Progress 10/01/00 to 08/31/04
Outputs
1. What major problem or issue is being resolved and how are you resolving it (summarize project aims and objectives)? How serious is the problem? What does it matter? Electrical energy use on every farm, home, and village is increasing because of new applications of electricity. Having electrical machinery and appliances enables or increases production and provides a higher standard of living, which all people desire. In remote areas such as large western farms or ranches, islands, or remote fishing villages of Alaska, the extension of the electric utility line is prohibitive because of the cost ($25,000 to $50,000 per mile); therefore, these residents are seeking lower cost, yet reliable electrical energy. Wind power has been suggested as a means to provide good quality electricity. For many rural areas, some form of pumping is required to lift water from a well or stream to provide a reliable, safe drinking water supply. Many of these water supplies are not
adjacent to electric utility lines. Because of the high cost of installing and maintaining rural electric lines with low energy usage, charges per unit of energy used are quite high. Livestock producers are searching for lower-cost methods of supplying water for their livestock. Renewable energy technologies of wind and solar power offer excellent possibilities to provide the energy required to pump this water. This research project attempts to develop and demonstrate reliable remote water pumping systems. This technology is also applicable for providing water to the approximately 2 billion people in the world who do not have a clean, safe, reliable drinking water supply. A clean, safe drinking water supply for all peoples would save hundreds of lives each year from cholera, dysentery, and other water related diseases. This research project is split between National Program 307, Bioenergy and Energy Alternatives; and National Program 201, Water Quality and Management. The
Bioenergy and Energy Alternative national research program includes a component on Energy Alternatives for Rural Activities. This project includes development of wind, solar, and biofuel electrical systems for on-farm electric generation where rural electric distribution systems are not available or where they are overloaded. This project addresses the needs of agricultural producers to have a dependable, independent electrical power from alternative energy sources. Sixty (60) percent of this research project is assigned to this national program. Because much of the emphasis of this research is on providing a reliable, safe water supply for irrigation, livestock and domestic uses, 40% of the effort is assigned to the water supply component of the Water Quality and Management program. This project meets the need to provide adequate water for all agricultural operations and its workers; therefore, this renewable energy research is attached to the national research program on water.
2. List the milestones (indicators of progress) from your Project Plan. The current project was a bridging project and no formal milestones were established. 3. Milestones: A. List the milestones that were scheduled to be addressed in FY 2004. How many milestones did you fully or substantially meet in FY 2004, and indicate which ones were not fully or substantially met, briefly explain why not, and your plans to do so. The current project was a bridging project and no formal milestones were established. B. List the milestones that you expect to address over the next 3 years. What do you expect to accomplish, year by year, over the next 3 years under each milestone? The following milestones are taken from the new Project Plan that was approved by peer-review and became effective at the end of FY-2004. FY-2005 Design and build an inverter-based controller for a wind-powered water pumping system. Results in a new wind water pumping controller. Install and test a helical pump at three
pumping depths when powered by solar panels. New pump type that can be used for water pumping. Test two versions of a submersible solar-DC diaphragm pump system using solar PV panels. Recommendation for purchasing new pumps. Use a amorphous-silicon solar array rated at 0.75 kW to power a 12-stage centrifugal pump and 0.56-kW electric motor. Initiate emissions testing of diesel engines using blended biodiesel fuels. FY-2006 Conduct operational testing of an inverter-based controller for wind- powered water pumping. Results in a new wind water pumping controller. Design and construct a rectifier-based controller for wind-powered water pumping. Determine the minimum size solar panels that can be used with a helical pump for livestock watering. New design specifications. Test solar water pumping with a motorized tracker system and a diaphragm pump. Test centrifugal pump with solar panels constructed from polycrystalline. Continue emissions testing for different biodiesel feed stocks.
Incorporate new emissions standards in operation of engines. Setup microturbine and perform break-in operation with standard diesel while connected to the mini-grid. FY-2007 Complete study of inverter-based controller for wind-powered water pumping. Results in a new wind water pumping controller. Conduct operational testing on rectifier-based controller for wind- powered water pumping. Results in a new wind water pumping controller. Develop control logic for PLC controller for wind-powered water pumping. Test Helical pump with optimal solar panel wattage and optimal power ratings. Compare motorized tracking with fixed panels with diaphragm pumps. Install and test a pump-jack, solar-power water pumping system. Write reports on emissions from stationary engines powered by biodiesel. Conduct emissions testing with biodiesel blends on the microturbine. Conduct emissions testing on an irrigation engine using standard diesel and biodiesel. 4. What were the most significant
accomplishments this past year? A. Single Most Significant Accomplishment during FY 2004 year: Demonstrated that a relatively new submersible motor/pump (Grundfos SQ Flex Positive Displacement Pump) powered by wind or solar energy can pump water from a deep well for 80 to 120 cattle. Mechanical windmills have predominantly been used to pump water from deep wells (200-600 ft), but most are over 4 decades old and the mechanical windmill piston pump requires considerable maintenance. The flex pump requires little maintenance and costs less to install than the mechanical windmill. Two identical pumps were installed at the USDA-ARS, Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX. One was powered by a 1-kW wind turbine (testing began Nov. 2003), and the other was powered by 640 Watts of solar photo-voltaic (PV) modules (testing began Feb. 2004); data were collected on both systems for simulated pumping depths of 246 ft (pumping depth at Bushland, TX) and 328 ft (pumping
depth typical of Northern Texas Panhandle). Wind- and solar-powered centrifugal pumps were not efficient for deep wells unless the power of the renewable energy systems was very high (10 kW), but the flex positive displacement pump can be powered by wind or solar energy systems in the 0.5 - 1.0 kW range and appear to be more economical for farmers and ranchers than using a conventional mechanical windmill. B. Other Significant Accomplishment (s), if any: An equation was developed for estimating solar PV panel temperature as a function of solar radiation (sunshine), air temperature, and wind speed. At the USDA-ARS, Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX, over ten years of experiments with solar-PV water pumping systems has shown that PV panels will average 1% above rated power in winter, but 7% below rated power in the summer due to PV panels being less efficient the hotter they get. However, with the solar panel temperature equation we have developed, this
will enable other locations in the U.S. to estimate how well their solar PV systems will work during different times of the year. Data (solar radiation, electrical power into and out of the controller, water flow rate, solar panel temperature, and wind speed at solar panel height) were collected on a solar PV water pumping experiment over the past year. Using multiple variable regression, an equation was developed that can estimate panel temperature if air temperature, solar radiation, and wind speed are known--all quantities available from government agencies, national weather stations, or agricultural experiment stations. Other PV dealers, government lab researchers--in fact, anyone interested in how their PV system performance will vary during the year--can estimate the performance change of their PV system during the year based on the panel temperature equations. C. Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations: None. 5. Describe the major accomplishments over
