Wind Energy 1995 – WIND WORKS

Wind Energy Comes of Age

Note that much of this material has been substantially updated in my 2016 book Wind Energy For the Rest of Us.

Never again will wind energy be seen as the domain of a disheveled miller with corn flour in his hair, furling the cloth sails on his wooden windmill. This archaic image has given way to one of trained professionals tending their sleek aero-electric generators by computer, according to a new book.

Wind Energy Comes of Age is out of print. Some excerpts from the book can be found on this web site. After nearly two decades, I felt it was time to pull the book off the market.–Paul Gipe, 2013

Wind Energy Comes of Age by Paul Gipe chronicles wind energy’s progress from its rebirth during the oil crises of the 1970s through a troubling adolescence in California’s mountain passes in the 1980s to its maturation on the plains of northern Europe in the 1990s. Gipe argues that wind energy is no longer an alternative source of energy. He cites improvements in the performance, reliability, and cost effectiveness of modern wind turbines to support his contention that wind energy has come of age as a commercial technology for generating electricity.

The book debunks the myths that wind energy is land-intensive, that wind turbines are inherently ugly, that wind energy will never make a difference, and that wind energy is unreliable. Wind Energy Comes of Age also documents wind energy’s value in reducing air pollution, its positive energy balance, its contribution to meeting residential energy needs, and its effect on employment and tourism.

The 536-page book is part of John Wiley & Sons prestigious series on sustainable design. The series includes the award winning “Gray World Green Heart: Technology, Nature and the Sustainable Landscape” by Robert Thayer and the ground-breaking “Design with Nature” by renowned landscape architect Ian McHarg. Illustrated with more than 170 original line drawings, photographs, and charts and more than 70 tables, Wind Energy Comes of Age includes an extensive appendix and a forward by Chris Flavin of WorldWatch Institute.

Wind Energy Comes of Age (ISBN 0-471-10924-X) is available from John Wiley & Sons while supplies last by visiting www.wiley.com. Portions of the book are also now available on line at Google Books.

“A fascinating story, not only of technology but of the heart and soul behind it. A must for anyone that really wants to understand how wind power developed and what it takes to move sustainable technology toward the marketplace.” –Carl Weinberg, former manager of R&D at Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

“A remarkable book . . . the most thorough treatment of the wind industry so far. . . For insiders and newcomers as well, the book will be a valuable tool for understanding the development of the wind power industry. . . A decade from now it will be almost impossible to survey the growth of this industry without the platform created by Wind Energy Comes of Age. Every chapter discloses Gipe’s in-depth knowledge of this emerging industry. . . His sharp analysis of how competing groups have sought to harness the power in the wind makes exciting reading . . . the comprehensive treatment of wind’s environmental and aesthetic impact on the landscape offers a guide to overcoming obstacles to wind energy’s widespread acceptance. Gipe’s analysis of this sensitive subject will surely blaze a path toward integration of wind energy into electricity supply systems worldwide.” –Birger Madsen, Danish wind energy pioneer.

A “lucid and readable treatment” of wind turbine noise . . . an “excellent treatment of where the technology stands today for planners, wind farm operators, manufacturers and homeowners. . .” The explanation of “sound power levels is one of the clearest I have ever read . . . this book will make a major contribution to the “development of wind energy in a responsible manner.” –Neil Kelley, authority on wind turbine noise with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Wind Technology Division.

“The wind energy field has waited a long time for a well-written, informative reference book like Paul Gipe’s Wind Energy Comes of Age. This book is a must-have for developers in need of technical or economic information, politicians who want to know both sides of the wind energy story, technicians who want a reliable reference and others interested in a well-rounded introduction to wind energy.” –Torgny Møller, founder of Windpower Monthly and Naturlig Energi.

“Both a comprehensive and engaging examination . . . this book presents a compelling case that by harnessing the secure and inexhaustible force of wind power, we can begin to move toward a more sustainable future.–Fiona Weightman, Friends of the Earth U.K.

