Windbiz

Korean Supply Option?

After a few discussions and news clippings - it seems the hype around Korean turbine suppliers is steadily increasing.  Korea is well-respected for its engineering capabilities, ability to manufacture at low cost, and recently it looks to be evolving its own local player, Unison.   Vestas is currently paired with this company to carry out the EPC of the 98 MW Gangwon project - though it may soon be seeing the firm as a competitor. 

The question seems to be can the Koreans combine the low costs of China with more advanced engineering and turbine design expertise.  Given Unison's machine is only a 750 kW effort, but it is gearless and moving along the experience curve.  Add another onto the list of small players getting in while turbines are scarce.         

Innovation on the VAWT-er?

The Economist's Technology Quarterly has picked up on recent developments in Vertical Access Wind Turbine (VAWT) designs, offering a glimpse at the latest peddler of these wares, one TMA Global Wind Energy Systems of Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The story to look for in here is: why has VAWT technology struggled to make it to the mass, industrial scale market? It's been affirmed time and again as a more reliable and cost-effective design than the current upright tri-bladers (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine -HAWT), from Darrieus to Savonius.

From what I can tell, there are two broad technical and commercial reasons why VAWT has struggled.  On the technical side, VAWTs are low to the ground and don't capture the high winds like the 60-80m hub heights of HAWTs.  The Darrieus version needs a generator to start up, and cables to keep it fixed.  The Savonius model, more compact, spins even more slowly and is less productive for electricity though it's a decent grain-grinder.  There is another version of the Darrieus principle proposed for 9MW offshore machines, though at first glance it appears prone to some of the same component stress as HAWTs.   On the commercial side, it's the same old story of technical innovators whose marketing story hasn't been well-banked, well-communicated, nor well-timed.

Will the folks in Cheyenne overcome these challenges?  On the technical side - it's still the same low-to-the-ground design capturing less resource, however it claims to get more production through the interaction between a set of moveable internal and fixed external blades.  Its compact cylindrical frame definitely looks sturdier than a HAWT, and it is relatively cheap to build.  This makes it an interesting offshore play: these machines may capture higher resources offshore where costs and mechanical stress are major issues.    On the commercial side - here come the challenges.  AMT isn't being incubated by a GE or Siemens and the marketing story will have to improve.  The timing is not bad - offshore wind is adding less than 100 MW/year while costs are spiraling,HAWT components are hard to find.  Getting more VAWT designs into the development pipeline is a good thing, particularly as the industry looks to scale on the water.      

Image source: TMA Global Wind Energy Systems.

Argentina - First Wind, then Hydrogen

Despite a virtually non-existent wind power industry, there was a fair amount of hype a few years ago about Patagonia harnessing its massive wind resource to produce hydrogen, and now it is being revived.  Hundreds of miles from any major demand center, and with no proper transport lines, producing hydrogen may be a way to store significant amounts of electricity from nearly 20,000 MW of potential.  So things are moving forward down in Pico Truncado, where a town of 15,000 residents has four turbines covering around half of its consumption--and the excess production is used to crack water. 

While I am thrilled for the people of Pico Truncado and support the R&D efforts, my feeling is the cart is going before the horse here.  More attention should be paid to getting Argentina's wind industry running:  basically nothing has been installed for the past five years (the country has a total of 27 MW).  First let's get conventional wind projects consistently on-line as the economy recovers, which will help build a strong platform to fully tap Patagonia and store hydrogen.  Then, when developers have the money and experience, they will be ready to implement wind to hydrogen technology.  Otherwise, wind to hydrogen in Pico Truncado will be just another hyped-up pilot, rather than the evolution of a viable energy alternative.            

Hywind Going Deep - Floating Offshore Turbines

At some point the deep water experience of oil & gas must be fully applied to offshore wind.  The current 30 meter depth limits for most offshore wind projects is a far cry from 1,000 meter depth floating oil platforms.  The latest attempt to take on the depth challenge for wind is Norway's Hydro, looking at 200-300 meters with floating turbine foundations. 

But first things first - there needs to be a cost effective, technically sound solution in the 30-80 meter range, particularly if Germany's offshore market is ever going to get started.  There is a pilot project called DOWNVIND to install REpower 5 MW turbines at the Beatrice oil field in Scotland at around 40-50 meters.  Arcadis is also working on a deeper water foundation concept with Vestas for the 600 MW Ventotec project.  However, the first step for Germany will be into 25 meters of water, with the 12 turbine Borkum West project.