Generator Blog

ABB will promote new series of wind generator with slip ring, this new product increases its performance through reinforcing the structure of rotor and modular design, and it will show up at 2010 Asia wind energy meeting which will be held in Beijing during the end of June.

In June of 2010, ABB enterprise which leads the electric and automatic technology areas in the world promotes new series of generator with slip ring in it, through introducing global double-feedback concept, the research of new style generator is based on method which is used by the main turbine machine producer since 1997, and the method is reliable and have high efficiency which is used all over the world.

The new style generator’s power range is between 1.5 and 2 MW, through using modular design, the device has strong match, and can be used at different kinds of double-feedback turbine generators which are currently popular, so it is perfect choice for the update of devices in wind turbine generator group. The production base can product generators with power, at the same time, ensure the quality and quantity, and the connection interface which is used to connect different turbine generators can be determined according to the demand of customers. We offer customers air cooling method and water cooling method, specially produce generators which the frequency is 60Hz for American market.

The design of New style generator’s rotor has acquired patent in America, the bottom of winding has the optimized supporting ring, which can bear high speed working condition, and can cool the device better and fast.

ABB enterprise is the reliable supporter of wind generator, has a good reputation, and is famous for producing generator, converter, all kinds of electric components in wind generating system. In the past thirty years, ABB enterprise has produced approximate 30000 wind generators. The advantage of this new wind generator is based on the experience of 100 years’ effort on manufacturing better generator.

This new generator will show up at this June in Beijing, at the same time, it will be sold to all over world in shanghai ABB enterprise.

Diesel oil generator and low noise diesel oil generator meet the national criteria GB2820-90 and some relative national criteria, and are widely used in post station, hotel, entertainment place, hospital, high-rise building which have strict request for low noise.

Low diesel oil generator group is composed of low noise work station, low noise automatic generator group, low noise bus station, low noise electricity station and so on. Low noise diesel generator has stable performance, reliable working condition, low emission, low diesel oil consumption and so on.

Here is the feature of low noise generator. 1, significant low noise performance, the up level of the noise value of generator group is 75 dB. 2, the structure of generator group is tight, have little occupation of  space, and the good looking appearance. 3, multi-layer shield prevent the noise from entering. 4, it has many channels which can compress air in or out to make noise reduce significantly. 5, combustion chamber can hold large volume of oil. 6, we can open the cover plate swiftly and quickly, and have easy maintenance.

 The feature of low noise generator group is listed as follow, when we keep a distance of one meter from the generator group, noise value can be reduced to 80 dB or less than 80 Db, the adjustment of steady-state voltage is between -5% and +5%, the adjustment of transient voltage is less than 20%, the adjustment of steady frequency is less than 5%, the  adjustment of transient frequency is between -10% and +10%, the adjustment of no-load voltage is more than 95%Un.

The parameter of technology of low noise generator group is listed as follow, the rated voltage is 400V, the rated turning speed is 1500r/min, the rated power is 50Hz.

The  first wind turbine generators rolled off the assembly line owned by GE Energy on May 10 at its factory in Nomura-Hai Phong Industrial Park in the northern city of Hai Phong.After a year of construction the factory is now ready for producing turbines generators for export.

The US$61 million plant, which is expected to create 500 jobs for local people, will export GE Energy’s turbines and services around the world.

The Hai Phong facility will provide an installation, maintenance and repair service for the components it produces.

GE Energy is a subsidiary of the global infrastructure, finance and media company General Electric, which employs more than 300,000 people worldwide.

Since 1960, GE Energy has provided technical support for a number of power generation projects in Vietnam. A recent survey shows that 8.6 per cent of Vietnam’s land mass is suitable for generating power from the wind.

Under a draft national power development strategy, currently being considered by the government, renewable energies will account for 5 per cent of the nation’s energy output by 2020, with wind and solar power accounting for half of all renewable energies.

