How does a Wind Farm Work?

Wind turbines convert the energy of the wind into electricity. The turbine blades are turned slowly by the wind, and this rotation spins a generator to produce electricity. The electricity travels through transformers and a transmission line into the local electricity network for distribution to consumers.
Almost all commercial wind turbines producing electricity consist of three blades connected to a hub that rotates around a horizontal axis. The hub is connected to the gearbox and generator which are located inside the nacelle, the large part at the top of the tower.
The wind turbines are equipped with automatic control systems and wind monitoring equipment. This allows the wind turbine to produce power through a wide range of wind conditions. The turbine blades and rotor drive a high speed generator via a step-up gearbox.
The generated electricity passes through cables from the nacelle to the base of the tower. Here it is stepped up to high voltage in a generator transformer for supply to the transmission system.
Each of the turbines connects to the transmission system via the on site sub-station.
The wind turbines start operating at wind speeds of 3.5 metres per second (around 13 kilometres per hour) and reach maximum power output at around 13.5 metres per second (around 49 kilometres per hour). At very high wind speeds, such as gale force winds (34 metres per second or 122 kilometres per hour), the wind turbines shut down to avoid damage to the equipment.

from @2008 Transfield Services (Australia) Pty Ltd

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To read more, click http://www.transfieldservices.com/content/Sustainability_Online_08/how-does-a-wind-farm-work.html

Kate Ravilious The Guardian, Sunday 17 February 2013 22.30 GMT

A stroll through a wind farm may be a breezy experience. Now it turns out that extra drafts, created by swishing turbine blades, can change the weather.
As well as extracting energy from the wind, wind turbines swoosh air around. Fernando Portée-Agel, from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, and colleagues, investigated the impact of the extra drafts, measuring changes in temperature and humidity beneath a scale model of a wind farm, situated in a wind tunnel.
They found that downdrafts and updrafts from turbines often superimpose, especially when wind turbines are placed in neat rows. This affects the way that heat and moisture are lost from the land, the scientists explain in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
Sometimes changes are positive, as when crops are grown under a wind farm in Iowa, USA, where the wind turbines cool the air in the summer and help crops to thrive. But in other cases the drying of the land may make crops wilt, or alter the balance and distribution of species living under the turbines.
Luckily these weather changes are localised, and occur on large wind farms. With thoughtful design (such as staggering the turbine layout) the weather changes caused by wind farms can be minimised, or mitigated (by adding irrigation systems for example). For wind farm developers this is an extra headache, but with planning, wind farms could improve our weather.

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To read more, click http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2013/feb/17/weatherwatch-windfarm-turbine-energy

Damian Carrington guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 February 2013 14.47 GMT

A relative slowdown in new wind turbine construction in China was offset by increases in the US, Germany, India and the UK

Wind power expanded by almost 20% in 2012 around the world to reach a new peak of 282 gigawatts (GW) of total installed capacity, while solar power reached more than 100GW, having more than doubled in two years.

More than 45GW of new wind turbines arrived in 2012, with China and the US leading the way with 13GW each, while Germany, India and the UK were next with about 2GW apiece.

"While China paused for breath, both the US and European markets had exceptionally strong years," said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), which produced the statistics. "Asia still led global markets, but with North America a close second, and Europe not far behind."

The UK now ranks sixth in the world for installed wind power, with 8.5GW. In Europe, only Germany (31GW) and Spain (23GW) have more. China leads the world with 77GW installed and the US is second with 60GW.

The UK is by far the world leader in offshore wind deployment, installing 0.85MW in 2012 to bring the total so far to 3GW. Denmark has a total of 0.9GW installed; Belgium is ranked third with 0.4GW.

"We are pleased to be part of this success story," said a spokeswoman for the UK department of energy and climate change. "Wind is an important part of our low-carbon energy future. We're also driving the technology forward with innovative 6MW offshore turbines currently being installed in the North Sea."

