
P20 = 12,339,500- 9,750,000 = SEK2,589,500.
Pay-back method
A third method to evaluate the economic preconditions for an investment in a
wind power project is the pay-back method. This is used to calculate how long it
will take to get back the money that has been invested. The pay-back time is cal-
culated with this simple formula:
Investment
T=------
Annual net income
Example 18.3
The pay-back time for the wind turbine in Example 18.1 will be:
T = 9,750,000 , 9 years.
1,073,000
What is the production cost for wind power?

It is also possible to calculate the actual cost to produce 1kWh with wind power.
This energy cost is equal to the annual capital cost plus the annual O&M cost
divided by the annual production in kWh.
E =c. +OM.
cost kWh/year
ECONOMICS 251
Example 18.4
With a technical lifetime of 20 years (power production) and an interest rate of
6% (real interest = interest rate + inflation), the annuity will be a = 0.087185.
Annual capital cost will become Ca = SEK850,054.
The cost for energy E is then 850,054 + 127,000 = SEK0.41/kWh.

cost 2,400,000
According to all these calculation methods the wind power project used in these
examples will be a reasonable investment, at least in Sweden, but probably also
in most other countries. The calculations are not based on expectations of rising
power prices, but only on actual prices today and real interest rates (interest rate
minus inflation). They give a good indication about economic viability, compared
to other similar projects, and can also be used to compare the economics of dif-
ferent turbine models (sizes, manufacturers, etc.) that could be used in the project,
or to calculate if it makes sense to increase the hub height, a measure that will
increase power production but also the investment cost.
Risk assessment
The calculation of the economic result is based on several assumptions. The first
is the total power price. The second is the calculated power production. What
happens if these assumptions are wrong? To find this out it is always wise to make
a risk assessment through a sensitivity analysis. A scenario is made for the worst
things, within reason, of course, that can happen. In this case, for example, that
the total power price will sink to SEK0.45/kWh and that the power production
will be 10 per cent lower than calculated (due to errors in the calculations, climate
change or other reasons). These figures are then used in the same calculations as
before. If this results in figures going into the red - an annual loss instead of an
annual profit- then the project can be classified as high risk.
However, a similar best-case scenario should also be made, for example that
the total power price will rise to SEK0.55/kWh and power production will be 10
per cent higher than calculated (due to errors in the calculations, climate change
or other reasons). Thus a chance and a risk are equally presented, although evalu-
ating these is a matter for the credit institute and the investors.
None of these calculation methods, however, is sufficient to work out a real
and realistic budget for a wind power project. To do that a much more detailed
analysis, based on tenders, actual credit conditions from banks and so forth, has
to be made. Interest rates, for example, have a large impact on economic viability
and are influenced by the perceived risks and opportunities of the investment.
8000
7000
6000
5000
D Income
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
3 4
-1000
Year
-2000
-3000
---4 000
-5000
Figure 18.1 Cash-flow diagram
A cash-flow diagram shows the variations of the cash flow over time, i.e. the relationship between
debts (loans), incomes (assets) and liquidity (cash assets). This diagram shows that this project has
a surplus and positive cash assets and that the pay-back time will be 11 years (where the debts/as-
sets graph crosses the x-axis. (Note: this diagram is not based on the figures in examples 18.1-4.)
Source: STEM (1999)
Cash-flow analysis
A so-called cash-flow analysis is a good method to calculate the economic result
year by year. This shows the cash flow during the economic lifetime of the turbine
and can be made with software like Excel. Information on calculated power pro-
duction, power price, green certificates and other bonuses, loans, interest rates,
and other factors that have an impact on the project economics are entered into
the spreadsheet. Expected inflation rates and increases of power purchase prices
can be entered as well. The program then calculates the outcome year by year and
cash flow; annual revenues, capital costs, maintenance costs and remaining sur-
plus can be presented in diagrams and tables (see Figure 18.1).
Sensitivity analysis
The cash-flow method can also be used for a so-called sensitivity analysis, a cal-
culation of how earnings are influenced by changes in the power price, green cer-
tificates, interest rates and other factors. The calculation of the economic result is
based on assumptions of the price per kWh that is produced, using the price that
ECONOMICS 253
9000
6000
3000
Q)
0
::>
~
1-'
c
Q)
-3000
"'.....
Q)
-9:: -6000
~
LU
Vl
-9000
-12000
-15000
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 11 1 2 1 3 14 15 16 1 7 1 8 19 20
. Year
Figure 18.2 Relationship between interest rate and pay-back time
The relationship between the interest rate on loans and pay-back time varies for different projects
and depends on investment costs, calculated production and other factors. The higher the interest
rate is, the longer it will take to pay back the loans.
Source: STEM (I 999)
seems most likely. Let us presume that we have judged a price of SEK0.5/kWh as
most likely in our normal case. This is the best qualified guess we can make, but
what happens if it is too optimistic? The calculation for the normal case should
therefore be complemented with a calculation for the worst case, say SEK0.45/
kWh. And how will the economic result turn out if the power price increases to
SEK0.55/kWh?
The interest rate has a great impact on the economic result. The higher the
interest rate is, the longer it will take to pay back the loans. The relationship be-
tween the interest rate and the pay-back time can also be illustrated by a cash-flow
diagram (see Figure 18.2).
The uncertainty over the energy content of the wind should be considered.
The economic calculation for the normal case is based on the power production
during a normal wind year, tal<:en from a 5-10 year average. But for any specific
year in the 20-25 years that the wind turbine will operate, the energy content in
the wind can be considerably different. In some of these years the turbines could
produce 20 per cent less than average, others 20 per cent more. The worst case is
two consecutive years of less than normal wind just when the turbines have started
their operation. With this calculation it is possible to check that the revenues will
be able to cover the operation costs if this happens.
There is one more factor to consider regarding project economics. In many
countries there are quite large seasonal variations in the wind. Even if the econom-
ic result on an annual basis looks good, there can be deficits during the year, after
a month when production has been low and there are bills to be paid. Therefore it
is a good idea to work out a liquidity budget as well, to maize sure that there will
be cash available whenever money is needed.
Financing
How a wind power project is financed depends on what kind of owner it has.
There are many different kinds of ownership that can be involved, in Sweden as
well as in other countries (see Table 18. 8).
Big companies may have the capital needed for the investment available with-
in the company. This is called corporate financing. The other financing principle
is called project financing and can be utilized by large corporations as well. In this
case the wind power project is treated as an independent economic entity. Small
and medium-sized enterprises, which have been formed for the sole purpose of
owning and operating wind turbines, usually have to tal<:e out loans from a bank
or other credit institution. In a wind power cooperative the members, who have
to pay for their shares in the association, will finance the investment in cash. A
limited company will raise some or all of the money for the investment from
equities.
A financing plan consists of a type of flow-chart that shows the expenses of the
project, when invoices have to be paid and where this money should come from.
To make such a plan it is necessary to have discussions and negotiations with the
Table 18.8 Wind power divided into owner categories, Sweden

Category Share(%)
Private person or firm* 18.1
Wind power cooperative 9.7
Wind power company (Ltd)** 41.3
Enterprise outside energy branch*** 6.8
Utility, Power company 19.9
Unknown 4.2
* one person firm;

** wind power as main business;
*** agriculture, shop, etc.
Share of installed nominal power in 2004, divided into different owner categories.
Source: Elforsk (2005)

ECONOMICS 255
supplier, entrepreneurs and the bank. If the wind turbines are imported from
other countries (with other currencies) it is usually a good idea to ensure (i.e. fix)
the exchange rate, since even minor changes in a currency can have large impacts
on the economics of a project.
19
Project Development
If the economic analysis shows that the planned project will be a good investment,
it is time to take the steps necessary to realize the plans.
The area where the turbines are to be installed has been identified in the
feasibility study, now the exact location of the turbines within this area has to
be decided. Usually there are several other factors to consider: how much power
can be connected to the grid, specifications about minimum annual production,
maximum investment costs and demands on economic return from the customer
(utility, power company, etc.). The developer's task is to plan an optimized wind
power plant within the limits of these conditions and restrictions.
Project development consists of the following steps:
'" Early dialogue: inform local authorities, neighbours, etc.;

'" Land acquisition: negotiate a contract with landowners;
'" Detailed planning: decide number and size of and sites for turbines;
'" Second dialogue: present the detailed plan to the authorities and public;
" EIA: work out an environmental impact assessment for the project if neces-
sary;
'" Permission: apply for building permission etc.;
" Purchase: ask for tenders and choose the best offer;
'" Contracts: sign agreements with grid operator and power company/utility;
'" Installation: install turbines and connect them to the grid; and
'" Transfer: transfer the wind power plant to buyer/owner.
The wind power project should give the best possible return on the investment,
but it also has to be compatible with the demands of authorities so that necessary
permission will be granted. The project development process, as well as the pur-
chase, has to be financed. This is another task for the project developer to work
out (see Figure 19.1).
Survey
Look for suitable sites
for wind power
Feasibility study
Wind resources
Land availability
Environment impact
c) Unprofitable
Stop project
Production
Economy .___ _ _ ___,
Profitable
Continue
Project development Start over

