Wind Turbines Theory and Practice

The final chapter takes a wider look at wind turbine technology in the context of a potential 100% renewable electricity supply at national or state level. The problem of intermittency is explained, together with the role of overcapacity and wind turbine power density in helping to solve it. A section on energy storage considers the theoretical storage capacity that would be needed at national level to enable wind power to serve all demand, with high level analysis using one year’s data from the UK national grid; a second case study considers the State of Texas again using measured hourly data. The potential to combine solar and wind power is examined for both case studies, in proportions so as to minimise the energy storage requirement. The economics of a wind/solar grid with storage are explored with LCOE analysis, and the results discussed in the context of different storage technologies, with a range of installed costs. The final section examines the sustainability of wind turbine manufacture, decommissioning, and disposal, with examples of new technology to reduce associated CO2 emissions. These include decarbonised steel production, recyclable blades and wood laminate towers.