the life of the project, including their predicted or actual impact. The reliability of a wind-electric water pumping system has been proved over several years of testing and over 5 years in an actual livestock water application. The major cause of downtime during the last few years has been failures of the controller. Engineers from ARS and AEI have designed and tested several control strategies and systems. The latest controller has operated for 4 years with minor problems. However, because the demand for grid-connected wind turbines is so great, as compared with manufacturing capacity, most wind turbine manufacturers have ceased or greatly reduced the number of water pumping systems manufactured. This work provides technology in the area of energy alternatives as described in NP307 and a reliable water source as described in NP201. Farmers and ranchers need a reliable, low-cost means of pumping water for cattle and other livestock in remote range lands. Data were collected at
the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX, on a 1-kW solar-PV water pumping system with amorphous-silicon thin- film panels, which are normally produced at about two-thirds the costs of polycrystalline panels. The amorphous-silicon panels showed no signs of degradation in performance as compared with previously tested thin-film panels that showed a continual degradation of 15% per year. Reliable water pumping systems must have solar panels that maintain their performance, and pumps and controllers must operate maintenance free. Farmers and ranchers need a reliable, low-cost means of pumping water for cattle and other livestock in remote range lands; therefore, a wind- electric water pumping system was erected in a 300-acre pasture where the water pumped was the only water supply. A 1.5-kW wind-powered water pumping system consisting of a wind turbine and controller connected to a submersible pump and motor was used to lift water from 280 ft through
poly pipe. The system pumped 2.5 million gallons of water, which was sufficient to water 75 beef cattle at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX. Any other remote water pumping system would have required more maintenance during five years of operation, thus demonstrating that this new technology is as dependable and reliable as utility-powered water pumping systems. Many small wind turbines are marketed for battery charging and/or powering DC electrical loads; however, because of their requirement to be low cost, they are not constructed well and have not been tested. At the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX, the first year of testing produced several damaged components of a Synergy 5000DD wind turbine, mostly due to poor workmanship, but during the second year, no failures occurred. The system provided sufficient energy to keep batteries charges for all loads between 200 and 800 W. An advantage of this wind
turbine is that it is designed to peak in efficiency at a low wind speed of 10-12 mph rather than the typical wind speed of 15-20 mph, thus making it usable in many more locations. 6. What science and/or technologies have been transferred and to whom? When is the science and/or technology likely to become available to the end- user (industry, farmer, other scientists)? What are the constraints, if known, to the adoption and durability of the technology products? Technical papers were provided to a number of businesses and producers applying for the USDA 9006 grant as part of the Farm Bill provisions to support renewable energy development in rural areas. The papers "Wind Powered Irrigation for Selected Crops in the Texas Panhandle and South Plains" and "Wind-Powered Drip Irrigation Systems for Fruit Trees" were provided mostly. The wind energy research team met with and had discussions with individuals who are planning or developing new wind turbine companies. A paper entitled
"Matching Wind Resource in the Southern Great Plains with Utility Electrical Loading" was distributed to local utility, renewable energy companies in Texas, farmers and ranchers in Texas Panhandle, and government researchers. 2004 has been a year of continued interest in wind energy technology; however, most questions deal with wind farming and the development of large-scale wind systems for electric power export to cities and industrial complexes. The Bushland wind team has answered many questions, but the interest in small remote water pumping systems has been overshadowed by the questions about large electrical systems. Most of the small wind turbine manufacturers are focusing either on battery charging or grid-tie systems--the third priority is for remote water pumping. Remote water pumping with solar-PV powered systems remains a major use of PV however. The interest in using wind systems for remote small scale irrigation continues to grow each year and further research in this
area will help this market develop. Using larger wind turbines for large scale irrigation is desirable since the high cost of natural gas has greatly increased the cost of irrigating. We have been contacted by a consultant who has been hired to look into obstacles of using large wind turbines for irrigation. For large-scale irrigation with wind energy to happen, what needs to occur next is installation of a wind turbine (> 200 kW) in a pilot project to evaluate how well wind- generated electricity can help with crop irrigation. 7. List your most important publications in the popular press and presentations to organizations and articles written about your work. Brian Vick was interviewed by KGNC-710 talk radio twice this year during the weekly CREET beat program. The first topic was on wind and solar energy systems for residential use which was broadcast on 1/16/2004. The second topic was on windfarms in the Texas Panhandle which was broadcast on 6/18/2004. After the second CREET
beat interview, an additional interview with no time constraint was given which was broadcast on 6/19/2004. Brian Vick, Ken Starcher, and Vaughn Nelson made a presentation at the Rural Alliance for Renewable Energy (RARE) conference, Amarillo, TX on May 1, 2004. Brian discussed the operation of the wind turbine he installed on his farm for pumping water from a 140 ft well to irrigate an orchard (130 trees--mainly apple, peach, and pecan). Ken talked about small wind machine uses and Vaughn discussed the processes for developing a wind farm and what is required from the land owner. Kay Ledbetter (agricultural business writer for the Amarillo Globe News) interviewed several of the ARS staff and used the information to write an articled which was published in the Sunday Amarillo Globe News Newspaper on May 2, 2004 entitled "Taming the Wind." Clark, R.N. and Vick, B.D. 2004. Livestock Watering with Renewable Energy Systems, Presented at the Agriculture as a Producer and Consumer of
Energy, Arlington, VA, June 24-25, 2004. Clark, R. N. 2003. Wind power for remote off-grid applications, Presented at the Utah Wind and Solar Energy Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, Oct 1, 2003. Vick, B.D., Starcher, K., Clark, R.N., Traurig, J. 2004. Matching the Wind Resource in the Southern Great Plains with Utility Electrical Loading. Global Windpower 2004 Conference Proceedings, May 28-31, Chicago, Illinois. 2004. CDROM. Clark, R. N. 2004. Performance and maintenance experiences with a wind turbine during 20 years of operation. Global Windpower 2004 Conference Proceedings, May 28-31, Chicago, Illinois. 2004. CDROM. Vick, B.D. and Clark, R.N. 2004. Effect of Panel Temperature on a Solar- PV AC Water Pumping System. ASES Solar 2004: A Solar Harvest Growing Opportunities, July 11-14, Portland, Oregon. 2004. p. 6.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Vick, B.D., Neal, B., Clark, R.N., Holman, A. Water Pumping With AC Motors and Thin-film Solar Panels. CD-ROM. Proceedings of Solar 2003. American Solar Energy Society.