Detailed planning ~-----1 or modify
Apply for
Appeal
permission
decision
Granted
Contracts
Purchase
Figure 19.1 Project development process
Early dialogue
The developer can start by malcing rough outlines for a few different options for
a wind power installation and invite people in the surrounding area (1-2km from
the site) to an information meeting, an early dialogue. Local and regional authori-
ties, the grid operator and the local media should also be invited. The developer
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT 259
can explain about wind power in general, the environmental benefits, local wind
resources and impact from noise, shadows and so on, and finally show some out-
lines and ask participants for their opinions. Representatives from the local and/or
regional authorities can state their opinions about the proposed project and de-
scribe how a decision will be taken.
The developer should also have an early dialogue with the local community,
the grid operator and other relevant authorities in separate meetings. The project
should be a rough outline: the point of an early dialogue is to adapt and modify
the project to avoid unnecessary conflict.
Land acquisition
Access to land is necessary to install and operate wind turbines, so an agreement
with landowners should be made at an early stage. If more than one landowner is
involved, a common agreement should be made, although the land lease contracts
will be individual. In Sweden the lease usually is set at 2-4 per cent of the gross
annual income from the turbine, or a corresponding sum paid up front when the
turbine is installed. The terms of a land lease contract are a matter for negotiation
between the landowner and the developer, but it is wise to make a fair deal that is
in accordance with other similar contracts. It is always valuable to have someone
living close to the site that has the turbines under surveillance.
Detailed planning
The developer's task is to optimize the wind turbines within the limits set by the
local conditions. To find the best solution, wind turbines of different size (height
and rotor diameter) and nominal power should be tested theoretically at different
sites within the area. This process is called micrositing. For these different options
the production should be calculated and the economics analysed. The impact on
neighbours and environment also has to be checked. Finally the developer has to
choose the best option.
In a wind farm with several turbines, the layout (number, size and configura-
tion) should be adapted to the local wind conditions, so the wind resources are
used in the most efficient way.
In practice, though, there are always boundary conditions to consider. These
conditions are defined by dwellings (minimum distances due to noise regulations,
etc.), other buildings, groves and other obstacles, roads, the power grid, topogra-
phy, property borders, coastlines and so forth. Boundary conditions limit the area
that is available for wind turbines.
A developer who plans to install a lOMW wind farm can choose ten turbines
of lMW, five turbines of 2MW or some other option. The economic outcome
should, of course, be optimized, but the risk of getting an application turned
down should at the same time be minimized.
With the aid of know-how, good judgement, a constructive dialogue with

neighbours and local authorities, and good wind data and PC software, the de-
veloper will find the best solution for the project, a detailed plan that should be
realized.
EIA for wind power

For large wind power projects an EIA can be demanded. In the EU there are some
common rules on EIAs, but also rules and recommendations that are country spe-
cific. The definition of a large project, in other words when a proper EIA has to be
made, varies. In Germany this limit is set to 20 turbines or more, while in Sweden
an EIA has to be made for any installation of more than 25MW.
An EIA consists of a process and a document. Dialogues and consultations
with the local inhabitants, authorities and other parties that will be affected by the
project make up the process. The purpose of this process is to give these groups an
opportunity to influence the design of the project so that the impact on the envi-
ronment will be minimized. The EIA document describes this public consultation
process as well as impacts on the environment during construction, operation and
dismantling. The EIA process should begin as early as possible so that the parties
that will be affected will get a real opportunity to exert an influence on the project
design. It is not sufficient to merely write a report when all the details have been
firmly fixed.
Information for local inhabitants

In many countries wind power developers have established a practice for planning
that is in accordance with the intentions of the EIA process. Most developers or-
ganize local information meetings at an early stage to try to ensure that the public
will be well informed and have a positive attitude to the plans. Sometimes they are
also offered the opportunity to buy shares in the wind turbines.
This information meeting is also the first step in the EIA process (early dia-
logue). The developer has to present several different options for the siting of
turbines and also discuss practical matters pertaining to the construction process -
the building of access roads, power lines and so on. A so-called zero-option, in
other words the consequences if the project will not be built, also has to be shown.
The developer can of course argue for the preferred option, but should be sensitive
to other opinions that are put fotward. The fact that local inhabitants know the
area they live in very well has often proved to be useful to the developer.
By this dialogue the project is made concrete and is designed to minimize
impacts on the environment and neighbours. It is then time to start ~ith the EIA
document.
The EIA document

An EIA describes the impact of wind turbines on the global, regional and local
environment. A detailed description of impacts from sound propagation, shadows
and visual impact should always be included.
Each impact (sound, shadows, landscape, etc.) is described on three levels:
1 present situation;
2 impact (change, consequences); and
3 precautions (measures that minimize impacts).
Furthermore, the impact during different stages of development should be de-

scribed:
" building stage: preparat01y work, access roads, power lines, working area for
cranes, excavators, trucks, storage, etc.;
" operation stage: visual impact, sound propagation, shadows, safety; and
" restoration: how the turbine will be dismantled and the ground restored.
At least two different options for siting and/ or design of the project and a so-called
zero-option are included in an EIA.
The different options and their environment impacts are described in a way
that makes it possible to compare them and to assess which option will be best
for the environment. The zero-option describes the consequences if the project is
not realized: it could describe how the electric power that would be produced by
the turbines will be otherwise supplied (by coal or natural gas and the consequent
emissions), for example. The zero-option does not necessarily imply that the area
will be preserved in the same state as at present: it might describe some other kind
of change, the land becoming overgrown, for example. The following sections
should be included in an EIA.
Introduction
EIA documents are often focused on local impacts. For wind power projects it is,
however, important to stress the positive impacts at the global and regional lev-
els, in other words that the emissions of greenhouse gases that can cause climate
change, and of sulphur and nitrogen oxides that cause acidification and eutrophi-
cation, will be significantly reduced. These reductions should be quantified.
Summary
If the EIA report is very comprehensive, a summary should be included at: the
beginning of the document.
Project description
A concise description of the project: place, number of turbines, access roads and
power lines for grid connection.
Consequences
A description of the consequences of the different options, including the zero-
option: the consequences for health and safety (noise, risk of accidents), the en-
vironment (landscape, flora and fauna), views, recreation, cultural heritage and
natural resources should all be accounted for.
The following elements are described for the different options.
Sound propagation
Distances to sound immission levels 45, 40 and 35dBA (or others that are relevant
according to rules and regulations) are given, with these zones indicated on a map.
Calculated noise immission levels at dwellings and other building in the vicinity
of the turbines are presented. The calculation method recommended by the na-
tional authorities has to be used for this (see Chapter 17).
Safety
The risk that ice will be thrown from rotor blades and other accidents is extremely
small. At the minimum distance to dwellings defined by the rules for sound im-
mission the risk of accidents is negligible.
Nature
The physical impact on the natural environment is restricted to the building site
and can be reduced to a minimum by good planning. When it comes to wildlife,
the impact on birds has been much debated, with much research conducted. This
has shown that at normal sites wind turbines do not have any significant negative
impact on birds.
Visual impact
How the wind turbines will look from different viewpoints in the area can be il-
lustrated by photomontages. Zones of visual impact, areas in the landscape from
which the turbines can be seen, can be calculated and shown on maps.
Recreation
Wind turbines are normally not fenced in and do not restrict the access of the public
to the areas where they are installed. Neither are there any reports that imply that
people would avoid areas with wind turbines for recreation (see Chapter 15).
Cultural heritage
If windmills once utilized the wind resources in an area, this can be used as an
argument for developing wind power, since it conforms to a local tradition. In
areas with relics of antiquity, there is a risk that new relics will be found when
the foundations are built. In that case the developer could be obliged to stop the
development and pay for excavation by archaeologists before the project can be
built. A distance of respect always has to be kept to churches and other historical
buildings.
The marine environment

For offshore projects additional topics have to be investigated in an EIA, covering
impacts on:
• fish and other marine organisms;

• migrating and resting birds;
• fisheries; and
• shipping.
Comparative assessment
When the different options and their consequences have been described, a com-
parative assessment has to be made, with the preferred option backed by convinc-
ing arguments. Note that the zero-option should not just describe the area as it
stands, but how it may develop during the coming 25 years if wind turbines are
not installed. It is also important to point out that the area can be restored to its
original state after the turbines have been dismantled.
Precautions
Measures that will be taken to prevent, reduce or compensate for impacts are pre-
sented in a separate section. Here, principally, measures to prevent damage during
the building process should be described.
Conditions, follow-up and inspection