ABB has introduced a new standard series of slip-ring generators designed to fit doubly fed wind turbines. The new generators cover the power range of 1.5 MW to 2 MW.

The standard base construction for different powers enables large-scale manufacturing, and the modular turbine interface connections can be changed to suit individual customers’ specifications, according to the company. Both air and water cooling are available, as is a 60 Hz version for North American installations.

Features of the new generator series include a patented rotor design with an optimized winding-end support ring.

An improved insulation level offers high-voltage peak integrity and allows the use of various types of converters, ABB says. The new design also incorporates minimized total harmonic distortion levels.

America’s eyesores are becoming the hot places to install renewable energy for electric power generation. The land is cheap, often abandoned but properly zoned. They’re usually close to necessary infrastructure such as power lines and roads, and no other developers are rushing to erect anything on them. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is evaluating sites for renewable energy potential on behalf of the EPA.

Brownfields could be former industrial sites abandoned when the owners went bankrupt. There might have been paint or fuel spills there, but the exact source of contamination may be unknown. However, superfund sites usually have a responsible party identified. Some brownfields are ready for redevelopment, but others need a lot of work first.

Photographing the sky for its solar potential
Salasovich and other traveling NREL engineers start with a device called a SunEye, which has a fish-eye lens to photograph the sky above the landfill. “We point it south and take a photo,” he says. “It puts out a spherical graph and shows where the shade will be by what time of day and what time of year.” An algorithm built into the device can detect differences between the sky and a tree.

If a site has wind potential, the engineers install a meteorological tower with instruments to read wind speed and direction, according to Joseph Roberts, an engineer with the National Wind Technology Center at NREL. After 12 months of measurements, they can find an average speed and see how it compares with data from nearby airports. Crew members also check the distance to the nearest roads and transmission lines, evaluating the sites’ potential for generating renewable energy and making it work economically.

NREL Engineers select potential plots from the EPA’s list of superfund and brownfield sites, as well as those identified by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). In some cases, the renewable energy apparatus in construction is powering the ongoing clean-up efforts at the sites. In other cases, the wind turbine, solar array, or hydro power is sending power to nearby cities. This is most feasible when the site is close enough to transmission wires to tie into the grid. There are about 11,000 sites in the U.S. with some past or current environmental contamination problem that may hold potential for renewable energy, according to Gail Mosey, senior energy analyst in the Strategic Energy Analysis Center. She says it’s a great opportunity to reuse land for power generation without help from fossil fuels.

Erecting devices without disturbing the contamination
Some sites, particularly superfund sites, are so contaminated with toxic chemicals and heavy metals that the earth should not be disturbed. However, Mosey explains, “There are a lot of others that can endure a slight intrusion. There are workable solutions for installing renewable energy on the surface or outside the contaminated area.” For example, solar arrays fit comfortably on top of the two feet of dirt and liner that typically cover a condemned landfill.
There are even wind turbines (supported by surface-mounted concrete footing) that can generate energy without burrowing into the muck of a superfund site. “These are places where you wouldn’t necessarily want to put a housing development, pour a foundation, or have people plant backyard gardens,” Mosey says, “but they are excellent sites for renewable energy.”

PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The National Renewable Energy Laboratory today released an initial study assessing the operational impacts and economics of increased contributions from wind and solar energy producers on the power grid. The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study examines the benefits and challenges of integrating enough wind and solar energy capacity into the grid to produce 35 percent of its electricity by 2017. The study finds that this target is technically feasible and does not necessitate extensive additional infrastructure, but does require key changes to current operational practice. The results offer a first look at the issue of adding significant amount of variable renewable energy in the West and will help utilities across the region plan how to ramp up their production of renewable energy as they incorporate more wind and solar energy plants into the power grid.

“If key changes can be made to standard operating procedures, our research shows that large amounts of wind and solar can be incorporated onto the grid without a lot of backup generation,” said Dr. Debra Lew, NREL project manager for the study. “When you coordinate the operations between utilities across a large geographic area, you decrease the effect of the variability of wind and solar energy sources, mitigating the unpredictability of Mother Nature.”