- Vick, B.D., Neal, B., Clark, R.N., Holman, A. Battery Charging With a Small Downwind Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine. CD-ROM. WindPower 2003 Conference Proceedings. 2003.
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Progress 10/01/02 to 09/30/03
Outputs
1. What major problem or issue is being resolved and how are you resolving it? For many rural areas, some form of pumping is required to lift water from a well or stream to provide a reliable, safe drinking water supply. Many of these water supplies are not adjacent to electric utility lines. Because of the high cost of installing and maintaining rural electric lines with low energy usage, charges per unit of energy used are quite high. Livestock producers are searching for lower cost methods of supplying water for their livestock. Renewable energy technologies of wind and solar power offer excellent possibilities to provide the energy required to pump this water. This research project attempts to develop and demonstrate reliable remote water pumping systems. This technology is also applicable for providing water to the approximately 2 billion people in the world who do not have a clean, safe, reliable drinking water supply. A clean, safe drinking water supply
for all peoples would save hundreds of lives each year from cholera, dysentery, and other water related diseases. Another aspect of this research is to provide basic electricity to rural areas where electric utility line extensions are not viable because of the high cost. Currently, it costs approximately $25,000 to $30,000 per mile to construct a basic electric utility line. These costs are always paid by the consumer. Renewable energies can provide basic electric services at costs much below the cost of utility power when the cost of lines are included. The research is focused on evaluating systems for reliability and cost. 2. How serious is the problem? Why does it matter? Providing a clean, safe water supply is essential for the basic survival of life. It is estimated that every hour, more than 400 children in developing countries die from water-borne diseases. We have no estimate of the number of livestock that are lost each year because of water-borne diseases. The
solution is often as simple as pumping water from an uncontaminated well rather than allowing livestock or humans to use a polluted surface water supply. Water pumping for livestock is taking on several new perspectives because of new environmental regulations that are being imposed concerning free access of livestock to flowing streams. Any stream section may be restricted at any time by EPA or similar state agencies. Renewable energies have demonstrated the potential to meet the needs of pumping water in remote areas where utility electricity is not available. Under the proposed electric deregulation legislation, utilities will no longer be required to provide electric service at a basic minimal cost. One fear of electrical utility deregulation is that agricultural customers will be charged so much for electrical services that it will be the same as denying them service. Renewable energies must have the technology ready to fill this need. 3. How does it relate to the National
Program(s) and National Program Component(s) to which it has been assigned? This research project is split between National Program 307, Bioenergy and Energy Alternatives; and National Program 201, Water Quality and Management. The Bioenergy and Energy Alternative national research program includes a component on Energy Alternatives for Rural Activities. This project includes development of wind, solar, and biofuel electrical systems for on-farm electric generation where rural electric distribution systems are not available or where they are overloaded. This project addresses the needs of agricultural producers to have a dependable, independent electrical power from alternative energy sources. Sixty (60) percent of this research project is assigned to this national program. Because much of the emphasis of this research is on providing a reliable, safe water supply for irrigation, livestock and domestic uses, 40% of the effort is assigned to the water supply component of the Water
Quality and Management program. This project meets the need to provide adequate water for all agricultural operations and its workers; therefore, this renewable energy research is attached to the national research program on water. 4. What were the most significant accomplishments this past year? A. Single Most Significant Accomplishment during FY 2003 year: Farmers and ranchers need a reliable, low-cost means of pumping water for cattle and other livestock in remote range lands. Data were collected at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX, on a 1-kW solar-PV water pumping system with amorphous-silicon thin- film panels, which are normally produced at about two-thirds the costs of polycrystalline panels. The amorphous-silicon panels showed no signs of degradation in performance as compared to previously tested thin-film panels that showed a continual degradation of 15% per year. Reliable water pumping systems must have solar panels that
maintain their performance and pumps and controllers must operate maintenance free. B. Other Significant Accomplishment (s), if any: Farmers and ranchers need a reliable, low-cost means of pumping water for cattle and other livestock in remote range lands; therefore a wind- electric water pumping system was erected in a 300-acre pasture where the water pumped was the only water supply. A 1.5-kW wind-powered water pumping system consisting of a wind turbine and controller connected to a submersible pump and motor was used to lift water from 280 ft through poly pipe. The system pumped 2.5 million gallons of water, which was sufficient to water 75 beef cattle at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX. Any other remote water pumping system would have required more maintenance during five years of operation, thus demonstrating that this new technology is as dependable and reliable as utility-powered water pumping systems. Many small wind turbines are
