Question

An electric utility decides to add 50 mw of wind generation to its system. If the individual units are to be rated at 2 mw in a 13-m/s wind at standard conditions and have efficiencies cpr = 0.32,mechanical efficiency = 0.94, and generator efficiency = 0.96, what is the required swept area a of each rotor? What is the rotor diameter, if the rotor is a two bladed horizontal axis propeller?

Answer 1

The output of a wind turbine depends on the turbine's size and the wind's speed through the rotor. An average onshore wind turbine with a capacity of 2.5–3 MW can produce more than 6 million kWh in a year – enough to supply 1,500 average EU households with electricity.