The GWEC said market consolidation led to the relative slowdown in China, while "a lapse in policy" caused a similar slowdown in India, but expected Asian dominance of global wind markets to continue.

The record year for installation in the US was driven by a rush to beat an anticipated end to tax credits: 8GW of the total 13GW were installed in the last quarter of 2012. However, the tax credit has since been extended, meaning a dramatic slowdown in the US in 2013 is less likely.

GWEC said the outlook for 2013 in Europe was uncertain due to the eurozone debt crisis, but that the EU's legal committments and 2020 targets for renewable energy ensured "a degree of stability".

There is very little wind power installed in Africa, but sub-Saharan Africa's first large commercial wind farm came on line in 2012, a 52MW project in Ethiopia. "This is just the beginning of the African market," said Sawyer. "With construction started on over 0.5GW in South Africa, we expect Africa to be a substantial new market, where clean, competitive energy generated with indigenous sources is a priority for economic development."

Solar power reached 100GW installed capacity in 2012 for the first time, according to data from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), up from 71GW in 2011 and just 40GW in 2010. The largest market by far is Europe, with Germany (32GW total) and Italy (16GW) the leaders. But while solar panel connections in Europe fell by 5GW in 2012 compared to the previous year, installations rose by 5GW in the rest of the world, notable China, the US, Japan and India.

"Even in tough economic times and despite growing regulatory uncertainty, we have nearly managed to repeat the record year of 2011," said EPIA president Winfried Hoffmann. But the EPIA noted that a continued oversupply of solar panels would most likely make 2013 a "difficult year" for photovoltaic companies.

In January, Bloomberg New Energy Finance reported that global investment in all renewable energy had fallen by 11% in 2012, due largely to drops in government support in the US, Spain and Italy. Investment continued to rise in Asia.

In November, the International Energy Agency noted that low-carbon energy was growing quickly, driven largely by state subsidies. But the IEA highlighted that fossil fuels received six times more subsidy – $523bn in 2011, up 30% from 2010 – than low-carbon energy.

V. Ryan © 2005 - 2009

ADVANTAGES OF WIND POWER:
1. The wind is free and with modern technology it can be captured efficiently.

2. Once the wind turbine is built the energy it produces does not cause green house gases or other pollutants.

3. Although wind turbines can be very tall each takes up only a small plot of land. This means that the land below can still be used. This is especially the case in agricultural areas as farming can still continue.

4. Many people find wind farms an interesting feature of the landscape.

5. Remote areas that are not connected to the electricity power grid can use wind turbines to produce their own supply.

6. Wind turbines have a role to play in both the developed and third world.

7. Wind turbines are available in a range of sizes which means a vast range of people and businesses can use them. Single households to small towns and villages can make good use of range of wind turbines available today.

DISADVANTAGES OF WIND POWER:
1. The strength of the wind is not constant and it varies from zero to storm force. This means that wind turbines do not produce the same amount of electricity all the time. There will be times when they produce no electricity at all.

2. Many people feel that the countryside should be left untouched, without these large structures being built. The landscape should left in its natural form for everyone to enjoy.

3. Wind turbines are noisy. Each one can generate the same level of noise as a family car travelling at 70 mph.

4. Many people see large wind turbines as unsightly structures and not pleasant or interesting to look at. They disfigure the countryside and are generally ugly.

5. When wind turbines are being manufactured some pollution is produced. Therefore wind power does produce some pollution.

6. Large wind farms are needed to provide entire communities with enough electricity. For example, the largest single turbine available today can only provide enough electricity for 475 homes, when running at full capacity. How many would be needed for a town of 100 000 people?

by Energy Matters THURSDAY 21 FEBRUARY, 2013

Wind power breezed past nuclear energy based electricity generation in China last year; producing 2% more power.
   
According to the Earth Policy Institute, the gap will widen in the years ahead.
   
