Environmental and Performance Analysis of a 5kW Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine in East Central Alberta

• Author / Creator

  Rooke, Braden

• This thesis investigates the environmental and performance results of a 5kW horizontal axis wind turbine installed in east-central Alberta. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was utilized to perform a comparative environmental impact study on three sizes of small wind turbines installed in east-central Alberta for the production of 100kW of nameplate power. Field data collected over 17 months from tower mounted instruments were used to assess the performance of a grid connected 5kW wind turbine.

  Comparative LCA findings revealed that although 5kW and 20kW options were a vast improvement over current Alberta grid performance, a 100kW turbine had the fastest environmental, energy, and financial payback period and the lowest impact per kilowatt-hour in terms of global warming, ozone depletion, and acidification emission factors.

  In-situ power performance analysis demonstrated that the turbine performs at a high-level and the manufacturer’s published power curve was accurate. Annual energy production (AEP) estimates made from the measured power curve were slightly low compared to manufacturer’s published data. Tower-mounted instruments were found to be an excellent option for in-situ power performance analysis.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Life-cycle assessment
  • Power performance
  • Renewable energy
  • Wind turbine

• Graduation date

  Spring 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3PS7N

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.