Germany builds world's tallest wind farm

Wind farms in Germany and their popularity.

Who, if not attentive and diligent Germans, knows a lot about modern technologies? It is in Germany that the highest quality and most reliable cars are born. And the government is seriously worried about the financial costs of its citizens. So, in 2018, Germany took 3rd place (after the United States of America and China) in generating electricity using ... wind! The Germans have been promoting the idea of ​​using windmills to generate electricity for years. Small and large, high and low, they are placed throughout the country and allow the state to abandon the construction of more harmful and dangerous power plants.

Numbers and details

In the north of Germany, a whole valley of wind farms has been installed, which can be seen for many kilometers. Giant wind turbines are environmentally friendly and efficient, low-maintenance and rightfully considered the energy source of the future. The power of the equipment directly depends on its height! The higher the turbine is, the more electrical energy it produces. That is why the developers do not stop there: a new wind turbine with a maximum height of as much as 247 meters was recently installed in the small town of Heidorf! In addition to the main turbine, the power plant has 3 additional ones, each 152 meters high. Together, their power is enough to fully provide electricity to a thousand homes.

The new design also features innovative electricity storage technology. Practical and smart Germans use capacious tanks with a supply of clean water, which prevent a drop in power in the absence of windy weather. The technology of the future is considered incredibly promising, so many countries are trying to follow the example of Germany. However, it is unlikely that this country will be surpassed... To date, the capacity of all installed wind turbines exceeds 56 GW, which is more than 15% of the total share of wind energy on the planet. Over 17,000 windmills can be counted throughout Germany, and their production has long been put on the conveyor.

Is the future in the power of the wind?

For the first time, the German government thought about installing wind farms after the terrible disaster that occurred in Chernobyl in 1986.The destruction of a giant nuclear power plant, which had terrible consequences, made many leaders of the world's states think about changes in the electric power industry. Today, more than 7% of electricity in Germany is generated by electric generators.

The country's leaders are also actively developing offshore power industry. The first wind turbine, located in the sea, appeared in the hands of the Germans 12 years ago. Today, a full-fledged, commercial wind farm operates in the Baltic Sea, and in the near future it is planned to open two more wind farms in the North Sea.

However, not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. Even such an environmentally friendly method of generating electricity has ardent opponents. Among their main arguments is the high cost of such structures, which negatively affects the state budget. And also their unaesthetic appearance. Yes, yes, you heard right! Some people believe that installed wind turbines prevent them from enjoying the scenic beauty of nature, which, in their opinion, is much worse than poisoning this very ecology with conventional sources of electricity. There is another argument from the “ill-wishers” of wind farms! Their noisy hum interferes with the quiet life of people whose houses are located in close proximity to the landfills.

Be that as it may, it is impossible to dispute the popularity of wind farms in Germany and the trend towards an increase in their number. The government is moving confidently in the given direction, planning to develop both conventional and offshore wind energy.

Also interesting:

The most powerful wind farm

The creation of a small power plant is unprofitable.There is a clear rule in this industry - it is profitable either to have a private windmill to service a house, a farm, a small village, or to build a large power plant of regional importance, operating at the level of the country's energy system. Therefore, more and more powerful stations are constantly being created in the world, generating a large amount of electricity.

The world's largest wind farm, generating almost 7.9 GW of energy per year, is China's Gansu. The energy needs of almost two billion China are enormous, which forces the construction of large stations. By 2020, it is planned to reach a capacity of 20 GW.

In 2011, India's Muppandal plant came into operation, with an installed capacity of 1.5 GW.

The third largest plant with a production capacity of 1,064 GW per year is the Indian Jaisalmer Wind Park, which has been operating since 2001. Initially, the power of the station was lower, but, after a series of upgrades, it reached today's value. Such parameters are already approaching the indicators of an average hydroelectric power station. The achieved volumes of electricity production are beginning to take wind energy out of the category of minor ones into the main directions of the energy industry, creating broad prospects and opportunities.

Fighting windmills

There is another problem - the opposition of environmentalists. Although most environmental organizations are in favor of wind energy, there are those who are against it. They do not want wind farms to be built on federal lands and in areas with pristine nature. Wind farms are also often opposed by local residents who do not like that wind turbines spoil the view, and their blades make an unpleasant sound.

Rallies against wind farms

Today in Germany there are more than 200 civil initiatives protesting against the construction of wind turbines. They argue that the government and energy concerns are trying to convert traditional affordable energy into expensive "green" energy.