While Chinese officials believed the nation would reach 40,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2015; that was before Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster. After that occurred, the Chinese government suspended new reactor approvals and launched a safety review of plants in operation and also those under construction.
   
The moratorium on approvals was lifted in October 2012, with the catch that any new reactors must be Generation III; believed to be much safer. That stipulation was a stick in the spokes for China's nuclear industry and it has continued to struggle since.
   
Earth Policy Institute says China connected just four reactors during 2011/12 with a combined 2,600 megawatts capacity. For wind, it was a very different story; with 19,000 megawatts of wind power capacity added to the grid during the same period.
   
China has good reason to be pursuing wind power passionately aside from safety issues. It's estimated that the nation's wind generation potential is 12 times that of its 2010 electricity consumption. China's 2015 wind energy target has been set at 100,000 megawatts capacity; a goal that should be easily reached.
   
Solar power uptake is also being feverishly pursued. In January, China raised its 2015 target for solar-power installations by 67 percent  to 35 gigawatts capacity. The announcement was welcomed by Chinese solar companies; many of which have been struggling due to a glut of solar panels and razor thin margins; resulting in some companies shuttering manufacturing facilities and others disappearing altogether.
   
By 2020, total installed PV capacity in the nation is expected to reach 50GW. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, China had 6.5 gigawatts of installed  solar panel capacity at the end of last year.

By Amy R. Remo Philippine Daily Inquirer 11:03 pm | Friday, November 2nd, 2012

Technical assistance grant to build PH capacity
The Asian Development Bank has granted a $500,000 technical assistance to the Philippine government to promote and build the country’s wind power generation capacity under the bank’s Quantum Leap in Wind Power program.
 
Energy Undersecretary Jose M. Layug Jr. said on Wednesday that the Philippines was one of the program’s recipient countries, together with Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The target was to bring promising climate change-related technologies to commercial production.

According to Layug, the amount could be used for the revision of the existing wind energy roadmap, wind resource mapping, knowledge and capacity building, and prefeasibility studies.

Layug disclosed that the Department of Energy was planning to put up wind masts to measure the availability of wind in Cagayan, Aklan and Camarines Norte, where there are existing service contract holders. The energy agency was hoping that with more available data, it could fetch a better work program from prospective investors.
 
The DOE, however, was still identifying which institution would manage the data to be collected. So far, according to Layug, the DOE was looking at educational institutions such as the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Asia and the Pacific or the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).

It is also considering government agencies such as the DOE itself, the Department of Science and Technology or the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) as well as nongovernment institutions or the Wind Energy Development Association of the Philippines (Wedap).

The last study conducted on the country’s wind resources was the Philippine Wind Energy Resource Atlas prepared by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2001.
 
According to this study, the Philippines had 76,600 megawatts of total wind potential in six regions: the Batanes and Babuyan islands, north of Luzon; Ilocos Norte; the higher interior terrain of Luzon, Mindoro, Samar, Leyte, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Palawan, eastern Mindanao and adjacent islands; coastal locations from northern Luzon to Samar; wind corridors between Luzon and Mindoro, and islands between Mindoro and Panay.
 
The Philippines only has one wind farm, the 33-MW Bangui Bay project [pathetic!!!!!] installed by North Wind Power Development Corp.  The DOE said it would add 2,345 MW of wind capacity by 2030 to remain as the leading wind energy producer in Southeast Asia.

By David Appleyard, Chief Editor, Renewable Energy World International 11 April 2013
 
LONDON -- With annual market growth of almost 10 percent, and cumulative capacity growth of about 19 percent according to the latest figures from the Global Wind Energy Council, the wind sector continued to make robust progress in 2012. But while these figures suggest a relatively buoyant market for installations, perhaps a more accurate way to judge the health of the wind sector is to consider investment in R&D, and more specifically the products of that research, development and testing.