“Although he is an ardent advocate, Gipe has written an account as balanced as it is thorough. He understands the danger in overselling the obvious environmental and social benefits of wind power, and is brutally honest about the industry’s continuing struggle to make wind an acceptable energy source to environmentalists and utilities alike. Wind Energy Comes of Age is the most comprehensive and stimulating account I have read of wind power’s promise in the diversified, competitive, and environmentally sustainable energy future on which our collective future depends.”–William Grant, Izaak Walton League of America.

“A pragmatism born of meticulous research and wide field experience has made Paul Gipe one of wind power’s most astute critics and most credible friends. He backs his exuberant chronicle with an insider’s knowledge of the difficult “process” by which wind power has finally become practical. An explanation of the basic physics, politics and notorious failures of the business make the story a good lesson in design methods as well. This is one of the best accounts of the rise of a technology I’ve ever seen.”–J. Baldwin, Whole Earth Review.

“Wind Energy Comes of Age is an essential ‘soup to nuts’ encyclopedia on wind technology. Mr. Gipe’s long history with the wind industry in California shows in the breadth of his presentation–he offers both a basic introduction to wind energy, and detailed data on the engineering, economic, and environmental issues associated with wind energy. I have no doubt that wind energy will play an important part in our energy future, and this book will be a key handbook for future planners and developers.”–Charles (Chuck) Imbrecht, chairman, California Energy Commission.

“Each new industry needs a bard–to sing its praises, describe its potential, and warn of problems before they become debilitating. In Paul Gipe, the wind industry has found that figure. His two decades working in and with the wind industry have given him a unique perspective, and his frank “tell-it-like-it-is” style, allow Paul to provide the comprehensive and cool-headed assessment that wind power needs as it makes the transition to global prominence. In Wind Energy Comes of Age, Paul Gipe has done this and more . . .” –Chris Flavin, senior researcher at WorldWatch Institute and the author of Power Surge, from the forward to Wind Energy Comes of Age.

“Wind Energy Comes of Age is 536 pages of Paul Gipe at his best.” —WindStats Newsletter.

“References to wind turbine theory are kept mercifully short with the largest part of the text given over to investigating the environmental impact of wind power. . . Gipe’s brutally frank style may irritate some, but his vitriol is reserved for those who have hindered wind energy’s progress, either by expensive and mis-directed R&D or by ‘concerned’ opposition with a hidden NIMBY agenda. . . Filled with facts, comment, relevancy and occasional humor, the industry need wait no longer for its guide book.”–Stewart Russell, writing in WindDirections,the newsletter of the British and European Wind Energy Associations.

“Wind Energy Comes of Age (is) the most wide-ranging book on wind in decades. . . Gipe marshals an astonishing array of evidence that questions the US government’s federally-funded research and development. In a controversial chapter that is unprecedented in its depth, he documents what he calls widespread waste. . . On job safety he is (also) hard hitting. . . In clear language he chronicles the growth of the technology from its rebirth during the oil crises in the 1970s to its maturation on the plains of Europe in the 1990s.–Ros Davidson, Windpower Monthly.

“The most complete and readable work (on wind energy) I’ve seen. . . A compelling vision of where we (the wind industry) came from and where we should be going. . . A fine piece of work.–Kevin Jackson, Dynamic Design, an authority on structural design.

“The definitive word on wind energy. . . Gipe is knowledgeable and writes in a clear, unambiguous style. . . too often these episodes (of failures) are unreproted or glossed over, but Gipe Chronicles them all. . .the book is both broad in scope and rich in detail. . . recommended undergraduate through professional.–J.C. Comer, Northern Illinois University, reviewed in Choice by the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.

Selected by Choice magazine and the American Association of College and Research Libraries for its list of “Outstanding Academic Books for 1995.”

