The Problem with Wind Energy
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the potential and challenges of wind energy, focusing on Ireland's unique position as a 'wind energy paradise.' It delves into the engineering marvels of wind turbines, the logistical hurdles of integrating wind power into the grid, and the innovative solutions Ireland is implementing to overcome these challenges. From gearbox issues to the need for grid frequency stabilization, the script highlights the complexities and the country's ambitious plans for a green hydrogen economy, aiming for energy security and economic growth.
Takeaways
- đ The United States' middle plains have the highest concentration of wind turbines due to abundant wind resources.
- đïž Ireland is a wind energy paradise, with average wind speeds high enough to power the entire country during storms and on many regular days.
- đ§ The logistics of increasing wind energy on a power grid are complex, especially for small, isolated island grids like Ireland's.
- đ ïž Inside wind turbines, gearboxes are an engineering marvel that converts low-speed, high-torque rotation into faster rotations needed for electricity generation.
- đ Gearboxes are a significant source of maintenance issues, often failing before their designed 20-year lifespan due to harsh conditions.
- đĄ An alternative to gearboxes is direct drive systems, which connect the rotors directly to a generator requiring a different kind of generator with a larger diameter and more poles.
- đ The frequency of electricity generated by wind turbines must match the grid frequency, which is a challenge due to the variable speed of wind.
- âïž Variable speed wind turbines require inverters to convert their variable frequency output to match the grid's constant frequency.
- đ Ireland is testing large flywheels as a solution for grid frequency regulation, providing the inertia needed to stabilize the grid.
- đ Ireland's plan for a hydrogen fuel economy aims to use excess wind energy for hydrogen production, which can be used for energy storage and export.
- đŒ The transition to renewable energy involves new job opportunities in programming, data analytics, and algorithm development, as seen in the emerging private battery storage unit market.
Q & A
Why does the middle Plains of America have the highest concentration of wind turbines?
-The middle Plains of America have the highest concentration of wind turbines due to the presence of more wind, which translates to more power generation potential.
What makes Ireland a wind energy paradise?
-Ireland is considered a wind energy paradise because it has exceptionally high average wind speeds, and it's not uncommon for wind to provide the majority of the country's power on any single day.
What are some logistical problems associated with increasing wind energy on an energy grid?
-Logistical problems with increasing wind energy on an energy grid include power storage, grid frequency stabilization, and the risk of destabilizing the power grid due to mismanaged wind turbines.
How do wind turbines convert low-speed rotation into useful electricity?
-Wind turbines use a gearbox to convert the low-speed, high-torque rotation of the rotors into faster rotations needed for the generator to work effectively, typically around 1,800 RPM.
Why are gearboxes a source of frustration for power companies?
-Gearboxes are a source of frustration because, despite being designed for a 20-year lifespan, most only last about 7 years without extensive maintenance, and replacing them is costly and logistically challenging.
What is a direct drive system in wind turbines?
-A direct drive system in wind turbines is a method where the blades are connected directly to the generator without a gearbox, requiring a different kind of generator with a large diameter and more magnetic poles to match the grid frequency.
Why are rare earth metals like neodium and dysprosium important for direct drive wind turbines?
-Rare earth metals like neodium and dysprosium are important for direct drive wind turbines because they are used in the permanent magnets of the large diameter generators, and fluctuations in their supply and cost can add risk and complexity to the turbines.
How does the frequency of electricity generated by wind turbines match the grid frequency?
-The frequency of electricity generated by wind turbines must match the grid frequency, which is achieved by designing the rotor and generator to rotate at specific speeds that correspond to the grid's frequency, or by using inverters to convert variable frequency AC to the correct grid frequency.
What is the issue with nonsynchronous wind turbines on the grid?
-Nonsynchronous wind turbines, which are variable speed turbines connected through inverters, do not contribute to the grid's inertia, which is important for stabilizing the grid frequency and handling sudden changes in load.
How did Ireland address the problem of grid stability with increasing wind energy?
-Ireland addressed the problem of grid stability by installing the world's largest flywheel, which provides the necessary inertia for grid frequency regulation, and by planning additional interconnections with other energy grids for better energy trading and stability.
