Power from the offshore winds

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POWER FROM THE OFFSHORE WINDS

William E. Heronemus

Professor of Civil Engineering University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Member, Marine Technology Society

ABSTRACT

It has been estimated that the total rate of conversion between available potential energy and kinetic eneçgy in the atmosphere of the whole Northern Hemisphere in winter is about 10" kilowatts reducing to about sixty percent

of that value in suniner. Much of that energy is felt as "The Westerlies,

winds on which the seafaring man of bygone years placed great dependence.

The Westerlies are of particular significance to the United States because

in a sense they are a bonus of solar energy bestowed upon us. _The

atmos-pheric and oceanic processes which create their energy occur over the

adjacent and distant oceans as well as over our land mass: _{the result is}

felt particularly along our land-to-water boundaries.

It is suggested that man might once again turn to those mighty winds and to the ocean Currents which they help to sustain to help satisfy his need for energy. If such energy were used, it would be essentially pollution-free

and would have a neutral effect on global heating. A number of concepts

for Offshore Wind Power Systems are proposed.

INTRODUCTION

For centuries man has extracted energy from the winds to expand his

agricul-ture, his manufacturing and his cornnerce. _{In the early 20th century it}

appeared that almost exponential growth in windpower, coupled with

electricity, was inevitable in mans quest for energy. But the combination

of the ability of the petroleum products industry to meet an exponential fuel

demand with low-cost products, the accompanying ability of the coal industry

to meet or better petroleums competition, and the ability of industry_to

produce very low cost external and interna] combustion engines completely

preempted the expansion of windpower. And so long as coal, oil, and gas remain in plentiful supply, and so long as ground water is available as free

good for heat sink purposes and the air is available as a free good for

storage of combustion emission, the carbon-hydrocarbon fueled combustion processes will be able to meet or exceed all large-scale solar energy system competition, within which Wind Power must be Included.

The recent decade of expansion of LWR nuclear plants, justified first as

competitive with combustion plants, then, as comparativelyollution_fe' plants, has ended in a great debate as to whether either justification is factual. The future of the very large LWR plants (1000 to 1800megawatt,

electrical) on which our 1975 to 1990 energy policy has been based, is

at this

moment clouded. One of the most recent plants is starting hot operations at

an installed cost of about 368 dollars per kWe compared against budgeted

figures of 200 dollars. _{And those 368 dollars do not include any of the}

government subsidies on which its engineering and construction were vitally dependent. _{Should the current investigations into the adequacy of the} reactor safeguard systems yield a vote of no-confidence, it is not unlikely

Heronemus

that that plant will never operate at more thai, one-half its theoretical

capacity. An actual cost of 736 dollars per kWe could be in the making.

The proper cost of substitute carbon-hydrocarbon combustion plants is sim-ilarly probably well above the 1969-70 cost experience which itself showed

a marked turn upward except at Four Corners, New Mexico.

_{If this nation}

decides that they do not want their ground water supplies totally usurped

as heat sink, and if we can contrive a method of internalizing the cost of combustion effluents, the capital cost of combustion plants will also rise

dramatically.

There are methods of extending the service life and of cleaning up the

combustion plants: generation and use of sulfur-free synthetic fuels, or,

much heavier reliance on combustion of imported ratural gas. Either of those

methods will increase the effective per kWe investment significantly (though

to nowhere near the level projected for LWR plants). Whereas in 1920 and

again in 1945 economic justification for large-scale generation of

electri-city by windpower could not be found, an analysis of the complete problem

could show differently in 1972. With that prospect in mind, and with an

1overriding desire to do something about pollution other than just measure

it, tax it, complain about it, then accept it, another look has been taken

at the feasibility of large scale Wind Power usage.

The system proposed is based squarely in most major instances on tech-nology demonstrated at the same scale in the past. There are no blue-sky

subsystems describedThy anaTThr function-in-a-black-box method. _{The only}

exception is that of the Deep Water Storage System which has not been used

to date, at least not on such a grand scale. The hardware analogy, the

pressure-balanced nain ballast tank of submarine technology, and the concrete

ship girder, has been established. The assessment of the resource is

based on data available in the public domain.

1. A GENERAL DESCRIPTION 0F THE PROPOSED OFFSHORE WIND POWER SYSTEM

The Offshore Wind Power System (OWPS) places three barrages of wind stations across the prevailing westerlies in the Gulf of Maine - Georges Bank area of

the continental shelf. Figure 1 shows the geography and the concept of OWPS.

Each wind station has a maximum capacity of 3.4 to 6.0 megawatts. Most of the stations are mounted on platforms which float near the 100 meter contour: some will be on platforms floating in water between 100 and 40 meter depths and some will be on towers fixed in the sabed of the shoal waters of Georges

Bank, Nantucket Shoals or New York Shoals. One of the significant stimuli

to this concept was the fact that Texas Tower 2 existed for seven _{years on}

Georges Shoal. _{The floating platforms are especially configured to minimize}

wave-induced motion in even the most violent weather expected in the region.

Their response will be similar to that of FLIP.

Wind stations are clustered in orbital rings around one nucleus Electrolyzer

Plant in each UNIT. _{That Electrolyzer Plant will be manned, and will contain}

all of the equipment necessary to distill adequate pure water and, by

elec-trolysis, generate hydrogen gas at 300 i, which will be fed into the

Collection and Distribution System. A 44,000 pounds per hour electrolyzer,

designed by Allis-Chalmers for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was selected.

The oxygen will be released as an unused by-product, or, in another version

of the system, will be fed into a parallel Oxygen Collection and Distribution System. _{There are 164 orbital wind stations plus one atop each electrolyzer}

Unit. The Unit is arranged in concentric rings, each station one-quärter

mile distant from any other. The Stations generate, transform and transmit

a.c. via individual underwater cables to the electrolyzer. At the Electro-lyzer, the a.c. is conditioned to d.c. to feed the electrolysis units.

The Units, each occupying a circle 3.50 miles in diameter, are aligned along

three N-S lines, as shown in Figure 10. Those lines have been spaced sixty

nautical miles apart: a cursory study indicates that the upper air will

adequately replenish energy extracted in the first barrage as the wind

travels sixty miles to the second barrage, etc. A total of 83 Wind Units are

called out for this system. The line nearest Cape Cod is ten miles offshore,

far enough to prevent visual pollution. 436

Heronemtis

The Collection System is made up of highest-quality reenforced concrete pipe_{similar to that used in the California Aqueduct}

System. The pipe is

con-servatively designed to hold 175 psi internal _{pressure and could withstand}

submergence (as a pressure hull) to well over 600 feet. The pipe, laid on

the sea bed along the 100m contour, joined _{with both welded and gasketed}

Joints, will easily withstand the 300 psi maximum operating pressure of the_{collection system.}

The longest portion of the Collection _{System Is sized to}

permit maximum peak load flow from storage to ashore conversion stations.

The Deep Water Storage System is the most novel _{portion of the whole system.}

The electrolyzers feed gas into a 300 psi system. _{At the far end of the}

maïn trunk will be a Compressor and Reducer Station. _{This station will be}

manned, and will be furnished electricity by its own orbital cluster of 58

wind stations. _{The electricity will drive compressors which during periods}

of strong winds will suck excess hydrogen production from the Collection

System and deliver it to 3000 psi _{pressure-balanced storage. The storage}

tanks are essentiallylfndrjcl

_{concrete 'hulls, designed to proven} con-crete ship hull standards and strong enough to hold the buoyancy produced by

a full load of hydrogen. About one-half of the interior must be

_{filled with}

sand-gravel ballast to bring each to neutral _{buoyancy. The upper half,}

occupied by either sea water and/or displacing _{hydrogen gas, is fitted with}

a rubber or dacron liner to guard against the cracking to be expected in any

concrete structure. _{The tanks, arranged in an approprIatestable seabed area}

along the 2200m contour on the Continental _{Slope, will store forty per cent}

of the annual production of hydrogen. _{When flow from storage is required,}

the reducing valves in the Compressor and Reducer Station will feed gas back

into the 300 psi Collection System.

