Unique Pendular Wind Turbine Design from Ades

Ades

After years of R&D,  Ades has announced their entry into the wind turbine manufacturing sector with the exhibition of a innovative pendular wind turbine with adjusted motor torque at the Spanish reference fair.

The unique design of the ADES wind turbine includes three passive mechanical systems: a swivelling single-blade rotor, a pendulum power train and a self-steering nacelle. The design compensates, accumulates and reinstates wind speed variations, preventing them from affecting the evenness of generator rotation and subsequently diminishing structural overload and power peaks caused by wind gusts.

The presentations models have power output of 100 and 250 kW, anticipating the release of an ADES 1.3 MW turbine of similar design in 2012.

The ADES turbine can be utilized in new plants, in limited and off grids areas, in conjunction with other forms of energy generation, in the repowering of wind farms using the existing infrastructure.

 Their manufacturing plan is as follow:

• 100 kW Turbine: 2009
• 250 kW Turbine: 2009
• 1000 kW Turbine: In design phase
• 1600 kW Turbine: In design phase

Here is what the company say’s about the pendular design:

As the energy produced is the cube of the speed, a small variation in the wind speed will lead to a large variation in the power produced.

The high inertia of the rotating parts ensures that wind gusts, or sudden variations in its speed, will not be translated into sudden surges of energy, but will be distributed over all the parts, especially in the pendulum (formed by the electric generator itself).

Based on the power, its movement makes the quality of the electric energy delivered much better. In its descent the pendulum will go in the opposite direction to that of the rotation of the turbine and it will restore its potential energy to the rotor of the generator, returning a number of rotations based on the demultiplier ratio, which is fixed, between the rotor and the generator.

In isolated (off-grid) installations, this aspect is essential as the grid that absorbs the energy is more sensitive than large conventional interconnected grids. Moreover, the power produced can not exceed the demanded power, as this would cause fluctuations in the grid, which would translate into very low quality electric energy, with large variances in the voltage levels, to the detriment of the operation of the receivers.

About Ades:

A Spanish research and development engineering firm, which aims to develop solutions that encourage the rational and efficient use of renewable energy in the world, providing innovative solutions to specific problems.

Aplicaciones de Energías Sustitutivas S.L. – ADES – was created in 1992 as a result of Manuel Lahuerta’s initiative. Today, over 60 persons are working in ADES team.

The company has supply contracts for our wind turbines in Colombia (South America) and Letonia (Baltic State) and hopes to generate new enquiries for 2010 with the product launch in Saragossa.

Source: Ades