Post by lowell on Dec 9, 2020 2:13:33 GMT -6
' The Energy Department is funding GE and American Superconductor for designs of massive cryogenically-cooled machines '
'The cost of energy is tightly bound to the area that the turbine blades sweep. GE is deploying the world’s biggest wind turbine, the 12-megawatt Haliade X, which can single-handedly power more than 6,000 U.S. homes for a year, potentially displacing 23,000 metric tons of coal and limiting climate change.
But today’s most advanced commercial technology, the direct-drive generator—a gearless machine that uses a massive ring of permanent magnets based on rare earth elements—may eventually reach its limits. “We don’t know exactly what the upper limit is, but at some point they’ll be so massive that we can no longer get them on top of the tower,” says GE Research principal engineer David Torrey.
The Energy Department is looking for technology that will reduce generator mass by at least 35 percent, boost efficiency by 1 or 2 percent (a bigger deal than it might seem), and boost the generator’s torque density—force per unit of mass—by 35 to 50 percent. Coils of superconductor could replace permanent magnets to achieve those goals.
Using superconductors, which are inherently expensive materials that require costly cooling, will likely lead to a more expensive generator. However, the generator should still contribute to a minimum 10 percent reduction in the levelized cost of electricity, or LCOE, the break-even price of electricity over a generator’s lifetime.
“By driving performance metrics that include weight and efficiency, it is possible that a more expensive generator system could reduce the overall LCOE of a wind plant,” explains Mike Derby, wind technology program manager at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
The cost of cooling will be critical to reaching those goals, suggests Asger Bech Abrahamsen, senior researcher in the department of wind energy at Technical University of Denmark. '
But today’s most advanced commercial technology, the direct-drive generator—a gearless machine that uses a massive ring of permanent magnets based on rare earth elements—may eventually reach its limits. “We don’t know exactly what the upper limit is, but at some point they’ll be so massive that we can no longer get them on top of the tower,” says GE Research principal engineer David Torrey.
The Energy Department is looking for technology that will reduce generator mass by at least 35 percent, boost efficiency by 1 or 2 percent (a bigger deal than it might seem), and boost the generator’s torque density—force per unit of mass—by 35 to 50 percent. Coils of superconductor could replace permanent magnets to achieve those goals.
Using superconductors, which are inherently expensive materials that require costly cooling, will likely lead to a more expensive generator. However, the generator should still contribute to a minimum 10 percent reduction in the levelized cost of electricity, or LCOE, the break-even price of electricity over a generator’s lifetime.
“By driving performance metrics that include weight and efficiency, it is possible that a more expensive generator system could reduce the overall LCOE of a wind plant,” explains Mike Derby, wind technology program manager at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
The cost of cooling will be critical to reaching those goals, suggests Asger Bech Abrahamsen, senior researcher in the department of wind energy at Technical University of Denmark. '
Now perhaps Heeeeey (if she can read this) can understand why a room temperature superconductor would be a good idea for this application.
If no cooling is necessary for the superconductor, there is no cost of cooling. Then the goals are easily attainable.
spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/green-tech/wind/us-seeks-superconducting-offshore-wind-generators
If no cooling is necessary for the superconductor, there is no cost of cooling. Then the goals are easily attainable.
spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/green-tech/wind/us-seeks-superconducting-offshore-wind-generators