“It's business as usual. The construction of wind farms and the production of wind turbines consumes a lot of energy. Replacing old wind turbines with new ones, their maintenance and disposal, and government subsidies are expensive for taxpayers. The message to reduce CO2 emissions is not convincing,” argue anti-wind farm activists.

Plan to increase the capacity of wind turbines

Despite progress and knowledge acquired over more than three decades, the wind industry as an industry is still taking its first steps. Its share today is approximately 16% of the total energy produced in Germany. However, the share of wind power is definitely set to rise as governments and the public move towards carbon-free electricity. New research programs are aimed at developing technologies, optimizing operation and production, increasing the flexibility of the power system and reducing costs.

This is interesting: Physicists from Russia have improved the efficiency of solar panels by 20%

Public opinion

Information about wind energy in Germany 2016: electricity production, development, investment, capacity, employment and public opinion.

Since 2008, wind energy has enjoyed a very high acceptance in society.

In Germany, hundreds of thousands of people have invested in civilian wind farms across the country, and thousands of SMEs are doing successful business in the new sector, which employed 142,900 people in 2015 and produced 12.3 percent of Germany's electricity in 2016. .

Recently, however, there has been an increase in local resistance to the expansion of wind power in Germany due to its impact on the landscape, cases of deforestation for the construction of wind turbines, low-frequency noise emission, and negative impacts on wildlife such as birds of prey and bats.

Governmental support

Since 2011, the German federal government has been working on a new plan to increase the commercialization of renewable energy, with a particular focus on offshore wind farms.

In 2016, Germany decided to replace feed-in tariffs with auctions from 2017, citing the mature nature of the wind energy market, which is best served in this way.

energy transition

The 2010 "Energiewende" policy was adopted by the German federal government and led to a huge expansion in the use of renewable energy, especially wind energy. The share of renewable energy in Germany increased from about 5% in 1999 to 17% in 2010, approaching the OECD average of 18%. Producers are guaranteed a fixed feed-in tariff for 20 years, guaranteeing a fixed income. Energy cooperatives were formed and efforts were made to decentralize control and profits.Large energy companies hold a disproportionately small share of the renewable energy market. Nuclear power plants have been closed and the existing 9 plants will close earlier than necessary in 2022.

Decreased dependence on nuclear power plants has so far resulted in increased dependence on fossil fuels and electricity imports from France. However, with a good wind, Germany exports to France; in January 2015 the average price was €29/MWh in Germany and €39/MWh in France. One of the factors hindering the efficient use of new renewable energy sources was the lack of associated investment in energy infrastructure (SüdLink) to bring electricity to market. Transmission restrictions sometimes force Germany to pay Danish wind power to stop production; in October/November 2015 this was 96 GWh at a cost of €1.8 million.

In Germany, there are different attitudes towards the construction of new power lines. Tariffs were frozen for industry, and therefore the increased costs of the Energiewende were passed on to consumers, who had higher electricity bills. The Germans had some of the highest electricity costs in Europe in 2013.

offshore wind power

Offshore wind farms in the German Bay

Offshore wind power also has great potential in Germany. Wind speeds at sea are 70–100% faster than on land and much more constant. A new generation of wind turbines of 5 MW or more capable of harnessing the full potential of offshore wind power has already been developed, and prototypes are available.This allows offshore wind farms to be operated profitably after the usual initial difficulties associated with new technologies have been overcome.

On July 15, 2009, the construction of Germany's first offshore wind turbine was completed. This turbine is the first of 12 wind turbines for the alpha ventus offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

After the nuclear accident power plants in Japan in 2011 The German federal government is working on a new plan to increase the commercialization of renewable energy, with a particular focus on offshore wind farms. According to the plan, large wind turbines will be installed away from the coastline, where the wind blows more steadily than on land, and where the huge turbines will not disturb residents. The plan aims to reduce Germany's dependence on energy from coal and nuclear power plants. The German government wants 7.6 GW installed by 2020 and 26 GW by 2030.

The main problem will be the lack of sufficient network capacity to transmit electricity generated in the North Sea to large industrial consumers in southern Germany.

In 2014, 410 turbines with a capacity of 1,747 megawatts were added to Germany's offshore wind farms. Due to grid connection not yet completed, only turbines with a total capacity of 528.9 megawatts were added to the grid at the end of 2014. Despite this, in late 2014, Germany reportedly broke the barrier to offshore wind power. has tripled to over 3 gigawatts of power, demonstrating the growing importance of this sector.