Indeed, alongside the expansion of wind markets - notably in Asia and the US, with Europe not far behind - wind technology also continued to show progress over the last year. Key trends appear to focus on larger offshore machines, new versions of existing turbines that have been upgraded and modified to suit a wider range of wind regimes and operating conditions, and a number of developments that aim to reduce installation and operations and maintenance costs.
For example, in January this year A2SEA's new second generation vessel, Sea Installer, erected two Siemens 6-MW test turbines at DONG Energy's demonstration site Gunfleet Sands 3.

“The turbines are getting bigger, and the future sites are further out to sea. This calls for more flexible vessels,” says Jens Frederik Hansen, CEO at A2SEA A/S. The vessel was launched from Qidong in China where it had spent two years under construction.

In autumn 2012 Hochtief also revealed a new vessel. Developed in conjunction with Areva, Innovation is a new heavy lift jack-up offshore installation vessel. Operating in depths of up to 65 meters, its cargo capacity is up to 8000 tons and the onboard crane can lift up to 1500 tons. Innovation was built by HGO InfraSea Solutions, a joint company of Hochtief Solutions and GeoSea.

Areva also showcased its new Single Blade Installation system (SBI) enabling the installation of blades on the hub in all positions up to 330 degrees and at wind speeds up to 12 m/s. By avoiding the need to transport assembled rotors, the system saves deck space and increases the number of machines which can be transported as a single load, Areva says. They add that the 55-ton remotely-controlled yoke was first tested in May at its prototype site in Bremerhaven, with the average time to mount or demount a blade around three hours.

Onshore, for example, Vestas and SNCF Geodis are using the railways to transport blades, with up to nine 55 meter long blades transportable by train. Although railway transportation of blades is still in its early phases in Europe, Vestas says it expects to reduce costs by 10-15 percent compared to transport by road.

Larger Rotor Diameters, Higher Speeds Explored
Among the major manufacturers announcing new, larger rotor, versions of existing machines, in February Spanish player Acciona revealed its new 125 meter diameter rotor for the company's existing AW300 platform. Designed to give the 3-MW turbine superior performance at low-wind IEC Class III sites, the AW 125/3000 model stands on Acciona's 120 meter concrete tower and has a swept area of more than 12,300 m2. Design certification for the new rotor is due for completion in 2013, with the first blades installed by the end of the year. The machine will be available for delivery in 2014 for both 50 and 60 Hz markets, Acciona says. It launched the 116 meter rotor version for IEC Class II sites in 2011.

At the recent EWEA 2013 Annual Event in Vienna, Alstom also announced an upgrade of its ECO 100 3 MW platform, currently designed for medium (Class II-A) wind sites, to medium and high winds (IEC Class II-A and IS Class). The ECO 122 turbine, currently suitable for Class III sites, is also being upgraded to medium and low winds (IEC Class III-A and II B). This upgrade increases the net capacity factor to up to 48 percent for both turbines with rotor diameters of 100, 110 and 122 meters, the company says.

Meanwhile, the first wind farm featuring ECO 110 wind turbines has been inaugurated in Brittany, France, following the signing of a March 2011 contract between Alstom and Eole Generation GDF SUEZ Group for installation of 11 machines. These feature a 110 meter diameter rotor designed for Class II wind regimes and sit on a 145 meter tower.

In a related development, September 2012 saw Alstom sign a deal for the manufacture of their ECO 122 wind turbines in two wind complexes, located in the North-East of Brazil with a 600 MW annual production capacity.

Vestas also revealed a number of new machines over the past year. In the low-wind arena the wind power giant sold its first V126-3.0 MW machines in November 2012, having launched the machine at the Husum Wind fair in September. Finland's TuuliWatti Oy is expected to see delivery of the initial batch of units in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The turbine is the latest variant of the 3 MW platform first launched in August 2010, has a rotor diameter of 126 meters to target low wind conditions (Class III) and features a structural shell blade design. The swept area has been increased by 27 percent compared with the previous model, the V112-3.0 MW, with its 112 meter rotor diameter. Featuring 55 meter-long blades, it is suitable for all three wind classes as well as offshore, Vestas says. Indeed, in June 2012 Vestas released a high-wind version of the machine. The new IEC S uses a beefed-up gearbox modified to handle the increased loads.

