Objective
The purpose of the project was to make a full-scale demonstration on the feasibility of attaining high rates of wind energy penetration in small, diesel powered electricity systems and quantifying the resulting fuel savings. A yearly target wind energy penetration rate of 40% was designed for a wind energy delivery of 615 000 kWh.
This high level of wind energy penetration was to be reached without any trouble for the complete system, as well for the diesel plant than for the customers.
The cost of used wind energy was planned to be lower than the cost of saved diesel oil.
Among the results of this highly successful project are :
- the validation of WASP program which has given excellent correlation between computed results and observed wind distributions according as well space than time.
- the validation of "wind & diesel hybrid power plant" concept designed by VERGNET company. It has been demonstrated high level of wind energy penetration (55% during 24 hours periods) is compatible with safe running of a small diesel power plant.
- the initial energy aims of the project have been met :
* Adding to the wind energy recorded delivery during one year (463 000 kWh) the losses due to new system problems makes a normal running delivery of 636 000 kWh which is a little more than planned (615 000 kWh).
* It has been measured during the same period a saving of 150 tons of diesel oil. This figure would have been 210 tons under normal operation.
With a further management improvement of the diesel power plant this saving will reach 250 tons to compare to a diesel oil consumption of 675 tons without the wind plant.
The cost of the project was exactly controlled but the economical efficiency if still positive, is less than planned because from the project starting up, the oil price felt by 30% driving to a saved cost per unit of 0.675 FRF in December 1993.
Replication of the project is technically at hand with possibility of higher wind energy penetration rate with a better control of diesel gensets, the only, but important problem, lies in economics: the last years dropping curve of oil price makes difficult to find places where saved diesel oil is less expensive than wind kWh. These places have to be altogether very remote and very windy.
The DESIRADE island which lies in the trade wind area (FRENCH WESTERN INDIES) is fed from a small diesel genset plant which includes :
- one 160 kW genset,
- three 240 kW gensets.
The running of the gensets is controlled by Operators who choose the on-duty machine and start and stop the other to face the grid power curve. Annual demand of the grid has been 1 963 MWh in 1993 for an estimated diesel oil consumption of 650 tons. One wind farm totalling 12 UM100-N/12000/RES(50) wind generators, each rated 12 kW at 12 m/s wind speed, building a wind power plant of more than 144 kW maximum power, has been lined on the very edge of a cliff siting at 45 deg. predominant wind, alize along 700 m length segment. The site of the wind farm has been selected afted a numerical survey done with WASP program, developed by RISO with the EUROPEAN COMMUNITY back-up.
The observed 1993 wind regime is the following :
- average wind velocity at 30 m height : 9,42 m/s,
- local WEIBULL's law shape factor : 3,15
These two figures are closer than 10% to the ones computed with WASP program.
More interesting, deliveries of individual machines are closely correlated to the local changes in wind speed shown by WASP program for every wind machine pads.
The technical innovative part of this project is to reach a high wind energy penetration level altogether with a permanently running diesel set. This can only be achieved thanks to the genuine ability of AEROWATT technology wind machines to run on the "free wheeling" mode. It means the wind generators can be coupled or uncoupled to the grid regardless to the wind velocity. So doing, and thanks to the spitting of the total wind power between 12 identical wind machines, the wind power can follow smoothly the "acceptable wind power curve" which is :
- the grid demand,
- less the minimum power level required by the running diesel genset to avoid polluting its engine.
Taking in account the dependability of the machines and theenergy losses due to "free wheeling" of the machines (Controlled by the Regulation Module which adapts the wind power to the diesel acceptable power) it was planned a yearly wind energy delivery of 615 000 kWh and a wind energy penetration rate of 31,3% according to the 1993 grid energy demand.
At the effective starting of the project, 1991, the saved cost per unit (diesel oil and oil) was in the range of 1.00 FRF and the computed cost for a delivered wind unit was 0.613 FRF.
A monitoring system has been installed the world access of which being possible through standard telephone link with french MINITEL videotex program.
The yearly theoretical output of actual wind farm under the actual wind regime has been computed at : 850 000 kWh.
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
DEM - Demonstration contractsCoordinator
45140 Ingre
France