What is Ireland's plan for long-term energy storage and export?
-Ireland's plan for long-term energy storage and export involves developing a hydrogen fuel economy, using electrolysis to generate hydrogen from excess wind energy, and eventually tapping into offshore wind potential for large-scale hydrogen production.
Outlines
đŹ Wind Energy and Engineering Challenges
This paragraph delves into the global landscape of wind energy, highlighting the United States' Midwest Plains as a hotspot for wind turbines due to high wind concentrations. It underscores Ireland's remarkable wind energy potential, which has powered the entire country during storms. However, the paragraph also discusses the logistical challenges of integrating wind energy into power grids, especially for small, isolated island grids. The engineering marvel of wind turbines is explored, explaining the gearbox's role in converting low-speed rotation into usable electricity. The paragraph touches on the gearbox's maintenance issues, the high costs of wind turbine upkeep, and the innovative direct drive system that bypasses the gearbox, using large diameter generators with more magnetic poles to match grid frequency.
đ Grid Frequency Management and Renewable Energy Integration
The second paragraph focuses on the intricacies of maintaining grid frequency stability, especially with the variable nature of wind energy. It explains how permanent magnet generators produce electricity at a frequency that matches the wind speed, and the necessity of grid frequency precision to avoid system collapse. The UK's experience with grid frequency management during a popular TV show is cited as an example of the grid's sensitivity to demand fluctuations. The paragraph also discusses the role of wind turbines' inertia in grid stability and the challenges posed by variable speed turbines, which require inverters to synchronize with the grid. It mentions Ireland's innovative use of a large flywheel to provide the necessary inertia for grid frequency regulation, highlighting the need for additional infrastructure as renewable energy sources increase on the grid.
đ Ireland's Energy Transition and Infrastructure Development
This paragraph discusses Ireland's unique energy situation as an isolated island with limited interconnections to other energy grids. It addresses the need for redundancy in the grid, such as natural gas power, to compensate for wind energy fluctuations. The planned interconnection with France is highlighted as a significant step towards grid stability and energy trade. The paragraph also outlines Ireland's strategy for long-term energy storage, focusing on the development of a hydrogen fuel economy. It discusses the government's plans for green hydrogen production, the advantages of Ireland's location and fresh water resources, and the potential for Ireland to become a major energy commodity trader in the renewable energy economy.
đĄ The Future of Energy and the Role of Data Analytics
The final paragraph shifts focus to the emerging business sector of private battery storage units and the importance of data analytics in optimizing energy buying and selling. It emphasizes the need for expertise in programming, data analytics, and algorithms in the evolving energy marketplace. The paragraph promotes Brilliant.org as a platform for learning these skills, offering a free trial and a discount on their premium subscription. It highlights courses on Python, large language models, and data analysis, positioning Brilliant.org as a valuable resource for anyone looking to understand or participate in the new energy economy.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄWind Energy
đĄWind Turbines
đĄGearbox
đĄGenerator
đĄDirect Drive System
đĄGrid Frequency
đĄInverters
đĄNonsynchronous
đĄFlywheel
đĄHydrogen Economy
đĄEnergy Storage
Highlights
The middle Plains of America have the highest concentrations of wind turbines, utilizing more wind power.
Ireland, despite being a small island, has exceptionally high average wind speeds, making it a wind energy paradise.
During a powerful storm, wind energy alone powered Ireland for 3 hours, demonstrating its potential.
Logistical problems in increasing wind energy on the grid are especially challenging for small, isolated island power grids.
Wind turbines contain an engineering marvel within their gearboxes, which are crucial for converting low-speed rotation into electricity.
Gearboxes in wind turbines are a major source of frustration due to their short lifespan and high maintenance costs.
White Edge cracks in the bearings of gearboxes are a common cause of failure, especially as turbines become larger and more powerful.
Direct drive systems in wind turbines, which eliminate the gearbox, require different types of generators and present their own set of challenges.
The Hiad X, the largest wind turbine ever made, uses a direct drive system with a large diameter generator weighing 250 tons.
Direct drive systems require rare earth metals like neodium and dysprosium, the supply of which is dominated by China.