The study focuses on the operational impacts of wind, photovoltaics, and concentrating solar power on the power system operated by the WestConnect group of utilities in the mountain and southwest states. WestConnect is a group of transmission providers, which includes Arizona Public Service, El Paso Electric Co., NV Energy, Public Service of New Mexico, Salt River Project, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Cooperative, Tucson Electric Power, Western Area Power Administration, and Xcel Energy. Though wind and solar output vary over time, the technical analysis performed in this study shows that it is operationally possible to accommodate 30 percent wind and 5 percent solar energy penetration. To accomplish such an increase, utilities will have to substantially increase their coordination of operations over wider geographic areas and schedule their generation deliveries, or sales, on a more frequent basis. Currently generators provide a schedule for a specific amount of power they will provide in the next hour. More frequent scheduling would allow generators to adjust that amount of power based on changes in system conditions such as increases or decreases in wind or solar generation.

The study also finds that if utilities generate 27 percent of their electricity from wind and solar energy across the Western Interconnection grid, it would lower carbon emissions by 25 to 45 percent. It would also decrease fuel and emissions costs by 40 percent, depending on the future price of natural gas.

Other key findings from the study include:

• Existing transmission capacity can be more fully utilized to reduce the amount of new transmission that needs to be built.
• To facilitate the integration of wind and solar energy, coordinating the operations of utilities can provide substantial savings by reducing the need for additional back-up generation, such as natural gas-burning plants.
• Use of wind and solar forecasts in utility operations to predict when and where it will be windy and sunny is essential for cost-effectively integrating these renewable energy sources.

The study was undertaken by a team of wind, solar and power systems experts across both the private and public sectors. The study complements the recently released Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study, which examines the feasibility of integrating up to 30 percent wind in the eastern states.

The report released today is an important first step in assessing the impact of solar and wind energy on the electrical grid. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Department of Energy is investing more than $26 million to further study the Western transmission interconnection, which will help states, utilities, and grid operators prepare for future growth in energy demand, renewable energy resources, and Smart Grid technologies.

A vaneless ion wind generator is a device that produces electricity directly by using the wind to pump an electrical charge from one electrode to another. It is a type of wind power, although wind energy is usually extracted to make electricity by means of a wind turbine.

Electrostatic wind generators work by spraying water from a nozzle facing a toroidal charged electrode. This induces an opposite charge in the water and when the water flows out of the nozzle, each drop carries a small amount of charge. These water droplets are then blown by the wind, going through the center of the charged toroid without touching it. The droplets then hit a fine mesh, adding to its charge. The other alternative is to use the Earth as the second electrode. The main advantage of this system is that it has no moving parts except the water droplets. The disadvantages are that it needs a constant supply of water, its wind profile can’t be reduced, it requires many small parts, and it has to be well-crafted to reduce corona discharge losses.

A generator is a machine which is designed to generate AC electricity. Generators are used by companies for getting power to job sites where power may not be available and for homeowners to provide backup electricity in case of an extended power outage. Generators come in a variety of different sizes and designs. Picking the right one is an important step towards ensuring that your electrical needs are meet if the power goes out.

Standby Generators

Standby generators are larger generators which are designed specifically for the purpose of powering most or the entire house during an extended power outage. Most standby generators use a small car engine to operate the generator. Standby generators can be found in a variety of different sizes. The size is rated by the number of KW the generator can produce. Most home standby generators range between 20KW and 60KW. Industrial standby generators are significantly larger. These produce anywhere between 100KW and 1MW or mega watt. A megawatt is equal to 1000KW.

Fuel Sources for Standby Generators

Home standby generators are powered by either propane or natural gas. In most states it’s illegal to operate a gas or diesel powered stand by generator in a residential zone. Industrial standby generators are almost always powered by diesel.

