New Spatio-Temporal Wind Exergy Maps

Abstract

In this paper, energy and exergy characteristics of wind energy are investigated. The effects of wind speed and air temperature and pressure at the inlet of a wind turbine on windchill temperature are examined. We also investigate energy and exergy efficiencies of the wind energy generating system and verify the models through a case study on a 100 kW wind generating system for 21 climatic stations in the province of Ontario, Canada. New energy and exergy efficiency maps of the wind energy generating system are introduced to provide a common basis for regional assessments and interpretations. These efficiency maps are plotted for 4 months of the year (January, April, July, October), which are taken to be representative months of the seasons. The results show that aerial differences between energy and exergy efficiencies are approximately 20%–24% at low wind speeds and approximately 10%–15% at high wind speeds.