Wind Today - Q1 2008 - (Page 45)

concern in northwestern Oklahoma. In 1947, says Hale, the nearby town of Woodward was decimated by the worst tornado in its history. Site Manager Ray Turner says tornadoes can bring gust fronts of 30-, 90-, or 100-miles per hour. “At 55 miles-per-hour the wind turbines go into automatic storm shutdown,” says Turner. He explains that the blades pitch to 85° and wind down. When the wind drops down, the rotors come back on. “Each turbine is self-contained and comes back on automatically,” says Turner. It takes six minutes from shutdown for the blades to resume turning. From January through early September, 2007, according to Turner, the turbines had shut down four times during a storm. “This area sees three to four tornadoes each year,” says Hale. “So far, no tornadoes have passed through this wind farm,” he concludes. r T ansmission Mike Sheriff says the Centennial Wind Energy turbines generate power at 575 volts. The transformer at the base of each turbine steps the power up to 34,500 volts (34.5 kV). Five feeder lines take the power from the turbines to the Centennial substation where the power is stepped up to 138 kV. The electricty travels 31-34 miles to Woodward, the point of interconnect with the transmission grid. From Woodward the power goes through OG&E’s transmission lines to tie in to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) which manages OG&E’s transmission. (See story on page 48.) Sheriff says OG&E ‘s experience owning this wind farm has been very positive. He says the company now has a goal to quadruple its wind power production. Since existing transmission capability limits the amount of new power that can be carried out of western Oklahoma, OG&E’s chairman, president and CEO, Pete Delaney, recently announced in October, 2007 a plan to build a 345,000 volt line from Oklahoma City to Woodward (150-200 miles). The line would then be taken from Woodward and extended to Guyman. This new transmission line, subject to approval by the SPP, would enable members of the regional entity to export wind power from its source in western Oklahoma out to other parts of the state as well as to parts of the nation. OG&E has also offered to build the western half of the “X Plan” into the Texas Panhandle. According to Broyles, one of the designs being considered for the X Plan places the Centennial Wind Energy Project near the hub of the “X”. Christine Coates, editor Centennial Wind Energy Supplier List Blades GE Energy Construction Services DH Blattner & Sons Design Invenergy Electrical Collection System Components System 3 Electrical Contractor OG&E Electrical Interconnection OG&E Environmental Consulting, Third Party Testing Terra Con Environmental Consulting, Technical Work GRO Foundations Barr Engineering Lighting Orga Manufacturing Maintenance GE Energy Warranty Nacelles GE Energy Operation & Maintenance GE Energy & OG&E Project Development Invenergy Project Management OG&E Site Assessment Invenergy Substation Design OG&E Tower Erection DH Blattner & Sons Transmission Services OG&E Transportation & Logistics GE Energy Turbine Performance Monitoring GE Energy Utility OG&E Wind Assessment Global Energy Concepts 45

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Wind Today - Q1 2008

Wind Today - Q1 2008 Contents Windpower 2008 U.S. Energy Map Canada Energy Map Global Report Options and Expectations for O&M Service Providers O&M Safety Issues for Wind Farms Guanting Wind Farm to Power 2008 Olympics Operating Economics of Wind Farms Long-Term Operating Costs Post-Warranty Energy Bill Incentives May Have Another Chance Wind Gears: A Closer Look at the Drive Train Elk River Wind Farm Should Lightning Be A Concern For Wind Farms? Interview: Steve Sawyer Zephyr Powers Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort WT News: United States & Canada Interview: Willett Kempton Centennial Wind Energy WT Transmission: Southwest Power Pool EPA's Top 25 Wind Power Projects 2008 RPS Update Mark Scher, MSE Power Systems Richard Legault, Helimax Second Wind Henkels & McCoy NRG Systems Apterra Technologies, Inc. Wind Resource Maps: Michigan and New York Calendar Glossary Product Surveys Ad Index

Wind Today - Q1 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.