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ISDP Group 2

Interim Report

Integrated System Design Project (ENG5044P) Wind Turbine Feasibility for the Isle of Great Cumbrae Interim Report 13/02/2012

Group 2 Project Manager: Niamh Callaghan Project Accountant: Norhafillah Sabtu Project Planner: Mary Ann Antony Kizhakechethipuza Engineering Manager: Li Wei Health and Safety Manager: Yuting Wu Quality Manager: Longxiang Zhang Environmental manager: Tamunomiete Tammunobelem Abbey Construction Manager: Niamh Callaghan/Group

ISDP Group 2

Interim Report

Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................1 Site Selection......................................................................................................1 Turbine Design...................................................................................................1 Finances.............................................................................................................2 Environmental Considerations............................................................................2 Health and Safety...............................................................................................2 Quality Plan........................................................................................................3 Conclusion..........................................................................................................3 Gantt Chart 1......................................................................................................4 References..........................................................................................................5

ISDP Group 2

Interim Report

Introduction Wind power has grown in popularity over recent years due to the worldwide focus on sustainable energy production. There are currently 324 operational wind projects across the United Kingdom with another 42 under construction (Renewable UKa, 2010). Scotland is home to 150 of these projects due to the high available wind resource in the area (Risoe National Laboratory, 1989). This report will discuss the interim findings for the feasibility of installing a wind turbine on the Island of Great Cumbrae situated in the South West of Scotland. Site Selection The Isle of Great Cumbrae is relatively small with the single town of Millport situated on the South of the island and a cycle route around the islands coast 9 miles long (Cycle Routes UK, 2012). Following initial research of wind turbine site selection and investigation of Great Cumbrae site selection criteria were determined. These included wind resource, nearby settlements, site access, existing habitat, site size, ground conditions, national designation, grid connection, aviation and telecoms. Six sites were initially chosen following a desk study, which was then reduced to four after a site visit to the island. Two sites were deemed unsuitable due to being sheltered by surrounding hills and forest areas and having extremely poor existing access. The remaining four sites were evaluated using a matrix scoring table, which resulted in site 3 (near Terrach Hill) being chosen as the final site mainly due to the favourable location being an acceptable distance (>350m) from nearby farms and single residences, reasonable site access and being elevated approximately 90m above mean sea level, which will allow for a lower turbine height in the design. Turbine Design The main parameters that were used to investigate the turbine design were the electricity demand, the average wind speeds and wind direction. Using the Wind Calculator provided online by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Weather 2 wind data it was determined that the average annual wind speed to be used for the design is 7.9 m/s. From this data it is clear that the wind can be categorized under the IEC III Low Wind according to the International Electrotechnical Commission Standard of wind classes. To determine the prevailing wind direction the data for the nearby Prestwick Airport was used as well as observations on site, such as the angle of tree branches. This showed an enhanced South Westerly wind direction (Met Office, 2011). Attempts to get the exact figure of the consumption of electricity in Great Cumbrae were unsuccessful, thus assumptions have been made based on 2009 data found on the website of the Department for Energy and Climate Change. The total electricity sales to North Ayrshire was 811.7 GWh and the population of North Ayrshire in 2008 was approximately 135,000 and that of Great Cumbrae is 1434 (Young and Cracknell, 2004). Thus the population of Great Cumbrae is about 1.06% of the population of North Ayrshire, therefore the estimated sales of electricity to Great Cumbrae will be 1.06% of the sales to North Ayrshire and this is approximately 8.6GWh. Taking in to consideration that there is no industrial activity on the island it has been assumed that Great Cumbrae consumes about 5GWh of electricity per annum and will grow to require 10GWh of electricity supply from the grid per year in 20 years. It has been assumed that there are 1100 houses including hotels and tourist establishments and therefore by using the information by Renewable UK we know that a turbine of 2MW can power this number of houses. It also must be considered that Scotland's wind regime provides average capacity factor of 40% or higher on the west and northern coasts (Wikipedia, 2011). This figure was used to determine that in 20 years the turbine will produce 440GWh of electricity. 1