When it comes to wind power it is chiefly sound immission levels at dwellings
that are checked. An inspection programme is often included as a condition for
permission being granted.
Public consultation
A short summaty of the process of public consultation and dialogue with the au-
thorities on which the EIA report is based should be included.
Sources
Sources for facts and figures, references, and who is responsible for the assessments
that are presented should all be included.
Appendices
Expert reports, calculations, maps and so on are provided in appendices.
Building permission
In Sweden an application for building permission is submitted to the local mu-
nicipality. For projects of more than lMW an application also has to be submit-
ted to the regional authority (to the environment court for projects of more than
lOMW).
In many other countries the only permission needed, up to a certain size of a
project, is building permission from the municipality. It is not necessary to present
a full EIA for building permission, but is usually sufficient to describe impacts on
neighbours (noise and shadows).
Often it is possible to get advance notification from the building committee.
It is always advisable to apply for such advance notification, since it will give the
developer a good idea about the attitudes and apprehensions among local politi-
cians and malce it possible to adapt the project to avoid the final application being
rejected.
In an application the turbine manufacturer should not be specified, just the
size of the turbines (hub height and rotor diameter) and the sound emission from
turbines of that size, otherwise the developer will be bound to a specific manu-
facturer and this will impair the negotiation position in procurement. If the pro-
cess to get permission takes a long time, the model applied for may no longer be
available on the market, since wind turbine models are continuously upgraded, so
rotor diameters and other technical specifications may have to be changed. Thus
when permission is finally granted, it may no longer be valid and the whole proc-
ess may have to start all over again (this has happened several times in Sweden). A
sensible solution to this is to add a few metres to hub height and rotor diameter
in the application.
Appeals
Mter the relevant authorities and political bodies have processed the application
and the developer has eventually got the necessary permissions, it is another cou-
ple of weeks before these become unappealable. Mter that the actual building of
the wind turbines can start.
During this period, however, a neighbour, holiday cottage owner or even an
authority may raise an appeal against the decision. In this case the developer will
have to wait until the court has tried the appeal.
Such legal processes can delay a project for several years and sometimes even
put a stop to it. This risk is another good reason to inform all concerned parties
and adapt the project to avoid nuisances, even if so doing reduces the economic
results a bit. If the permissions are appealed, the costs will in most cases be much
larger than such small losses.
Purchase
When all necessary permissions are granted, it is time to purchase the turbines and
other goods and services necessary to realize the project. Always ask for tenders
from several different suppliers. Use local companies and entrepreneurs to build
access roads, foundations and so forth. Evaluate the different tenders and sign a
contract for the one that is most favourable. This is not always the one that offers
the lowest price: the supplier's record, ability to carry our maintenance and other
factors should also be considered.
Contract
Contracts have to be signed with landowners, the grid operator, and a power com-
pany or utility that will buy the power. Contracts for credits from banks and other
financial institutions also have to be signed.
Installation
The developer has to prepare the site and build the foundations. Gravity founda-
tions of reinforced concrete have to harden for a month. The turbines are usually
mounted and installed by the turbine supplier. To mount a large turbine does not
take more than one day. Installing the transformer (if it is not integrated in the
turbine) and routing a power line to the grid are down to developer.
Transfer
When the wind turbines have been mounted, connected to the grid and thor-
oughly tested by the supplier and are ready for regular production, it is time to
hand them over to the client, unless the developer intends to own and operate
them himself
Operation
Once the wind turbines have been installed and connected to the power grid and
have started to operate, they will operate unattended. The owner or the person
in charge of the operation can keep them under surveillance from an office, since
the turbine's control system is connected by modem to the operator's PC. Simple
operational disturbances can be attended to from a distance, and the turbine can
be restarted from the PC. When more serious disturbances occur, the operator
has to go to the turbine to attend to the fault before it can be restarted. When a
fault occurs, the operator will get an alarm on his cell phone, staff locator or PC.
Regular servicing is usually carried out twice a year, although this may vary for
different models.
How much power the turbines produce is registered on a meter from which
the grid operator takes readings. This information is also conveyed via modem,
and production is read once a day. Settlements are usually made once a month,
when the owner gets paid for the power that was delivered to the grid the preced-
ing month.
Dismantling
When the wind turbine, after some 20-25 years of operation, is worn out, it will
be dismantled. Most of the parts can be recycled as scrap metal. The only com-
ponents that can't be recycled today are the rotor blades, but there are efforts to
find methods for that too. The scrap value of a turbine is about the same as the
cost of dismantling it. The foundations of reinforced concrete, built below ground
level, can be left behind, if they do not affect ground conditions in a negative way.
Otherwise they can be removed and reused as hardcore for roads or buildings.
Once the turbines have been dismantled, no trace of their presence remains. On
a good site, however, a new generation of wind turbines will be installed. This
regeneration process has already started in Denmark and Germany.
Acronyms and abbreviations
agl above ground level

BRP balance responsible player
CHP combined heat and power
C0 2 carbon dioxide
dBA decibel A (weighted)
EIA environment impact assessment
EWEA European Wind Energy Association
GIS geographical information system
GW gigawatt
G2 second generation
HAWT horizontal axis wind turbine
IPP independent power producer
kW kilowatt
MCP municipal comprehensive plan
MW megawatt
NFFO Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (UK)
NIMBY not in my back yard
NOx nitrogen oxides
O&M operation and maintenance
PPA power purchase agreement
R&D research and development
SMHI Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
SEK Swedish kronor
SOx sulphur oxides
TSO transmission system operator
TW terawatt
VAT value added tax
VAWT vertical axis wind turbine
voc volatile organic compounds
WAsP Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program
ZVI zone of visual impact
Glossary
AC Alternating current.
Acceptance People's attitude to wind power.
Acceptance, local Attitudes of people living close to wind turbines.
Aerodynamic brake Brake mechanism that reduces lift on blades by
turning the blade tip or the entire blade.
Anemometer Instrument that measures wind speed.
Angle of attack The angle between the blade chord and the appar-
ent wind direction.
Asynchronous generator Induction generator that runs with asynchronous
rotational speed and is magnetized and governed
by the grid frequency.
Availability (technical) The proportion of the time when the turbine is
ready to operate.
Average wind speed Average of wind speeds registered during a specific
time period.
Axial force Force applied to the rotor parallel with the wind
direction (horizontal).
Battery charger Small wind turbine that charges a battety that is
used for electric power supply in off-grid systems.
Bedplate The frame in the nacelle on which the gearbox,
generator and other components are mounted.
The frame is usually manufactured in cast iron or
welded steel plates.
Betz's law Formulated by Alfred Betz and stating that an
ideal wind turbine can utilize no more than 16/27
of the power in the wind.
Blade A wind turbine has one, two, three or more ro-
tor blades. (Turbines do not have 'propellers' or
wings.)
Blade area The product of the blade surface area and the
number of blades (see solidity).
270 DEVELOPING WIND POWER PROJECTS
Blade form The form of the rotor blade: how the width is
changed from blade root to blade tip and how it is
twisted.
Blade profile Curved surface designed to create aerodynamic lift.
Blade root Part of rotor blade at the hub and the end that is
attached to the hub.
Blade tip The outer end of the blade.
Boundary layer (internal) The boundary between two different layers of a
fluid (like air) where the speed of the lower layer
has been influenced by, for example, a change in
surface roughness.
Brealrer Circuit breaker that disconnects a wind turbine
from the power grid.
Building permission Permission from an authority to build a house,
wind turbine, etc.
Capacity factor The actual production of a power plant in relation
to its production at full (nominal) power.
Capital cost Cost of amortizations and interest on loans.
Capital intensive A plant where the capital cost is high in relation to
the operational costs. In the power sector hydro-
power and wind power are capital intensive, with
high investment costs and low operational costs,
since the fuel (water and wind) is free.
Comprehensive plan Municipal (or regional) plan on how land and sea
areas should be utilized.
Conical tube tower Tube towers that narrow from the base to the top.
Constant rotational speed Rotor that rotates at a constant speed, independ-
ent of the wind speed.
Control system Computer system that controls the operation of a
wind turbine.
Converter Component that converts AC to DC or vice versa.
Cooperative An association where, for example, members com-
monly own and operate a wind turbine.
Cube factor Factor that is used to calculate the energy content
of the wind when only the average wind speed is
known; important because the energy content is
proportional to the cube of the wind speed.
Cut-in wind speed The wind speed at which a wind turbine starts to
produce electric power.
Cut-out wind speed The wind speed at which a wind turbine is discon-
nected from the grid and stopped.
Darrieus turbine Vertical axis wind turbine with curved blades
along the axis/tower; 'egg-beater'.
GLOSSARY 271
Data logger Equipment that collects and stores wind