Ireland is testing new wind turbines with direct drive systems at the Galway Wind Park, facing challenges in transportation and infrastructure.
Wind turbines' variable speed presents a challenge for grid frequency stability, requiring advanced engineering solutions.
Variable speed wind turbines require inverters to connect to the grid, converting variable AC to a stable frequency.
The lack of inertia in wind turbines due to inverters is a concern for grid stability, especially as renewable energy sources increase.
Ireland's creative solution to grid stability includes the installation of the world's largest flywheel for frequency regulation.
Ireland's geographical position and abundant fresh water make it well-suited for developing a hydrogen fuel economy.
Ireland's National Hydrogen Plan outlines a pathway to become Europe's main producer of green hydrogen for various uses.
The development of private battery storage units represents a new business sector in the energy commodity trade.
Brilliant.org offers courses on programming, data analytics, and algorithms, which are essential for the modern energy marketplace.
Transcripts
this is a map of the world's wind
Resources with it we can see why the
middle Plains of America has by far the
highest concentrations of wind turbines
in the country more wind means more
power however one small island off the
mainland of Europe maxes out the average
wind speed chart Ireland is a wind
energy Paradise during one powerful
storm wind energy powered the entire
country for 3 hours and it is not
uncommon for wind to provide the
majority of the country's power on any
single day this natural resource has the
potential to transform ain's future but
increasing wind energy on an energy grid
comes with a lot of logistical problems
which are all the more difficult for a
small isolated island power grid
mismanaged wind turbines can easily
destabilize a power grid from Power
storage to grid frequency stabilization
wind energy is a difficult resource to
build a stable grid upon to understand
why we need to take these engineering
Marvels apart and see how they
work hidden within the turbin a cell is
a Wonder of engineering we cannot
generate useful electricity with the
low- speed high torque rotation of these
massive turbine rotors they rotate about
10 to 20 times a minute the generator
needs a shaft spinning around 1,800
times per minute to work effectively so
a gearbox es needed between the rotor
shaft and the generator shaft the
gearboxes are designed in stages
planetary gears are directly attached to
the blades to convert the extremely high
torque into faster rotations this stage
increases rotational speed by four
planetary gears are used for high torque
conversion because they have more
contact points allowing the load to be
shared between more gear teeth moving
deeper into the gearbox a second stage
set of helical gears multiplies the
rotational speed by six and the third
stage multiplies It Again by four to
achieve the 1,500 to 1,800 revolutions
per minute needed for the generator
these heavy 15 tonon gearboxes have been
a major source of frustration for power
companies although they've been designed
to have a 20-year lifespan most don't
last more than 7 years without extensive
maintenance this is not a problem
exclusive to gearboxes in win tur mines
but changing a gearbox in your car is
different from having a team climb up
over 50 m to replace a multi-million
dollar gearbox extreme gusts of wind
salty conditions and difficult to access
offshore turbines increases maintenance
costs even more the maintenance cost of
wind turbines can reach almost 20% of
the levelized cost of energy but in the
grand scheme of things wind is still
incredibly cheap however we don't know
the precise mechanisms causing these
gearbox failures what we do know is that
the wear shows up as these small cracks
that form on the bearings they are
called White Edge cracks from the pale
material that surrounds the damaged
areas this problem only gets worse as
when turbines get bigger and more
powerful requiring even more gear stages
to convert the incredibly high torque
being developed by the large diameter
rotors one way of avoiding all of these
maintenance costs is to skip the gearbox
and connect the blades directly to the
generator but a different kind of
generator is needed the output frequency
of the generator needs to match the grid
frequency slower Revolutions in the
generator need to be compensated for
with a very large diameter generator
that has many more magnetic poles
meaning a single revolution of the
generator passes through more
alternating magnetic fields which
increases the output frequency the
largest wind turbine ever made the hiad
X uses a direct drive system you can see
the large diameter generator positioned
directly behind the blades here this
rotor disc is 10 m wide with 200 poles
and weighs 250 tons but this comes with
its own set of issues permanent magnets
require neodium and dysprosium and China
controls 90% of the supply of these rare
earth metals unfortunately trade
negotiations and embargos lead to
