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Law and Management Essay, The wind turbine's power generation is…
Law and Management Essay
Initial Plan
Para 1
Why development of wind turbines is therefore crucial to the future of power generation.
- Add in the lower emissions
- Lower cost to run
- therefore lower electricity prices
Small introduction explaining that wind turbines use no fossil fuels during use, therefore the resources consumed during usage is far lower then alternative power stations
Para 2
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Explain how the costs have changed as result of the machine improvements linking specifically to the direct and indirect costs and overhed allocation
Wind turbines are heavily dependent on wind, so improvements have been made, list the improvements
Para 3
Monitoring of machines is crucial to montior reliability and downtime to reduce maintenance and time not producing
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Para 4
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Partneships with external companies provide the parts required, since not all parts can be manufactured in house although it would be cheaper if this was possible.
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Main Bulk Of Research
Para 1
Resources are lower during usage because they run solely off wind power, conventional power supplies use fossil fuels.
- "In 2019, around 64% of our electricity came from fossil fuels" (1)
Wind turbines aim to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels
- This not only reduces the harmful emissions given out to the environment
- Secondary impact of fossil fuels don't need to be transported to the power plant further reducing the emissions when analysing the full life cycle of electricity production
- Wind is a natural resource that requires no expenditure other than to run the turbine so it has the potential to reduce the price of electricity
Wind turbines pose a great solution to the current harmful solutions for power generation
- But they are heavily dependent on wind conditions, the reliability can be improved by increasing the turbine blade size to increase the power and take advantage of lower wind speeds
Para 2
- In the United States 75,000 full-time workers were employed both directly and indirectly in the wind power industry with the majority working within finance & consulting services, contracting & engineering services, project development, and transportation & logistics (2)
- A key selling point of the nacelle used in the E-82 wind turbine is that the nacelle is fully assembled in the factory instead of onsite, which saves the installation companies both the time and cost of hiring specialists to do so during the setting up of the product.
- The application of specific cranes, individually constructed for mounting heavy nacelle components (main bearings, gearbox, generator and transformer) ensures maximum efficiency, availability and security for each assembly process
- As mentioned before the resin infusion method starts with a mold that is lined with fiberglass matting. A steel shell is placed on top with a system of pipes to remove all air then covered in a two part resin. Resin then heated very slowly at 0.2 degrees per minute for 7 hours and then left to sit at 85 degrees for 2 hours
- Manual inspection is then carried out and any bubbles are sanded off and refilled until smooth.
This process can be broken down by the different cost categories.
- The direct cost of running the oven for that sustained period of time, this can be considered fixed as the consumption of electricity will be reasonably constant during each time the process is run.
- The materials used within the blade such as the lightning rod and wooden connecting beam can also be considered a direct fixed cost.
- The specialised staff that run the oven and carry out the checks post heating can be considered a direct variable cost. The inspection involves checking for bubbles and sanding the blade then refilling with more GFRP until smooth.
- Since each blade can vary with the defects it recieves from the heating process the time taken during inspection and sanding can vary and so depending on how the staff are paid this could be a variable cost
The indirect costs must also be considered when analysing the wind turbine production, the building where the wind turbine is manufactured will need lights, heating, rent maintenance etc that all are essential for creating the turbine but don't directly relate to the price of the wind turbine itself. The extensive testing process that occurs to a select few turbines will also require time resources and money. If a blade fails production must stop to analyse the source of error which can effect production.
So the company must consider the manufacturing overhead when conducting cost analysis. The machine itself will also require maintenance overtime which not only adds to the production overhead, but causes downtime in production, therefore reducing the number of wind turbines that can be created in a given time slot.
Para 3
These measures must be analysed and considered to reduce the downtime and increase reliability, Must be taken into account as a machine failing not only takes time away from manufacture but it is a variable cost. If a machine needs to have expenses paid to fix it regularly this increases the production overhead.
