From: tgray@igc.apc.org (Tom Gray)
Newsgroups: alt.save.the.earth
Subject: --Wind and Storage in Hawaii
Date: 16 Nov 92 18:56:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1310900023:000:3164
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!tgray    Nov 16 10:56:00 1992


/* Written  5:34 am  Nov 16, 1992 by tgray@igc.apc.org in igc:en.energy */
HAWAII EXPERIMENTS WITH
WIND, PUMPED STORAGE
 
In another approach to storage that combines it directly with wind,
the University of Hawaii is conducting research at its Wind Energy
Storage Test (WEST) facility in the North Kohala District of Hawaii
Island.
 
The test station combines a small, 25-kW pumped hydro reservoir
with wind energy from three 25-kW Carter wind turbines at the Kahua
Ranch, according to the State of Hawaii's Transitions energy
newsletter.  Electricity generated by the wind can be used to pump
water into the reservoir when the wind is blowing, and the water
then passes through a conventional hydro turbine to produce power
on demand.
 
A unique feature of the WEST plant is a 50-kVA Series Resonance
Converter, which allows variable-speed, constant-frequency
operation when generating power.  The purpose of this system is to
change the speed of the hydro turbine as the water level ("head")
changes, enabling it to operate at the highest possible efficiency
at all times.  The turbines in conventional pumped hydro systems
generally operate at a fixed speed for electrical generation.
 
The WEST system can store enough water to generate 365 kWh of
electricity, or the equivalent of 14.6 hours of operation of the
hydro turbine at full output.
 
The Kahua Ranch site is favorable for the wind/pumped hydro
combination due to a high annual average wind speed (about 22 mph,
or 10 m/s) and a poor match between the windiest periods and times
when electric power is needed.  Power from the WEST facility is
used by the ranch, which has an average demand of 20 kW.
 
In addition to pumped hydro, the University of Hawaii is carrying
out other research programs with batteries, small diesel
generators, and hydrogen production -- still another means of
storing energy from wind and solar systems.
 
The pumped hydro project is funded by the Hawaii Department of
Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Bonneville Power
Administration; Electronic Power Conditioning Co.; and Kahua Ranch. 
Additional support is provided by the Soil Conservation Service. 
The three-year project has received $400,000 in public and private
funds.

===============================

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*******************************************************************
Tom Gray                                 EcoNet/PeaceNet: tgray@igc
Internet/Bitnet: tgray@igc.apc.org            UUCP: uunet!cdp!tgray