Economic justification for the construction of wind farms

Before making a decision on the construction of a wind farm in a given area, thorough and extensive surveys are carried out. Experts find out the parameters of local winds, direction, speed, and other data. It is noteworthy that meteorological information in this case is of little use, since they are collected at different levels of the atmosphere and pursue different goals.

The information obtained provides a basis for calculating the efficiency, expected productivity and capacity of the plant. On the one hand, all costs for the creation of the station are taken into account, including the purchase of equipment, delivery, installation and commissioning, operating costs, etc. On the other hand, the profit that the operation of the station can bring is calculated. The obtained values ​​are compared with each other, compared with the parameters of other stations, after which a verdict is made on the degree of expediency of building a station in a given region.

offshore wind power

Location of German wind farms in the North Sea

Germany's first offshore (offshore but close to shore) wind turbine installed in March 2006. The turbine was installed by Nordex AG 500 meters from the coast of Rostock.

A turbine with a capacity of 2.5 MW with a blade diameter of 90 meters is installed in a sea area 2 meters deep. Foundation diameter 18 meters. 550 tons of sand, 500 tons of concrete and 100 tons of steel were laid in the foundation. The structure with a total height of 125 meters was installed from two pontoons with an area of ​​1750 and 900 m².

In Germany, there is 1 commercial wind farm in the Baltic Sea - Baltic 1 (en: Baltic 1 Offshore Wind Farm), two wind farms in the North Sea are under construction - BARD 1 (en: BARD Offshore 1) and Borkum West 2 (en: Trianel Windpark Borkum) at coast of the island of Borkum (Frisian Islands). Also in the North Sea, 45 km north of the island of Borkum, is the Alpha Ventus test wind farm (en: Alpha Ventus Offshore Wind Farm).

By 2030, Germany plans to build 25,000 MW of offshore power plants in the Baltic and North Seas.

Pros and cons of WPP

Today, there are more than 20,000 wind farms of various capacities in the world. Most of them are installed on the coast of the seas and oceans, as well as in the steppe or desert regions. Wind farms have many advantages:

• no need to prepare the area for the installation of installations
• repair and maintenance of wind farms are much cheaper than any other stations
• transmission losses are significantly lower due to proximity to consumers
• no harm to the environment
• energy source is completely free
• land between installations can be used for agricultural purposes

At the same time, there are also disadvantages:

• source instability forces the use of a large number of batteries
• units make noise during operation
• flickering from the blades of windmills has a very negative effect on the psyche
• the cost of energy is much higher than with other production methods

An additional disadvantage is the high investment cost of projects of such stations, which consists of the price of equipment, the cost of transportation, installation and operation.Taking into account the service life of a separate installation - 20-25 years, many stations are unprofitable.

The disadvantages are quite significant, but the lack of other opportunities reduces their impact on decisions. For many regions or states, wind energy is the main way to get their own energy, not to depend on suppliers from other countries.

Know-how in Gaildorf

In December 2017, the German company Max Bögl Wind AG launched the world's tallest wind turbine. The support has a height of 178 m, and the total height of the tower, taking into account the blades, is 246.5 m.

Start of construction of a wind turbine in Gaildorf

The new wind generator is located in the German city of Gaildorf (Baden-Württemberg). It is part of a group of four other towers ranging in height from 155 to 178 m, each with a 3.4 MW generator.

The company believes that the amount of energy generated will be 10,500 MWh per year. The project cost is 75 million euros and is expected to generate 6.5 million euros each year. This project received 7.15 million euros in subsidies from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit, BMUB).

Wind farm in Gaildorf

The ultra-high windmills use an experimental hydro-storage technology. The reservoir is a 40 m high water tower, which is connected to a hydroelectric power station located 200 m below the wind turbines. Surplus wind energy is used to pump water against gravity and store it in the tower. If necessary water is released to supply electrical current.It takes only 30 seconds to switch between energy storage and supply to the grid. As soon as the power drops, the water flows back and rotates additional turbines, thereby increasing the generation of electricity.

“In this way, engineers solve one of the biggest problems associated with renewable energy sources - their irregularity and dependence of power on climatic features. The capacity of four wind turbines and a pumped-storage power plant is enough to provide energy to 12,000 residents of the city of Gaildorf,” says Alexander Schechner, Project Development Engineer in Gaildorf.