data.
dB, dB(A) See decibel.
DC Direct Current.
Decibel Unit to measure sound.
Direct drive generator Generator connected directly to the rotor without
an intermediate gearbox.
Distribution grid The part of the power grid to which consumers'
properties are connected.
Double wound generator Generator that can change number of poles and
rotational speed; operates like two generators, one
large and one small.
Downwind rotor Rotor at the back {leeside) of the tower.
Durability curve Graph that illustrates the durability of different
wind speeds, etc.
Dutchman Yaw system that is driven by one or two wind
wheels mounted perpendicular to the rotor.
EIA See environment impact assessment.
Eigen&equency A frequency at which tower, blades or other
components naturally vibrate. If these vibrations
increase in strength (when, for example, the rota-
tional speed of the rotor has the same frequency as
the tower's eigenfrequency) the components can
break
Electric power grid Network of power lines for distribution of power
from power plants to consumers.
Energy content The energy content of the wind at a specific site
and height agl is signified by kWh/m2 /year.
Energy density See power density.
Energy rose Circular diagram that shows the distribution of
the wind energy in different wind directions.
Environment impact Public consultation process and report on the
assessment environment impact of a plant (such as a wind
power project).
External costs Costs caused by power production that are not
included in the power price, for example costs for
health care and damage to the environment.
Feather To turn the rotor blades so that the wind can pass
more easily and lift decreases.
Flicker Short (less than one second) variations in grid
voltage.
Gearbox Mechanical equipment that changes the revolution
speed of a rotating shaft.
272 DEVELOPING WIND PO\'\TER PROJECTS
Generator Machine that generates electric power.

Giro mill Vertical axis wind turbine with two or more verti-
cal blades.
Gondola See nacelle.
Grid benefit The benefit of local power production for local
consumption; reduces losses in the grid.
Grid connection Connection of wind turbines to the power grid.
Grid integration Adaption of wind turbines to (the demands of)
the power grid in a larger area, or vice versa.
Hill effect Increase of wind speed at the top of a hill.
Hub Centre of the rotor. The rotor blades are mounted
to the hub and the hub is mounted to the main
shaft. The hub is usually manufactured in cast
rron.
Hub height The height from ground level to the centre of the
rotor. The hub is a little higher than the tower
height.
lnfrasound Long-wave sound with a frequency < 20Hz that
can't be perceived by the human ear.
Installed power Nominal power of a wind turbine; used to give a
measure of the amount of wind power installed in
a wind farm, region or country.
Intermittent energy source Energy source where the power output varies due
to variations in the climate -wind speed for wind
turbines, solar radiation for photovoltaic cells.
lsovent Isoline that shows the energy content of the wind
on a wind resource map.
Laminar flow Airflow parallel to the horizontal plane with low
turbulence.
Land breeze Wind from land to sea that is generated by tem-
perature differences between land and sea.
Land lease Contract on lease of land (for example for a wind
turbine).
Lattice tower Towers built using cross bars; can be used for wind
turbines.
Leeward Direction that the wind blows to (opposite to
windward).
Lift Force created on the upper side of a blade profile.
Main bearing Bearing mounted to the main shaft.
Main shaft Shaft (axis) connected to the rotor.
Maintenance costs Costs to maintain a wind turbine - servicing and
re parrs.
Mast, guyed Tower made of a mast guyed by steel cables.
GLOSSARY 273
Mechanical brake Disc brake mounted on the main or secondary

shaft between the gearbox and the generator; used
as parking brake or emergency brake to stop the
rotor.
Nacelle The unit at the top of the tower that contains the
gearbox, generator and other components.
NIMBY 'Not in my backyard'; expression for people who
may be positive about wind power in general but
not in their own vicinity, for example.
Noise Annoying or undesired sound.
Nominal power Nominal power of a wind turbine's generator.
Nominal wind speed The wind speed at which a wind turbine reaches
its nominal power.
Offshore At sea.
Operation costs Costs to operate a plant.
Opinion An attitude to something (for example wind
power) among a group of people.
Park efficiency Production of a group of wind turbines as a
proportion of the production they would have col-
lectively if they didn't 'steal' wind from each other.
Pay-back time The time it takes for incomes to cover investment
costs.
Pitch angle Angle between a blade's plane of rotation and the
blade chord.
Pitch control Power control by turning rotor blades on their
ax1s.
PM-generator Generator with permanent magnets.
Power, active Useful electric power (measured in W); the power
that is measured and the producer gets paid for.
Power, reactive Useless electric power (measured in VAr-
VoltAmpere reactive); created by phase displace-
ment of current and voltage in alternating
current.
Power coefficient Share of the wind energy that a wind turbine rotor
utilizes, signified by Cp and varying at different
wind speeds. The theoretical maximum value is
0.59 (see also Betz's law).
Power curve Graph that shows the relationship between wind
speed and power from a wind turbine.
Power density The average power of the wind at a specific site
and height (measured in W/m2).
Power electronics Electronic components used for electric
power.
Precautions Measures taken to prevent, reduce or compensate

for impacts on the environment.
Predominant wind The most frequent wind
direction direction.
Rayleigh distribution Probability distribution that is used when the
wind's frequency distribution is unknown.
Rectifier Rectifies AC to DC.
Renewable energy sources Energy sources that utilize resources that are not
consumed, for example flowing water, wind and
solar radiation.
Revolution speed See rotational speed.
Ring generator Multi-pole generator that runs with low rotational
speed. Wind turbines with ring generators don't
need a gearbox.
Rotational speed Revolutions per minute, rpm.
Rotor hub See hub.
Rotor plane The plane that the rotor sweeps.
Rotor shaft See main shaft.
Roughness class A measure of surface roughness; the airflow's fric-
tion against the ground surface.
Roughness length Another measure for surface roughness.
Savonius rotor Type of vertical axis wind turbine.
Sea breeze Wind from lal<:es or the sea towards the shore gen-
erated by temperature differences between ground
and water.
Smoothing effect The smoothing of the power output from wind
turbines that are distributed over a geographical
region.
Solidity Blade area as a percentage of rotor swept area; a
modern three-bladed turbine has a solidity of
roughly 3 per cent.
Sound emission Sound emitted from a sound source, for example a
wind turbine.
Sound immission Sound at a specific distance from a sound source.
Stall control Power control used on turbines with fixed blade
angle whereby eddies are generated when the wind
speed increases above a certain limit.
Stand alone Power system or wind turbine that operates iso-
lated from the power grid; off-grid.
Survival wind speed The wind speed that a wind turbine is designed to
withstand without breaking down.
Teetering hub Hub for two-bladed turbine, where the rotor can
teeter a few degrees across the hub.
GLOSSARY 275
Tilt The angle of the main shaft towards the horizontal

plane. Most turbines have a few degrees of tilt to
prevent the rotor from sweeping too close to the
tower and to move the centre of gravity closer to
the tower.
Tip speed The speed of the blade tip of a wind
turbine.
Tip speed ratio Relationship between the tip speed of the rotor
blade and the undisturbed wind speed.
Torque The force that the rotor transmits to the main
shaft and which malces it revolve.
Total height The total height of tower and rotor, i.e. hub
height plus half the rotor diameter.
Transformer Equipment that increases the voltage level, for
example from the 690V from a wind turbine to
the lOkV in the power grid.
Turbulence Short and fast variations in wind speed.
Twist The difference between the blade angle at the
blade root and that at the blade tip.
Ultrasound Short-wave sound with a frequency that can't be
perceived by the human ear.
Upwind rotor Rotor on the front side of the tower.
Variable speed Wind turbines where the revolution speed
increases with the wind speed (to keep the tip
speed ratio constant).
Visual impact Impact (of wind turbines, for example) on the
visual impression of a landscape.
Wake decay constant A constant used to calculate the wind walce's
behaviour and extension on the leeside of a wind
turbine rotor.
Weibull distribution Probability distribution that fits well to the fre-
quency distribution of wind speed.
Wind climate The wind's long-term pattern in a country, region
or site.
Wind-diesel system A stand-alone system where electric power is pro-
duced by wind turbines and diesel generators in a
common system.
Wind farm Plant with several wind turbines.
Wind gradient Graph that shows how the wind speed will change
with height above ground level.
Wind power cooperative See cooperative.
Wind profile See wind gradient.
Wind regime See wind climate.
Wind rose Circular diagram that shows average wind speed,

frequency or energy content for different wind
directions.
Wind shear A change of wind direction and/ or speed with
height agl.
Wind vane Instrument that registers wind direction.
Wind wake Area on the leeside of the rotor where wind speed
and turbulence have been affected by the rotor.
Wind wheel Rotor with many inclined blades that cover a large
share of the rotor area; often used for wind pumps,
since they exert high torque at low wind speeds.
Windward The direction the wind comes from.
Yaw Turning of the nacelle and rotor.
Yawmotor Motor that turns the nacelle and the rotor towards
the wind.
Yawsystem Control system and components used to turn the
nacelle and rotor towards the wind.
Zone of visual impact Area within which wind turbines can be seen.
Bibliography
This section includes details of all works cited in this book, as well as some
additional publications used as background material but not directly refirred
to. A list ofwebsites referred to in the book follows the main bibliography.
Ackermann, T. (ed) (2005) Wind Power in Power Systems, Wiley, Chichester, UK