This system has been laid out with one shore-side terminal, Dorchester Bay, and an extensive ashore distribution system from there to all parts of New England. _{it is irenediately apparent that the Collection}

System should

per-haps better be designed as a loop, with _{shore-side terminals in at least}

Boston, Fall River, Norwich, New Haven and Bridgeport. Such a loop would

cost no more (perhaps even less) and could have essential damage control

feature built Into it.

The Ashore Distribution System comprises

_{a half billion dollars worth of}

pipe line, 48' diameter down to 3" diameter, _{laid In a network that will best}

reduce distribution costs maximizing a "mini-substation" concept.

The Substations, dispersed Mini-Substations,

_{total to 24 x io6 kilowatts of}

hydrogen fuel cell stations which accept hydrogen and atmospheric air,

deliver 60hertz electricity at substation _{voltage, and product water. The}

water may be valuable as a by-product. _{The local atmospheric thermal}

pollu-tion associated with this type of electricity _{generation is benign compared}

with any heat-engine cycle. _{The fuel cell selected here is that of the}

Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Division's Project Tarqet design, available at

115 dollars per kilowatt without hydrocarbon reformer and scrubber. The

value of energy transportation as hydrogen gas and subsequent fuel cell

con-versïon to electricity in New England,_{as expounded by Lueckel}

. Ecklund and

Law has been one of the significant stimuli

_{leading to hTtudy.}

The total system is based on the use of hydrogen _{as a storable ideal}

fuel, particularly when fed into fuel cells for conversion to electricity.

Figure 2 is a simplified system block diagram. _{The hydrogen gas produced}

by OWPS Is equally useable as a direct-use fuel but would not compete until

natural gas has been replaced by much _{more expensive synthetic gas or}

imported LNG. The hydrogen can be liquefied and stored ashore as a cryogen, but system cost based on ashore cryogenic storage adds about 3 billion

dollars mare than system cost based_{on Deep Water Storage. When liquid}

hydrogen is Introduced as the desired fuel for _{aircraft and road-transport}

engines, OWPS might be expanded to meet that _{market as well.}

2. THE RESOURCE: THE ENERGY IN THE WIND

The energy that is available in the wind_{can be described and measured, first,} in terms of the global or regional total; _{second, In terms of the winds found} In reproducible patterns, year after

_{year, at a particular site.}

_{The total}

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IOU'l PROPE0 I59aIOalCWh 0V -T .WggJS7t SM1E1 GURE i

SYSTEM, 2-20BU RINi-SUB-STATIONS, FUEL CELLS PLUS INVERSION NID TRANS-FORMER EQUIPT. AT THE DOSTRIROTIOII

LEVEL. ELECTRICITY TB ALL CUSTOIIDRS Heronemus GASEOUS lID AS A PIPELINE PRODUCT COLLECTION AlIO TRANSMISSION PIPELINE COMPRESSOR and REDUCER STATION

t

DEEP WATER STORAGE

FIOSRE 2.

438 BASIC SYSTEM OIA000M. CUPS, SChEME

Onygen By-Pradilct

I

VARIABLE BUT REPRODUCIBLE BINO TURBINE B.C. EL ECTROLY DER

STATION GOS EARS

nia HYDROGEN

GENERATORS cable

WIND ENERGY

Heroneinus

flux of momentum iQthe atmosphere was etimated by BRUNT in 1920 _{to be}

3 x lQ' kilowatts'. NEWTON and PALMEN _{have changThat estimate slightly}

to i'

kilowatts for the Northern Hemisphere in winter, dropping

_{to 6 x iø'3}

kilowatts In the sunsner. The World Meteorological Organization has long had

a co,mntee actively interested in Wind Power. _{They have estimated that}

2 x l0' kilowatts of wind power are available to wind turbines at very

specially suited sites.

_{There is a repeatable pattern of winds around the} World and the energy in them, driven by the sun, is large compared against

the total energy use of the World. _{The general sumer and winter circulation}

patterns of the Westerlies and other major winds are shown in Figure 3 and 4,

which have been taken from the flotes from which Putnam's classic._{from the Wind,4, was prepared.} Power

Again, going back to Putnam we find thatone

of his associates, the distinguished Norwegian meteorologist and one-time professor at M.I.T., Dr. Sverre Petterssen, has described the resource in

terms of what It could produce if a certain wind turbine were placed in its stream. From his 1938 notes we reproduce Figure 5. _{Figure 5 shows}

esti-mated isopaths of energy that could be extracted from the atmosphere, at a

site, In kilowatt hours per year of production for each kilowatt of generat-ing machinery installed at the site. The imaginative viewer will imediately

center his eyes over the Flemish Cap and wonder how _{we might create}

wind-stations riding on icebergs

The best method of demonstrating how much _{energy is "available i2 the wind}

at a site is that perfected by the Smith-Putnam team, _{1939-1945, by Percy}

Thomas during World War II and to l95l, ai published_{by Golding6. The}

best descriptor of the wind is a Velocity Duration Curve, like that of

Figure 6. _{From that kind of curve and the characteristics of the candidate}

wind machines, one can calculate thetotal annual energy output of a machine

at a site.

_{This will be done for candidate machines in the next section.}

The Velocity-Duration curve can also be approximated, _{quite accurately, by}

rotating a standard curve shape around the ninety percent of time knee,"

placing the curve so that it passes through the _{proper annual average wind}

speed value on the ordinate at fifty percent of time. _{If one knows the}

annual average wind speed (AAWS) one then has the _{tools with which to make}

a very good approximation of the power capability at that _{location. The}

speed of the wind varies logarithmically with height _{above ground (sea),}

usually assumed to be zero at ground or sea level. _{So, if one has the}

height above ground of the measuring instruments _{and the AAWS, the shape of}

the velocity duration curve for any height_{at a site can be approximated}

accurately.

This paper was sparked by the realization that our experience with Texas Towers 2, 3 and 4, off the Atlantic Coast, had provided excellent wind

speed and direction data at known heights. _{The Westerly Winds had played a}

significant role in all that was New England until _{the recent past: here}

perhaps was a chance to reach back to a pillar of strength that might be

applied to a major problem of the future. _{The strength of the offshore}

winds is shown in the data given in Figure 7. There is a vast amount of data available describing the winds in the various offshore areas, available

through the U.S. Navy and the National Environmental _{Data Center. But, no}

useable reference heights are given. _{Referring to Figure 7, it is thought}

quite appropriate to suggest that the data fromone of the Texas Towers

might be used to estimate an "average height" of win instrument for the

Area Data. Doing this, using the method of Saunders _{, one arrives at an}

average wind instrument height of _{feet above sea level. That is thought}

to be reasonable. _{One other characteristic of the wind data given in Figure}

12 Is the strength and monthly uniformity of the wind at Logan Airport, only

22 feet above the ground. _{Those speeds, raised up to 87 feet above}

ground

show wind at Logan to be as strong _{as that measured at Texas Tower 2.}

_{It is}

therefore considered appropriate to assume that U2 and TT3 data are good

wind data for the entire Massachusetts Bay-Georges _{Bank region. Figure 8}

gives the calculated AAWS at each of the three Texas Towers as a function of

height above sea level. The number of hours during which wind speed is _less

than 15 miles per hour, hours in which it lies _{between 15 and 29 miles per}

hour, and hours during which lt is equal to or exceeds 29 miles per hour, are also shown in Figure 8 as functions of AAWS.

Fu;. 3. Prevailing winds over the oceans, January-February1 after W. Koppen.

Width of arrow indicates strength of wind.