fluctuating material costs that add
extra risk and complexity to direct
drive wind turbines Ireland is testing
these new wind turbines here in the
gallway wind Park the blades were so
large that this road passing underneath
the latalia rail Bridge which I use to
walk home from school every day had to
be lowered to facilitate the transport
of the blades from the nearby docks it
takes years to assess the benefit of new
Energy Technologies like this but as
wind turbines get bigger and more
expensive direct drive systems become
more attractive the next challenge is
getting the electricity created inside
these generat to match the grid
frequency when the speed of the wind
constantly changes the frequency of
current created by permanent magnet
generators matches the speed of the
shaft if we wanted the generator to
Output the US Standard 60 HZ we could
design a rotor to rotate 1,800 times per
minute with four poles two North and two
South this will result in 60 cycles per
second this has to be exact mismatch
frequencies will lead to chaos on the
grid bringing the whole system down
managing grid frequency is a 24/7 job in
the UK grid operators had to watch a
popular TV show themselves so they could
bring pumped Hydro stations online
because a huge portion of the population
went to turn on kettles to make te
during the ad braks this increased the
load on the grid and without a matching
increase in Supply the frequency would
have dropped the grid is very sensitive
to these shifts a small 1 Herz change
can bring a lot lot of Destruction
during the 2021 freeze in Texas the grid
fell Incredibly Close to 59 Hertz it was
teetering on the edge of a full-scale
blackout that would have lasted for
months many people solely blamed when
turbines not running for causing this
issue but they were only partly to blame
as the natural gas stations also failed
while the Texas grid also refuses to
connect to the wider North American grid
to avoid Federal Regulations rather
oddly Texas is also an isolated power
grid that has a large percentage of wind
energy the problem with wind energy is
that it is incapable of raising the grid
frequency if it drops wind turbines are
nonsynchronous and increasing the
percentage of wind energy on the grid
requires additional infrastructure to
maintain a stable grid to understand
what nonsynchronous means we need to
dive into the engineering of wind
turbines once again the first electric
wind turbines connected to the grid were
designed to spin the generator shaft at
exactly 1,800 RPM the prevailing winds
dictated the size and shape of the
blades the aim was to have the tips of
the blades move at around seven times
the speed of the prevailing wind the
tips of the blades were designed to
stall if the wind speed picked up this
let them have a passive control and keep
the blades rotating at a constant speed
while this allowed the wind turbines to
be connected straight to the grid the
constant rotational speed did induce
large forces onto the blades gusts of
wind would increase torque rapidly which
was a recipe for fatigue failur in the
drivetrain so to extract more power
variable speed wind turbines were
introduced instead of fixed blades that
depended on a stall mechanism for
control the blades were attached to the
hub with massive bearings that would
allow the blades to change their angle
of attack this provided an active method
of speed control but now another problem
emerged the rotor operated at different
speeds and the frequency coming from the
generator was variable a wind turbine
like this cannot be connected directly
to the grid to connect a varying
frequency generator to the grid the
power has to be passed through two
inverters the first converts the varying
AC to DC using a rectifier then the
second converter takes the DC current
and converts it back to AC at the
correct frequency this is done with
electronic switches that rapidly turn on
and off to create the oscillating wave
we lose some power in this process but
the larger issue for the grid as a whole
is that this removes the benefit of the
wind Turbin's inertia slowing something
heavy like a train is difficult because
it has a lot of inertia power grids have
inertia too huge rotating steam turbines
connected directly to the grid are like
these trains they can't be slowed down
easily so a grid with lots of large
turbines like nuclear power and coal
power turb turbines can handle a large
load suddenly appearing and won't
experience a sudden drop in Grid
frequency this helps smooth out sudden
increases in demand on the grid and
gives grid operators more time to bring
on new power sources when turbines of
course have inertia they are large
rotating masses but those inverters mean
their masses aren't connected directly
to the grid and so their inertia can't
help stabilize the grid solar panels
suffer from the same problem but they
couldn't add inertia either way as they
don't move this is an issue for
Renewables that can become a critical
vulnerability when politicians push to
increase the percentage of Renewables
onto a grid without considering the
impacts it can have on grid stability
