Grid Tie Wind Generator System, ESI-54S, 85 kW

[oldfaithful]

Hello Fellow Rebels,

I've grown tired of giving my hard earned money to the energy conglomerates, so I finally took a first step. I found and purchased a decommissioned, mid scale, grid-tie, wind generator...an ESI-54S. It's a 54 ft diameter, 2 blade system with an 85kW induction generator and grid-tie control panel. Once I've got it up and running, the utility company can pay me! Now that's livin' the dream!

I had originally begun the task of building my own axial PM generator based system, because I'm a do-it-yourself kinda guy. But construction stopped when I began researching the batteries & inverters needed to supply my home. Comparing the continued maintenance/replacement of today's batteries to a grid-tie system eventually pushed me into a different direction.

Ah, but back to the task at hand. I got a great deal on this system because the previous owner (actually the 2nd owner) had never used it and merely stored it in the barn for the last 18-19 years. Given the amount of time it's spent in storage, there are bound to be some issues. I have been lucky enough to find the contractor that did the original maintenance for my system and he has confirmed that upon decommission, the system was in good working order. The mechanics are fairly simple, and the system is 95% complete, but some additional info would be greatly appreciated. I want to be sure that I understand as much as possible about the system's function and each component, before throwing the switch.

• Does anyone have any experience with this type/model of system?
  
• Would you mind if I picked your brain a bit about how the electronic controls are supposed to work?
  
• Is there interest here in systems of this sort? I've been thinking of putting the entire refurbishing process on a new website.
  
• Any other thoughts?
  
  

Thanks for your help,

Old Faithful

[wooferhound]

My ,  what a big generator you have there

How tall is the tower ?

We could help you better if you could post a a picture of your components and your description of what you think the items are.

[wooferhound]

I did find this small amount of information

http://www.smgmanagement.ca/sitebuilder/ImageGallery/ImageList.aspx?id=96be631a-5228-4aaf-93da-770c9
e8ec6af&m=1&c=e49df478-fe52-479e-b8ed-4fb1a3a60cfd

[Tritium]

I WANT ONE, but the liability insurance alone to connect to my 1 horse cooperative would be about $60 or more per month. Nice find if in workable condition. Putting it in the air may cost a bit though.

Thurmond

[oldfaithful]

Thanks for looking...yes I too have found the folks at SMG Management, as well as those at Resource Management Associates and Western Wind Tamers. RMA is merely a commission based sales contact/rep while WWT and SMG are both big time sellers/rebuilders of these systems. Since I have only 1 system, and they quickly realized that they aren't going to sell me a $40,000 upgrade, they don't have time to talk to me. Neither are they interested in selling me any replacement parts, so I'll be fabricating anything that needs rework. That's the curse of being the small guy on the outside of big industry!

I'm hoping to find someone with experience in these grid tied, induction generator, PLC based systems...that might be more independently minded. Or perhaps someone out there has also put up a big system like this and wouldn't mind sharing their experiences.

The tower I don't yet have, but the previous owner does. It originally come with an 80' free standing, tilt up tower with it's own gin pole. I don't yet have the $$$ to buy that too, but he's in no hurry to part with it, so we'll see.

Thanks,

Old Faithful

[oztules]

Hi James,

looks like not a lot of helpers here on this one. I don't have one of your models, so cannot help with your specific controllers. I do have two mills that I look after on the island here that tonight are putting out over 100 kw. So I guess that they are the same sort of deal.

What I can do is help you with the general idea of what you have and what we have to do in the control areas to get then online.

Provided you can measure shaft speed, wind direction, wind speed and line condition, line frequency, any computer/plc  that can be interfaced to it will get her up and going.

The ones I look after are old tech and use automation control modules for each facit and effectively each has it's own output relay to indicate good condition. When all condition relays are good to go they are in series and drive the main contactor and thats it, your connected to the mains and driving the kw back up the line.

If any relay fails (wind too high, volts too low, volts too high, cable twist, freq out of range etc.) that relay drops out, the main contactor drops out and the brakes come on. If shaft speed too low, wind too low, then these relays may drop and contactor drops out, but brakes stay off, waiting for wind to pick up in freewheel.

These ones are 4 pole and 6 pole induction motors 55kw 4 pole and 120kw 6 pole. Both have smaller motors as well for lighter winds and can automatically switch between systems. ie before 11kw, use small motors, after 11kw, use main motors. Gear box stepup, hydraulic direct blade braking (default on). The blades have inertial tip flaps for over speed.

It is simple stuff for the awe inspiring KW that these things generate. There are no fancy computers in this system, but a laptop with appropriate I/O would replace a very large logic panel of 80's to 90's vintage plug in automation modules if necessary. I quite like it as it is because you can fix the boards in the modules if necessary, which in remote locations like this is a godsend.

If you think of a way I may help you, then ask away, or email me direct if you want to keep it off the board. (not something everyone wishes to have discussed at length I guess)

......oztules

[DamonHD]

Well I for one would be fascinated to hear a little more of the real-world nitty-gritty, but that's just me...

Rgds

Damon

[oldfaithful]

Hi Oztules,

Thank you for your comment, and I'd be glad to provide more info about my system in anticipation of your input. I've looked at some of your previous posts and would very much appreciate your comments on this project. I'll also be putting some pics on my Diary section at some point.

This system has a 2 blade, teetered hub design and the blades need a few minor fiberglass repairs (relatively small damage, appearantly due to inconsiderate storage). The blades had electromagetically released tip brakes to help keep the speed down and a set of slip rings which are exposed to the weather. I only have half of the parts for the tip brakes, and the slip rings will obviously require a redesign because leaving them exposed to the weather is a bad idea.

