Environmental Engineering Reference
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reducing structural loads. Maintaining constant 60-cycle power was accomplished through
the use of a doubly-wound generator , associated cycloconverter power electronic equipment,
and advanced control algorithms. Vortex generators (shown being installed in Fig. 5-24)
and trailing-edge tabs improved the aerodynamic performance of the rotor. Most impor-
tantly, the Mod-5B was designed using advanced structural-dynamic computer codes like
Dylosat [Finger 1985] and incorporated experience from the Mod-2 test program
[Bovarnick and Engle 1985]. Thus it appeared to be the irst large-scale turbine with a
reasonable expectation of a 30-year structural lifetime.
Final assembly commenced in January, 1987, at the site on the north shore of the island
of Oahu, not far from where the fourth Mod-0A 200-kW wind turbine had been located.
The turbine nacelle and rotor had been shipped by barge to Oahu from the mainland in
subassemblies, together with the very large ringer crane needed for inal assembly. The
hub and mid-blade subassemblies of the 1.4-MN rotor, also of all-steel construction, were
welded together on-site, rather than having bolted joints, as was the case with the Mod-2.
First wind-powered rotation of the Mod-5B HAWT occurred on July 1, 1987. The test
program began in earnest in August, 1987, and consisted of two 500-hour phases. The irst
phase accomplished checkout of the turbine through its operating envelope and adjustment
of controls and the variable-speed generating system. The second phase consisted of testing
under a utility acceptance test scenario, the purchase price to the utility being a function of
both performance and availability during a test period of at least 500 hours. The turbine
achieved an energy capture performance of 106 percent of the basic contract requirement,
producing 988 MWh during 660 hours of testing. It also achieved an availability of 95
percent, 5 percent over the basic requirement, an unparalleled level for that early a stage
of testing of a new, advanced, and very large wind turbine.
In January of 1988, the Mod-5B was sold to the project's utility partner to operate as
an integral part of the power generation mix on Oahu. During its irst 55 months of service
as a commercial power plant, the
Mod-5B operated for 18,920 hours
and produced 24,533 MWh of elec-
tricity, for an average power output
of 1.32 MW [Spera and Miller 1992].
Eventually, the Kahuku wind
power station consisted of the Mod-
5B and 15 Westinghouse WWG-0600
turbines rated at 600 kW (Fig. 3-39),
owned and operated by the Makani
Uwila Power Corporation. The de-
sign of these Westinghouse machines
combined successful technology from
the Mod-0A program (wood/epoxy
blades, nacelle structure, yaw drive
by hydraulic actuators) with that from
the Mod-2 (upwind/teetered rotor,
shell tower, and dynamic lexibility).
Figure 3-39. A 600-kW Westing-
house WWG-0600 HAWT, 43.3-m
in diameter. This design applied
technology from both the Mod-0A
and Mod-2 wind turbines. ( Courtesy
of Hawaiian Electric Industries )
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