marketed for battery charging and/or powering DC electrical loads; however, because of their requirement to be low cost, they are not constructed well and have not been tested. At the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX, the first year of testing produced several damaged components of a Synergy 5000DD wind turbine, mostly due to poor workmanship, but during the second year, no failures occurred. The system provided sufficient energy to keep batteries charges for all loads between 200 and 800 W. An advantage of this wind turbine is that it is designed to peak in efficiency at a low wind speed of 10-12 mph rather than the typical wind speed of 15-20 mph, thus making it usable in many more locations. C. Significant Accomplishments/Activities that Support Special Target Populations: None. D. Progress Report: Wind Turbine Reliability Testing: A prototype Bergey controller was operated for 2.5 years without any major problems, unlike earlier
controllers. The controller had no abnormal operations, like disconnecting the pump motor without disconnecting the capacitors or running as single-phase rather than as three-phase. Having a reliable controller is critical in order to make this technology one that will be adapted by farmers and ranchers. 5. Describe the major accomplishments over the life of the project, including their predicted or actual impact. The reliability of a wind-electric water pumping system has been proved over several years of testing and over 5 years in an actual livestock water application. The major cause of downtime during the last few years has been caused by the controller. Engineers from ARS and AEI have designed and tested several control strategies and systems. The latest controller has operated for 4 years with minor problems. However, because the demand for grid connected wind turbines is so great as compared to manufacturing capacity, most wind turbine manufacturers have ceased or
greatly reduced the number of water pumping systems manufactured. This work provides technology in the area of energy alternatives as described in NP307 and a relaible water source as described in NP201. 6. What do you expect to accomplish, year by year, over the next 3 years? FY 2004 - The Synergy 5000DD wind turbine has demonstrated that its unique design is reliable for battery charging. We plan to install an inverter to convert the variable voltage/frequency electricity from the wind turbine into constant voltage/frequency single-phase electricity for powering water pumping and household loads. The solar-PV AC water pumping system will be operated another year to determine if any additional decrease in solar panel performance is observed. These amorphous-silicon panels were reported to decrease significantly in performance with increased temperature. We need additional data to determine if the panels are sensitive to temperature or some other atmospheric characteristic like
low humidity. FY2005-2006 We plan to install a Grundfos SQFlex Water pumping system that consists of a Southwest Windpower H-80 wind turbine and a Grundfos SQFlex 6 SQF-2 Pump. We will run this system the way it is being sold at the present time. We will then monitor the open circuit (no electrical load) output voltage and frequency from the H-80 wind turbine, and if the voltage and frequency are in the right range then we will try running a standard submersible motor and centrifugal pump off the 3-phase AC electricity from the H-80 wind turbine. The 3-phase variable voltage/frequency AC electricity from the H-80 wind turbine is rectified to DC electricity before powering the SQFlex motor/pump. We will need to install an ARS/AEI controller between the H-80 wind turbine and the standard submersible motor and centrifugal pump. It will be interesting to know how much loss there is in efficiency by converting the 3-phase electricity of the wind turbine into DC electricity. Continue
to monitor water pumping performance of solar-PV AC water pumping system with amorphous-silicon panels. For the solar AC system we may think about installing a motorized tracking system to determine whether cost-effective compared to fixed panel system. A similar tracking study was performed on the solar DC system but a passive tracking system was used. 7. What science and/or technologies have been transferred and to whom? When is the science and/or technology likely to become available to the end- user (industry, farmer, other scientists)? What are the constraints, if known, to the adoption and durability of the technology products? 2003 has been a year of increased interest in wind energy technology; however, most questions deal with wind farming and the development of large-scale wind systems for electric power export to cities and industrial complexes. The Bushland wind team has answered many questions, but the interest in small remote water pumping systems has been
overshadowed by the questions about large electrical systems. 8. List your most important publications in the popular press and presentations to organizations and articles written about your work. (NOTE: This does not replace your peer-reviewed publications listed below). Clark, R. Nolan Wind Farming: A business opportunity for rural America. Resource Magazine 10(7):7-8, 2003. Nolan Clark was interviewed by Wind Powering America and the interview is posted on the WEB at www.windpoweringamerica.org. Dr. Clark Wind energy fundamentals: how to make electricity from the wind, Presented at the Wind Farm Development Seminar, Bloomington, IL, Feb 6, 2003. Brian Vick was interviewed by KGNC-710 talk radio during the weekly CREET beat program. The topic of this interview was solar water pumping. Generated some telephone calls and visits by farmers interested in installing solar-PV systems. March 16, 2003.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Vick, B.D., Neal, B., Clark, R.N., Holman, A. Water Pumping With AC Motors and Thin-film Solar Panels. CD-ROM. Proceedings of Solar 2003. American Solar Energy Society.
- Vick, B.D., Neal, B., Clark, R.N., Holman, A. Battery Charging With a Small Downwind Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine. CD-ROM. WindPower 2003 Conference Proceedings. 2003.