--.>

Less than so miles an hour.

*- From io to i

miles an hour.

From i

ro 30 miles an hour.

+ Over 30 miles an hour.

Length of arrow indicates steadiness of wind.

Heronemus

Ftc. 4 Prevailing winds over the oceans, July-August, after W Köppen.

_Width

of arrow indicates strength of wind.

-- Less than io miles an hour

-rn->-

_{From Io to x miles an hour.}

+ From i

to 30 miles an hour.

)- Over 30 miles an hour.

Length of arrow indicates steadiness of wind. Heronemus

G-a r ¿ R C TI C ..T2 k.F ra.a.

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:---TT4 (NEW YORK SHOALS) 200 Tt3 (NANTUCKET SHOALS) 200

442 TT2 (GEORGES SHOAL) 2'

-MOUN1'JN LOCATiON

(VERMONT NEWHAM PSN IRE J

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 OJ Oß 0.9 I

TIME - FRACTION OF ONE W}IOLE '(FAR

FIGURE 6.

WI1D VELOCITY o.rnATI0N CURVES,

FOR MOUNTAIN LOCA11ON,SMITH

-PUT..1 TURDINE, PLUS THREE POINTS IN PROPOSED OWPS AREA

Q: - -30

20

60

G, C

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A DESCRIPTION OF ThE WINDS OFFSHORE THE U.S. EAST COAST:AVERAGE SPEED M.P.H. AT

HEIGHTS A.S.L. INDICATED

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Deduced from comparison of area 004 data against TT2 data, and area 007

data agaiest TT4 data.

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ANNUAL AVERAGE WIND SPEED, MPH

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ANNUAL AVERAGE WIND SPEED, MPH

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OFFSHORE WINDS

FIGURE 8.

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w w > 30C

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Heronemus

3. THE WINO STATION

The greatest of all Windmills to date was the 175 foot diameter 2-blade

Smith-Putnam machine , Figure 9. The New York University. with assistance from Stanford University. made a very thorough analysis of machines similar to but in many respects better than the Sniith-Putnam prototype8. NYU presented a 200 foot diameter prototype and a 60 foot diameter prototype

both of which have been selected as wind

station candidates. The smaller one is so nearly identical with the John

Brown's 100 kW unit (British) and several other 100 kW units, that

It is felt

to have been demonstrated just as the Smith-Putnam machine demonstrated the

larger machine.

To be of significance and to be economic, an Offshore New_{England Wind}

Sta-tion must:

carry enough rotating units to capture at least 2 megawatts of energy, peak, and hopefully two or three times that amount at each location.

have a cut-in wind speed no greater than 15 mph (12 mph would be much better), and reach rated power at a wind speed somewhat less

Th 30 mph.

be a floating station, or a station that can be carried by a

tower implanted in the sand of Georges Bank or Nantucket or New York

Shoals. And the platform and tower costs must be low.

Cd) must be of simple and rugged construction so

_{t reliability}

approaches that of the Danish mills that have operated continuously for 45 years with no maintenance of any kind.

(e) _{have a storage fraction which is as low as possible, all other}

parameters considered.

Three arrays of wind turbines have been studied:

A large space-frame (5083-O aluminum) carried on a reenforced

concrete tower, fitted with 34 of the 60 foot dia. wheels, each geared

to a 100 kW generator, Figure 10.

A three-wheel array, each 200 feet in diameter, each geared to a

600 kW generator, Figure li.

A three-wheel array, each 200 feet in diameter, each geared to a

2,000 kW generator, Figure 11. (Despite the marked difference in

rated capacity, there would be few dissimilarities in_appearance

between the two three-wheel machines.

The productivity of each wheel was assessed as _{a function of Its height}

above sea level and the wind it would therefore see. The weight and cost

of each portion of each machine were estimated using data _{from 4, 5, B, 9,}

and current data on generator, gear, and structural component costs.

_It

was, with reluctance, decided to go with brushless a.c. machines, paralleled

by solid state control devices to a corrmon frequency and transformed upward

to an 'efficient' transmission voltage. _{This is considered to be a great} waste, because the receptor for this electricity wants d.c. to use in elec-

_{trolysis cells.}

But in the time available it has not been possible to find the kind of d.c. machines and interconnecting cable that will _{support use of} a completely d.c. circuit. This will be mentioned later where the

electro-lyzer station is discussed.

The thrust (overturning moment) and static floating machines were analyzed carefully. reenforced concrete hulls for buoyancy and ball which serves two purposes,

permits the entire station to be

launched, towed to site, then slowly

final operating location, Figure 12,

use of a sea water as ballast.

Reenforced concrete has been us.ed extensively for pressure-hull shells, and

cylindrical coluni menters. _{The recent work of the U.S. Navy Civil} stability requirements of the

The designs selected use

a reinforced concrete ballast built on its back. ship fashion,

rotated and submerged to its and

Heronemus

AN ARRAY OF loo KW WIND TURBINES, EACH_{OF SIXTY FOOT DIA. SUITABLE FOR AFLOAT} SITING AT SEA OR IN THE GREAT LAKES.

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SECTION ON A-A

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O' Base Line Figure O. 365'

MEAN SEA LEVEL

700'

305

Heronemus

PROPOSED 3-WHEEL FLOATING WIND STATION

200 FOOT DIAMETER

FIGURE II

/LINE

TOWING

DOLLY ( P.S)

THE

3 x 2000 WI N D STATION A FLOAT

, T R I M M E D - DOWN

READY FOR TOWING TO

SITE.

_{FIGURE 12.}

Heronemus

Engineering Laboratory, promoting more use of concrete 9th for the deep

ocean and afloat, has been followed with great interestlu. The author has

been convinced for many years that significant ocean engineering projects

will require intelligent use of low-cost long-life concrete. We should have paid more attention, earlier, to the excellent results of WWI and WWII,

and post WWII concrete ship programs.1'' l The final hydrodynamic

characteristics of the floating statfons are those of a °FLIP type spar buoy. The main buoyancy member rides at least 30 feet beneath the surface

and the heavy unit Is suspended by four or six relatively slim cylindrlcql units piercing the water line. Using the method of Heller and Motherway'3,

a very long natural frequency in heave is estimated. It Is known that

60 foot waves have been seen in this region: the 30 foot clearance to top

of buoyancy sphere and the 60 foot clearance to the tip of lowest blades should prevent damage In the worst of storms.

Figure 13 shows the 3 x 2000 configuration aground on the Shoals or Banks.

A special transportation and emplantirtg ship will be required. The

completely preassembled station should be carried to site on their backs, then.

raised up to a vertical position, finally lowered into a pattern of holes

jetted into the loose sand by a special dredge device.

The aloft weights and estimated costs for the wind turbine-generator sets and given in Table 1.

The productivity of each wheel was ca1ulated using the power coefficient

and loss data produced by the NYU workm. No attempt was made to improve upon those data. The cut-in speed of 15 mph as given by NYU test results

was accepted: effort should be expended to produce blades with a lower

cut-in speed and a flatter C characteristic. The type of approximation used to

calculate annual productvity, average power, and storage requirement is

shown in Figure 14. The values of K and Storage Requirement for three

different configurations, at TT2, are given in Table 2:

TABLE 2 34 x 100 kW Array 64.6 44.5 34% 17.327x106 3 x 600 kW kW hrs. 3-Wheeler 425 365 20% 9.838 x 106 3 x 2,000 kW kW hrs. 3-Wheeler 1005 874 39% 24.14 x io6 kW hrs. The total estimated cost for each configuration of wind station is given In

Table 3.

