Re: OT T Boone Pickens

gfretwell@xxxxxxx wrote:
....
If it was a wind change they would all act in a similar way. I am
talking about 3 windmills and one or two just stop.
You can see the blades pitch to feather.

Whose design, do you know? The common German design used around here is a fixed 22.5 rpm irrespective of wind speed from minimum to max for voltage control. But again, these are large farms that are dispatched, not scattered single onesy, twosy type of installations. But, each turbine is monitored and can be controlled remotely.

Gray Co that I've mentioned before is 170 660KW Vesta for a total installed capacity of 112.2 MW. Basic statistics are at
http://www.fplenergy.com/portfolio/contents/gray_county.shtml

A summary of it's operational potential -- I've done the same on a monthly basis from EIA statistics over a six-year period and found essentially the same values.

http://www.protecttheflinthills.org/information/Gray%20Co%20%20Wind%20Power%20Facts.pdf.
....
Wind is not a constant and dependable resource, even in the breezy regions of southwest
Kansas, said Bob Johnson, Executive Manager of Engineering & Energy Services with
Sunflower Electric Power Corporation.
“Wind generation must be backed up by an equal amount of other generation that is on-
line but held in reserve,” Johnson said. “Transmission systems are constrained and
service is often not available in a timely or cost effective manor.”
....
Johnson cited the Gray County Wind Farm, which has been operating for more than five
years near Montezuma, as an example of the “have” and “have not” story of wind power.
The largest wind farm in Kansas, it features 170 giant turbines with a generating capacity
of 110 megawatts. That’s enough electricity to power 33,000 homes.
The difficulty, Johnson said, is that potential is rarely reached.
Based on figures from 2005, 32 percent of the time the wind farm produced less than 11
megawatts, which would be 10 percent of its rated output. What’s more, 66 percent of
the time it produced less than 55 megawatts, or 50 percent of its rated output.
Surprisingly, 18 percent of the time, the farm produced virtually no energy. That’s
equivalent to more than one and one-fourth days each week.
....

I bet that once they have a lot of these scattered around and sending
data to the central site they can do a better job of seeing wind
changes. Couple that with doppler radars and you can do a great job of
tracking the wind.

I don't think Doppler radar can do dry air wind speed--it's the rain particles entrained in the air that they measure afaik.

I do agree with the critics who say all of these wind and solar plants
need to be backed up at nearly 100% so the only real saving is fuel.

--
.

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