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Progress 10/01/01 to 09/30/02
Outputs
1. What major problem or issue is being resolved and how are you resolving it? For many rural areas, some form of pumping is required to lift water from a well or stream to provide a reliable, safe drinking water supply. Many of these water supplies are not adjacent to electric utility lines. Because of the high cost of installing and maintaining rural electric lines with low energy usage, charges per unit of energy used are quite high. Livestock producers are searching for lower cost methods of supplying water for their livestock. Renewable energy technologies of wind and solar power offer excellent possibilities to provide the energy required to pump this water. This research project attempts to develop and demonstrate reliable remote water pumping systems. This technology is also applicable for providing water to the approximately 2 billion people in the world who do not have a clean, safe, reliable drinking water supply. A clean, safe drinking water supply
for all peoples would save hundreds of lives each year from cholera, dysentery, and other water related diseases. Another aspect of this research is to provide basic electricity to rural areas where electric utility line extensions are not viable because of the high cost. Currently, it costs approximately $25,000 to $30,000 per mile to construct a basic electric utility line. These costs are always paid by the consumer. Renewable energies can provide basic electric services at costs much below the cost of utility power when the cost of lines are included. The research is focused on evaluating systems for reliability and cost. 2. How serious is the problem? Why does it matter? Providing a clean, safe water supply is essential for the basic survival of life. It is estimated that every hour, more than 400 children in developing countries die from water-borne diseases. We have no estimate of the number of livestock that are lost each year because of water-borne diseases. The
solution is often as simple as pumping water from an uncontaminated well rather than allowing livestock or humans to use a polluted surface water supply. Water pumping for livestock is taking on several new perspectives because of new environmental regulations that are being imposed concerning free access of livestock to flowing streams. Any stream section may be restricted at any time by EPA or similar state agencies. Renewable energies have demonstrated the potential to meet the needs of pumping water in remote areas where utility electricity is not available. Under the proposed electric deregulation legislation, utilities will no longer be required to provide electric service at a basic minimal cost. One fear of electrical utility deregulation is that agricultural customers will be charged so much for electrical services that it will be the same as denying them service. Renewable energies must have the technology ready to fill this need. 3. How does it relate to the national
Program(s) and National Program Component(s) to which it has been assigned? This research project is split between National Program 307, Bioenergy and Energy Alternatives; and National Program 201, Water Quality and Management. The Bioenergy and Energy Alternative national research program includes a component on Energy Alternatives for Rural Activities. This project includes development of wind, solar, and biofuel electrical systems for on-farm electric generation where rural electric distribution systems are not available or where they are overloaded. This project addresses the needs of agricultural producers to have a dependable, independent electrical power from alternative energy sources. Sixty (60) percent of this research project is assigned to this national program. Because much of the emphasis of this research is on providing a reliable, safe water supply for irrigation, livestock and domestic uses, 40% of the effort is assigned to the water supply component of the Water
Quality and Management program. This project meets the need to provide adequate water for all agricultural operations and its workers; therefore, this renewable energy research is attached to the national research program on water. 4. What was your most significant accomplishment this past year? A. Single Most Significant Accomplishment during FY 2002 year: Previous testing of solar-powered diaphragm pumps yielded poor performance and a lifetime of approximately 15 months; therefore, newer redesigned systems were evaluated for performance and reliability. Two identical 100-Watt DC solar powered water pumping systems, one with fixed and the other with passive tracking, each pumping from a depth of 90 ft at a flow rate of one gallon per minute were evaluated at the USDA Conservation Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX. One pump failed during 2002 after pumping for six years and the other pump continued to operate although the rate decreased from 1.0 to 0.75 gallons per minute.
Results of this experiment showed that the tracking system pumped about 2% more water than the fixed system, but the extra water was not enough to warrant purchasing the passive tracking system and these results demonstrated that these systems are reliable as long as the pumping depth does not exceed 100 feet and the flow rate is regulated, thereby producing sufficient water for 25 head of cattle. B. Other Significant Accomplishment(s), if any: A wind-electric water pumping system was erected in a 300 acre pasture at the Conservation Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX where the wind-pumped water was the only water supply for cattle to determine the long-term dependability and reliability of wind-powered water pumping systems. A 1.5-kW wind-powered water pumping system, consisting of a wind turbine and controller connected to a submersible pump and motor was used to lift water from 280 ft through poly pipe. After almost four years of maintenance free operation, the motor
spline and pump gear were worn to a point of needing repair; after the system had pumped about 2 million gallons of water which was sufficient to water 75 beef cattle. Any other remote water pumping system would have required some maintenance during the four years of operation, thus demonstrating that this new wind-electric water pumping system is both dependable and reliable as utility powered water pumping systems. C. Significant Accomplishments/Activities that Support Special Target Populations: A new wind turbine was installed that was designed to provide electricity at low wind speeds (average of 8 - 10 miles per hour) in remote areas. The turbine has a unique method of furling in high winds because the tail lifts the rotor and alternator from the horizontal position to the vertical position, thus causing the rotor to slow in high winds. Initial data indicate that this turbine will provide 4.5 kilowatt-hours per day when the wind speed averages 10 miles per hour. A typical US
home consumes about 30 kWh per day, thus this turbine would be applicable to low-use remote homes or areas. D. Progress Report: Solar Power Water Pump with AC Electricity Several of the cadmium-telluride (thin film) solar panels had failed on the solar AC water pumping system and others had degraded until the system was no longer pumping sufficient water to meet livestock demands. Twenty-five amorphous silicon (thin film) 43-Watt solar panels were used to replace the 60-cadmium-telluride (thin film) 18-Watt solar panels. Initial water pumping data indicate a variance in water pumped that is dependent on solar panel temperature. 5. Describe your major accomplishments over the life of the project, including their predicted or actual impact? The reliability of a wind-electric water pumping system has been proved over several years of testing and over 4 years in an actual livestock water application. The major cause of downtime during the last few years has been caused by the controller.