Alden, L. (2004) Storbritanniens satsningpa Offihore Vindkraft, Gotland University, Visby,
Sweden, available from www.cvi.se
AWS Truewind (2006) 'Wind forecasting eWind - proven, accurate, valuable', www.
awstruewind.com/inner/services/windforecating/ ewind/, accessed February 2006
Blomqvist, H. (1997) Elkraftsystern, Liber, Stockholm, Sweden
Bogren, J., Gustavsson, T. and Loman, G. (1999) Klimatologi, Meteorologi, Studentlitteratur,
Lund, Sweden
Boverket (2002) Forutsattningarfor storskalig utbyggnad av vindkraft i havet, Vanern och
jjallen, VindGIS, Karlskrona, Sweden, available from www.boverket.se
Boverket (2003). P!anering och provning av vindkraftsanlaggningar, Boverket, Karlskrona,
Sweden, available from www.boverket.se
Burton, T., Sharpe, D., Jenkins, N. and Bossanyi, E. (2001) Wind Energy Handbook,
Wiley, Chichester, UK
Claesson, P. (1989) Vindlmzft i Sverige - Teknik, Til!arnpningm; Erforenheter, SERO,
Koping, Sweden
Crown Estate (2003) 'Energy and telecoms: Offshore wind energy', available from www.
crownestate.co.uk/34_offshore_wind_energy, accessed March 2006
Danish Wind Turbine Owners' Association (2001) 'Vindmoller og drivhuseffekten', www.
dkvind.dklfakta/, accessed March 2006
Danish Wind Turbine Owners' Association (2002) 'Hvem ejer vindmoellerne?', www.
dkvind.dk/fakta/okonomi.htm, accessed March 2006
DENA (2005) 'Planning of the grid integration of wind energy in Germany, onshore and
offshore up to the year 2020. Summary', Deutsche Energie-Agentur, www.dena.de
Drazga, B. (2001) 'Wind prediction models', WindStats Newsletter, vol14, no 3, p5
EC (2001) 'Directive 2001/77/EC on the promotion of electricity produced from renew-
able energy sources in the internal market', http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/res/leg-
islation/, accessed December 2005
Eggersgliiss, W (2002) 'Das steht und das dreht sich', in Ministerium fiir Finanzen und
Energie des Landes Schleswig-Holstein. Stimmen zur Windenergie, Ministerium fur
Finanzen und Energie des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany, ppS-10, avai-
lable from http:/ /landesregierung.schleswig-holstein.de
Elforsk (2005) Driftuppfoijning av Vindleraftverk Arsrapport 2004, www.vindenergi.org/

