What is a wind turbine generator?

The generator is the heart of a wind turbine’s electrical system, converting the mechanical energy from the rotating blades into usable three-phase alternating current (AC) power. Most modern wind turbines employ synchronous generators, which maintain a constant frequency synchronized with the power grid.

What size wire do I need to run a wind turbine?

For instance, 40 Amps requires you use at least a #8 AWG wire size. If you are running a 3-wire (3-phase “wild” AC) wind turbine, then the value used in Step 4 [D] can be reduced by 33% since 3 conductors are used rather than 2. For example, a maximum of 40 DC amps would be reduced to 26.64 DC amps, which now permits a #10 AWG wire to be used.

How does a wind turbine generator work?

Regardless of the generator type, the three-phase AC power produced by the wind turbine generator forms the foundation of the electrical system, which is then transformed, filtered, and controlled by the various components in the wiring diagram.

How much power does a wind turbine produce?

If your wind turbine is charging a 24 volt battery bank (actual battery voltage would be about 27 volts) at 15 amps then the wind turbine is producing: Power (Watts) = volts x amps = 27 volts x 15 amps = 405 Watts If 18 Watts is lost in the wires as heat, then only 4.2% of the power is lost in the wires.

What are the trends in wind turbine cables?

One manufacturer pointed out a few trends in the wind turbine cables. The biggest trend is that European turbine manufacturers setting up shop in the U.S. are looking for North American standards and UL approved designs, so there is movement from European IEC cable requirements to UL type requirements.

How do you calculate voltage drop for a wind turbine?

Now, let’s calculate the voltage drop using the information we entered above: Voltage drop for AC wind turbine = A x B x C x (0.67)D Using the example above = 100 x 3 x 0.0004 x (0.67)40 = 3.22 Voltage drop for DC wind turbine = A x B x C x D (No sample calculation because our example is for a AC wind turbine)