The transmission has a 19.6:1 ratio and appears to be fine. The induction generator is a Marathon Prime Line Induction Generator rated at 85 kW, 460 VAC, 3 phase, 1850 rpm, 3 wire, and weighs 815 lbs. The original maintenance contractor tells me that the generator was in excellent shape when decomissioned and shouldn't need to be rewound. The generator has a pnuematic clutch brake (default on) and a prox or hall sensor to provide rpm to the control panel. There is an air compressor, resivoir, pressure transmitter, vibration transmitter and junction box all inside the fiberglass nacelle. There used to be a separate anemometer to provide wind speed data, but that is now missing.

The control panel has an ancient Texas Instruments programmable controller, model 101. This unit takes in all of the inputs to determine when to close the contactor and release the brake. There are no longer any manuals for this controller, so I plan to replace it with a modern PLC and develop new control parameters. It also has a Second Wind generator monitoring panel, model Alpha 7. This unit appears to provide info to the operator such as the # of cycles, power output, line voltage, line current, operating hours, etc. If it still works, I'll just leave it to provide monitoring info.

There are some components inside the panel which are yet unknown to me and a search of the internet reveals that these old model numbers won't be found. These 460V 3 phase setups are new to me, so I'm trying to learn how they work. There is a contactor (aka relay) that allows power to connect to the generator. There are also some items in parallel with the contactor that connect the phase input to the phase output, and I'm guessing that they are some sort of surge arrestor. There are a few other items whose purpose I haven't yet discovered, but I'll not get into that just yet.

You mentioned that the systems you use are of a dual stage configuration, and I'd love to add a second smaller generator to allow a low wind speed operation. That sounds like a worthwhile addition.

Enough of that though, I don't want this post to be too burdensome. So I'll come back to this later. Thanks to you all for your input.

[TomW]

James;



Enough of that though, I don't want this post to be too burdensome. So I'll come back to this later.

First off, its your post originally and it is on topic, so burden away.

Second off, if you want to pursue more on your turbine in another post. I would suggest a Diary about it. Then you can just keep posting new stuff and it is all where you can reference it in one coherent spot.

You do that by clicking "New Diary Entry" over there on the right in that box with your name at the top.

Just what some folks do.

Good luck with it.

Tom

[smg]

 

   James G

   My name is Mike, I'm the 'M' in SMG Management, a small family owned business based in Edmonton Alberta Canada. 2 years ago I purchased some turbine 'cores' from the guys at Wind Tamers and spent a considerable amount of time and money re-engineering, updating and refurbishing them to a point where they are able to be grid connected anywhere in the world.

  In response to your posting on this discussion board, I have not received any inquiries from you regarding this equipment, however I would be more than happy to provide you or anyone else with replacement parts and/or guidance rebuilding these turbines. Please feel free to contact me through our website.

[oldfaithful]

Hello Again,

Thank you for permission to ramble on.

I've been studying the control panel again, and am posting some pics at my "Photo Upload" page. Anyone can feel free to go check them out. I've also powered up the 110 VAC portion of control panel, and thank heaven none of the smoke was released from the components. (You know, all electronics run on smoke!)

I did find that the Second Wind / ESI / Alpha 7 control interface (that should do all the decision making) is probably shot. The displays flash random digits, partial digits, and the buttons on the front did not produce any change in results. Perhaps I'm mistaken because that doesn't look good to me, but if anyone can help me find a manual or technical info on this item, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I suspect that a new PLC & touch screen are in order. That will replace both the Alpha 7 controller and the Texas Instruments 102 logic controller (TI-101 is the detachable programming module). Then another big challenge, figuring out the parameters to program into a new PLC!!!

It appears that the control panel was originally designed to close the Cutler Hammer contactor with an output from the aforementioned controller. There is now an additional set of 3 Semikron digital contacts (thyristor / diode assembly) that are controlled by an Enerpro control circuit (2 boards in the center of the panel). That board powered up and it's leds come on, so I'm hoping that it is still in good order. This appears to be a soft start control that brings the power up smoothly and reduces the current draw when the generator is below it's synchronous speed and running as a motor. Oztule's dual generator setup sounds more and more appealing so I'm thinking of relocating the C&H contactor up to the nacelle. Then adding another contactor in parallel to turn on a smaller induction generator for low speed operation. So the main power on/off will be controlled by the digital thyrister / diode assembly and the 2 contactors will be used to divert connection between the 2 gens. The smaller generator will require some additional fabrication to install, gear & control...but now is the time to make changes of this magnitude.

There is one component in this panel that I have yet to figure out at all, and it's the roughly 6" x 6" x 6" aluminum box at the top middle of the panel. It has some digital circiutry inside (which can see in one of the pics) but zero documentation or labeling. I'm hoping to figure out what it did based on the wiring, but right now I'm guessing that it was the anemometer control that provided an input to the Alpha 7 and/or TI-102. Any other ideas?

The top left component is an Ohio Semitronics transmitter that provides a voltage signal proportional to total power consumed/provided. There are a variety of fuses that should need no explanation. There are 3 transformers in the second row from the top, one of which steps down from 460v to 110v for panel use. The other 2 provide a stepped down voltage for the aforementioned transmitter & the kW hr meter that mounts on the front of the door. The next row down is the TI-101 / 102 and the Enerpro circuitry, as well as a couple simple relays. The lowermost component is an unregulated power DC power supply, but I haven't traced down where that's used yet.

The inside of the door is easier: run-time hour meter, cycle counter, watt meter, various switches, various lights and the Alpha 7 unit. As this moves along, I'll post more and when I get the schematic complete, I might post that as well.

Gotta run, thank in advance for any help!

Old Faithful