“The global market for high-wind turbines is diverse. In traditional and mature wind markets like the European mainland, there are not that many high-wind sites and opportunities left. However, in other markets, there are huge untapped high-wind resources and potential for high-wind specific turbines,” says Knud Winther Nielsen, senior product manager for Vestas Turbines R&D and head of the commercial development of the V112-3.0 MW.

Nielsen's words are backed up with another new product, announced in 2012 by GE and the latest version of its trusty 1.5-MW platform. The 1.85-82.5 machine is destined for high wind sites in Brazil, the company says.
IEC-certified for higher wind speed sites, the new turbine offers an 8 percent increase in annual energy production at 9 meters per second over its previous model. GE says its proprietary Advanced Loads Control allows siting of the 82.5 meter rotor in more aggressive wind regimes.

New Machines, New Manufacturing
Along with new machines, new manufacturing facilities are also being developed which will produce the new generation of products.

For example, in January 2013 Alstom launched construction of two new turbine plants in France. The Saint-Nazaire plants, expected to be commissioned in 2014, will be entirely devoted to assembling nacelles and manufacturing generators for the 6 MW Haliade 150 offshore wind turbine featuring a permanent magnet direct drive generator and a 150 meter rotor diameter. The two industrial buildings will be next to each other and will cover approximately 2.5 hectares in Montoir-de-Bretagne, within the harbor zone of Saint-Nazaire. They will be scaled for a production capacity of 100 machines per year and will take over from the temporary workshop in Saint-Nazaire where Alstom is already producing early series machines. By 2015, two other plants in Cherbourg intended for the production of blades and towers are set to be completed. The blades plant is being developed with LM Wind Power, whose 73.5 meter blades became the first 70+ meter blades to be installed when Alstom inaugurated the turbine.

LM Wind Power vice president of sales & marketing, Ian Telford, states: “Our technology enables us to design and manufacture relatively lighter glass fibre and polyester blades for the length, but above all, LM Wind Power has proven ability to handle the industrialization of these blades, which is not easy.”

Three out of the four offshore wind turbine factories will be financed through the “investissements d'avenir” (investments for the future) scheme managed by the French Environment and Energy Development Agency (ADEME).

Enercon has also announced new manufacturing capacity this year, having proceeded to series production in its new concrete tower factory in Zurndorf in Austria's Burgenland state. At full-scale production, the plant is expected to produce up to 24 tower segments a day - a complete tower - for the E-101 3 MW turbine series. The new factory is set to produce towers for projects throughout Austria, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Poland, and southern Germany. This latest plant followed the October 2012 start of operations at a similar, slightly smaller, facility in the province of Picardy, France.

Elsewhere, for example, China's Sinovel, is reportedly in advanced discussions with Romanian heavy machinery plant Faur to jointly invest in a wind turbine production facility in Romania.

Onshore Developments
Operating exclusively onshore, Germany's Enercon has announced a slew of developments with its new machines over the last few quarters. In mid-October the company erected the prototype of its new Class IIA 2.3 MW E-92 series atop a 97 meter precast concrete tower in Simonswolde, Ostfriesland in Northern Germany. With a rotor diameter of 92 meters, the machine is designed for lower wind sites and sits between the E-82 2.3 MW and the E-101 3 MW machines. Compared with the 82 meter machine, the E-92 can achieve up to 15 percent more yield, Enercon says. Once the power curve rating has been completed, due as REW went to press, Enercon says it will start series production.

News of the larger 2.3 MW variant followed close behind the announcement of another new machine, a 2.5 MW series with a 115 meter rotor diameter, specially designed for inland locations. Designed for average wind speeds of 7.5 meters per second and gust intensities of up to 59.5 meters per second, the E-115 is particularly suitable for less windy locations, Enercon says. Available with hub heights of 92 to 149 meters the first prototype is due to be installed this year and serial production is expected to be launched in 2014.

