Project Update
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Date: 06/05/2010
After 3 months the wind turbine is still standing strong. During the last storm the wind speed exceeded 30 m/s. The averge temprature is around -22 °C and permanet darkness is closing in. Click on the link below to download a presentation by Johan Stander regarding the project. Johan Stander - The South African Wind Energy Programme
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Date: 29/03/2010
On the 9th of December 2009 the SA Agulhas departed from Cape Town harbour en-route to Antarctica.
After crossing treacherous waters and rough seas, the white continent was reached about the 25th of December 2009.
Bad weather conditions and thin bay-ice delayed off-loading of the cargo by several days.
A visit to the German base (Neumayer III) during this period proved to be very
informative. Currently an Enercon 30 kW wind generator is installed at the base.
Unfortunately failure in the active yaw system resulted in one if the blade-tips
breaking off.
On the 6th of January after an hour and a half flight in a Bell 212
helicopter the SANAE IV base was reached. The cargo arrived on the “CAT-train”
shortly after that. In the days that followed the wind-mast was erected and the
three sites where the wind turbines were to be placed were approved. Initial bad weather
delayed the start of the site preparation by a few days.
It took 4 days to clear the 2.5m by 2.5m site of snow, large rocks and
permafrost up to a depth of about 1.5m. Thereafter the drilling of the 16
foundation holes, ranging from 1.6m to 1.9m deep, commenced. This was followed
by inserting the rock bolts and fitting the base plate of the tower. In total
the preparation of the foundation took 7 working days. In the days that followed the 12m high tower and nacelle was assembled and the three blades fitted. This was done in parallel with the installation of the 20 kW back-to-back power electronic converter in the base. Once all components were in place the tower was raised and bolted down onto the foundation plate.
During the first day of testing, in windspeeds of more than 9 m/s, between 8 kW and
10 kW was successfully generated and delivered into the SANAE IV electrical grid
for roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes. The second day of testing commenced in a windspeed
of 5 m/s. After generating between 3 kW and 5 kW for 45 minutes an electrical
fault occurred on the generator. Unfortunately it was not possible to repair
this fault at the base, thus halting further testing. The entire structure
was left at the base to conduct structural tests by exposing the tower and
blades to the extreme winter conditions. Currently the cause of the electrical failure of the generator is under investigation at the University of Stellenbosch. The construction of the second and third wind energy conversion system is also currently under-way. by Ivan Hobbs |