Engineers from ARS and AEI have designed and tested several control strategies and systems. The latest controller has operated 4 years with no problems. However, manufacturers have been reluctant to use the controller because of wanting to develop their own design. Water pumping with renewable energies is affordable, and several systems are available to consumers. 6. What do you expect to accomplish, year by year, over the next 3 years? 2003 - Continue to use the 1.5 kW wind turbine to pump water for the beef cattle in the South Pasture. We plan to make two modifications to the controller to enhance the over all water pumping system. The first option would be to incorporate into the controller a float level sensor for the stock tank, so the wind turbine doesn't need to be manually braked to keep the stock tank from over flowing. For winter time operation, we hope to incorporate a stock tank heater to keep the water from freezing. Extra wind power could be used to warm the water
in the tank. These are two additions that are being requested by livestock operators. The AC solar water pumping system with the newly installed amorphous- silicon panels will be tested with three different pump motors (50 Hz 3- phase, 60 Hz 3-phase, 60 Hz single phase). Each of these pump motors offer different characteristics and it is important to determine the optimum motor configuration. Each of these were used on the previous system. Additional data will be collected to determine the affects of panel temperature. A new complete wind-powered water pumping system will be installed and tested at the Wind Laboratory location. An international pump company has teamed with a wind turbine manufacturer to sell a packaged wind water pumping system and is promoting it in major beef magazines. This system has been purchased and will be tested along side our other water pumping systems. Continue to operate the low-wind-speed wind turbine to determine why it is under-performing at
Bushland. We believe this discrepancy (10% difference) is due to the pitch setting being incorrect for the high altitude (3800 ft) here at Bushland compared with sea level conditions. To get the wind turbine back up to 5 kWh, we will increase the pitch setting using plate shims--we did this successfully on another wind turbine. If we are successful in increasing the kWh production, then the wind turbine manufacturer can improve the performance of its wind turbines at higher altitudes by providing shims with the wind turbine. Changing the pitch setting may also help us understand why the power coefficient is not constant with wind speed like other variable speed wind turbines. 2004 - For the solar AC water pumping system, we may install a motorized tracking system to determine whether it's cost effective to use versus a fixed panel system. A similar tracking study was performed on the solar DC system with a passive tracking system. Continue to collect data with the low wind speed
wind turbine and change the configuration from battery charging to using an inverter with various AC loads. Continue to collect data on the Bergey 1500 in the South Pasture to show farmers and ranchers the reliability and performance of this wind- electric system year after year. 2005 - Continue collecting data on the Grundfos SQFlex system and convert it to use with solar panels for generating power. We'll first try just the solar panels and then later try pumping water using the hybrid of wind and solar energy. Configure the low wind speed wind turbine to power DC water pumps. 7. What technologies have been transferred and to whom? When is the technology likely to become available to the end user (industry, farmer other scientist)? What are the constraints, if known, to the adoption durability of the technology? Throughout the year the wind energy team conducted numerous tours and gave or mailed information on wind/solar water pumping systems and wind farms to producers, private
companies, schools, and energy specialists. The mail and phone request were heavy (one to two per day) during the winter and spring. Dr. Clark participated in two meetings of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Small Wind Turbine Committee which is writing a new international standard for performance, safety, and operation of small wind machines. This standard will establish the design, performance, and safety requirements of all wind turbines sold in the world. Past experience with other technologies has shown that this type of standard will influence a technology for many years. Dr. Clark is the primary writer for three chapters. Visited with and gave tour to group representing Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, and Japanese Bureau of Livestock Industry on renewable energy especially bioenergy and wind energy. Dr. Clark and Brian Vick spoke at local Lions Club Meetings and other regional meetings on the status of wind power in the year 2002
and how this new technology impacts the local economy through reduced dependency on coal and natural gas, creation of new jobs, and additional income for land owners. When is the science and/or technology likely to become available to the end user (industry, farmer, other scientists)? Solar DC and AC water pumping systems are currently available to users. Wind-electric systems are also available to users, but are not as popular as solar or mechanical windmill systems because there is no network of local dealers or service personnel. What are the constraints, if known, to the adoption and durability of the technology products? The main constraint to solar-powered water pumping systems is that they are fairly expensive for systems above 1.5 kW. A constraint for solar DC systems is that they are limited to pumping depths less than 100 ft and flow rates of less than 2 gallons per minute. The unreliability of the thin-film solar panels is a major constraint for the solar AC systems.
Thin-film solar panels are preferred over the more reliable crystalline solar panels for these systems because they can be designed at higher voltage needs for AC electric motors. The main constraints for wind- electric systems compared with solar and mechanical windmill systems is to show that they are: less expensive, pump the same or more water, have the same reliability, and have lower operation and maintenance cost. 8. List your most important publications and presentations, and articles written about your work (NOTE: this does not replace your review publications which are listed below) Brian Vick made a presentation at TREIA conference in Abilene, TX, on some of the recent work that has been done at USDA-ARS laboratory on wind and solar energy research, Nov. 16, 2001. A radio interview was broadcast on Jan 11, 2002, over KGNC radio 710 at 6:05 a.m. and 12:55 p.m. The topic was "How much land owners can expect to receive in terms of a royalty payment for having windfarms on
their land." This interview generated many phone calls. A radio interview was broadcast on Feb 8, 2002, over KGNC radio 710 at 6:05 a.m. and 12:55 p.m. The topic was "Collection and analysis of wind speed data for evaluation of land for windfarm development." Dr. Clark was invited to give a presentation of the "History of wind energy research in the Great Plains" at the 2002 Great Plains Foundation Symposium, Amarillo, TX, April 1-3, 2002.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Vick, B.D., Clark, R.N. Solar-PV water pumping with fixed and passive tracking panels. CD-ROM. Reno, NV: Solar. 2002.
