Download WindpowerUpdate 15 - Nordex

The time of large-scale power plants has passed.
The 1,000 MW blocks driven by fossil fuels and
nuclear power stations are gradually disappearing
from the scene. The reason: they are too expensive
and inflexible for the energy production of the future.
For this reason, today more and more suppliers
are making use of a mix of decentralized energy producers.
In this way it is possible to generate electricity
and heat locally and thus avoid energy losses
resulting from long transport distances. In addition
to this, decentralized power-plant structures are able
to react more flexibly.
However, in order to be able to guarantee a secure
power supply, an intelligent control system is
required for the distributed units. Here, the key concept
is the “virtual power plant”. A topic which is
now also being worked on by the experts of Natcon7,
a subsidiary of Nordex AG. “We want to produce the
first prototype of energy with the aid of wind power,
solar energy, photovoltaics, hydro power, biomass,
biogas and geothermal heat. The use of these renewables
and the conversion into electricity and heat is
effected at different locations. The distributed energy
producers are run as an intelligent association
by means of special automation and information
technologies”, explains Dirk Adam, CEO of Natcon7.
The combination of many decentralized energy
producers to form a virtual power plant ensures a secure
supply and is extremely economically efficient.
An existing virtual power plant can be extended to
include further producers at any time. The location
is of no consequence. As a virtual power plant is completely
neutral in terms of technology, machines
made by different manufacturers can be integrated
into the association.
The combination of many decentralized energy producers to
form a virtual power plant ensures a secure supply and is
extremely economically efficient.
The virtual power plant reacts much more flexibly in changing
energy demand than the conventional large power station is
able to.
This means that the road is clear for a mixture of
renewables. The combination of different forms of
renewable energy offers enormous advantages for
the operator as fluctuations in supply and demand,
resulting from weather conditions or changes in
energy consumption, for example, are easy to compensate
for. Here, it is important to also include permanently
available producers, such as biomass and
CHP (combined heat and power) plants, as well as –
in the future – fuel cells. This makes it possible for a
virtual power plant to react much more flexibly in
changing energy demand than a conventional large
power station is able to.
Each integrated producer is connected to the supply
grid and has his own control system which
is in direct contact, via an interface, with the central
control system of the virtual power plant. As a result
of this connection, the central control system knows
which individual and total capacity is currently available.
The central control system is equipped with
further communication interfaces, via which it is provided
with additional information. For example, the
central control system is able to evaluate weather
forecasts for the individual locations as well as data
on the current and expected demand situation on
the energy market. The sale of surplus electricity on
the energy exchange is included. This means that
the central control system is in a position to coordinate
the power generation of the association
efficiently and in line with demand on the basis of
reliable information.
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Did You Know That...
• from October to December this year, Nordex installs almost 2 wind
turbines each day in each week somewhere in the world.
• the wind energy sector uses 300,000 tonnes more steel than the German
ship building industry.
• in France, trucks with Nordex wind turbine parts of up to 29 metres
had to pass over a local petanque field in order to get through a very
narrow turn. This was done according to an agreement with the mayor
of the village, and of course, Nordex rebuilt the petanque field after
use.
• during the last decade, the investment costs in a wind turbine have
been deducted with more than 50 %.
• the wind energy saves external costs corresponding to an amount of
2.5 – 20 Ct/kWh.
No. 15 ı December 2002 7