Wind energy has been established as the most profitable and tested energy since ancient times. It was first used on sailboats since ancient times, followed by windmills. Today it is included in "clean" energy sources, as they are commonly called non-polluting energy sources. A large part of the cost for the construction of a wind turbine is its support on the ground. Large wind turbines need huge reinforced concrete bases that use the same weight to prevent the wind turbine from overturning, which receives very large gusts of wind. There are wind turbines where their base consists of 2000 cubic meters of reinforced concrete. That is, they weigh 2000 m3 X specific weight of reinforced concrete which is 2450 kg / m3 = 4.900000 kg or 4.900 tons The cost of reinforced concrete in the mountains exceeds 300 euros per m3 That is, the cost of the base is 2000 m3 X 300 euros = 600,000 euros. If you put in the excavations, it is very expensive. In order to reduce the cost of support but also the cost of electricity, as well as the pollution from the manufacture and transport of concrete, the concrete base must be removed and replaced with deep ground anchors like that of the patent which I hope is the strongest anchor worldwide. The cost of support with my patent of this particular wind turbine of 2000 m3 will not exceed 80,000 euros.
Dear Aparna Sathya Murthy
When wind energy is connected to the electricity grid it contributes significantly.
I live in an island part of Greece in the Cyclades and the wind is very strong!
The typical wind turbine is 2-3 MW in power, so most turbines cost in the $2-4 million dollar range. Operation and maintenance runs an additional $42,000-$48,000 per year according to research on wind turbine operational cost.
Ioannis Lymperis : It is an interesting solution to reduce the cost, but do you have any study related to this for wind turbines?. I mean publications, could you please share more details on this?
Dear Mohamed Sajeer M.
There is no relevant study. I am trying to proceed with a formal research project through which the behavior of the foundation under aero-elastic loads will be studied.
- Badges
- Science topic