Nordex, another wind major operating exclusively onshore, chose the recent EWEA event in Vienna to unveil its latest turbine. The fourth generation — Generation Delta — of its 3-MW platform has larger rotors, increased nominal output and optimized technical systems, the company says. The new range comprises turbines for strong and medium wind speeds (IEC Class 1 and 2) and includes the 3 MW N117/3000 for medium wind speeds. This is a 20 percent increase in nominal output over its predecessor. Designed for locations characterized by high wind speeds, the N100/3300 is rated at 3.3 MW, resulting in a more than 30 percent increase in nominal output. Larger rotors are being used for both platforms with the N117/3000 adding 17 meters on its predecessor, resulting in a 37 percent increase in swept area and a 10 percent boost to full load hours.

Meanwhile the N100/3300 has a rotor 10 meter larger than its predecessor, increasing the swept area by 23 percent, and a taller 100 meter tower. The new machines also come with Nordex's anti-icing system. Commercial deliveries of the new machines are set to commence at the beginning of 2014, with initial projects being installed from mid-2013. Finland's Raahen Tuulienergia Oy will see two N117/3000 turbines installed in the port area of the Northern Finnish town of Raahe. One turbine is to be mounted on a 91 meter and the other on a 120 meter tower.

In mid-2012 Nordex also began series production of its newest variant of the 2.4 MW platform, again featuring a longer 117 meter rotor, the N117/2400 turbine.

GE, meanwhile, announced its new low wind onshore machine, the 2.5-120, at the end of January 2013. Featuring the company's new “brilliant” technology, the turbine includes energy storage capability. With 120 meter rotor diameter, GE says the machine has a maximum hub height of 139 meters - suitable for forested regions - and produces 15 percent more power than its current 2.5 MW model.

Vic Abate, vice president of GE's renewable energy business, said: “Analyzing tens of thousands of data points every second, the 2.5-120 integrates energy storage and advanced forecasting algorithms while communicating seamlessly with neighboring turbines, service technicians and customers.” The first prototype of the 2.5-120, optimized for Class III sites, was expected to have been installed in the Netherlands as REW goes to press. The 2.5-120 will be available at 50 Hz and 60 Hz.

Spanish firm Gamesa, with its range of onshore platforms from 850 kW through to 4.5 MW, unveiled both on- and offshore turbines earlier in 2012. For the onshore sector a new, longer bladed, version of its 2 MW platform has been unveiled. New blades giving a rotor diameter of 114 meters will see this 2 MW machine become available in five different rotor diameters: 80, 87, 90, 97 and 114 meters. Due to be commercially launched in the second quarter of 2014, this Class IIIA machine is designed for use at low-wind sites. The new machine has a 38 percent larger swept area than its G97-2.0 MW turbine and produces 20 percent more energy annually, Gamesa says.

Asia's Wind Technology Giants
Among the leading manufacturers based in Asia, Goldwind has been busy with certification of its flagship permanent magnet direct-drive platforms - it offers 1.5 MW, 2.5 MW, 3 MW machines. In February 2013, variants of both its 1.5 MW and 2.5 MW PMDD machines received ETL certification for US and Canadian markets from assessment group Intertek.

The 1.5 MW was initially certified in August 2011, the latest covers series products for low wind speed areas. In October 2012 the company announced that its 'ultra-low' wind 93 meter rotor diameter variant of its 1.5 MW had received domestic certification in China. This machine, the GW93/1500 was launched in April 2012 and is designed for IEC Class S, an annual average wind speed lower than 6.5 meters per second.

During the first half of 2012, a prototype was installed in Zhucheng, Shandong province. Based on operational field data, the company says the turbine can produce close to 9 percent more power on average than the earlier model GW87/1500 series turbines (designed for IEC III class) under the same conditions.