450 TABLE 1

NYU Weight 1972 Cost Estimates, $K

Item Estimate, Lbs. per kW 6O Dia. 100 kW 200 DIa. 600 kW 200' Ola. 2,000 kW

1. Al. Alloy Castings 8.50 0.85 5.00 17.00

2. Nacelle Shapes and

Plates 20.00 2.00 12.00 40.00 3. ShaftIng and Bearings 15.00 2.00 12.00 40.00 4. Speed-up Gearing 15.00 1.90 11.40 38.00 5. Generator and Controls 15.00 3.00 18.00 59.60 6. Blades 5.00 1.00 44.40 44.40 TOTALS 78.50 S10.75K $l02.801( $?39.00K

Conf tguration Kl K Storage Total Annual

Heronemus

THE 3-WHEEL WIND TURBINE STATION ON CONCRETE PILE TOWER JETTED INTO COMPACT SAND LAYER LYING ABOUT 60 FEET BENEATH SEA BED IN ABOUT 56 FEET OF WATER ON

EITHER GEORGES BANK. NANTUCKET SHOALS OR NEW YORK SHOALS.

MEAN SEA LEVEL

WATER

LOOSE SANO 60'

HR WIND

V IN NPN

340' A.S.L.

VERY COMPACT SAND'

.'. .

Figure 13

SIMPUFIED WIND STATION PRODUCTIVITY G STORAGE ANALYBIB

K

(P)(8760) (PX--)

8760

Figure 14 8?GO-(A1-B) AVE. POWBR.IC T' BYRD MRD, WIND V>S9 NPH 'rIME,HRS. 8' ATED POWER,P

t'

t'

t ¡7,520 2A+ STORAGE REO' T AS A

Heronemus

TABLE 3

From Tables 2 & 3: Nominal $/kWhr Annual productivity,

each configuration 2.92 x io_2 3.97 x io_2 3.78 z io.2

The last line in Table 3 together with the data from Table 2 would suggest that the 34 wheel configuration would be the most cost effective. But,

when the complete system is put together, it will be shown that Units with fewer numbers of the 3 x 2000 stations will have a slight advantage over the Units with larger numbers of the 34 x 3400 statIons. Additional system OPtimization studies could place the 34 x 100 array back in the lead if Only because of the reduced storage fraction compared against the 3 x 2000 configurations. The 34 wheel array is certainly the prototype configuration appropriate to systems designed for installation in the Great Lakes or throughout the Great Plains, particularly if a somewhat smaller diameter and blade characteristic will bring a significant reduction in cut-In speed, thus greater utilization of moderate winds.

4. THE ELECTROLYZER STATION

The essence of the OWPS is the ability to generate, store and recall a fuel, conforming to the variability of the wind on the resource end and at the same time to the demand pattern at the consumer end of the system. The Idea of using wind power to generate hydrogen gas for this purgose is not ngw.

It has been mentioned in the German literature, by Putnam", by Golding° and is the key principle in the Oklahoma State University System which has operated for several years producing useful results in the electrolytic cell and fuel cell areas'4' 5 _{It also happens that the Oak Ridge National}

Laboratory comissioned work in the design of large electrolysis plants by Allis-Chalmers in 1966. Those results have been made available in the "CostaGrimes Paperl6 and in l7 Another study by Halletlu of the cost and analysis of systems for the production of liquid hydrogen provided additional valuable data. Data from which the size and cost of the distiller plant were provided by AquaChem, Inc., Mechanical Equipment Company, Universal

Desalting Corp., and AMF Beaird, Inc.

The Electrolyzer Station Hull is made up of three reenforced concrete spherical hulls, each of 45 foot radius. The hull shells are 24 inches thick and contain three percent steel reenforcement. They are joined via cylindrical trunks at the axes of their horizontal diametral planes. There are light working decks at 10 foot deck height within each sphere. Living

quarters are provided in the upper level of one of the spheres. The lower level in each shell serves as distillate tankage for the pure water required for the electrolyzers. Each of these tn-sphere hulls is ballasted by a subtending ballast sphere, and the complete unit hangs suspended in the water from the buoyant lower tower legs of a wind station tower. The station Is tethered by a high strength hose to the collection subsystem.

452 Item Confiquratlon 34, 100 kW Wheels, 60' Dia. 34x100 3, 600 kW Wheels, 200' Dia. 3x600 3, 2000 kW Wheels, 200' DIa. 3x2000 a. Support Buoy, Complete $69.00K $39.20K $87.00K b. Lower Tower c. Anchor and 14.00 Tether d. Installation on Site 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 e. Space Frame 59.00 31.40 100.00 f. Wind Machines 365.00 308.40 717.00 TOTAL $517.00K $389.00K $914.00K

A standard wind _{station surmounts each unit. The electrical interconnecting}

cables from the orbital wind stations enter the spherical hulls via indivi-dual electrical penetrators in way of the_{power conditioning equipment.}

The major element of cost for the Station_{is $35.440 x io6 for the 44,000}

pound per hour electrolyzer. The cost o the 000 psi compressor unit has

been removed from the cost estimated mio and1 _{. Almost fifty percent of}

the 35 million dollars Is expended for_{power conditioning equipment required}

to receive a.c. and changes to the d.c. required _{by the electrolysis cells.}

As has been stated earlier, there seems to be an opportunity for a major cost reduction if the machinery, cables and switch gears necessary for

direct generation and transmission _{as direct current were available.}

Heronemus

$450K

times 3 $1.350 x io6

Ballast Sphere and 0.080

Hose Tether _0.010

Towing and Placement on Site 0.020

$1.460 x 106 for one station

One Complete Distillation

Plant _2.250

One Complete Electrolyzer

Plant, 44,000 lbs.H2/hr 35.440

One Wind Station _0.428

Total _{$39.578 x 106}

One complete Wind Unit comprises 165 _{of the 3 x 2000 wind stations clustered}

around and feedingiTctricjty into_{one nucleus Electrolyzer Station. The}

total cost of a Unit is:

Wind Stations (164) _{$149.50 x 106}

One Electrolyzer Station 39.58

c) 216 miles of inter connecting cable 16.00

$205.08 5. THE OFFSHORE COLLECTION SYSTEM

Figure 1 gives the geographical layout _{of the OWPS. It was decided that this}

system should be installed as a substitute for the nuclear-fossil fuel-pumped

hydre plant planned for installation in_{New England between 1976 and 1990.}

A 1972 decision to proceed with OWPS would_{make the .1976 date feasible.}

Each

year it is delayed means that many more pollution _{sources added to the New}

England scene. _{The plan into which the OWPS is to be fitted}

_{is that set}

forth in reference 19, the Zinder Report. _{The Significant numbers which size}

the System _{are sumarized here:}

The total installed plant, end of1976 will be able to sell 83.9 x 1O kWhrs

of electricity per year.

The projected 1990 sales are 243.1 _{x 109 kWhrs.}

The total capacity of OWPS must therefore be _{159.2 x 109 kWhr.}

One pound of H2 fed to the existing P & WA

_{fuel cell will produce 11 kh of}

electricity.

Therefore, the annual Hydrogen requirement _{is 14.49 x lO lbs.}

The selected electrolyzer plant (without _{3000 psi compressor) requires 22.5}

kwh of electricity to produce one pound of hydrogen. _{The total annual}

pro-duction of the wind stations is therefore 336 _{x lO kWhr of electricity.}

_If

The complete Electrolyzer Station is estimated to cost: Concrete hull Steel decks, Stanchions Lighting,

Ventila-tion,

hotel features $1601 90k 200k

Heronemus

the 3 x 2000 kW configuration wich produces 24.14 x io6 kWh annually Is

selected, a total of 1.388 x 10 wind stations are required. If these are

clustered, 165 in a Unit, 83 UNITS are required.