Acknowledgments

Part I: Where the Technology Stands Today

Overview
The Vikings Are Coming
The Research and Development Dilemma
Death Knell for the Giants
Historical Background
The Giant Killers
Wind Energy’s Declining Costs

Part II. Environmental Costs and Benefits

Machines in the Garden: Aesthetics, Opinion, Design, and Acceptance
Opinion Surveys
Visual Design
Community Acceptance
Impact on Flora and Fauna
Impact on People
Impact on Land
Benefits
The Emerald City

Part III. Where Wind Energy is Headed

Wind’s Future

Provides reference material for wind energy’s proponents

Provides a guide to

aesthetically pleasing wind turbine and wind power plant design
minimizing soil disturbance and erosion from wind plants
minimizing noise impacts
designing “as if people matter”
estimating typical wind turbine performance

Calls attention to European success in

designing aesthetically pleasing wind turbines
building model wind power plants
building reliable, quiet, and productive machines
creating market incentives geared to energy production
establishing national goals for wind energy

Calls attention to the

failure of “top-down” or centrally-directed R&D
failure of attempts to build giant wind turbines
success of the “Davids from Denmark”

Alerts environmentalists to

the value of wind energy
the moral quandary all development produces
he need for action in support of wind energy
the realization that wind energy is a business

Alerts wind energy’s proponents to

the origins of the environmental movement
the philosophies that drive environmentalism

Debunks

the myth that wind energy is land-intensive
the myth that wind turbines are inherently ugly
the myth that wind energy won’t make a difference
the myth that wind energy is unreliable

Documents wind energy’s

reduction of air pollution
energy balance
contribution to residential energy needs
reduction of water consumption
effect on employment and tourism