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Progress 10/01/00 to 09/30/01
Outputs
1. What major problem or issue is being resolved and how are you resolving it?
For many rural areas, some form of pumping is required to lift water from a well or stream to provide a reliable, safe drinking water supply. Many of these water supplies are not adjacent to electric utility lines. Because of the high cost of installing and maintaining rural electric lines with low energy usage, charges per unit of energy used are quite high. Livestock producers are searching for lower cost methods of supplying water for their livestock. Renewable energy technologies of wind and solar power offer excellent possibilities to provide the energy required to pump this water. This research project attempts to develop and demonstrate reliable remote water pumping systems. This technology is also applicable for providing water to the approximately 2 billion people in the world who do not have a clean, safe reliable drinking water supply. A clean, safe drinking water supply for all peoples would save hundreds of lives each year from cholera, dysentery, and other water
related diseases. Another aspect of this research is to provide basic electricity to rural areas where electric utility line extensions are not viable because of the high cost. Currently, it cost approximately $25,000 to $30,000 per mile to construct a basic electric utility line. These costs are always paid by the consumer. Renewable energies can provide basic electric services at costs much below the cost of utility power when the cost of lines are included. The research is focused on evaluating systems for reliability and cost.
2. How serious is the problem? Why does it matter?
Providing a clean, safe water supply is essential for the basic survival of life. It is estimated that every hour, more than four hundred children in developing countries die from water-borne diseases. We have no estimate of the number of livestock that are lost each year because of water-borne diseases. The solution is often as simple as pumping water from an uncontaminated well rather than allowing livestock or humans to use a polluted surface water supply. Water pumping for livestock is taking on several new perspectives because of new environmental regulations that are being imposed concerning free access of livestock to flowing streams. Any stream section may be restricted at any time by EPA or similar state agencies. Renewable energies have demonstrated the potential to meet the needs of pumping water in remote areas where utility electricity is not available. Under the proposed electric deregulation legislation, utilities will no longer be required to provide electric
service at a basic minimal cost. One fear of electrical utility deregulation is that agricultural costumers will be charged so much for electrical services that it will be the same as denying them service. Renewable energies must have the technology ready to fill this need.
3. How does it relate to the National Program(s) and National Component(s)?
This research project is split between National Program 307, Bioenergy and Energy Alternatives; and National Program 201, Water Quality and Management. The Bioenergy and Energy Alternative national research program includes a component on Energy Alternatives for Rural Activities. This project includes development of wind, solar, and biofuel electrical systems for on-farm electric generation where rural electric distribution systems are not available or where they are overloaded. This project addresses the needs of agricultural producers to have a dependable, independent electrical power from alternative energy sources. Sixty (60) percent of this research project is assigned to this national program. Because much of the emphasis of this research is on providing a reliable, safe water supply for irrigation, livestock and domestic uses, 40% of the effort is assigned to the water supply component of the Water Quality and Management program. This project meets the need to provide
adequate water for all agricultural operations and its workers; therefore, this renewable energy research is attached to the national research program on water.
4. What were the most significant accomplishments this past year?
A. Single Most Significant Accomplishment during FY 2001 year: A wind-electric water pumping system was erected in a 300 acre pasture where the wind-pumped water was the only water supply for cattle to determine the long-term dependability and reliability of wind-powered water pumping systems. A 1.5-kW wind-powered water pumping system, consisting of a wind turbine and controller connected to a submersible pump and motor was used to lift water from 280 ft through poly pipe. During three years of maintenance free operation, almost 1.65 million gallons of water was pumped which was sufficient to water 75 beef cattle. Any other remote water pumping system would have required some maintenance during the three years of operation, thus demonstrating that this new wind-electric water pumping system is both dependable and reliable as utility powered water pumping systems. B. Other Significant Accomplishment(s), if any: 1) Previous testing of solar-powered diaphragm pumps yielded poor
performance and a lifetime of approximately 15 months; therefore, newer redesigned systems need to be evaluated for performance and reliability. Two 100-Watt DC solar powered water pumping systems, one with fixed and the other with passive tracking, each pumping from a depth of 90 ft at a flow rate of one gallon per minute were evaluated. The two systems have operated for 5.5 yrs with little degradation in performance and no significant difference in water volume due to fixed or tracking solar panels. These results demonstrated that these systems are reliable as long as the pumping depth does not exceed 100 feet and the flow rate is regulated, thereby producing sufficient water for 25 head of cattle. 2) Because solar panels are the major cost component of a solar water pumping system, lower cost techniques are continually being evaluated and require actual field installations for evaluation of long-term performance. A 1-kW AC solar pumping system consisting of 60 cadmium-telluride
solar panels connected to an AC submersible pump and motor through a special motor controller was evaluated. The flow rate degraded from 5 gallon per minute (gpm) to 4.5 gpm at a radiation of 1000 W/m**2 during this past year; which is a drop from 7.5 gpm when the system was installed in 1998. These panels have shown a steady degradation from the time they were installed and some panels failed due to heat (thermal) stress; therefore, the process used to manufacturer these panels is no longer used. C. Significant Accomplishments/Activities that Support Special Target Populations: None. D. Progress Report: When the price of natural gas more than doubled this year, producers asked questions concerning using wind energy to irrigate their crops. Using electricity and natural gas irrigation usage data, wind data, wind turbine power performance data, and crop water requirement data; we determined that if the farmer grew winter wheat, the irrigation water requirement would match the wind
resource and could be economical. The Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association requested copies of this paper and asked the Texas Public Utility Commission to modify the electric net billing rule for wind turbines to provide a reasonable purchase price for electricity generated by non-utility parties.
5. Describe the major accomplishments over the life of the project including their predicted or actual impact.
The reliability of a wind-electric water pumping system has been proven over several years of testing and over 3 years in an actual livestock water application. The major cause of downtime during the last few years has been caused by the controller. Engineers from ARS and AEI have designed and tested several control strategies and systems. The latest controller has operated 3 years with no problems. However, manufacturers have been reluctant to use the controller because of wanting to develop their own design. Water pumping with renewable energies is affordable and several systems are available to consumers.