If the load pattern and peaking characteristic of the worst day of 1968 are

used as the pattern for 1990, the peak generating capacity must be 1.333

ties as large as the average, Figure 15. Te average power for 159.2 x

l0 kWh spread over 8760 hours is 18.07 x 10 kIlowatts. Peak power,

there-fore Is 24.21 x 100 kW. Hydrogen flow into fuel cells to meet the average

power requirement is 1.815 x 1Q° lbs per hour. Hydrogen flow to meet the

peak requirement Is 2.195 x 10° lbs per hour. And the System must tore

40 percent of the annual hydrogen requirement; therefore, 5.81 x l0 lbs of

H2 must be stored.

So, 83 UNITS are laid out on the plan, Figure 1. Each Unit has a diameter

of 3.5 miles. One quarter mile separation between Units is provided on

lines I and 3. Along the main trunk line, each Unit is given 5.0 miles, a

1.5 mile gap between Units.

The pipe lines required for the Collection System are called out in Table 4.

The use of high quality, thick wall, smooth interior semi-pressure-balanced reenforced concrete pipe is one of the features of this system which make It economic. At least two new prices of major equipment will have to be

acquired to place this pipe line:

A sea bed crawling essentially neutrally buoyant snorkelling trench dredger, and

A sea bed crawling low negative buoyancy snorkelling pipe

emplacer, including a manned rasmer type welding compartment which can

be inserted into the last length of pipe laid, back to the new joint,

and can create a dewatered working site around the joint in which a

100% welded lap joint can be made.

The pipe laying job is estimated to be a four year task for 200 men. The

total estimated equipment and labor cost is 95 million dollars. The total cost of the Collection System, in place, including the Dorchester Bay

terminal, is 275 million dollars.

6. THE DEEP WATER STORAGE SYSTEM

The Deep Water Storage System takes from the collection trunk at 300 psi the excess of hydrogen over immediate load requirement, compresses it to 3000 psi and delivers it to pressure-balanced deep water storage tanks.

When excess hydrogen is available, it is sent to store: when there Is insufficient Wind Unit production to supply the irmnediate hydrogen demand, hydrogen is drawn out of store.

The Compressor Station Is located at the 100 meter southern extremity of

the 183 mile long trunk line. It is made up as an Integrated cluster of five of the reenforced concrete spherical shells, 90 feet in diameter, same forms as used for the Electrolyzer Station hull. It will be suspended from

the buoyant legs of a 3 x 2000 wind station. Because of the relative

rigidity of the high pressure pipe leading from it, its motion will be very restricted. It will be surrounded by 51 wind stations in orbital rings, identical to the wind stations of a standard Wind Unit. The power generated

by the wind stations will in this instance be used directly as a.c. power

to drive compressor motors. Since compression to store will be required

only when above average wind is blowing, and since compressor power will usually be proportional to the instantaneous wind speed, no storage of

power is required here. There are eight extra stations within the 51 and

there will be four extra compressors, thus providing reliability by

redun-dancy In this kV subsystem. The compressors have been taken from the

Allis-Chalmers study1'. Each is driven by a 1000 hp motor.

The high pressure piping from the Compressor Station will present a few

problems, none insurmountable. It has been calculated that the inside

diameter of that pipe must be 28 inches. In imnel jacketed grade HT steel.

a wall thickness of 5.6 inches will be required at the manifold. That

:1ij

OUESEc

ti

4000 w

o

3000 w I.. (I, >. 2000 1000 o o HOUR ENDING

P/GuI5 DAILY LOAD

_{CURVES FOR NEW}

_ENGLAND

AND HYDRO QUEBEC

_{FOR DEC.26,1968*}

* OAT OF NEW ENGLAND PEAK

FOR DECEMBER ANO FOR ₉₆₀

HYDRO QUEDEC PEAK FOR DECEMBER

ANO 1968 WAS DEC 66.6968. STUDY 0F ThE ELECTRIC POWER

SITUATION IN NEW ENGLAND THE NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL _COMMISSION

II ntrtlt.d by deep Itoreg. fly.NO.for thon10 pub . al. days14.11enetIclip

ill Of 14.II will CON oat of stony..

s

r r::': i I j i P14K I R48. fOUET. 61M ay.. 606tO

lofI/N 004. AT2I8.0T.

VIo. Al (VTL(T. larp,_ L140Th 0.9. PIP! COlT Sl0 6.004 0.714 2 5' 60 4.23 2 0.100 0.748 4' 5 60 0.00 3 0.040 1.448 7' 7 48 27.75 4 4.436 1.930 9' 9' 63 35.60 SI bOO C014IN4 1070.125 2.125 9' 9' 193 104.04 7 0.064 0. 2' 4' 20 2.00 ONTOTAI. 079.40 Heronernus 10000 60045 MW 9000 8000 ,:NEw ENGLANb 75,50 7000

:T:j

6000 6 I2 68 ₂₄

Heronemus

thickness wtll be reduced, incrementally, as the path _{of the pipe proceeds}

20 miles to seaward to the 2200 meter contour. _{The last one-third of this}

pipe could probably better be fibre reenforced hose of the large hose variety

now available for high-pressure large-flow offshore fuel transfer operations.

When hydrogen gas is withdrawn from store It must pass through a 3000 psI to

300 psi reduction station. _{The hardware analogs for this station, single or} double stage, exist, in very large size.

The Storage Tanks are cylindrical, "empty _{concrete hulls with hemispherical}

ends. _{Their scantlings and cost have been estimated from consideration of} ship girder strength requirements for their one journey, buildingways to

Deep Water Storage site, and from the strength required to hold downthe

buoyant force of a full charge of hydrogen gas. Tanks (hulls) of 800 feet

L.0.A., 100 feet beam (diamter) and average wall thickness of sIx Inches of

steel reenforced concrete, have been selected.

Each tank, after launch, will be taken to a deep water (120 feet depth) ballasting site. At that location, sea bed sand and gravel, will be loaded

into them by dredge. _{The sand and gravel mixture, wet, should have a}

speci-fic gravity close to 2.0.

About one half of the interior of each tank will be filled with ballast to achieve neutral buoyancy. Piggy-back buoyancy

control chambers, releasable, will be fitted to each end of a tank. Those devices will permit gently diving the tank and placing iton the seabed In

its predetermined location. Extra-heavy taut buoy wires can be used as guides

for tank emplacement. _{Assistance by submersibles during the evolution of}

planting the storage tank form and then hooking their hoses up to manifolds

will be essential. Each tank will have the upper half of Its interior lined with a rubber or plastic sheet liner that will guard against H2 leakageas

small (but probably Inevitable) cracks develop In the concrete hulls. _All of the hoses will be very light weight and flexible because that portion

of the system Is pressure-balanced and small-bore. _{As hydrogen is}

with-drawn from the top of a tank, pressure-balancing sea water will move in to

take its place, and vice versa. _{The system will be divided into groups and}

banks for damage control and inventory control purposes. The system will be

protected by non-return valves against gross leakage from any tank. The

entire system is an exciting ocean engineering concept, a logical extension

of main ballast tank technology, a logical extension of the gigantic offshore

pressure-balanced petroleum storage tanks of the past few years. Subsystem costs have been estimated as follows:

58 Wind Stations _{$52.90 x IO6}

43 miles of interconnecting cable 3.20

One 5-sphere Hull 4.00

48 Compressor plants 103.90

High pressure delivery pipe 54.00

Storage Tanks, in place 1,448.00

Reduction Valve Bank 10.00

TOTAL _$1,676.00

7. THE ASHORE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

A logical way to introduce OWPS to New England would be as an extension and gradual replacement of a PROJECT TARGET natural gas-fuel cell complex. With proper planning, gas lines used for natural gas distribution could be

con-verted to pure hydrogen. The hydrocarbon reformer and gas scrubber provided

for fuel cell mini substations fed initially by natural gas or gasified LNG

could be removed as the supply of hydrogen increased. _{Over a number of}

years, say 6 to 10 a well planned TARGET transmission, generation and dis-tribution system could be expanded into the major hydrogen-fed distributed electricity generation system required ashore to match OWPS.