vindstatistik/ arsrapp2004. pdf
Elsam (2004) 'Life cycle assessment of offshore and onshore sited wind farms', Elsam
Engineering report 186768 of March 2004, www.vestas.com/pdf/miljoe/, accessed
January 2006
Enzensberger, N., Fichtner, Wand Rentz, 0. (2003) 'Financing renewable energy projects
via closed-end funds- a German case study', Renewable Energy, vol28, pp2023-2036
EWEA (2003) Wind Energy- The Facts, report available for download at www.ewea.org/
index.php?id=91 &no_cache= 1&sword_list[]=facts, accessed November 2006
EWEA (2005a) Support Schemes for Renewable Energy, report available from www.ewea.
org/index.php?id= 178, accessed November 2006
EWEA (2005b) Large Scale Integration ofWind Energy in the European Power Supply, re-
port available from www.ewea.org/index.php?id=178, accessed November 2006
Extern£ (2002) 'Externalities of energy', www.externe.info/publications
Focken, U., Lange, M. and Waldl, H.-P. (2001) Previento -A Wind Power Prediction
System with an Innovative Upscaling Algorithm, EWEC, Copenhagen, Denmark
Freund, H. D. (2002) 'Einfli.isse der Lufttri.ibung, der Sonnenausdehnung och der
Fli.igelform auf dem Schattenwurf von Windenergieanlagen', DEW! Magazine, vol 20
Gasch, R. and Twele,]. (2002) Wind Power Plants, James & James, London
Gipe P. (1993) Wind Powerfor Home and Business, Chelsea Green Publishing Co., White
River Junction, VT
Gipe, P. (1995) Wind Energy Comes ofAge, Wiley, Chichester, UK
Gipe, P. (2004) Wind Power, James & James, London
Gipe, P. and Canter, B. (1997) Glossary ofWind Energy Terms, Vistoft Forlag, Knebel,
Denmark
Garlands Kommun (1999) Vindkraft pa sodra Gotland, tillagg till oversiktsplanen Vision
Got!and 2010, Stadsarkitektkontoret, Vis by, Sweden
Greenpeace (2005) Wind Force 12, EWEA Publications, Brussels, Belgium
Hansen, M. 0. L. (2000) Aerodynamics ofWind Tttrbines, James & James, London
Hansen, S. H. (2005) 'Wind energy in a spatial planning context', in Proceedings fi'om
Wind Energy in the Baltic Sea Region, www.cvi.se, accessed November 2005
Hedberg, P (2004). 'Vikande stiid for vindkraften', inju mer vi iir tillsammans, SOM no
34, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden
Hellstrom M (ed) (1998) Vindkraft i Harmoni, Energimyndigheten, Malmo, Sweden
Henderson, A. L., M01·gan, C., Smith, B., Sorensen, H. C., Barthelmie, R. and Boesmans,
B. (2002) 'Offshore wind power - A major new source of energy for Europe',
International joumal ofEnvironment and Sustainable Development, vol 1, no 4
Hills, R. L. (1996) Powerfi'om Wind, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Holttinen, H. (2004) The Impact of Large Scale Wind Power Production on the Nordic
Electricity System, VTT Publications 554, Helsinki, Finland, available at www.vtt.fi/
renewables/windenergy/
Jacobsson, S. and Johnson, A. (2003) 'The development of a growth industry- The wind
turbine industry in Germany, Holland and Sweden', inS. Metcalfe and U. Cantner (eds)
Change, Transformation and Development, Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany
Krieg, R. (1997) Vindenergikartering for Sodra Sverige, del 1: Gotlands liin, Nutek,
Stockholm, Sweden
BIBLIOGRAPHY 279
Kullander, S., Rodhe, H., Harms-Ringdahl, M. and Hedberg, D. (2002) 'Okunnigt av-
veclda karnkraften', Dagens Nyheter, 7 April, Stockholm, Sweden
Uinsstyrelserna i Skane (1996) Lokalisering av vindleraftverle och radiomaster i Skane,
Uinsstyrelserna i Skane, Lund, Sweden
Liik, 0., Oidram, R. and Keel, M. (2003) Estimation ofReal Emissions Reduction Caused by
Wind Generators, International Energy Workshop, International Institute for Applied
Systems Analysis (IIASA), available at www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/ECS/IEW2003/
Papers/2003P_liik. pdf, accessed November 2005
Manwell, J. F., McGowan, J. G. and Rage, A. L. (2002) Wind Energy Explained, Wiley,
Chichester, UK
Milborrow D. (1998) 'How much land does wind need?', WindStats Newsletter, vol 11,
no 1
Milborrow D. (2002) 'External costs and the real truth', Windpower Monthly, vol18, no
1, January
Miyamoto, C. (2000) Possibility of Wind Power: Comparison of Sweden and Denmark,
International Institute for Industrial Environment Economics, Lund University, Lund,
Sweden
Montgomerie, B. (1999) Vindkraftaerodynamik, Compendium, FFA, Stockholm,
Sweden
NINA (Norsk Institutt for Naturforslming) (2006) 'Fire havi:irner drept av vindmi:iller pa
Smi:ila', www.nina.no, accessed February 2006
Nitsch, J., Krewitt, J., Nast, M. and Viebahn, P. (2004) 'Okologisch optimirter Ausbau
der Nutzung eneubarer Energien in Deutschland', in Auftrag des Bundesministeriums
for Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsiche1heit, Bundesministerium fur Umwelt,
Naturschutz und Realctorsicherheit (BMU), Berlin, Germany, available from www.
umwelt-ministerium.de
NWCC (2001) Avian Collision with Wind Turbines: A Summa1y of Existing Studies and
Comparisons to Other Sources ofAvian Collision Mortality in the United States, National
Wind Coordinating Committee, Washington, DC
Ohlsson H. (1998) Vindleraft. Tillganglighet och Kostnader, Elforsk rapport 98:32
Palu, I. (2005) 'Wind energy integration in Estonia', in Proceedings fi·om Wind Energy in
the Baltic Sea Region, www.cvi.se, accessed November 2005
Pasqualetti, M. J., Gipe, P. and Righter, R. W. (2002) Wind Power in View, Academic
Press, London
Petersen, E., Mortensen, N., Landberg, L., Hojstrup, J. and Frank, H. (1997) Wind Power
Meteorology, Risoe-I-1206(EN), Risoe National Laboratmy, Roskilde, Denmark
Pettersson, J. (2005) 'Waterfowl and offshore windfarms- a study 1999-2003 in Kalmar
Sound, Sweden', in Proceedings from Wind Energy in the Baltic Sea Region, www.cvi.se,
accessed November 2005
Plehn, M. (2005) 'Suitability areas for wind turbines in Rostock region, northeast
Germany', Wind Energy in the Baltic Sea Region Confirence Proceedings, avail-
able from http:/ I mainweb.hgo.se/projekt/ cvi.nsf/index3?0penFrameset, accessed
November 2006
Quaschning, V. and Zehner, M. (2003) 'Riickenwind durch Simulationsprogramme',
Sonne Wind & Warme, March, www.volker-quaschning.de/downloads/sww03-2003.
pdf
Redlinger, R. Y., Andersen, P. D. and Morthorst, P. E. (2002) Wind Energy in the 21st
Century. Economics, Polic)', Technology and the Changing Electricity Industty, Palgrave,
Basingstoke, UK
Remmers, H. and Betke, K. (1998) 'Messung und Bewertung von tieffrequentem Schall',
Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA, Deutsche Gesellschaft fiir Akustik e. V., Oldenburg,
Germany, pp472-473
Risoe National Laboratory (no date) 'Short-term forecasting fact sheet for Prediktor', www.
risoe.dk/zephyr/ publ/Zephyr_Prediktor_FactSheet. pdf, accessed November 2006
Sagrillo, M. (2003) 'Putting wind power's effect on birds in perspective', www.awea.org/
faq/sagrillo, accessed March 2006
Smedman, A. (undated) Vmfor Blaser Det? Compendium, Uppsala University, Sweden
Soder, L. (1997) Vindkraftens ejfektvarde, Elforsk Rapport, vol 97, no 27, Elforsk, Stock-
holm, Sweden
SOU (1999) Ratt p!ats for Vindkraft, Fakta info direkt, Stockholm, Sweden
STEM (1999) Att Kopa Vindkraftverk, Energimyndigheten, Eskilstuna, Sweden
STEM (2001) Vindkraftplanering i en kustkommun: Exemplet Tanum, STEM, Eskilstuna,
Sweden
Stiesdal, H. (2000) '25 Pu·s teknologiudvikling for vindkraft - Og et forsigtigt bud pa
fremtiden', Naturlig Energi, July 2000
Swedish Energy Agency (2004) 'Renewable electricity is the future's electricity', STEM
report ET 26:2004, www.stem.se/, accessed March 2006
Swedish Government (2002) Samverkan for en ttygg, effiktiv och miljovanlig energiforsotj-
ning, Publication Prop. 2001/02, Swedish Government, Stockholm, Sweden, p143
Taylor Nelson Sofres (2003) Attitudes and Knowledge of Renewable Energy amongst the
General Public (JN9419 and JN9385), TNS, London
Troen, I. and Petersen, L. E. (1989) European Wind Atlas, Risoe National Laboratory,
Roskilde, Denmark
University of Oldenburg (2002) 'Wind power prediction system Previento', http://ehf.
uni-oldenburg.de/wind/previento/english, accessed February 2006
Widing, A., Britse, G. and Wizelius, T. (2005) Vindkraftens Miljopaverkan- Fallstudie av
Vindkraftverk i Boendemiljo, CVI, Visby, Sweden
Wind Directions (2003) 'A summary of opinion surveys on wind power', in Wind
Directions, September/October
Windpower Monthly (2006) 'Nuclear suddenly the competitor to beat', Windpower
Monthly, January
Wizelius, T. (1992) Vind, dell, Larson, Taby, Sweden
Wizelius, T. (1993) Vind, del2, Larson, Taby, Sweden
Wizelius, T., Widing, A. and Britse, G. (2005) Vindkraftens Miljopaverkan- Utvardering
av Regelverk och Bedomningsmetoder, CVI, Visby, Sweden
Wolsink, M. (2000) 'Wind power and the NIMBY-myth: Institutional capacity and
the limited significance of public support', Renewable Energy, vol 21, no 1, pp49-64
World Wind Energy Association (2006) 'World wide wind energy boom', www.wwindea.
org, accessed 26 October 2006
Yale University (2005) 'Survey on American attitudes on the environment- Key findings',
Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, www.yale.edu/envirocenter,
accessed November 2006
BIBLIOGRAPHY 281
Web resources
ALWARE program by Ammonit www.ammonit.de
ASTAE (The World Bank's Asia www.worldbank.org/astae
Alternative Energy Program)
AWS Truewind www.awstruewind.com
Country Guardian (anti-wind farm site) www. countryguardian. net
Danish Wind Industry Association www.windpower.org
EMD International www.emd.dk
Enercon GmbH www.enercon.de
European Wind Energy Association www.ewea.org
Greenius software by FHTW Berlin www.fl.fhtw-berlin. de/ studiengang/ ut/
downloads/ greenius/
lEA Wind (International Energy Agency www.ieawind.org
division)
Prediktor (part of Zephyr family of www. prediktor.dkl
software)
Renewables for Sustainable Village www.rsvp.nrel.gov/wind_resources.html
Power
RETScreen International www.retscreen.net
SiemensAG www. powergeneration.siemens.com
WAsP (wind atlas analysis and applica- www.wasp.dk
tion program)
Wind Atlases of the World by Risoe www.windatlas.dk
National Laboratory
WindFarm program by Resoft www.resoft.co.uk
WindFarmer program by Gan·ad Hassan www. garradhassan.co. uk.
and Partners
The Windicator .www.windpower-monthly.com
WinWind www.winwind.fi
Index
acceptance 193-203, 224 Betz's law 66

access roads 155-156, 242-243 birds 127, 156-157, 182,262
active stall 88, 89, 93 blade angle 69
administration 246 blades
aerodynamic brakes 90 aerofoils 82, 84-85
aerodynamic lift 67-70 design 89-91
aerofoils 69, 82, 84-85 feathering 87, 90
air movements 36 noise 117, 158-159
airports see aviation number of 67
ALWIN 231 power control 88
America see US profile 69
anemometers 52, 93, 120, 238 twist 82, 83
angle of attack 69 Bonus 26
annual profit 248 bonuses 247
annuity method 248-249 see also support schemes
appeals 265 boundary conditions 259
arctic climate 91, 237-238 brake systems 90, 94-95, 112
areas of national interest 170-172, 223 Britain see UK
see also protected areas Brush, Charles F. 103
arguments against wind power 202-203 building permission 264-265
assessments 130
asynchronous generators 94, 102-103, California, US 22, 138, 156, 206
104-105, 109-110 capacity factor 122
atmospheric pressure 34, 36 carbon dioxide 19, 152, 153
Australia 194 cash-flow analysis 252
automatic data collection 52 certificates 141, 143-144
automatic yaw mechanism 10 China 23
availability, wind turbines 123 circumferential force 84
aviation 130, 223 civil aviation 130, 223
climate 33
back-up, power system 205, 213 cold 91, 237-238
Baltic countries 153 wind 33,51-53
battery chargers 16, 104 clouds 36
see also wind chargers coasts 195, 198
Belgium 141, 198 cogwheels 7
Betz, Albert 65, 66 cold climates 91, 237-238
companies 167 depreciation 246

