Introduction
The much prevalence of manufacturers of turbines in China can be contributed to the dire need for sustainability. Turbines are a form of machine that aids in conversion of kinetic energy originating from wind into electric power. Besides solar, wind energy is a much sustainable form of energy which helps in substituting the non-renewable forms. As the result, this report compiles the result of a research conducted around China about existing fan turbines manufacturers. The five best companies were chosen, and this include: Sinovel, Goldwind, Sany, Mingyang, Shanghai Electric. These companies were then evaluated in terms of the pertinent characteristics related to the quality and performance of their turbines. The report is then concluded by answering questions regarding sustainability and sustainable energy followed by discussion of how the turbines help in saving power.
SINOVEL
Sinovel is a Chinese based company which is a manufacture of wind turbines; it’s located in Beijing China. It is considered the largest manufacture of wind turbines in china; this is by the market share of the year 2011. This market share of 2011 also makes it the second largest manufacture of the wind turbines in the world.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of the sinovel turbines is that they are designed to meet the total requirements of different countries for the grid codes and the grid integration. This grid integration includes the wind turbine checking of the model, the technologies of managing active and inactive power. To add on those, each turbine has been certified and tested by the relevant and legal bodies responsible for inspection. The main disadvantage is that it has an outer diameter that is large.
The cost of the Sinovel turbine US $450000 per unit
Country: China Website: http://www.sinovel.com
Ph: +8610 62515566 Fax: +8610 82500072 Mail: ibd(at)sinovelwind.com
How much the turbines generate of electricity
The Sinovel has a 5MW wind turbine series that include all the zone types be it offshore and intertidal. These 5MW turbines are capable of producing 10GWH of electricity; this is about 4000t of standard coals. The turbines also reduce the rate of carbon dioxide emissions that is equivalent to 8000t every year.
Sinovel has produced and design a good range in the in turbines which can work effectively in all the zone types be it offshore and intertidal, like high temperatures and altitudes with low speed of wind to generate maximum electricity. These include the main turbines which include SL6000 series Wind turbine, SL5000 series Wind turbine, SL3000 series Wind turbine and SL1500 series Wind turbine.
Quality of the turbines
The turbine for example the series of the SL6000 have adopted the most leading technology in the world, they possess a mature and a conventional transmission in the gearbox and a high technology of the generator. All these are meant to ensure the economy of the offshore winds.
Installation and maintenance cost of Sinovel turbines
The cost of operating and maintaining sinovel turbines is in the range of 0.035 to 0.065 US dollars per kWh. And the installation cost is around 2200 US dollars per Kw.
GOLDWIND
Goldwind is a Chinese based company which is a manufacture of wind turbines; it’s located in Urumqi, in Xinjiang China. It is considered the second largest manufacture of wind turbines in china; this is by the market share of the year 2011. This market share of 2011 also makes it the third largest manufacture of the wind turbines in the world.
The main advantage is that the PMDD turbines in Goldwind are cost effective in their operation costs; this is because of the removal of the gearbox that is considered by the company to be a technological vulnerability in the current technological advances. This makes the turbines to be very effective and minimizes the rate of mechanical breakdown and repairs that are done frequently. This reduces the cost of operating the turbines. The major disadvantage of the Goldwind turbines is that they have a lower torque to mass ratio.
The cost of the goldwind turbine model S48/750 is US $410000 per unit
Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. No. 8 Bo Xing 1st Road, Economic & Technological Development Zone, Beijing, China, PC100176Tel：+86 01-6751-1888 Email:
How much the turbines generate of electricity
In order to adapt to diverse and complex operation conditions in china and globally, Goldwind has produced and design a good range in the in WTGs which can work effectively in harsh climatic conditions like high temperatures and altitudes with low speed of wind to generate maximum electricity. These include the main turbines which include 1.5 MW PMDD and 2.5MW PMDD.
