Project description:
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MGE built and operates a wind farm consisting of 17 turbines (each 660 kW) to provide renewable, Wisconsin-based electricity. MGE customers choose to purchase the wind energy. |
Total cost:
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$14.5 million. |
Annual energy production:
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23,000,000 kilowatt-hours annually—enough electricity for roughly 3,300 homes (assumes 98% availability and 23% capacity factor). |
Expected life of turbines:
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30 years. |
Site location:
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In the townships of Lincoln and Red River in northwest Kewaunee County. |
Site landowners:
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Seven landowners host the turbines. |
Site acreage:
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30.5 acres are leased within seven parcels totaling 603 acres. Of the 30.5 acres, 7.4 acres are used for the turbine foundations, transformers and access roads. |
Site description:
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Agricultural crop land. |
Grid interconnection:
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690-volt cables to 750-kilovolt ampere (kVA) step-up transformers to 24.9-kV collection voltage underground to overhead to 138-kV overhead transmission line. |
Average site wind speed:
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13 to 14 mph (at 110 feet aboveground). |
Wind direction:
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Predominantly from the southwest to northwest. |
Turbine design:
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Vestas V47-660 kW pitch-regulated wind turbines with OptiSlip and OptiTip. These are horizontal axis, up-wind turbines. |
| OptiSlip generator system allows rotor and generator to vary their revolutions per minute (RPM) by up to 10% during wind gusts. This minimizes wear and improves quality and supply of electricity produced. |
| OptiTip pitch-regulated system controls blades so they are always tilted to the optimal angle for wind conditions. Optimizes production and minimizes noise level. |
Turbine and rotor manufacturer:
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Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Lem, Denmark. |
Turbine weight:
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20 tons (complete nacelle without rotor). |
Rotor design:
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Three 77' blades (154' rotor diameter) constructed of fiberglass reinforced epoxy and other composite materials. |
Rotor weight:
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7 tons. |
Rotor RPM:
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28.5 RPMs. |
Gear box:
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High-performance planetary/helical. |
Brake system:
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Primary brake: rotor-pitching mechanism (feathers blades).
Secondary brake: hydraulic disc brake. |
Yaw drive system:
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Electric motor driven with wind direction sensor and cable dewinding control. Braking accomplished through friction pads. |
Generator:
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Single-speed, variable slip, asynchronous, four-pole induction generator. |
Generator nominal voltage:
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690 VAC. |
Control system:
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Computer-controlled, automatic, independent operation and remote supervision from operations center in Madison. |
| Microprocessor-based monitoring of yaw, hydraulic, ambient conditions, rotation, generator, pitch system, grid, power factor correction, thyristors (generator cut-in) and remote monitoring. |
Integrated lightning protection:
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Lightning protection system consists of lightning receptor points, conductors, grounding system and surge protection for every subsystem. |
Tower design:
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Tubular steel tower assembled in three sections with internal safety ladder and nacelle access. |
Tower dimensions:
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Height is 213' and diameter is 12' at the base and 6.5' at the top. |
Tower weight:
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73.5 tons. |
Tower manufacturer:
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Beaird Industries, Shreveport, LA. |
Foundation design:
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Concrete pier 15' to 30' deep with 14' external diameter. Anchor bolts attach tower to the foundation. |
Rated power output:
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660 kW at 33 mph (optimal operating wind speed). |
Cut-in wind speed:
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9 mph. |
Cut-out wind speed:
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56 mph. |
Noise level:
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47 decibels at 800' downwind. |
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