For purposes of this study, an extensive new or additional ashore pipe line

distribution system has been included. At least ten forty-eight Inch mains

should radiate ashore from the Dorchester Bay terminal. These major trunks

must reach to the Hartford-Springfield-worcester region and beyond, to the

Manchester-Concord region, Taunton, down Into Connecticut _{and up into}

Vermont. _{Serious consideration should be given to the Supply of Maine from} seaward. _{A logical extension of OWPS would place a line of Wind Units along} Jeffrey's Ridge and farther out along the next_{eastward 100 meter Contour of}

the Gulf of Maine. _{Those collecting trunks could be brought Into Portland if}

the necessary sandy seabed route can be found.

The layout of the ashore distribution system has been _{cursory at best for}

this study, but lt Is thought that it has been generous. It Is estimated

that the job could be handled by a pipe system which in the aggregate would

be the equivalent of 4,000 miles of 36 inch diameter _{pipe line. The estimated}

Cost Is $560 x 106. 20

8. THE. HYDROGEN TO ELECTRICITY CONVERSION AND DISTRIBUTION_SUBSYSTEM

The peak load capability of OWPS is 24 x 106 kilowatts. _{That power will be}

generated at a great multiplicity of mini-substations, _{2 to 20 megawatt}

capacity each, located so as to eliminate transmission costs and to minimize

distribution costs and maintenance. Reference 21 States the concept quite

eloquently. _{The fuel cell selected for this study Is In existence, being}

demonstrated in twelve different 15 kW units around the country today. The

fuel cell has a price of $165 per kW complete with reformer and scrubber. When modified to use pure hydrogen, $50 of that cost can be eliminated.

These mini-substations produce pure product_{water as an effluent. They are}

atmospherically cooled. _{Their judicious location in small size units should}

present no local thermal pollution problem anywhere. _{Their waste heat could}

indeed be taken advantage of in certain buildings _{as part of a total energy}

system. _{They were originally concerned as a 5 kW unit}

_{for installation in}

Individual residences. _{The possibility of rising OWPS hydrogen forboth}

fuel cell generated electricity and as direct _{use fuel for space heating,}

water heating and cooking in Individual residences, apartment buildings or

institutions, opens up other possibil4ties. _{Inexpensive underground}

distri-bution as pipe line gas, replacing overhead _{pole and wire plant that is}

particularly susceptible to weather damage in New England, is another

advantage of expansion of gas utilization in the Region.

24 x 106 kW of fuel cell stations, complete with lnvrter and transformer features, @ $115 per kilowatt, will cost $2,760x 100.

9. COST ESTINATE, COMPLETE OWPS

At this poInt, it is possible to put together

_{a cost estimate for the}

complete 159 X lO kWhr per year OWPS:

83 Wind Units, in place _{$17.050 x lO}

Compressor and Deep Storage Subsystem,

in place _1.676

Offshore Collection Subsystem, in place 0.275

Dorchester Bay Terminal _0.100

Ashore New England Distribution Subsystem _0.560

24 million kilowatts of Fuel Cell Sub Stations 2.760 $22.421 x lO

10. AN ALTERNATE ASHORE STORAGE SUBSYSTEM

There may be reason to store part of the hydrogen ashore. _{This can be done}

by liquefaction and holding as cryogen, but it is_{considerably more expensive}

than t estimated cost for Deep Water Storage. _{From the data given by}

Hallet _{, lt is estimated that the cost of liquefying and storing all of the}

requIred 40 percent of annual production would be:

Storage In 8.5' urethane insulated tankage, _{$2.72 x 10}

Liquefaction plant, capable of keeping up with the _{maximum flow}

of excess hydrogen on the windiest days:

$12,15 lO Heronemus

(a

11. OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

Each of the 83 Electrolyzer Stations, the Compressor and Reducer Station. and the Dorchester Bay Terminal will be manned on a watch-standing and

maintenance crew basis. It is proposed that all but the Dorchester Bay

Terminal be manned on a watch-in-three one month sea-duty tour basis, with

a month's leave ashore alternating with a month at sea. Thus, two times

84 crews will be required. And two support ships of at least three hundred

foot length will be required, to sustain a routine monthly visit up and

down the line, replacing crews and replenishing stations. A third support

ship capable of making emergency material deliveries and of supporting sunniier-time inspections and preventive maintenance at the Wind Stations will be

required. Two crews for each of these three Ships will be required to insure

Complete coverage throughout the year.. Each ship will have a two-week

overhaul availability each year.

The basic philosophy of operation and maintenance for the entire system stems

from the tremendous redundancy of items. If a Wind Machine goes out of spec for some reason, it will become apparent at the Control Board In that UNIT'S

Electrolyzer Station: it will be dropped off the line, hopefully feathered, to wait inspection and repair. If an electrolyzer goes out of spec, it will

become apparent at the Control Board, and it will be dropped off the line,

similarly. This same plan will be applied to a Complete UNIT, If necessary.

The need for a loop in the Collection System, via the branching line becomes

apparent to support this philosophy. Indeed, it may be decided that the

eompressor and Reducer Station and te Deep Water Storage must be split into

two separate units, each half the size of that called for, to support this

philosophy.

It is intended that the Individual wind machines be designed and built to

old-fashioned long-life standards. There is no reason why this can't be

done and still keep unit capital costs low. There is little compulsion

toward light-weight design. Rotating machinery can be robust, held in

anti-friction bearings. Splash type lubrication of gearing that can't fall unless

the entire gear set fails is called for.

The generators must be similar to

those electric machines which give 30 to 40 years service in a mill with

essentially zero maintenance or down time during that entire period.

Feather-ing control on the blades would preferably use ball weight governors and rugged mechanical linkages, or the most simple pneumatic or hydraulic servo-mechanisms. The one fairly modern addition to the system must be a data sensing-transmission-logging system which will use an instrument conductor(s) In each interconnecting cable to give the Watch the status of each wheel In each station.

There will be a five month routine and preventive maintenance period late Spring through October, during which maintenance crews, operating by

small-boat (50 footers) out of each Electrolyzer Station, will work six days a

week, lO hours a day, as weather permits, to inspect and service and repair

as required, the orbital Wind Station5. Those crews will be on a S-month sea-duty, 6 month shore-leave basis, agreeing to work 60 hours per week when

at sea. They will be housed and fed aboard the Electrolyzer Stations,

pro-vided lunches for their noon meal.

The Manpower Requirement can then be sunined up as follows:

(1) Electrolyzer and Compressor Station Crew:

One Crew Captain

Four watch standers 4

One electrician (d One machinist

e One pipe fitter

f

One cook

g) One cook's assistant

i

10 men

458 Heronemus

(2) A Support Ship Crew:

One Master

Two mates 9

Heronemus

-C) One engineer

i

d) Two Assistant Engineers 2

e OneCook

_i

f

One Cooks Assistant

g Two oIlers 2

(h) Two deck hands

12 men

(5) _{The Headquarters Crew (Ashore)}

One Supervisor (daytime only)

Four Watch Standers 4

One Expendables and Spare Parts

Supervisor

i

Two Stores Clerks 2

One radio/telephone technician

i

9 men

Total Manning Requirement:

(a) (2)(84) Electrolyzer and Compressor

- Station Crews: _{1680 men}

2)(3) Support Ship Crews 72 men

84) Inspection and Maintenance Crews 1008 men

2) TermInal Crews 20 men

2) Headquarters Crews _{18 men}

TOTAL ₂₇₉₈

2,798 men @ $14,000 annual average wages and benefits $39.1 x io annual cost.

The Ashore Distribution and Mini-Substations will probably number 1000

Stations at which watch standers will be required _{, and at which a trio of}

electricians, machinist and janitor will be required 40 hours a week.