comparative assessment 263 deregulation, power markets 137-139,
competition 145-147 216
complex terrain 44 developers 167
components, wind turbines 25, 75, 124 dialogue, early 258-259
computer programs, wind power 55, 215, direct drive generators 107-109
230-231,232 direct drive wind turbines 95
conflicting interests see opposing interests discounting method 249-250
contracts 265 disinformation 203
control programs 234 dismantling wind turbines 266
control systems 111-113 distribution grids 206
cooperatives 21, 176 double generators 94, 106
Coriolis force 39 downwind rotors 73
corporate financing 254 Dutchman see Dutch mill
costs Dutch mill 10, 11, 95-96
comparisons 145
external 146 early dialogue 258-259
wind power 4 Earth 34-35
wind turbines 23 Ebeltoft, Denmark 237
county administration 128 economic analysis 241
cultural heritage 263 economic benefits 133
cut-in wind speed 29 economic lifetimes 158, 245
cut-out wind speed 29, 87 economic result 245-255
economics 241-255
Danish standard concept 25, 93, 94 efficiency 115-119, 122-123
Darrieus, George 7 4 EIA (Environment Impact Assessments)
Darrieus turbines 18, 74, 76, 78 128,187,260,261-264
data collection, automatic 52 electrical systems 10 1-11 0
DC-generators 104 electricity see grid connection; power
Denmark market
birds 156 Elsam 144
development 132, 172 emergency brakes 112
energy policy 135, 136 emission, sound see sound emission
G2 planning 189 emissions, greenhouse gases/pollutants
history 15, 22, 104 19, 152, 153
independent power producers 144 Enercon 25, 95, 107
installed capacity 5 energy 47
offshore wind power 6, 27-28, 239 policies 127, 134-137, 167
opinion polls 194 Enron 26
planning 131, 168-169, 172 environment 19, 151-166, 262
plant operator categories 145 environmental impact 151
small wind turbines 20-21 Environment Impact Assessments (EIA)
sound immission 161 128,187,260,261-264
support schemes 140, 141 Environment Protection Act (Denmark)
turbine size 23-24 168
wind atlas method 54 Eon 144
INDEX 285
error margins, wind atlas method 231- with slip 109

232 soft start 105
ElJ 127,132,144,216 synchronous 94, 102, 103
Europe 26,27,132 geostrophic wind 36, 38, 39
northern 8, 10, 207 Germany
European 1Jnion see ElJ development 132, 133, 134, 172
eWind 215 G2 planning 189
external costs 146 independent power producers
extreme temperatures 238 144
installed capacity 4, 5
farmers 21, 163 large wind turbines 20
farm windmills 24 market stimulation 22
fauna 156-157 offshore wind power 239
see also wildlife opinion polls 194
feasibility studies 222-237, 240, 242 planning 180-188, 190, 260
feathered blades 87, 90 plant operator categories 145
feed-in tariffs 140-141 subsidies 140
financing, wind power 241, 254-255 tourism 198
Finland 196 giromills 77, 78
fixed premiums 141 Glauert, Hans 65
fixed prices 140 gondolas see nacelles
flora 156 Garland, Sweden 176-179, 189, 190,
see also vegetation 198
fossil fuels 152 Grandpa's Knob 15
foundations, wind turbines 93, 97-99, gravity foundations 98, 99
155,242 Great Britain see UK
France 194, 196 Greeks, ancient 7
free turbines 64 green certificates 143-144
frequency distribution, wind speed 49- greenhouse gases 19, 152, 153
51, 121, 122, 225-226 Greenius 231
friction, wind 36, 39-40 green marketing 140
friction layer 39-40 Greenpeace 148
full load hours 122 grid codes 212
grid connection 15, 110, 205-217,222-
G2 planning 189 223,243
gas turbines 209 grid frequency 101
gearboxes 94, 118-119 groups, wind turbines 234-236
General Electric 26
generators 94, 101-102 Halladay, Daniel 12
asynchronous 94, 102-103, 104- heat 238
105, 109-110 heating equipment 238
DC-generators 104 height, wind turbines 27
direct drive 107-109 see also hub heights
double 94, 106 hills 43-45, 228
efficiency 117-118 history 7-18
ring 102, 107 horizontal axis windmills 7-8
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) local planning 167

73,74,93 local power 212
hub heights 27, 59, 122 losses, power transmission 209
hurricanes 48, 239
hybrid turbines 94, 96, 108 machine cabins see nacelles
hydropower 209 maintenance 246-247
manufacturing strategies 25-26
ice 91, 130, 238 marine environment 263
immission see sound immission market distortions 148-149
income 247-248 market growth 4-6
independent power producers (IPP) 144 mean wind speed 49
Indian 23 measurements, wind 51, 52
installation 265-266 Meddenburg-Western Pomerania,
insurance 246 Germany 180, 181, 186, 187
interest rates 2 53 Mediterranean 7, 8, 9
interference, telecommunications 129 medium-sized wind turbines 24
internal boundary layer 41, 42 meteorological data 52, 227
international treaties 127, 167 micrositing 259
investment 122, 133-134, 140, 241, micro-turbines 24
242-245 Middelgrunden wind farm, Denmark 26,
IPP (independent power producers) 144 236
isobars 36 military installations 129, 223
isovents 57 misconceptions 203
Italy 141 Mistorf, Germany 186
monopiles 99
Japan 23 multi-MW turbines 24
Jeumont 108 multi-pole synchronous generators 94
municipal comprehensive plans 170
Kalmar Straight wind farm, Sweden 15 7 municipalities 128, 170, 172, 177-179
Kenetech Windpower 26, 124 MW turbines 24
Kyoto Protocol 127, 132, 247-248
nacelles 93-95
la Cour, Paul 15 national transmission grids 206
land 153-155,223,243,259 national wind power programmes 19-20
land breezes 36, 37 negative planning 131, 171
landscape 163-166, 181-182 NEGMicon 26
lattice towers 97 neighbours 129, 222
laws 127, 132 Netherlands 10, 12, 132, 133, 134
lifetimes, wind turbines 123, 124, 158, NIMBY (not in my backyard) attitudes
189,245 199-201
lift, aerodynamic 67-70, 84 noise 106, 117, 129, 156, 158
load 62, 90 see also sound
local acceptance see acceptance nominal power 103
local grids 205 Nordex 109
local impacts 155-156 Nordic countries 152-153, 207
local information meetings 260 normal wind year 52-53
INDEX 287
northern Europe 8, 10, 207 Plehn, Matthias 180

North Hoylewind farm, UK 131 policy 127-149
Norway 138, 144, 156 recommendations 147-149
nuclear reactors 19, 209 see also planning
politicians 127, 132
obstacles, wind 42-45, 228, 230 politics 132-134
oceans 35 positive planning 131, 172
offshore wind power 27-28, 239-240 post mills 8
birds 157 power
conflicting interests 130 definition 47
Denmark 6, 27-28, 239 rated (generators) 27
Environmental Impact Assessments ofwind 47-59, 115, 116
263 windmills 10
Europe 26, 27 power coefficient 65, 116-117
foundations 98, 99 power consumption 206, 208, 209
Germany 239 power control 29, 87-88
independent power producers 144 power curve 120, 121, 231
reliability 113 power density 48
Sweden 192, 200 power grid 205-211
tourism 198 power lines 155
UK 6, 131, 173, 239 power market 137-139, 216
oil crises 18 power production 122, 209, 224-232
one-stop shop 131 power quality, grid 110
operation 246-247, 266 power regulation 210,216
operational reliability 112 power reserves 213, 215
operation control 111 Prediktor 215
operations follow-up 111 present value method 249-250
opinion 193-203 press coverage 193
opinion polls 194-198, 224 pressure, atmospheric 34, 36
opposing interests 129, 223, 224 pressure gradient force 36
overall efficiency 119 Previento 215
production analysis 224-226
park efficiency 235 production capacity 121-122
partial load 117 production costs 250-251
pay-back method 250 project development 243, 257-266
penetration, wind power 152-153, 213- project financing 254
216 protected areas 130, 182
permission inquiry 128 see also areas of national interest
permission process 131, 185, 223 public opinion see opinion
Perry, Thomas 13 purchasing 265
Persia 7, 8
photomontages 236 quality, components 124
physical impact, direct 156 quotas 140, 143
pitch control 87, 89, 90, 93
planning 167-192, 259 rated power 27
see also policy rated wind speed 29
recreation 263 seasons 35