Goldwind unveiled its 6 MW prototype in 2011 and plans to mass produce the turbines by 2014. The company assembled several of the six MW offshore wind turbines this year and plans to put at least one into operation in the first half of 2012, the company said.

Meanwhile, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has unveiled a novel hydraulic drivetrain. Test operations at its Yokohama Dockyard & Machinery Works began in January 2013, the company says.

Part of a project launched in September 2012 to develop a hydraulic drivetrain for offshore turbines - supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) - MHI says it will accelerate its development of system in the 7 MW class, with installation and operation slated to begin at Hunterston, in the U.K. An onshore demonstration unit in the UK and an offshore floating wind farm project in Fukushima, Japan are slated to begin trial operations in June 2013 and August 2014, respectively, the company says. A mass-produced commercial model will be targeted for market launch in 2015. The Yokohama system is based on an existing MWT100 gear-driven wind generation system, retrofitted with the new hydraulic drivetrain.

Sinovel, another global giant, has continued with its testing program on its 2010-launched 5 MW and its 6 MW machine, launched in May 2011. Sinovel has commercially launched 1.5 MW and 3 MW and is in R&D and early production of its 5 MW and 6 MW turbines. The company is also moving to develop a 10 MW machine, with the project being listed in China's Central budgeting last autumn. The turbine is expected to be installed as a demonstration project in Jiangsu coastal area. China's National Development and Reform Commission awarded Sinovel a grant of RMB42 million (US$6.6 million) to accelerate commercialization of the 10 MW offshore design. Along with Sinovel both Goldwind and Guodian United Power are competing to develop a 10 MW machine after the project was deemed critical by the Chinese government last year.

Also in 2012, Sinovel teamed with Mita-Teknik to co-develop next generation control systems. Sinovel will purchase PLC hardware and the software with source code of the control systems from Mita-Teknik. The same year the company also filed a patent for a reactive voltage control system for a DFID wind generator. However, a fatal crane accident last autumn while attempting to lift a 5 MW wind turbine nacelle at the production facility in Gansu Province and continued wrangles with AMSC over intellectual property have rankled.

India's Suzlon has also been active developing new versions of its existing platforms. Mid-2012 saw the company reveal its S111 low-wind turbine. This Class III 2.1 MW machine features a rotor diameter of 111 meters. The platform is now available in rotor diameters of 88, 95, 97 and 111 meters. The S111 is available with tower heights of 95 and 120 meters, and will deliver a 20-29 percent increase in annual energy production over the S97 design. The first prototype is due to be operational in late 2013 and serial production is planned to begin in 2014. Suzlon also announced improvements to IEC Class II machine, the S95 first introduced in 2011.

Outlook
It's clear that the wind sector is benefitting from a surplus of choice when it comes to a range of turbines from the world's manufacturers. It's not all good news though. There have been closures and go-slows, with Nordex cutting staff at its Dongying blade manufacturing site in China and Sinovel ordering a go-slow on production, for example. In the U.S., Vestas laid off workers at blade factories in Colorado last year, with the company reducing its workforce in the U.S. and Canada by about 20 percent in 2012.

Nonetheless, while the ebb and flow of global business will inevitably see production capacity ramp up and decline in response to demand, at its core the wind business represents a technology and innovation business. We see evidence for this beyond the new variants and new machines. For instance, in the last year Gamesa raised €260 million from the European Investment Bank for its R&D+I investment program, focused on developing its two new wind turbines. Meanwhile Enercon launched the construction of its new R&D Centre, the Wobben Research & Development (WRD) facilities, scheduled to be operational by mid-2013. Investment in R&D pushes the economic boundaries of wind power today and given evidence, that boundary is being pushed hard.

Well though this may have some disadvantages but  still it is a good source for good and clean energy. There are many other source which can be more easier to use but they require men power too so wind power is good option with little drawbacks.