Assume a wind turbine with a hub 50 meters above the ground, a rotor diameter of 40 meters and a wind-conversion efficiency of 25 percent. The turbine operates in an area with an average wind-power density of 550 watts/sq meter at 50 meters altitude. How much electricity (kwH) can the turbine generate per year?
Wind densities greater than or equal to 500 watts/sq meter at an altitude of 50 meters are present on 0.900 percent of the land area of the US. If, on average, wind farms contain 8 turbines/sq km, how much electricity (kwH/yr) could be generated from these wind turbines? (The area of the US is 7,827, 989 sq km).
The solution shows how dimensional analysis may be used to convert wind-power data into kWh of electricity produced by a wind turbine. The result is the number of kWh generated in a year by the turbine.
In the second part, the total amount of electricity created by many such turbines in a certain area of the US is calculated. All calculations are shown and explained.