Power of the turbines
The turbines have are designed to operate differently under different conditions, they have power range of 1.5MWTG, 2.5MWTG, 3.0MWTG and 5MW and above.
Quality of the turbines
The Goldwind turbines have high superior quality in power since they have intelligent systems that control the ramp rate. They also feature the low and zero voltage through the capabilities. They also posses full and flexible power conversion with power control.
Installation and maintainance cost of Goldwind turbines
The cost of operating and maintaining Goldwind turbines is in the range of 0.027 to 0.048 US dollars per kWh. And the installation cost is around 2000 US dollars per Kw
Shanghai company
Merits
highly quality turbines
The turbines are environmentally friendly hence conform to the international environmental policies.
Demerits
The turbines are relatively expensive due to the high cost of turbine building materials.
Cost of maintenance of the turbines per year
The cost of maintenance of these turbines are almost zero since the turbine specifications suit the required specifications.
Direct contact information for the companies
How much the turbines generate of electricity
The company manufactures turbines which produce electricity in the range from 90MW_1200MW depending on the type and specifications of the turbine.
The company has the following types of turbines
SSST 600 series turbine, Single –flow LP axial exhaust 90-250MW, Double side and single side exhaust; 150-700MW, Two, four and six flow LP turbines; 300-1200MW
Quality of the turbines
The turbines are of very high quality as thy are forged with very thick Nickel alloys and very heavy and thick walled forgings and castings.
Cost of installation for the turbine
The installation cost for fewer than 100 kilowatts ranges from $50000-$80000 or more. When installing the commercial wind turbines, 2MW in size, the cost ranges from $1.3-$2.2 million per MW of the nameplate capacity installed.
Ming Yang Company
Merits
High capacity turbines which with a centrifugal pitch technology which keeps the turbines to rotate at the rated speed
The turbines are highly available since the company produces a large scale quality turbines at all times.
Low cost of the turbines hue to the large economies of scale of the company
The direct contact information for the company is as follows
Ming Yang Industrial park, 22 Torch Road. Torch Development Zone, Zhongshan.Guangdong, P.R.ChinaTel：0760-28138666 Fax：0760-28138667
How much the turbines generate of electricity;
The turbines generate electricity ranging from1.5MW to 3.0MW
Below are the types of turbines the manufactured by Ming Yang company
MY 1.5/2.0MW Series Wind Turbine Generator
The power rating of the companies turbines
1.5 MW series products
2.5/3.0 MW wind turbines
Quality of the turbines
The turbines are of very good quality since they are forged with very thick Nickel and stainless steel alloys which suit the environmental conditions and specifications required.
Cost of installation for the turbine
The installation cost for fewer than 100 kilowatts ranges from $40000-$100000 or more. When installing the commercial wind turbines, 2MW in size, the cost ranges from $1.3-$2.2 million per MW of the nameplate capacity installed.
SANY
Sany is a Chinese based heavy machinery company which is a manufacture of wind turbines, its located in Changsha China. It is considered the fifth largest manufacture of heavy machinery in china and also the sixth largest manufacture of the heavy machinery in the world.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of the sany turbines is that they are designed to operate under very unfavorable conditions of temperatures and wind; the turbines are designed to operate on both offshore and onshore situations with very unpredictable nature of the winds and temperatures. They are reliable even in area where the blowing of the wind is very uprediactable. The main disadvantage is that it cannot in any way help in cutting out the rate of carbon emission.
Headquarters: Address: SANY Industrial Park, Economic and Technological Development Zone, Changsha, Hunan, ChinaZip Code: 410100Website: www.sanygroup.com, www.sany.com.cnTelephone: 0731-84031888Fax: 0731-84031999
Wind TurbinesService Hotline: 4006 18 9318
How much the turbines generate of electricity
In Texas and Oregon, the sany company has 5MW wind mills that are installed in the wind farm and has a production capacity of 50MW. Apart from 5MW, Sany also have 2.0MW series wind turbine and 1.5MW series.