Figure I-1. Wind turbines in juxtaposition to conventional power plants.
Figure 1-1. World Wind Generation.
Figure 1-2. North American Wind Capacity.
Figure 1-3. European Wind Capacity.
Figure 1-4. Major Centers of Wind Generation.
Figure 1-5. New Installations.
Figure 1-6. North American and European Wind Generation.
Figure 1-7. Interconnected Applications.
Figure 1-8. Clusters.
Figure 1-9. Rectilinear Arrays.
Figure 1-10. Linear Arrays.
Figure 1-11. Ridgetop Arrays.
Figure 1-12. Models of Wind Development.
Figure 1-13. Small Wind Turbine.
Figure 1-14. Stand-Alone Wind Machines.
Figure 1-15. Nomadic Micro-Turbine.
Figure 1-16. Hybrid Power System.
Figure 1-17. End of the Line.
Figure 1-18. Pumping Water.
Figure 1-19. Wind-Assisted Irrigation.
Figure 1-20. Wind Furnace.
Figure 1-21. Windpowered Transportation.
Figure 1-22. California Wind Capacity.
Figure 1-23. European Wind Generation.
Figure 2-1. Wind turbine under test at Denmark’s Risø National Laboratory.
Figure 2-2. Danish Wind Generation.
Figure 2-3. 1993 Specific Price.
Figure 3-1. Government R&D Expenditures.
Figure 3-2. Market Incentives.
Figure 3-3. Danish Wind Turbine Exports.
Figure 3-4. Smith-Putnam.
Figure 3-5. AWT. R. Lynette Assoc.’s 26-meter (85-foot) Advanced Wind Turbine undergoing tests near Tehachapi, Calif.
Figure 3-6. FloWind Darrieus.
Figure 3-7. Lift Translator.
Figure 4-1. Rotor Diameter and Swept Area.
Figure 4-2. Goliaths.
Figure 4-3. Commercial Derivatives.
Figure 4-4. Nibe Twins.
Figure 4-5. Tvind.
Figure 5-1. Persian Panemone.
Figure 5-2. English Post Mill.
Figure 5-3. Multiblade Farm Windmill.
Figure 5-4. Flint & Walling Star Zephyr.
Figure 5-5. Wincharger.
Figure 5-6. 1980s Jacobs.
Figure 5-7. Technology Pathways for Small Wind Turbines.
Figure 5-8. Furling.
Figure 5-9. Micro Turbine.
Figure 5-10. Bergey 1500, An Integrated, Direct-Drive Small Wind Turbine.
Figure 5-11. Specific Rotor & Nacelle Mass for Small Wind Turbines.
Figure 5-12. Production Economies.
Figure 6-1. Rayleigh Wind Speed Distribution.
Figure 6-2. Increase in Wind Speed with Height.
Figure 6-3. Increase in Wind Power with Height.
Figure 6-4. Typical First-Generation Danish Wind Turbine.
Figure 6-5. Increasing Size.
Figure 6-6. Relative Size.
Figure 6-7. Sample Power Curves for 500 kW Wind Turbines.
Figure 6-8. Fayette 95-IIS.
Figure 6-9. Power Curve and Annual Energy Output.
Figure 6-10. Typical Specific Yields.
Figure 6-11. Equivalent Capacity Factor.
Figure 6-12. Availability.
Figure 6-13. Specific Yield in California and Denmark.
Figure 6-14. Horizontal and Vertical Axis Wind Turbines.
Figure 6-15. Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Configurations.
Figure 6-16. Experimental Three-Bladed Darrieus.
Figure 6-17. Bi-Blade Darrieus.
Figure 6-18. Technological Pathways for Medium-sized Darrieus Turbines.
Figure 6-19. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Configurations.
Figure 6-20. Typical Second-Generation European Wind Turbine.
Figure 6-21. Technological Pathways for HAWTs.
Figure 6-22. Specific Rotor & Nacelle Mass.
Figure 6-23. Carter 300.
Figure 6-24. Carter Sr. Wind Eagle.
Figure 6-25. Storm Master.
Figure 6-26. Windtech.
Figure 6-27. ESI-54.
Figure 6-28. Integrated Drive Train.
Figure 6-29. First Generation Drive-Train.
Figure 6-30 U.S. Windpower 56-100.
Figure 6-31. Vestas V27.
Figure 6-32. Bonus Combi.
Figure 6-33. Bonus 450.
Figure 6-34. Ship or Bulkhead Frame.
Figure 6-35. Taper and Twist.
Figure 6-36. Airfoil.
Figure 6-37. V27 Blade.
Figure 6-38. Rotor Blade Mass.
Figure 6-39. Overspeed Control.
Figure 6-40. WEG MS-3.
Figure 6-41. Pitchable Blade Tips.
Figure 6-42. Variable Pitch Blade Tips.
Figure 6-43. Ailerons or Flaps.
Figure 6-44. Utility-Compatible Wind Machines.
Figure 6-45. Dual Generators.
Figure 6-46. U.S. Windpower 33M VS.
Figure 6-47. Servicing Enertech E-44 near Palm Springs, Calif.
Figure 7-1. Wind Power Plant Price.
Figure 7-2. Operation, Maintenance, and Fuel Costs.
Figure 7-3. Relative Cost of Wind Energy in California and Denmark.
Figure 7-4. Relative Installed Price by Rotor Swept Area.
Figure 7-5. Effect of Installed Cost on the Relative Cost of Energy.
Figure 7-6. Levelized Cost of Electricity.
Figure 8-1. Thyholmer Pilsner.
Figure 8-2. Windmill Tower.
Figure 8-3. Urban Windmill.
Figure 8-4. Acceptance of Wind Energy.
Figure 8-5. Information Kiosk.
Figure 8-6. Power Plant Acceptance.
Figure 8-7. Acceptance Distance.
Figure 8-8. Power Plant Preference.
Figure 8-9. Tandpibe-Velling Marsk.
Figure 8-10. Box on a Stick.
Figure 8-11. Aesthetically Pleasing Designs.
Figure 8-12. Lattice Tower Shape.
Figure 8-13. Wind Turbine sans Nose Cone.
Figure 8-14. Visual Influence Zones.
Figure 8-15. Visual Clutter.
Figure 8-16. Visual Density.
Figure 8-17. Linear Uniformity.
Figure 8-18. Visual Units.
Figure 8-19. Non-uniform Tower Height.
Figure 8-20. Iconography of North German Plain.
Figure 8-21. Ancillary Structures.
Figure 8-22. Visually pleasing hilltop array.
Figure 8-23. Scarring from Road Cut.
Figure 8-24. Rhyd y Groes, Wales.
Figure 8-25. Ebeltoft Harbor.
Figure 8-26. Cooperative Membership Meeting.
Figure 10-1. Noise Contours.
Figure 10-2. Noise Footprint.
Figure 10-3. Source Sound Power Level.
Figure 10-4. Treating Trailing Edge.
Figure 10-5. Bonus Tip Torpedo.
Figure 10-6. Projected Noise Level.
Figure 10-7. Projected Noise Level from Bonus Combi.
Figure 11-1. Land Disturbed.
Figure 11-2. McVentis.
Figure 11-3. Dike Path.
Figure 11-4. Lunch Break on Pacific Crest Trail.
Figure 11-5. Wind Energy and Cropland.
Figure 11-6. Delabole Hedgerows.
Figure 11-7. British Road Construction.
Figure 11-8. Farm Track.
Figure 11-9. Unnecessary Grading.
Figure 11-10. Pleasing Ridge-Top Array.
Figure 12-1. Tourism at Delabole.
Figure 12-2. School Group at Ebeltoft.
Figure 12-3. Tourism at Zaanse Schans.
Figure 13-1. Solar Energy in California.
Figure 14-1. U.S. Wind Energy Potential.
Figure 14-2. Fiberglass Flowers.