_{It is}

s±gnificant that Lueckel, Ecklund and Law plan no watch standing at their

2-20MW mini-substations. _{i have called for it,Tecause I believe jobs are}

as important to New England as is electricity.

Mini Sub Station Watch Standers: _{4,000 men}

Electricians _1.000

Machinists _1,000

Janitors _{- 1.000}

7,000 men (3) An Inspection and Maintenance Crew:

a Three Boat Coxswains 3

b _{Three Boat Engineers 3}

c Three Electricians 3

(d) Three Machinists

12 men

(4) _{The Terminal Crew:}

(a) One Crew Captain

_i

(b) Watch Standers 4

c) One Electrlcjan

_i

d) One Machinist

e) One Pipe Fitter

i

f)

One Cook

_i

g) One Cooks Assistant _i

Heronemus

7,000 men @ $14,000 annual average wages and benefits = $98 x io6 annual cost.

The total manpower Cost, Annual, is therefore estimated to be $137.1 X lO6.

Spreadover 159 x lO9 kWhr, this amounts to an Operation and Maintenance rate of 0.085 cents per kWhr for Production, Transmission and Distribution.

And the OWPS would provide good jobs with good working conditions and

bene-fits for almost 10,000 New Englanders.

There Is also some capital cost involved here in O & M:

Four Support Ships 0 $4 x 106 each = $16.00 x io6

252 50 footer Work Launches O $25K each = 5.31 x 106

$22.31 x 106

Bearing Fixed charges 0 18%, this amounts to an annual addition of less than a hundredth of a mill per kWhr.

So. Operation and Maintenance of OWPS will cost 0.03 cents per kWhr under the Production account, and 0. 06 cents per kWhr under the Transmission Cost account.

The availability of properly trained and properly eotivated men will be

questioned by some. It is suggested that the crew captains in all Instances

be graduates of the Maine or Massachusetts Maritime Acaden',y, with a B.S. In Ocean Engineering, and that the technicians and watch standers come from the several two-year Marine Technician programs which are attempting to

flourish. Hopefully there is still enough sea-going tradition and drive

amongst U.S. youth to provide the motivation to leave the pleasures of the beach for one to five month cruises to make a valuable contribution to man-kind while earning a respectable salary.

12. AN ECONOMIC EVALUATION 0F OWPS

OWPS was conceived as a New England System. _{It Is clearly apparent that} similar systems afloat in the Great Lakes or ashore in our extensive regions

of moderate to strong winds are worthy of consideration. But, back to New

England, to finish this study. The Electrical Power Situation in New England has been studied quite thoroughly, the last time reported in September, 1970,

in the document, A Study of the Electric Power Situation in New England,'lO.

In that report, Zinder, al present a plan for the future through 1990. In

1990 the projected annual sales of electrical power is 243 billion kilowatt

hours at a peak voltage demand of 52 million kilowatts. _{That peak to average}

ratio is much more severe than the historical ratio of about 1.333. The

Zinder report is full of optimism which includes a gradual reduction in

revenue per kWhr from the 1968 value of 2.30 cents to a low 1.89 cents in 1990. _{The trap into which Zinder, et al. fell in this happy prediction Is} quite clear to see: they believed the merchants who were peddling LWR

reactors in 1800 to 2000 megawatt packages at 200 dollars per kilowatt and failed to give heed to the bookkeepers who were totaling up the actual cost

of the Vernon 534 megawatt plant as it was constructed. They also failed to

take heed of those who said that the only SO2 emission control gear that would permit meeting the proposed air quality standards would cost at least

$65 per kilowatt installed, and would rob any plant where Installed of a considerable portion of its heat rate. They also missed that very slight upward turn taken in all fuel costs as 1969 ended, and which since 1969 has become a major escalation cf fuel costs in New England and essentially

everywhere. New Englanders also find their optimism a bit wry as we hear

about the latest rate increases being sought, the third round in the

eighteen months since the Zinder report was published!

Something closer to reality insofar as the cost of LWR plants be concerned

was published by the AEC in January, 1972, and is given in Figure 16. Those

readers who have worked in the shipbuilding trade will readily recognize

that escalation during construction is synonomous with deliberately low.

initial estimate from the front office in hopes of subsequent Change Orders."

b

97OJH

:1

900 800 100 500 Q 40

I.

1/)

Q

2C0 o i

-Ii

__I__._._I_..___ j __I '___ I I I F1?URE'II

CAnTAL COST TRENDS FORLWR PAKFS!

II

ill

:1

jAt'J..

1975 I 1980 i I 1985

START OF PROJECT DATE

I I I . I. . _j

FIGURE '.

JAN.

(a) @ 13.8%

CAPITAL INVESTMENT, ANNUAL SALES, PREDICTED COSTS OF ELECTRICITY IN NEW ENGLAND:

1968 - 1990 (b) 9 15.5%

Td4eLE 5.

COL. i COL. Z COL. 3 COL. 4 COL. 5 1968: Actual averages 1972: Per Zinder (Case I)

1990: Per Zinder (Case I)

1990: Per Zinder with LWR Capital costs corrected per AEC data of 1/24/72 1990: Zlnder, modified for projected LWR costs and SO2 emissIon control capital costs & red. eff.

1. Total Investment: Production $1.877 x 10 2.637 x 10 9.246 x io 16.880 x 10 19.781 x lO 2. Total Investment: Trans. 0.095 x iO9 0.200 x l0 0.855 x l0 0.855 x l0 0.855 x lO

3. Total Prod. & Trans.

Invest. 1.972 x iO9 2.837 x l0 10.101 x l0 17.735 x iO9 20.636 x 10

4. Total Annual Prod.,

l0 kWh 47.0 61.9 243.1 243.1 225.0 5. Production Cost

(a) Operation & Maint.

Cents/kWh 0.24 0.15 0.09 0.09 0.09 (b) Fuel 0.32 0.24 0.21 0.21 0.21 (c) Fixed charges 0.53 0.61 °l.36

Total Production Costs

1.09 1.00 0.83 1.33 1.66 6. Transmission Cost 0.04 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01

(a) Operation & Maint. (b) Fixed charges

0.17

0.05

0.05

0.05

0.05

7. Total Prod. & Trans. Costs

1.30

1.06

0.89

1.39

1.72

8. All Other Costs

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

LOO

9. Ave. Revenue Per kWh

2.30't

2.O6

l.89

2.39e

Fleronemus

The gane has become too large for the Change Order racket, however: well

over lOO plants are under construction. Five years ago overruns could be

subsidized to keep the market sweet; but now the moment of truth is upon us.

The AEC data and EPA data have been used to uprate the expected

capitaliza-tion of the planned nuclear-fossil-hydroplants, 1972 through 1970. Table 5

gives the situation on a standard account sheet.

Assume that OWPS could be started in 1972 wIth enough production _{coming Into}

use in 1976 and subsequent thereto to take over from all other forms of

production. That is probably a very optimistic start date, but proceed from

there anyway. In 1976 New England is to consume 83.9 billion kilowatt hours

of electricity.

By the end of 1990, sales will have grown to 243.1 billion

kilowatt hours. _{That determined the capacity of the OWPS required by 1990:}

159.2 bIllion kilowatt hours per year. _{Table 6 now compares the economics}

of several ways in which the 1990 demand might be met In New England.

The conclusion from Table 6 is that OWPS added to the 1976 plant does not

meet the competition of a 1990 Zinder plant. It misses it by 0.12 cents

per kilowatt hour, an annual cost of 292 million dollars. _{But give some}

attention to line 5(b), Fuel, in Table 5. Fuel costs were to decrease from

0.32 cents per kWhr in 1968 to 0.24 cents per kWhr in 1972, thence onward to

ever lower value, dominated by cheap, enriched uranium. _{The 1968 to 1972}

decrease did not occur; quite the contrary, there has been a sharp upswing.