6. What do you expect to accomplish, year by year, over the next 3 years?
FY 2002 - Testing and data collection on the two 100-Watt DC solar water pumping systems will be terminated on December 21, 2001. This will complete six years of continuous data collection. A final report of this work will be prepared. Plans are to purchase and install new thin-film solar panels for the 1-kW AC solar powered water pumping system. Replacement panels are made by a new technological process and should not degrade in performance like the previous ones. The testing will focus on determining the right size motor to match the solar energy output from the array and collecting data with different pumps at several pumping depths. We are anticipating the receipt of two new water pumping controllers during FY-2002. One controller is based on using an inverter to regulate the voltage and frequency rather than using capacitors to regulate the voltage-frequency ratio. This controller is being developed by a joint effort of USDA/AEI and will be tested on an 850-W wind turbine.
Bergey Windpower is also planning a new version of their wind-electric water pumping controller. The new control will include features to disconnect the wind turbine from the motor if abnormal operation is detected - e.g. single-phase instead of 3-phase motor, motor becomes disconnected and capacitors still connected - both of these conditions cause high current and will damage the wind turbine permanent magnet alternator or burn up the submersible motor. This controller will be tested on a 1.5-kW wind turbine. An experiment will be conducted to determine the effect of blade rotation direction on the furling of a wind turbine. Furling is a process that turns the rotor blade out of the full force of the wind. Two different sets of blade (one rotates clockwise and the other rotates counter-clockwise) will be installed on a wind turbine to measure the effect of time of rotation with respect to wind speed and load on wind turbine. We will continue to collect data on the 1.5-kW wind
turbine installed in the South Section which is being used to pump water for cattle. Since this wind turbine is truly a field installation (not a laboratory test installation), we will be able to see how long these systems will last and what parts will wear out first. FY 2003 - The two US manufacturers of wind turbines for water pumping are both planning to introduce new wind turbines in the next one to two years. We plan to purchase the new turbines when available and submit them to similar testing as we have done with current turbines. Determining the correct motor size and the amount of capacitance needed to offset inductance of the pump motor and wind turbine generator are initial experiments. This is followed by performance data collection of different pumping depths and flow rates. The difference between using different phase motors (single or 3-phase) and different frequency motors (50 or 60 Hz) will be examined with the 1-kW AC solar water pumping system with the new thin
film panels. These studies were conducted using the old panels, but the performance degradation of the panels was so great that it made the results difficult to quantify.
7. What science and/or technologies have been transferred and to whom? When is the science and/or technology likely to become available to the end user (industry, farmer, other scientists)? What are the constraints if known, to the adoption & durability of the technology product?
Throughout the year the wind energy team conducted numerous tours and gave or mailed information on wind/solar water pumping systems and wind farms to producers, private companies, schools, and energy specialists. The mail and phone request were heavy (one to two per day) during the fall and winter when energy prices were highest. The Wind Energy Applications and Technology Symposium (WEATS) sponsored by DOE and the American Wind Energy Association was hosted by the Bushland ARS energy team twice during the reporting period. The group in November consisted of participants from Mexico and several Asian countries and American Indian Reservations. The group in May included one from Russia, several from South America as well as Mexico, Asia, and the American Indian Reservations. Lectures were given on mechanical water pumping, electrical water pumping, water purification, and wind/hybrid electric power generation. A one half-day tour of the research facilities was also conducted for
each group. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Small wind Turbine Committee met with USDA-ARS engineers at Bushland to view our research and review our results for inclusion into new international standards for performance, safety, and operation of small wind machines. On February 16, 2001, Mr. Vick and Mr. Neal visited the National Weather Service (NWS) of Amarillo to review wind data collected at NWS, AEI, and USDA-ARS. After that meeting wind data from each agency was exchanged and a comparison was developed which demonstrated the compatibility of these data. Historical wind speed, wind direction, and wind energy data collected at the USDA-ARS Bushland Laboratory was sent to Wind Engineers, Inc., located in California. These data were used to layout an 80-MW wind project north of White Deer, TX. This wind farm will consist of 80 wind turbines and will provide electricity for 27,000 households. When is the science and/or technology likely to become available to
the end user (industry, farmer, other scientists)? Solar DC and AC water pumping systems are currently available to users. Wind-electric systems are also available to users, but are not as popular as solar or mechanical windmill systems because there is no network of local dealers or service personnel. What are the constraints, if known, to the adoption and durability of the technology products? The main constraint to solar powered water pumping systems is they are fairly expensive for systems above 1.5 kW. A constraint for solar DC systems is they are limited to pumping depths less than 100 ft and flow rates of less than 2 gallons per minute. The unreliability of the thin-film solar panels is a major constraint for the solar AC systems. Thin film solar panels are preferred over the more reliable crystalline solar panels for these systems because they can be designed at higher voltages need for AC electric motors. The main constraints for wind-electric systems compared to solar and
mechanical windmill systems is to show that they are: less expensive, pump the same or more water, have the same reliability, and have lower operation and maintenance cost.
8. List your most important publications in the popular press (no abstracts) and presentations to non-scientific organizations and articles written about your work (NOTE: this does not replace your peer-reviewed publications which are listed below)
A radio interview was broadcast on April 6, 2001, over KGNC radio 710 at 6:05 a.m. and 12:55 p.m. The topic was "How much land owners can expect to receive in terms of a royalty payment for having windfarms on their land." This interview generated many phone calls. Raloff, J. Power Harvest-The salvation of many US farmers may be blowing in the wind. Science News. July 2001. v. 160(3). p. 45-47.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Vick, B.D., Clark, R.N. Testing of a 2-kilowatt wind-electric system for water pumping. CD-ROM. Palm Springs, CA: Windpower 2000. 9 p.
- Vick, B.D., Clark, R.N., Ling, J., Ling, S. Remote solar, wind, and hybrid solar/wind energy systems for purifying water. CD-ROM. Washington, DC: Solar Forum 2001. 6 p.
- Vick, B.D., Neal, B., Clark, R.N. Wind powered irrigation for selected crops in the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. CD-ROM. Washington, DC: Windpower 2001. 10 p.
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