Types of wind farms

The main and only type of wind power plants is the integration into a single system of several tens (or hundreds) of wind power plants that produce energy and transfer it to a single network. Almost all of these units have the same design with some changes in individual turbines. Both the composition and all other indicators at the stations are quite uniform and depend on the total capacity of individual units. The differences between them are only in the method of placement. Yes, there are:

• ground
• coastal
• offshore
• floating
• soaring
• mountain

Such an abundance of options is associated with the conditions, needs and capabilities of companies operating certain stations in various regions of the globe. Most placement points are related to need. For example, Denmark, the world leader in wind energy, simply does not have other opportunities. With the development of the industry, other options for the installation of units will inevitably appear, taking maximum advantage of local wind conditions.

Specifications

The dimensions of such turbines are impressive:

• blade span - 154 m (the length of one blade for the Vestas V-164 turbine is 80 m)
• construction height - 220 m (with a vertically raised blade), for Enercon E-126, the height from the ground to the axis of rotation is 135 m
• number of rotor revolutions per minute - from 5 to 11.7 in nominal mode
• the total weight of the turbine is about 6000 tons, incl. foundation - 2500 tons, supporting (carrying) tower - 2800 tons, the rest - the weight of the generator nacelle and rotor with blades
• wind speed at which the rotation of the blades starts - 3-4 m / s
• critical wind speed at which the rotor stops - 25 m/s
• the amount of energy produced per year (planned) - 18 million kW

It must be borne in mind that the power of these structures cannot be regarded as something constant and unchanging. It entirely depends on the speed and direction of the wind, which exists according to its own laws. Therefore, the total energy production is much less than the maximum values ​​obtained to determine the capabilities of the turbines. And, nevertheless, large complexes (wind farms), consisting of dozens of turbines, combined into a single system, are able to provide consumers with electricity on the scale of a fairly large state.

Statistics

Annual wind power in Germany for 1990-2015, shown on a semi-log graph with installed capacity (MW) in red and generated capacity (GWh) in blue

Installed capacities and wind energy generation in recent years are shown in the table below:

states

Geographic distribution of wind farms in Germany

What is the largest wind generator

The largest wind turbine in the world today is the brainchild of German engineers from Hamburg Enerkon E-126. The first turbine was launched in Germany in 2007, near Emden.The power of the windmill was 6 MW, which at that time was the maximum, but already in 2009 a partial reconstruction was carried out, as a result of which the power increased to 7.58 MW, which made the turbine a world leader.

This achievement was very significant and put wind energy in a number of full-fledged leaders in the world. The attitude towards it has changed, from the category of rather timid attempts to get serious results, the industry has moved into the category of large energy producers, forcing to calculate the economic effect and prospects of wind energy in the near future.

The palm was intercepted by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, whose turbines have a declared capacity of 9 MW. The installation of the first such turbine was completed at the end of 2016 with an operating power of 8 MW, but already in 2017, a 24-hour operation was recorded at a power of 9 MW, obtained on the Vestas V-164 turbine.

Such windmills are truly colossal in size and are installed, most often, on the shelf of the western coast of Europe and in the UK, although there are some specimens in the Baltic. Combined into a system, such wind turbines create a total capacity of 400-500 MW, which is a significant competitor to hydroelectric power plants.

The installation of such turbines is carried out in places with a predominance of sufficiently strong and even winds, and the sea coast corresponds to such conditions to the maximum extent. The absence of natural barriers to the wind, a constant and stable flow allow organizing the most favorable mode of operation of the generators, increasing their efficiency to the highest values.

What analogues exist, their operating parameters

There are quite a few manufacturers of wind power generators in the world, and all of them are striving to increase the size of their turbines.This is profitable, allows you to increase the productivity of your products, increase the amount of energy generated and interest large companies and governments in advancing the wind energy program. Therefore, almost all major manufacturers are actively producing structures of maximum power and size.

Among the most notable manufacturers of large wind turbines are the already mentioned MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, Erkon. In addition, Haliade150 or SWT-7.0-154 turbines from the well-known company Siemens are known. List manufacturers and their products can be long enough, but this information is of little use. The main thing is the development and promotion of wind energy on an industrial scale, use of wind energy in the interests of mankind.

Technical characteristics of wind turbines from different manufacturers are approximately equal. This equality is due to the use of almost identical technologies, compliance with the characteristics and parameters of structures in a single dimension. The creation of larger windmills is not planned today, since each such giant costs a lot of money and requires significant maintenance and maintenance costs.

Repair work on such a structure costs a lot of money, if you increase the size, then the increase in costs will go exponentially, which will automatically cause an increase in electricity prices. Such changes are extremely detrimental to the economy and cause serious objections from everyone.