PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE EXPERIENCES WITH A WIND TURBINE DURING 20 YEARS OF OPERATION

摘要

A wind electric generator with a 13.4-m (44-ft) rotor diameter was installed in the Southern Great Plains at the USDA Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX, in May 1982 and was operated to assist in providing electricity to a 23 kW (30 hp) irrigation pump motor. The original turbine was a 240 V, single-phase generator with a rated capacity of 25 kW. This prototype unit was changed to a three-phase, 40 kW generator production unit in 1984 and later that year, a three-phase, 480 V generator rated at 60 kW was installed. All three units used the same size rotor and design. The wind turbine has generated power for over 93,811 hours during the 20 years and produced almost 1,425,641 kWh of electricity. The wind turbine operated for 53.6% of the hours since installation and recorded a capacity factor of 20.4%. Although several component failures occurred during the testing period, the wind turbine had an availability of 90%.