The following are corrections to the second printing of Wind Energy Comes of Age. The second printing incorporates several corrections of typographical and spelling errors found in the first printing. But alas, we apparently didn’t find all of them before the second printing went to press. If readers find any more errors, or if there are any questions about the content, please send us a query. We will try to incorporate reader suggestions in subsequent reprints. Send your comments to pgipe@igc.org

page 202, 2nd paragraph, line 7

available, (not availabe)

page 208, 5th paragraph, line 3

AWT 26, (not AWT 86)

page 349,

Table 9.1 Estimated Number of Birds Killed by Wind Turbines in Northern California                  Altamont    Solano                                      raptors     all birds     raptors                       low   high  low     high  low   high ------------------------------------------------------- birds/yr           164   403      17    44    11    29  turbines          6800  6800     600   600   600   600  birds/turbine/yr 0.024 0.059   0.029 0.074 0.018 0.048  MW                 700   700      60    60    60    60  birds/MW/yr       0.23  0.58    0.29  0.74  0.18  0.48  -----------------

page 435,

Table 12.14 Emissions Offset by Trees Number of           Equivalent            Equivalent Forest Area 25 meter dia.       Number of Trees       Acres (hectares) Turbines       TWh  Nat. Gas      Coal    Nat. Gas          Coal ---------------------------------------------------------------------------           1 0.0005     19,200     38,500      50      (20)     100     (41)        2,000      1 38,000,000 77,000,000 100,000  (41,000) 200,000 (82,000)  -------------

Assumes 7 m/s site.
Source: American Forestry Assoc., 1989.

page 489,

Approximate Primary Energy Offset by Direct Generation of Electricity

    1 kWh                =          10,000 Btu   600 kWh                =               1 barrel of oil

(not 1 kWh = 600 barrels of oil)

Wind Energy Comes of Age is out of print. However, there are copies on the used book market and in many university libraries.

There is also a digital copy available on the internet archive where you can read the book online or download a copy for free.

Wind Energy Comes of Age by Paul Gipe, 50.7 mb.