The following are the turbine series SE7715, SE8215, SE8715, SE8220III, SE9320III and SE11030III.
Quality of the turbines
Sany turbines is that they are designed to operate under very unfavorable conditions of temperatures and wind, the turbines are designed to operate on both offshore and onshore situations with very unpredictable nature of the winds and temperatures.
Installation and maintenances cost of Sany turbines
The cost of operating and maintaining Sany turbines is in the range of 0.015 to 0.030 US dollars per kWh. And the installation cost is around 1800 US dollars per kW
Conclusion
In conclusion, with reference to the above descriptions, the company that would be graded the best in manufacturing the turbines is the Goldwind, this is because their turbines are cost effective in their operation costs; since there is the removal of the gearbox that is considered by the company to be a technological vulnerability in the current technological advances. This makes the turbines to be very effective and minimizes the rate of mechanical breakdown and repairs that are done frequently. This reduces the cost of operating the turbines. In terms of the spare parts, the Sany Company has the lowest in terms of the prices.
Questions
Sustainability
It is the process of making decisions by taking actions which are aimed at protecting and improving the natural world. This is with the aim of preserving the environment and its natural resources in order to help support the health of the human and the wildlife. It also involves the making of decision that will help reduce the negative impacts that most business in the world may have on the environment. It includes the activities that involve production of minimum waste materials and using the most little energy in the production of electricity and other form of energy.
In general, the main aim of the environmental sustainability is to make initiatives that will in future help many businesses to be able to be sustainable in the future. Some of the concerns of the environment that lead to the topic of sustainability include: the damage caused to the forests and the major woodlands in the world, this is brought by the indiscriminative logging of trees without replacement and even the agricultural cleaning. Another concern is the pollution that occurs in the major water bodies around the globe, this includes release of wastes to the water bodies like rivers, oceans and lakes.
Burning of most of the fossil fuels lead to the pollution of the world atmosphere, this is also one of the major concerns that bring about the topic of sustainability. In the past most of the businesses have been conducted with minimal regard to environmental concerns, many of the organizations have acted in ways that have polluted the environment and getting involved in some of the practices that are not suitable to the environment.
Sustainable energy
Sustainable energy can be defined as the energy that is obtained from the sources that are non exhaustible resources. It is the form of energy that is aimed at serving most of the needs of the current or present without interfering with the future generation’s ability to also meet the same needs.
There are many technologies that are aimed in the promotion of the sustainable energy; these technologies include the energy sources that are renewable such as the hydroelectricity, the wind energy, energy from the sun, the geothermal energy which is the energy from the underground water, wave energy and other forms of energy such as the tidal power. There are technologies associated with the production of energy from these renewable sources that produce efficient energy.
How turbines help Saudi Arabia save money and power.
The turbines have helped the Saudi Arabia to harvest wind energy that has been used as a cheaper source of energy in major parts of the country. This is because the wind energy is much in supply and occurs freely. Through the use of the turbines the wind energy has been harvested and channeled to very many industries and even homesteads, this has reduced the cost of production in many manufacturing sectors round Saudi Arabia.
Most of the wind turbines can be easily installed in ranches and farm, this makes it easy to install the wind turbines since spaces in farms and ranches can be easily acquired. One the installation is done, the production of energy would be effective and the output will be cost effective, this saves the money that could be used in other sectors of energy production that are expensive. Another efficiency of the wind energy is that it is sustainable, this is because there will be energy production as the sun shines, it is the sun that heats the atmosphere and the differences in the atmospheric pressure caused by the difference in the temperatures is what cause the wind.
It is through the turbines that Saudi Arabia can be able to harvest this form of the sustainable energy. Once the energy is harvested by the turbines, it can be used both domestically and commercially within the country of Saudi Arabia. This will reduce the importation of foreign energy; the money saved can be used in different sectors of the economy of Saudi Arabia.