reflections, impact 161 second generation planning 189
reforms 147-149 sensitivity analysis 241, 252-254
regional grids 206 service 246
regional level 128, 167, 172, 180-189 shadow calendar 233
regulations 127, 132, 161 shadows, impact 129, 156, 161-163,
renewable energy 3, 19, 139-144 232-234
research and development 20, 21 Siemens 26
reserve requirements 215 siting, wind turbines 221-240
retardation 66 SIZe
RETScreen 231 windmills 10
RE-XPANSION 139, 148 wind turbines 3, 20-21, 23-24
ring generators 102, 107 slip 103
risk assessment 251 small wind turbines 20-21
roads, access 155-156, 242-243 Smeaton, John 62, 63
Romans 7 soft start generators 105
Rostock region, Germany 180-188 software, wind power 55, 215, 230-231,
rotational speed 28, 85-86, 101, 118 232
rotors 79-91 sound 158-161,232,262
blades see blades see also noise
construction 65 sound emission 158
downwind 73 sound immission 158, 160, 232
free turbines 64 Spain 5, 22-23, 131, 132, 156, 197
optimal 67 spatial planning 167
rotational speed 28, 85-86, 101, 118 square-cube law 23
rotor swept area 27, 115 stall 70
Savonius 18, 74, 76 stall control 87, 89, 90
size 27,115-117 statistics, wind power 5, 122
theory 65 steam engines 12
tip speed 159 storms 48, 238-239
tip speed ratio 67, 68, 79, 82, 117 stream tube 64-66
upwind 73 subsidies 133, 135, 149
rotor swept area 27, 115 see also support schemes
roughness (terrain) 42, 43, 227, 229, 231 suitability analysis 181-182
round-table method (planning) 192 summer cottage owners 163
support schemes 139-144
safety 130, 262 see also bonuses
safety distance 130 Support Schemes for Renewable Energy
Savonius, Georg 74 141, 148
Savonius rotors 18, 74, 76 surveillance Ill
ScanWind 108 surveys 194-19 8
Schleswig Holstein, Germany 198, 201 survival wind speed 103
Schmitz, G. 65 Sweden
scientists 202 birds 157
Scocland 196, 198-199 development 132, 133, 172
sea breezes 36, 37 energy policy 135, 137
INDEX 289
Environment Impact Assessments planning 131

(EIA) 128, 260 power market 138
large wind turbines 20 sound immission 161
meterological institute (SMHI) 53 support schemes 141
offshore wind power 192, 200 United Kingdom see UK
opinion polls 194 United States see US
planning 131, 133, 168, 170, 174- upwind rotors 73
179, 192 us
power market 138-139 birds 156
power system 152, 206, 209 development 124
sound immission 161 installed capacity 5
support schemes 140, 143-144 large wind turbines 20
technical availability 123 market 22
wind data 227 opinion polls 194, 196
Swedish Environment Act 170 power market 138
synchronous generators 94, 102, 103 wind wheels 12-13
Tacke 26 valleys 44
targets, development 168-170 variable speed 106-107
technical availability 123 vegetation 182
technical lifetimes 123, 124, 158, 189, see also flora
245 vertical axis windmills 7
teetering hub 79 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) 73,
telecommunications 129 74
temperature 34, 35 Vestas 26, 109
extreme 238 Vikings 7
tenders 141 visual impact 163-166, 236-237, 262
terrain 42-45, 227 visual zones, wind turbines 166
Thisted, Denmark 169 voltage levels 110, 209
tip speed 159
tip speed ratio 67, 68, 79, 82, 117 WAsP 55,230
total investment 122 water pumps 13, 24
tourism 163, 198 waves (air) 41
towers 93, 97 weather 33
trade winds 39 Weibull distribution 50
transfer to client 266 weighted planning 192
transformers 110, 156, 211 west wind belt 39
turbines see wind turbines wildlife 182, 262
turbulence 41, 42-44 see also fauna
typhoons 239 Wincharger 15
wind 33-46
UK conversion of energy 61-70
development 132, 133 direction 51
offshore wind power 6, 131, 173, measurements 51, 52
239 obstacles 42-45, 228, 230
opinion polls 194, 196 power of 47-59, 115, 116
predictions 215 extreme 238-239

variation in 4 frequency distribution 49-51, 121,
see also wind speed 122,225-226
wind atlas method 54-56 and height 58, 59
error margins 231 mean 49
obstacle impact 230 measurements 51, 52, 120
programs 232 planning 182
wind data 229 and power 103-104
wind turbine siting 226-227, 228 rated 29
wind chargers 14-15, 16 survival 103
see also battery chargers see also wind
wind climate 33, 51-53 wind turbines
WindFarm 55,230 components 25, 75, 124
WindFarmer 55, 231 development 123-124
wind farms 4, 26, 234-236 dismantling 266
see also offshore wind power early grid connection 15
wind gradient 40 investment budget 242
windmills 7-12, 10, 61-62, 65, 88 lifetimes 123, 124, 158, 189, 245
see also wind turbines modern theory 65-70
wind power power system 21 0
arguments against 202-203 siting 221-240
cooperatives 21, 176 size 3, 20-21, 23-24
financing 241, 254-255 structure 28
national programmes 19-20 technical specifications 28-29
offshore see offshore wind power types 24, 73-78
penetration 152-153, 213-216 see also blades; foundations; nacelles;
software 55, 215, 230-231, 232 rotors; towers; windmills
statistics 5, 122 Wind Turbines Act (Denmark) 168
WindPRO 55, 230, 232, 233, 236 wind vanes 93
wind profile 40 wind wake 41, 234-235
wind pumps 12-14 wind wheels 12-13, 74, 88
wind resource maps 57-58, 174, 191, WinWind 108
224-225,231 Wolsink, Maarten 199
wind resources 221-222 world market 25
wind shear 39
wind speed yaw control 95-96
cut-in 29
cut-out 29, 87 Zephyr 215
and efficiency 119 zoning 181, 183
'Tore Wizelius is one of the pioneers of wind power development'
PAUL GIPE (INDUSTRY ANALYST, ADVOCATE AND AUTHOR OF W IND POWER)
'I recommend this as a comprehensive introductory text

for both the specialist and non-specialist'
DAVID MILBORROW (RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSULTANT)
ind power is developing rapidly, in terms of both the number of new
W installations and in interest from stakeholders including policy-makers,

NGOs, research scientists, industry and the general public.
Unlike the majority of other texts on wind power, which are written primarily for
engineers or policy analysts, this book specifically targets those interested in, or
planning to develop, wind power projects.
Having outlined wind power basics and explained the underlying resource and
technology, the author explores the interactions between wind power and society,
and the main aspects of project development, including siting, economics and
legislation. This book will be an essential reference for professionals developing new
sites, government officials and consultants reviewing related applications, and both
specialists and non-specialists studying wind power project development.
Tore Wizelius is a writer and journalist who has authored five books on wind power.
He was the Sweden correspondent for Windpower Monthly during the 1990s and has
been a lecturer on wind power at Gotland University since 1998.
ISBN 978-1-84407-262-0
publishing for a susta inable future
www. ea rthsca n. eo. u k
9
RENEWABLE ENERGY I ENGINEERING

Developing Wind Power Projects

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Developing Wind Power Projects

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Developing Wind Power Projects

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

lr;J

WIND POWER ' .

THEORY & PRACTICE

publishing for a sustainable future

Reprinted 2007, 2008, 2009 (twice)

Copyright© Tore Wizelius, 2007

All rights reserved

Typeset by Composition and Design Services

For a full list of publications please contact:

22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

This book was printed in the UK by MPG Books,

List ofboxes, figures and tables vu

Part I - Introduction to Wind Power

Part II -Wind Energy

7 Types ofWind Turbine 73

Part IV -Wind Power and Society

Part V- Wind Power Project Development

Acronyms and abbreviations 267

16.3 Wind prognoses 215

13.2 Land requirement in relation to productivity 155

tionally. I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Ann-Soft Smedman at

Introduction to Wind Power

Wind Power Today and in the Future

Fast market growth

Box 1.1 WIND POWER STATISTICS

1TWh (terawatt hour) = 1OOOGWh (gigawatt hours)

International information on wind turbine installations is available at www. windpower-

Table 1.1 Global wind power capacity in 2005 (MW)

Source: World Wind Energy Association (2006)

Figure 2.1 Persian windmill

Figure 2.2 Mediterranean windmill

Source: Hills (i 996)

18,000 in Germany, 8000 in England, 3000 in Denmark and 20,000 in France.

The windmill as a symbol of freedom

Figure 2.3 The Dutchman

Source: Hills (1996)

The wind wheel of the Wild West

Figure 2.4 Wind wheel as water pump

Source: Gipe (1993)

Figure 2.5 The wind pump

Source: Gips (1993)

Grid-connected wind turbines

Figul'e 2.6 Battery charger

Source: Tore Wize/ius

Figure 2.7 Grid-connected prototype

Source: Sodergard (1990)

National wind power programmes

Danes make big effort on small turbines

What farmers demand

The wind rush in California

Germany and the US start to chase Denmark

Box 3.1 TYPES OF WIND TURBINES

Type Power Rotor Hub height Use

• Off-the-shelf components - some manufacturers used a strategy of buying

the US manufacturer Kenetech Windpower went bankrupt because its blades

Figure 3.1 Middelgrunden offshore wind farm

Source: Tore Wizelius

Offshore wind power

Box 3.2 THE WIND TURBINE