Portable Generators

Any generator which is on wheels or designed to be moved is classified as a portable generator. Most portable generators are relatively small in size. These range between 1KW and 5KW. They are primarily used for providing power to tools in areas where power is not available. Larger portable units range between 5KW and 15KW. These can be used in the field as well but they are commonly used by homeowners to power small portions of their home if the power is out for an extended period of time.

Fuel Sources for Portable Generators

Nearly all portable generators run on standard gasoline. Some run on propane supplied by a small propane tank but these are rare.

Maintaining a Generator

Generators are all engine driven. Most portable models utilize engines that are similar in style to a lawnmower engine. Many of the home standby variety use a car engine. This means that generators need similar maintenance to a car.

Change Oil: The oil should be changed on a generator periodically. For models without an oil filter the oil should be changed every 50 hours or once a year. For models which do have an oil filter every 250 hours or once a year is recommended.

Air Filter: The air filter should be visually inspected every time the oil is replaced. If it appears dirty then it should be replaced with a new air filter.

Exercise: Generators should be run for one hour once a month. This keeps the engine running properly. This will also prevent the battery from wearing out if it is a model with a battery.

Inspect: Inspect the generator with every oil change. Look at the hoses and any belts. If you see any cracks or other signs of dry rot they should be replaced.

Foster Wheeler AG (Nasdaq: FWLT) announced today that a subsidiary of its Global Power Group has been awarded a contract to design, supply and erect a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) by the Spanish company, REPSOL PETROLEO S.A. The HRSG and auxiliary equipment will be integrated in a cogeneration plant being built at the REPSOL Cartagena Refinery in Murcia, Spain. Foster Wheeler will also provide start-up supervision services.

Foster Wheeler has received a full notice to proceed on this contract.

The HRSG will be coupled with a General Electric PG-6581 gas turbine and recover heat from the gas discharge stream, producing high pressure and medium pressure steam for use in refinery processes and electricity generation at the Cartagena facility. The unit will be equipped with a bypass stack and diverter, as well as post-firing and fresh air capability, for continuous operation even after a combustion turbine trip.

“This boiler is the seventh HRSG awarded to Foster Wheeler by REPSOL, a true testimony that Foster Wheeler meets the high degree of design and quality standards demanded by REPSOL,” said Eric Svendsen, chief executive officer of Foster Wheeler Energia, S.L. in Madrid.

Foster Wheeler AG is a global engineering and construction contractor and power equipment supplier delivering technically advanced, reliable facilities and equipment.The company’s Global Engineering and Construction Group designs and constructs leading-edge processing facilities for the upstream oil and gas, LNG and gas-to-liquids, refining, chemicals and petrochemicals, power, environmental, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and healthcare industries.

Event Horizon Solar & Wind supplies a range of wind generators and wind turbines from manufacturers such as Skystream and Whisper. The Skystream 3.7 wind generator is suitable for residential and small business power applications. An advantage of this model is that it can generate energy even in low wind conditions.

Skystream 3.7 Wind Generator

The Skystream 3.7 wind generator can be installed on towers with heights ranging from 33 feet to 110 feet. As this model can generate about 40 to 90% of the energy needs in a home, any excess is fed directly into the local grid. It has the capability to produce a continuous output of 1.9 kW with a peak output of 2.6kW. The Skystream 3.7 wind generator from Event Horizon Solar & Wind is connected to a 120 to 240 V AC universal inverter that aids in the process of grid feeding. The 3-blade construction of this model is built from fibreglass and rotates clockwise looking upwind.

With a rotor diameter of 12 feet, the Skystream 3.7 residential wind generator has an overall weight of 170 pounds. The rated speed of this model can range from 50 to 325 rotations per minute. The alternator, which is a part of the wind generator, is a slot-less permanent magnet. The maximum tip speed offered by the Skystream 3.7 wind generator from Event Horizon Solar & Wind is 216.5 feet per second.