The BBC English Bay Wind Farm has started to generate clean electricity for Ascension Island. On Thursday 18 March the first of the wind turbines started generating electricity. Since then three more of the five wind turbines have been commissioned, and last one should be running soon.
The wind turbines were made by Enercon in Germany who chartered a ship to send them to Ascension. Each turbine is 37m to the top of the tower with a 33m rotor diameter, making them 53.5m (176 ft) tall to the tip of the blades. The rotor spins at approximately 35rpm and always in a clockwise direction. The turbine automatically turns to face into the wind. The towers are steel and the blades are made of fibreglass. The wind turbines are the same model as on the Falklands .
Each wind turbine can generate up to 330kW (450hp) when the wind speed is 30mph (25 knots) or more. If the wind speed is lower than this the turbine will produce less power. The wind on Ascension is excellent for generating power as it is both strong and consistent; the wind also seems to be well correlated with the electrical load on Ascension - that is, the wind is strongest at peak times for electricity usage. The power from the wind farm goes directly into the island electricity system.
Once finished the wind farm will be capable of generating up to 1650kW on a windy day although most of the time it will average about 900kW. Ascension Island uses between 1000kW and 3000kW depending on the time of day and the BBC transmitting schedule. This means that the wind farm will contribute a significant percentage of the island’s electricity and help to reduce the amount of diesel burnt. This is better for the environment as it means cleaner electricity, a lower carbon footprint, fewer diesel tankers and less reliance on fossil fuels.
(Source: The Islander)
