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Wind turbine research has taken a turn for the better at Murdoch University, with a new wind turbine test site currently under construction in nearby Hamilton Hill.The test site will feature a 20 kW wind turbine capable of generating around 50 megawatt hours of electricity per year. This is enough power to meet the needs of around 10 typical suburban households in Australia. In developing countries the turbine would have a greater impact on the community and could supply around 40 households with basic services such as lights, refrigeration and a radio or television. Dr Jonathan Whale, who has been researching the aerodynamics of wind turbines for more than a decade, joined the Murdoch team at the Australian CRC for Renewable Energy (ACRE) last year to help improve the reliability and performance of the 20 kW wind turbine. “We have used turbines on the Murdoch campus for test work but have encountered problems with the scarcity of high wind speeds,” he said. “For a wind turbine of this size to be economical, it really needs to be exposed to an average wind speed of at least 5-6 metres per second. “At the Murdoch campus the average wind speed is about 3.5 metres per second, so we needed to find a place nearby to test the behaviour of the turbine in more realistic conditions. “With an average wind speed of 7 metres per second, the Beeliar National Park site in Hamilton Hill fits the bill.” Just eight kilometres from the Murdoch campus, Dr Whale will be able to monitor the performance of the turbine from his desk at ACRE using radio modem communication. This turbine test work is part of an ACRE project with Western Australian turbine manufacturer WestWind. The team is aiming to develop and market a range of efficient and reliable small wind turbines of different sizes (varying from 3kW to 30kW) to be used in remote communities throughout the world. |
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Editor: Pepi Smyth
Produced by the ">Office
of Community Relations, Murdoch University |
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