Direct and Remote Coupling of Wind Turbines to Heat Pumps and Other Mechanical Devices. Final Report

摘要

This research set out to find alternative uses for wind power other than dumping the excess energy into the local grid. The alternatives investigated were space conditioning, and the generation of compressed air to power tools and other equipment which can be located at distant points from the wind turbine. Various methods of storage of the energy were considered since often the availability to power does not match the need for it. The research encountered many snags due to the turmoil in the wind industry at the time this research began. Power Kinetics was not in a position to respond in a timely fashion to the added workload required by the multiple changes in design needed to compensate for the limitation of equipment available at the onset of this work. However, as time has permittd, the limitation of purchased wind hardware has been augmented by the company's own designs and the initial research has been conducted. Contrary to initial speculation, the economics of using wind energy economically without the use of the local grid is unattractive today due to the high costs of storage. In most cases, the economics of wind energy are unattractive if a grid is available, when efficiencies of scale are obtained such as in wind farms. (ERA citation 10:041615)