Off-shore Wind Power Plant:

Currently constructed off-shore wind power plants have installed capacity of 2 MW, rotor diameter of 80 m, and tower height 70 m and are assembled with the aid of cranes working from ships build specially for this purpose.

EKO-PRO offers the construction of power generation sets of similar or larger parameters on the tower of its own design.

(Drawing 1) The first drawing presents a sea-based wind power plant with two power generating sets placed in a fixed position on one rotary tower. The wind power plant positions itself, along with the rotors, perpendicular to the wind direction due to steering action of its back rudder. The tower, shaped as a frame, stands, connected by joints, on horizontal pins which are part of a rotary sleeve. The rotary sleeve rests on the foundation via a thrust bearing; the other bearing - a radial one - keeps the sleeve in a vertical position. Through the sleeve runs a stationary pipe, on which bearings are mounted and through which runs a cable transmitting the power from the wind power plant. The back part of the tower rests on three floats which in strong wind conditions submerge deeper into the water and emerge when the weather is calm; however, they never rise above water surface. The table below presents initial technical data of an exemplary power station employing power generating sets which are currently available on the market.

Assumed average wind speed per year at the power plant location is: 9,0 m/s.

Functional and constructional solutions for our exemplary power plants do not vary in any respect. The assumption was made that in all examples the lower generating set is always at the same level.

(Drawing 2) The second drawing presents a off-shore wind power plant with two power generating sets placed in a tilting position on the mutual rotary tower. It is an entirely new solution, starting a new generation of wind power plants.

In this solution, the wind power plant positions itself, along with its rotors, perpendicular to the wind direction due to the steering action of its back rudder; rotor blades are fixed in one position on rotor hubs. The proposed regulation system replaces the traditional one which changes the angle of blade angle with servomechanisms, as being now commonly in use. When the wind speed exceeds the rated speed, the rotors regulate themselves in a self-acting manner, by the tilt of a beam on which the power generating sets are installed under wind pressure. The driving element of such regulation consists in ballast suspended on a rope; exact maintenance of stable capacity of the wind power plant is ensured within the range of wind speed from rated to maximum by a suitably profiled cam. To the ends of the tilting beam, strings are attached. The strings are connected with the central bracket and cause exertion of mainly compression forces on the tilting beam.

This new generation of wind power plants, featuring power generating sets placed in a tilting position, requires reconstruction of a slow-speed generator which should be coupled with the rotor hub directly. Higher loading of rotor blades by wind pressure which occurs at a wind speed close to maximum renders it necessary to strengthen the blades with strings attached on brackets fixed on the rotor hub.

The most manifest advantage of the EKO-PRO solution of a wind power plant with two power generating sets placed in a tilting position is its much simpler construction, allowing reliable work practically without any need of human control. One may expect that once serial production of such models has been implemented, their price shall be quite low.