Since manufacturing overhead is an indirect cost accountants are tasked with allocating overhead to each of the units produced
The measure of machine capability can be used to improve the machines as well as aid in the cost analysis
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness indicates the current state of production and helps to measure loesses and highlight corrective actions that can be taken to reduce it. (3)
For investors, constant maintenance and expenses on that machines has a negative effect on the overall cash flow of a company and therefore reduces the net profit
Failure data can be collected from the machines, as well as the tests conducted on the blades to to help calculate the availability of the equipment.
Para 4
Not all parts are produced in house and not all components are provided by the company itself, infact many parts are supplied by partneships between companies.
Investment in wind power generation is increasing due to the promise of increased performance and reliability while lowering the cost of wind energy and therefore the cost of electricity.
- "Wind energy costs have been reduced from over 55 cents (current dollars) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 1980 to an average of under 3 cents per kWh in the United States today." (4)
General Investment Timeline:
- Wind Feasability Study 1 month
- Avaition consulation and grid connection offer 2 months
- Wind intial planning consultations 1 month
- Wind Monitoring 6 months
- Simultaneously Supporting surveys and modelling can occur along with a preperation application 4 months
- Wind turbine lead time 6 months
- Design and site preperation 3 months
- Instillation and comissioning 1 month
Simultaneous development of the wind turbine itself can be made during the application process for the site:Preparing the site
- 1 Wherever a wind farm is to be built, the roads are cut to make way for transporting parts. At each wind turbine location, the land is graded and the pad area is leveled. A concrete foundation is then laid into the ground, followed by the installation of the underground cables. These cables connect the wind turbines to each other in series, and also connect all of them to the remote control center, where the wind farm is monitored and the electricity is sent to the power company.
Erecting the tower
- 2 Although the tower's steel parts are manufactured off site in a factory, they are usually assembled on site. The parts are bolted together before erection, and the tower is kept horizontal until placement. A crane lifts the tower into position, all bolts are tightened, and stability is tested upon completion.
Nacelle
- The fiberglass nacelle, like the tower, is manufactured off site in a factory. Unlike the tower, however, it is also put together in the factory. Its inner workings—main drive shaft, gearbox, and blade pitch and yaw controls—are assembled and then mounted onto a base frame. The nacelle is then bolted around the equipment. At the site, the nacelle is lifted onto the completed tower and bolted in place
Rotarary Blade
- Aluminum blades are created by bolting sheets of aluminum together, while wooden blades are carved to form an aerodynamic propeller similar in cross-section to an airplane wing.
- By far the greatest number of blades, however, are formed from fiberglass. The manufacture of fiberglass is a painstaking operation. First, a mold that is in two halves like a clam shell, yet shaped like a blade, is prepared. Next, a fiberglass-resin composite mixture is applied to the inner surfaces of the mold, which is then closed. The fiberglass mixture must then dry for several hours; while it does, an air-filled bladder within the mold helps the blade keep its shape. After the fiberglass is dry, the mold is then opened and the bladder is removed. Final preparation of the blade involves cleaning, sanding, sealing the two halves, and painting.
- The blades are usually bolted onto the nacelle after it has been placed onto the tower. Because assembly is easier to accomplish on the ground, occasionally a three-pronged blade has two blades bolted onto the nacelle before it is lifted, and the third blade is bolted on after the nacelle is in place.
Instillation of control systems
- The utility box for each wind turbine and the electrical communication system for the wind farm is installed simultaneously with the placement of the nacelle and blades. Cables run from the nacelle to the utility box and from the utility box to the remote control center.
Para 5
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From a customers perspective the life cycle cost is purely the stages mentioned second beginning from purchase straight into the prepartion of the site ready for instillation of the tower. Looking at cash flow, big payout at the start, then price to install and buy the land. Then operation costs, maintenance etc and eventually there will be a form of disposal cost
For the manufacturer the life cycle cost starts earlier because the planning and initial design, develpment and prototyping are all included before the full costs of instillation and operation.
The end of life costs must not be forgotten as they are currently a key expense. The resin used in windturbine manufacture is a thermoset resin, meaning the process cannot be reverersed
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The wind turbine's power generation is heavily dependent on the ambient wind conditions, but recent advantages in the size of wind turbines, specifically the blades, are allowing them to increase their power output and operate in lower wind speed conditions. (Sainz, 2015)