Steve Trenholm, CEO, EC&R North America.
Photo - Heather Coit
Pioneer Trial Wind Farm Generates Power for the First Time
On October 20th, E.ON Climate and Renewable (EC&R) generated power on the first turbines of the Pioneer Trail Wind Farm, just 4 miles outside the town of Paxton Illinois. Expected to be fully operational by early 2012, this is the first wind farm to be placed in the area.
This is the Midwest my friends. The town of Paxton is a little slice of Americana - general stores, celebrated rockabilly legends (Tim Morrison) and home of 6 time monster truck world champion (Tom Meents), Paxton like the rest of the US has felt the squeeze of the economic crisis. Renewable green energy like wind power brings the promise of jobs and a sense of renewal to the area. According to the October 20th press release by EC&R the wind farm will pay $8 million in local salaries and more than $50 million to landowners. EC&R expects to employ approximately 200 people during construction and establish 8 to 10 permanent positions in nearby Iroquois County.
Pioneer Trail Wind Farm
Photo - Heather Coit
Bringing Alternative Energy Sources to the Heart of America
The employment opportunity companies like EC&R generate and the Obama administration’s obvious endorsement (in the form of generous grants) have allowed this form of green energy to rise all over the country much to the chagrin of fossil fuel advocates who swear oil and natural gas will reign supreme in the future. They have lots of charts and graphs to prove it folks. But no fracking here – no ignitable water supplies and no dissent from unstable oil producing countries (we won’t name names). Wind farms created by American based companies like EC&R are making a move to bring alternative energy sources to the heart of America. Homegrown, home-based, and locally sustainable, this emissions free power source stands as a testament to American perseverance and technical innovation. But does the technology have what it takes to woo a nation of oil dependent Americans? GE thinks so. As a leading player in wind turbine development, GE continues to refine their turbines for better efficiency and output.
The 94 GE 1.6 megawatt turbines on site at the Pioneer Trail wind farm will provide more than 150 megawatts (MW) of power—enough to provide clean power to more than 45,000 households in Illinois using North American made turbines, blades and towers.
GE 1.6 100 Wind Turbine
Photo - GE
From their September 20, 2011 announcement, GE hails the new 1.6-100 wind turbine, as the latest and greatest in wind technology. Launched in May, GE’s 1.6-100 wind turbine is designed for increased performance and is the world’s most efficient wind turbine in its class. With blades and towers that extend 100 meters—equivalent to 33 stories—the 1.6-100 captures additional wind energy, a fuel that is free and domestic.
“The strong industry acceptance of our 1.6-100 wind turbine underscores the continuing confidence of our customers in our technology,” said Victor Abate, vice president—renewable energy for GE Power & Water. “We set out to change the industry, proving that with technology advancements we could significantly improve the economics of wind. Our 1.6-100 has allowed our customers to develop wind farms in lower wind speed sites that were previously not viable.”
Previously, higher wind speed requirements excluded many otherwise viable onshore sites and earlier designs were just not producing the power. Still today, wind farms are not completely impervious to damage. It’s a basic and natural phenomenon that can bring down these 400 ft giants. Lightning is a very real threat to wind farms. Albeit small compared to the risks involved with fossil fuel production, lightning strikes to wind turbines can damage the rotor blades and bearings. To counter this, there are external lightning protection systems designed to protect turbines from strikes.
Photo - E.ON Climate & Renewables
How Does a Wind Turbine Generate Electricity?
I have shamelessly ‘borrowed’ this explanation from the EC&R website along with the accompanying graphic; they explain it like this: The wind presses against the rotor blades and causes the rotor assembly to rotate. The rotor blades transfer their energy to the hub, and set the driveshaft inside the rotor assembly rotating. The hub is fitted with a transmission that adjusts the rotor speed to the requirements of the generator that converts the rotational energy into electrical power by means of magnetic fields. The electric power produced by the generator is passed to a transformer that converts the low voltage generated to a higher voltage suitable for feeding into the grid.
Environmental Benefits
Every MW of wind power EC&R installs:
Powers almost 300 homes
Is equivalent to taking 315 cars off the road
Avoids the release of 1,800 tons of CO2 per year
Eliminates roughly 9 tons of SO2 — a leading cause of acid rain
The June 1st article by Herman K. Trabish for greentechmedia pits GE innovation against the rest of the world’s wind power technology. Mentioned is the Adapt.wind software developed to monitor system performance of the gearbox-drivetrain system – the Achilles heel of wind turbines. Wind turbines need monitoring, and the people keeping them running are looking to companies like Cisco to provide the networking infrastructure required to keep field operators and central commands in the know. GE, has recently worked with Cisco to create a wireless network for First Wind’s Milford I wind farm in Utah. It supports data sharing and video and voice conferencing through IP technology.
Will GE Wind’s Innovation Match World Wind Competition? From turbines to software and performance guarantees, GE’s Windpower 2011 announcements are impressive—but are they enough? read the article:
Powering the US Through Wind Energy
Currently US wind farms are generating 43,461 cumulative megawatts of clean electricity, making the US the second largest wind energy producer in the world. China ranks #1. Wind energy is gradually becoming one of the most economical sources of power, and is now one of the fastest growing sources of electricity in the U.S.
Wind energy is already playing an important role in creating grid-scale alternatives to carbon intensive sources of power and will play a significant role in reducing our reliance on foreign sources of oil. Potential US wind resources are estimated to be in excess of 8000 GW of capacity (a typical nuclear power plant offers roughly 1 GW of capacity).
Check out EC&R's offshore operations.
Read the E.ON Offshore Wind Energy Factbook - E.ON Climate & Renewables –June 2011