ISDP Group 2

Interim Report

By using this calculated data there is currently an investigation of various standard turbines that could be installed to the Great Cumbrae site, for example the Vestas V90-1.8/2.0 MW wind turbine. The final turbine design will be chosen following a scored analysis of suitable turbines currently available using criteria such as, cost, delivery time and sustainability of materials. Finances The selected 2MW turbine has been estimated to produce 22 GWh per year and 440GWh in 20 years. The Capital Investment required for this is estimated to be 2.7m (Renewable UKb, 2010), with Capital costs of 2.6m. This price includes turbine costs, foundation, transportation, installation, grid connection, control systems, consultancy, land and road construction. A rate of 1% inflation has been assumed for the calculations and an interest rate of 5% for the Capital Investment borrowing. The capital reserve has been estimated at 100k for installation, operations and maintenance and 2.2m (Renewable UKb, 2010) is required for rent, labour costs, and the regular maintenance costs. Decommissioning Costs are to be determined and will include; the cost of turbine removal, cost of transportation and landscaping. The income from this project comes from selling the electricity to the National grid and the Sale of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) to energy suppliers. Further calculations to find the break even and Return on Investment (ROI) are required for this to determine the payback period and if the project is financially viable (Leonardo Energy, 2007). Environmental Considerations The measures for reducing the effect on the environment are: Taking measures to ensure neatness and adequate organisation when the construction activities are in progress, safe and efficient traffic management to reduce impact on local traffic disruption, adequate drainage design to make sure local drainage is not affected and to ensure there are no issues of surface run off, and to minimise noise, shadow flicker and electromagnetic interference. Bat radars will be used to scare off bats after the turbine has been commissioned for use. Vegetation will be planted after commissioning to compensate for the lost vegetation during construction. Most of the CO2 that will be emitted in the lifetime of the wind turbine will be as a result of such activities as the extraction of iron for manufacture, transportation and site works. In the long run the carbon will be balanced since there is minimal emitted CO2 after construction. The 2MW turbine will save approximately 2260 tonnes of CO2 (Renewable UKc, 2010). Health and Safety Health and Safety during and after construction must be considered. From the construction point, at first, people complain about visual problems. Secondly, there are regulations for the road access to the wind turbine, which state that access roads must be 5 meters wide. There should also be adequate road drainage provided. Furthermore, the widening of road corners is necessary for long vehicles. Road access should remain available for carrying out maintenance or repairs during the operation period. Finally, protection measurements such as work cages and a ladder system should be used. A work cage will avoid technicians from climbing up and down the tower, eradicating the possible injury from a fall from height. With regards to operation the wind turbine would have negative effects mostly on human beings and wildlife existing around the site. Renewable UK demonstrated that the noise measured 350 metres from a wind farm is less than that from normal road traffic or in an office. It is claimed that the noise from a wind farm can cause sleep deprivation headaches, dizziness and anxiety (Chief Medical Officer of Health, 2010). Therefore sufficient distance between the turbine and the nearest residence will be provided. A further detailed risk assessment for construction is to be completed.

ISDP Group 2

Interim Report

Quality Plan The process of the quality plan is divided into four parts which are testing, modification, re-testing and final review. In order to achieve a higher standard, the following methods will be used; every part of the equipment should be tested before installation and an inspection process is to be conducted by the quality manager or quality verification institutions to ensure the Wind Turbine meets the expected quality before operation. For example, the rotors under load, weld seam and profile scanner should be thoroughly inspected (Engineerlive, 2010). A detailed quality plan is to be completed. Conclusion The progress of the feasibility report is shown in Gantt chart 1, it can be seen that the site selection, turbine type and initial Gantt chart have been completed. Approximately half of the detailed design, finances, environmental, health and safety and quality issues have also been determined. These tasks and the overall feasibility of the project are to be due to be completed following the interim review and further research and design by mid March.

ISDP Group 2

Interim Report

ISDP Group 2 References

Interim Report

Chief Medical Officer of Health, 2010, The Potential Health Impact of Wind Turbines, Queens Printer for Ontario, United Kingdom. Cycle Routes UK, 2012, Great Cumbrae Tour to Cumbrae Island, [Online] Available at: http://www.cycleroutesuk.com/cycle-route/scotland/great-cumbrae-tour-to-cumbrae-island.html [Accessed: 11/02/2012] DEEC, 2012, Windspeed Database, [Online] Available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/windspeed/default.aspx [Accessed on: 11/02/2012] Engineerlive, 2010, Quality assurance of wind turbines using displacement sensors, [Online] Available at: http://www.engineerlive.com/PowerEngineer/Renewable_Energy/Quality_assurance_of_wind_turbines_using_displacement_sensors/23 444/# [Accessed on: 11/02/12] Leonardo Energy, 2007, Distributed Generation and Renewables - Wind Farm Case Study, [Online] Available at: http://www.copperinfo.co.uk/power-quality/downloads/pqug/851-wind-farm-casestudy.pdf [Accessed on: 11/02/2012] Met Office, 2011, Western Scotland: Climate, [Online] Available at: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/ws/print.html [Accessed on: 11/02/2012] Renewable UK (a), 2010, Statistics, [Online] Available at: http://www.bwea.com/statistics [Accessed: 11/02/2012] Renewable UK (b), 2010, Wind Energy Generation Costs, [Online] Available at: http://www.bwea.com/pdf/briefings/Wind-Energy-Generation-Costs.pdf [Accessed: 11/02/2012] Renewable UK (c), 2010, Calculations for Wind Energy Statistics [Online] Available at: http://www.bwea.com/edu/calcs.html [Accessed on: 11/02/2012] Risoe National Laboratory, 1989, Why Wind?, [Online] Available at: http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-green-energy/our-green-electricity/from-the-wind/why-wind [Accessed: 11/02/2012] Wikipedia, 2011, Wind Power in Scotland, [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Scotland [Accessed: 11/02/2012] Young, R. and Cracknell, R., 2004, 2001 Census of Population, House of Commons Library, United Kingdom, Social and General Statistics Section.

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