Every oil well capable of production in this _{country is already at 100%}

capacity. The natural gas lines are flowing partially filled because

maximum production cant keep them full. _{Demand has risen and is rising}

sharply; prices must follow unless artificial regulation of monstrous

pro-portion is followed. _{The costs of enriched uranium will not be that which}

was promised unless hidden government subsidy is used to compensate for the

Increases in value of electricity at the enrichment plants, and the increased

cost of proper safeguards at reprocessing and waste management sites.

_It

is suggested that the predicted 0.12 cent per kWhr advantage of the nuclear fossil system has already been wiped out in line 5(b) of the account book,

alone.

Now look for a moment to the future: _{What would be the effect of an increase}

In fuel cell efficiency from 40% to 50%? Each pound of hydrogen would then

produce 13.75 kWhr of electricity.

The cost of Fuel Cells would be reduced by _{$0.560 x 'IOu}

The cost of the Compressor and Deep

Storage Subsystem by _{$0.335 x 10}

The cost of Wind Units by $3.420 x l0

A reduction in capital cost of $4.315 x l0. _{Line 5(c), Fixed Charges,}

Pro-duction Cost, for OWPS, would now decrease from 2.18 cents to 1.76 cents per kWhr. _{This 0.42 cents per kWhr would place the OWPS system well ahead of the} nuclear-fossil fuel system.

Assume that the cost per kW of 24 million kW of fuel cells would be _brought

down to 80% of the cost Of the first 225 kW model-shop production _{run. The}

cost savings for OWPS would be another 0.552 billion dollars. Assume that

at least half of the money set aside for a.c. to d.c. power conditioning _in

the 83 Wind Units could be saved: _{another 0.622 billion dollar cost}

reduction. The reduction on line 5(c) of the Account Table would be another

0.11 cents per kWhr.

OWPS has a future, not a past. _{How much is the United States willing to}

spend to solve massive pollution problems at .their source? How much of a

bonus in reduced costs for electricity Is the United States willing _{to accept}

as a prize for abandoning some of our current plans, some of our investment,

and Insisting on pollution-free power sources? The Ocean Engineers are

ready to lead the way down the road to that goal whenever the public, the

government and the industry are ready to get underway. _{And when we do, the}

whole World will profit thereby.

915.50 Trans. Included

(c

CAPITAL INVESThENT, ANNUAL SALES, PREDICTED COSTS OF

ELECTRICITY IN NEW ENGLAND: 1968 - 1990

COL. 1 COL. 4 COL. 5 COL. 6 COL. 7 COL. 8 1968: Actual Averages

1990: Per Zlnder with LWR capital

1990: RInder, nmdifled for

If from only 1990: If from we add only

1990: If from we add only OUPS

1990: we add 1976 OWPS 1976 DWPS, 1976 & cuots corrected ARC projected LIER units and con-502 control, all

SO2 control, end

per

data of

1/24/72

costs and SO2J crol

taxes forgiven

fuel cell efficiency

enISloncxs_r5

Total

NJ

OWPS

Total

costs 8 red, elf.

O reduced F by 20% QØ,P5 7b7.4Z 1. Total Invest-ucmnt: Prod. $1.877nlO $16.880x109 $l9.781xlo 4.062 I 22.421 26.983 4.062 22.421 26.483 4.062 17.554 21.616 2. Total Invest-crest: Trans. O.095u1O O.855olO O.855s109 0.341 (b) 0.341 0.341 (b) 0.341 0.341 ---0.341 3. Total Prod. 8 Tress. Invest, l.912lO 17.73So10 2O.636lo 4.403 22.421 26.824 4.403 22.421 26.824 4.403 17.554 21.957 4. Total Anna1 Prod., 10 kWh 47.0 243.1 225.0 83.9 159.2 243.1 83.9 159.2 243.1 83.9 159.2 243.1 5, Production Cost cents/kWh (a) OperatIon 8 Hatht. 0.24 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.03 0.09 0.03 0.09 0.03 __jb Fuel (c xed 0.32 0.21 0.21 0.21 ---0.21 ---0.21 cbares 0.53 'a' 1.03 J 1.36 0.76 2.18 (a) 0.16 (cl 1.45 0.76 (a) 1.61 lotal Production Costs 1,09 1.33 J 1.66 1.06 2.21 1.06 1.48 1.06 1.64 6. Traesrujssjos Cost 0.04 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.06 0.01 0.06 0.01 0.06

(a) Operation A (b) Fixed

charges 0.17 0.05 0.05 0.05 (b) 0.05 (b) 0.05 (b)

1. Total Prod. &

Trans. Costs 1.30 1.39 1.72 1,12 2.21 1.12 1.54 1.12 1.70

8. All Other Costs

1,00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 9, Ave. Revenue Per kwh 2.304 2.394 2.124 2.844 2 404 2.514

T.Ri P

Heronémus

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: LEAL IMPLICATIONS .

Some very sméll fraction of the seabed ofa fertile fishing ground will be

disturbed during the construction of OWPS. _{After operation has started,}

disturbance will approach zero. If the oxygen by-product is bubbled into the.

sea, only enrichment of the fishery could result. The creation of OWPS, the

permanent lines of Wind Stations would interfere with fishing to some extent.

Everything this author has read these past two years suggests that honorand

acclaim should go to _{process which would slow down even somewhat the}

deliberate rape of our shelf fisheries which is now systematically being

conducted by our friends from overseas. OWPS even presents the possibility

of fencinq a large portion of that shelf. This idea should. result in at

least one new Bill in the Massachusetts General Court this session!

There will be those who will decry thé interference to navigation.. Hogwasht

If there were a proper levél of navigation in New.England wäters, some of us

wouldn't be so concerned about our economic future. _{Navigation as practiced}

by the typical New England fisherman would profit from this scheme-- they

have always wanted ,stréet markers and signs to compensate for their

inoperative compasses and navigational competence.

There will be a group of bleeding hearts who will feel we must consult with such major maritime powers as Malta and Tanzania before we have the right

to proceed with something like OWPS. The oil industry has no intention of

such agonizing: it is thought that the hydrogen fuel industry might share

in the petroleum- fuel protocol. In last analysis, if Malta wants some

wind-mills on Georges Bank, let them stake out a claim -- using detailed charts

furnished, by U.S. taxpayers at a dollar fifty a copy.

It Is felt that only good could come to our environment and tremendous

improvement could result in our relations with our global neighbors, if

.OWPS were developed and our growing reliance on sea-borne Oil and _{gas, sold}

by desert sheiks, was reduced.

-EPILOGUE .

Nature has provided the Earth with one, reliéble, energy source, heat from

the Sun, the source which all of man must ultimately. recognize as the limit

to his energy demands. _{In the.Winds we have an opportunity to extract}

significant quantities of solar energy for our use. It could be done

economically. It could be started at once. All that -is required is .the dsire to get underway.

REFERENCES

"PhysIcal and Dynamical Meteorology" by D. Brunt, 1921, Cambridge

Uni-versity Press.

"Atrospheric Circulation Systems,' by Palmen and Newton, 1969, Academic

Press.

3.. 'Energy From the Wind," Technical Note #4, World Meteorological Organiza-'tion, 1954, Geneva, Switzerland.

.4. "Power From the Wind," by Palmer C. Putnam, 1948, D. Van Nostrand Co., N. Y.

"Electric Power from the Wind,' by Percy H. Thomas, (l945),.internal

-docùment of the U.S. Federal Power Conanission.

'The Genération of Electricity by Wind Power,' by E. W. Golding, (1955), Philosophical Library,. Inc., New York.

"Hydrodynamics in Ship, Design," by H. E. Saunders, Vol. II, 1957, published by the 'Society, of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers,:N.Y.