Using the Wind Power Equations to Site a Wind Farm
Audience
Course module will be deployed Spring ‘23, near the beginning of the semester.
The expected class size is around 60 students.
Students expected to have minimal experience with coding and data science. However, they are expected to be familiar with calculus.
Other applicable courses that may benefit from this module: The module may be useful in environmental engineering or energy engineering courses.
Project Summary
Primary Objective
The primary objective of this module is to allow students to engage with the wind energy power equations and explore other considerations in the siting of a wind farm.
Goals
Enable students to visualize the relationships between the variables and the equations
Identify useful statistical methods in defining wind speed characteristics of a region
Use real wind speed and wind turbine data to determine potential vs. actual energy harvested
Recognize the complexity in the taken considerations of building a wind farm
Content Outline
The module consists of three “block” assignments, which students complete through Google Colab.
Block 1
Learning Objectives:
Recognize the wind power equations and their variables
Describe the relationship between air density, wind speed, and blade area in calculating wind power (and wind power density)
Determine how air density changes with elevation and ground temperature
Understand the relationship between air density and pressure
Predict how wind speed changes with elevation and terrain conditions
Visualize the relationships between all these variables by creating graphs and plots
Block 2
Learning Objectives:
Describe how wind speed is measured
Understand how wind speed impacts power output
Outline the benefits and detriments of high wind speeds
Analyze wind speed data from different regions using tools such as frequency tables
Work with wind data to draw with meaningful conclusions
Estimate what the best wind speed is in a given region
Block 3
Learning Objectives:
Recognize the limits of the wind power equations,
Interpret a wind turbine's power curve
Define and calculate the capacity factor of a wind turbine
Interact with regional wind speed data to calculate capacity factors for different turbines
For more information email: difuse-pi-group@dartmouth.edu
