How is a wind turbine erected either at sea or on land?

Answer 1

I would first look at what specific locations are available to you.

A local power company chose a site they owned on land for a 600 KW wind turbine. They didn't locate it where the winds were consistently high. Another company is looking at an offshore location, just off the shoreline of Michigan in Lake Michigan. It is very windy and has lots of space available for many large wind turbines. There are tourism people concerned with how tourists will like that. Maybe tourists might not come back the next year because of the view.

Then find out how much wind you might expect to be there for the next 15 years.

Finance companies often finance such devices for 15 years. The local power station had to replace its rotor bearings after 13 years. But that wind turbine is back on line, maybe for another 13 or 15 years. You could compile the information on wind for your proposed sites or hire an Engineer to estimate it for you. This is called a Wind Survey. It can be used to estimate what the maximum winds speeds might be and how consistent they might be. The local power company found that their wind turbine only produced about 12 percent of the rated capacity they purchased. A good wind survey at the beginning of the project should be able to estimate this actual capacity compared to the rated capacity.

There will be regulations and ordinances at all levels of government that you have to comply with. You need to familiarize yourself with what these might be.

A local township ordinance says one has to allow 1 1/2 times the height of the tower to any property line. So a 300 foot lot could only have a 100 foot tower maximum. A locale airport says one cannot exceed 250 feet or you will interfere with the flight path of its aircraft. If your tower is designed for a '50 year wind' you will have to find out who in your state can tell you what that might be for your proposed site.

The wind turbine tower you envision will need a good foundation.

You will probably want to have an engineer look at what you plan for a tower, the wind survey and then estimate how deep and strong the foundation should be and give you a good design for one.

You will want to work out what your local electrical utility will need to purchase energy from you. I found that the local company could not answer my questions. They actually bought their electricity from someone else, could not buy from me and it was up to me and this other company to work out a deal. There will have to be a connection from your turbine to the grid. That might involve building a power line from your tower to somewhere....

With all of that an engineer should be able to give you a design for your wind turbine. Then you can take it to contractors and local approval agencies, and have them estimate what you need to finish the erection and to place your wind turbine into service.

Any questions?