AGDA - Medium size wind turbine for distributed generation and self-consumption.

1 January 2014 - 31 December 2015

Project financied by:

Abstract

The aim of this project is the development and industrialization of a 100kW power rated wind turbine for distributed power generation applications. This medium-sized wind turbine must satisfy three key aspects:

• Strength and reliability to operate in any environment and condition with minimum maintenance.
• High performance to guarantee high economic profits.
• Reasonable costs to be highly competitive in the global market.

Argolabe Ingeniería is going to use the design of a 100kW wind turbine entirely developed by the company as conceptual basis, of which prototype is operating since July 2011 with very good performance and reliability records. The development of this project will focus on the improvement of this wind turbine at all levels with the goal of industrialize and commercialize it, launching a very competitive product to the global market.

The medium size wind turbine developed in this project is pointed to distributed power generation. This system is based in the power generation on the demand site, taking advantage of the available local resources. This decentralized system minimizes the power losses caused by transport and distribution grid, maximizes renewable, local, clean and endless resources and protects the general grid of power cuts, increasing the system stability and reliability.

Due to the progressive global change of power generation system, from conventional and centralized to efficient, decentralized and modern one, it is foreseen a high growth in the global midsized wind turbine market in next decades.

Objectives

The environmental aim of this project is to promote a change in the current energy model towards a decentralized scheme in which local clean infinite renewable resources could be seized, removing transport and distribution losses and increasing the system's efficiency and sustainability.

Technical purposes over previous 100kW wind turbine are:

• Increasing performance and global efficiency of the wind turbine.
• Increasing active control system reliability and security of the wind turbine.
• Wind turbine manufacturing costs reduction without bringing its quality down.
• Wind turbine operation costs reduction without alter its performance and security down.
• Process times reduction. New wind turbine manufacturing, assembly and installation processes will be redesigned and optimized in order to reduce wind turbine delivery times as far as possible.

Project development

Project Milestone 1 conclusion: procure wind turbine design and analysis loads.

Several goals have been achieved, such as:

• Pointing technological improvements.
• Pointing cost reduction improvements.
• Serial unit technical specifications definition.
• Rotor design.
• Control system design.
• Control simulation platform development.
• Control system test and coding.
• Developing technological and cost reduction improvements.

Project Milestone 2 conclusion: end of design and series unit development.

Several goal have been reached such as:

• Location of pre-series unit site.
• Wind resources assessment.
• Geotechnical studies.
• Pitch system design.
• Choosing electric machine.
• Power-train design.
• Tower design.
• Foundation design.
• Remote monitoring system design and programming.

We have also started the following tasks:

• Components manufacturing.
• Nacelle mounting.
• Selection of main suppliers.

Project Milestone 3 conclusion: installation, calibration and field testing of first series unit.

Several goals have been complete:

• Components manufacture.
• Nacelle mounting.
• Power train and electric actuators testing.
• Foundation building.
• First series unit installation.
• Testing campaign.
• System calibration.
• Pointing possible improvements.

Financial backers: