600-kilowatt Mitsubishi wind turbines at the Foote Creek Rim Project near Arlington

UW Research Taps Expanding Market for Wind Energy

Jan. 9, 2003 - University of Wyoming College of Engineering researchers, aided by a $285,000 grant from the federal Department of Energy, are developing information that will make the new generation of large wind turbines more efficient and economically attractive in today's energy market.

As costs to produce electricity continue to escalate, Wyoming's considerable wind energy resources have the potential to help produce a larger portion of the nation's demand for electricity, say UW Mechanical Engineering Professors William Lindberg and Jon Naughton. They are working with Atmospheric Science Professors Robert Kelly and Tom Parish to develop computer models that will aid in the design and construction of the huge turbines.

Since wind speeds are greater at higher levels above ground, it is desirable and economical to produce electricity on extremely tall towers, perhaps several hundred feet above the ground. Naughton says the taller the turbine tower and the larger the area swept by the blades, the more powerful and productive the turbine.

The researchers are working to develop a design tool that can help predict the winds that can be expected within a given location, Lindberg says. At the same time, they will provide design data needed to construct huge turbines that can withstand even the most extreme high winds that can occur within the area.

"We want to make sure these turbines are designed for the loads they will encounter, to avoid catastrophic failures," says Naughton. "They need to be designed to be as light and efficient as possible while being stiff and strong enough to withstand the high loads they can experience."

Additionally, he says there would be a strong market for a system that has the ability to predict power production. Power companies would like to know a day or two in advance how much power will be produced. Expansion of wind-generated power would be a benefit to Wyoming, they say. Wyoming ranks seventh among the states for wind energy potential, as measured by annual energy potential in the billions of kilowatt hours, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Today, wind contributes less that 1 percent of U.S. electrical generation, but the AWEA says that with government encouragement, wind could provide at least 6 percent of the nation's energy by 2020.

Naughton notes that such government encouragement was demonstrated with the extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit included in the energy bill passed recently by Congress. It provides a 1.9 cent-per-kilowatt hour tax credit for electricity generated with wind turbines over the first 10 years of a project's operations.

Another advantage, Naughton points out, is that power created from wind plants does not contribute to environmental problems such as greenhouse gas emissions and pollution associated with conventional electricity production. California has passed legislation requiring that some of its power come from non-polluting sources. This should encourage the state to promote and expand Wyoming's clean energy resources, including wind.

A proposed School of Energy Resources at UW would include support for research focusing on such energy resources as oil, coalbed natural gas and coal conversion, but also on wind and other renewable energy resources.

During the dedication of the Wind Energy Center in Evanston in June, Gov. Dave Freudenthal touted wind energy's potential among the state's array of natural resources. The project, developed by Orion Energy and owned by FPL Energy, brings 80 wind turbines to southwest Wyoming with the capacity to supply the electric energy needs of about 43,000 households.

"I anticipate that this project (is) only beginning Wyoming's lead position in meeting the energy needs of our country through diversified resources," Freudenthal said.