additional infrastructure is needed to
manage this problem especially as older
energy sources that do provide inertia
begin to shut down like coal power
plants but Ireland had a creative
solution to this problem problem in 2023
the world's largest flywheel a 120 ton
steel shaft that rotates 3,000 times per
minute was installed in the location of
a former coal power plant a location
that already had all the grid
infrastructure needed to connect to the
grid this flywheel takes about 20
minutes to get up to speed using grid
power but it is kept rotating constantly
inside a vacuum to minimize power lost
to friction when needed it can instantly
provide power at the exact 50 HZ
required by the grid this flywheel
provides the inertia needed to keep the
grid stable but it's estimated that
Ireland will need five more of these
flywheels to reach its climate goals
with increasing amounts of wind energy
but they aren't designed for long-term
energy storage they are purely designed
for grid frequency regulation arland's
next problem is more difficult to
overcome it's an isolated island with
few interconnections connecting to other
energy grids and trading energy is one
of the best ways to stabilize a grid
larger grids are just inherently more
stable in an Ideal World Ireland could
sell wind energy to France when winds
are high and buy nuclear energy when
they are low instead right now Ireland
needs to have redundancy in its grid
with enough natural gas power available
to ramp up when wind energy is
forecasted to drop currently irand has
two interconnect connections with Great
Britain but none to Mainland Europe that
is hopefully about to change with this
700 megawatt interconnection currently
planned with France with Ireland's
average demand at 4,000 megaw this
interconnection can provide 17.5% of the
country's power needs when wind is low
or sell that wind to France when it is
high this allows Ireland to remove some
of that redundancy from its grid while
making it worthwhile to invest in more
wind power as the EXs now has somewh
where to go the final piece of the
puzzle is to develop long-term energy
storage infrastructure Ireland now has 1
gwatt hour of energy storage but this
isn't anywhere close to the amount
needed Ireland's government has plans to
develop a hydrogen fuel economy for
longer term storage and energy export in
the National hydrogen plan they set up a
pathway to become Europe's main producer
of green hydrogen both for home use and
for exports with Ireland's abundance of
fresh water thanks to our absolutely
miserable weather and our prime location
along World shipping routes and being a
hub for the third largest airline in the
world Ireland is very well positioned to
develop a hydrogen economy these
transport methods aren't easily
decarbonized and will need some form of
renewably sourced synthetic fuel which
hydrogen will be needed for whether
that's hydrogen itself ammonia or
synthetic hydrocarbons synthetic
hydrocarbons can be created using
hydrogen and car carbon dioxide captured
from the air Ireland's winning
combination of cheap renewable energy
abundant fresh water and its
strategically advantageous location
positions it well for this future
renewable energy economy irand plans to
begin the project by generating hydrogen
with electrolysis with wind energy that
has been shut off due to oversupply it's
basically free energy as the market
matures phase two of the plan is to
finally begin tapping into irin's vast
offshore wind potential exclusively for
hydrogen production with the lofty goal
of 39 tatt hours of production by 2050
for use in energy storage fuel for
transportation and for industrial
heating Ireland is legally Bound by EU
law to achieve net zero emissions by
2050 but even without these lofty
expectations it's in Ireland's best
interest to develop these Technologies
Ireland has some of the most expensive
electricity prices in Europe due to its
Reliance on fossil fuel Imports which
increased in price drastically due to
the war in Ukraine making this
transition won't be easy and there are
many challenges to overcome but Ireland
has the potential to not only become
more energy secure but has the potential
to develop its economy massively wind is
a valuable resource by itself but in
combination with its abundance of fresh
water it could become one of the most
energy rich countries in the world
energy commodity trade in has always
been a big business but the nature of
that business is changing from physical
Goods like barrels of oil to less
tangible assets like electrons stored in
batteries there is a rising business
sector of private battery storage units
that buy electricity when it's cheap
like when wind is high and sell it when
it's expensive this business depends on
algorithms that sort through data on the
weather and power consumption to
optimize when they buy and sell it's
essentially commodity day trading this
is just one of many jobs in the
marketplace that need people with
knowledge of programming data analytics
and algorithms all of which you can
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