Why are wind power and solar power calculated in megawatts?

Not necessarily!

The basic unit of power is the watt.

For situations where the power is very low, the “Watt” dimension seems too large and inconvenient to measure, so a dimension smaller than “Watt” is often used:

"A thousandth of a "watt" is a milliwatt, and a thousandth of a "milliwatt" is a microwatt...

For the case of large power, the dimension of "Watt" is too small, which is very annoying when measuring, so you have to use a dimension larger than "Watt":

For power generation devices, especially those connected to the power grid, because they emit a large amount of energy, megawatts are often used as a measurement dimension

However, for small power generation devices (including wind and photo power generation).ovoltaic) used by each household, kilowatts are often used as a measurement dimension.

For a 1.5 MW wind turbine, the generator spins about 1,800 times per minute, generates 1,500 kilowatt hours of electricity per hour, and the turbine spins about 18 times per minute. This is directly related to the unit's ability.

Generally speaking, level 3 winds are valuable. However, from an economic and reasonable point of view, wind speeds above 4 meters per second are suitable for electricity generation.

According to measurements, a 55 kilowatt wind turbine has an output power of 55 kilowatts when the wind speed is 9.5 meters per second; when the wind speed is 8 meters per second, the power is 38 kilowatts; wind speed When the wind speed is 6 meters per second, it is only 16 kilowatts; when the wind speed is 5 meters per second, it is only 9.5 kilowatts. It can be seen that the stronger the wind force, the greater the economic benefits.

Detailed information

A wind turbine is an electrical device that converts wind energy into mechanical work. Mechanical work causes the rotor to rotate and ultimately produces reciprocating output. current. Wind turbines generally consist of components such as a wind wheel, a generator (including devices), a steering (tail), a tower, a speed-limiting safety mechanism, and an energy storage device.

The operating principle of a wind turbine is relatively simple. The wind wheel rotates under the influence of the wind. It converts the kinetic energy of the wind into the mechanical energy of the wind wheel shaft. by the wind wheel shaft to produce electricity. Generally speaking, wind energy is also solar energy, so we can also dire that a wind turbine is a thermal energy generator that uses the sun as a heat source and the atmosphere as the working fluid.

For many centuries, wind turbines, like hydraulic machines, have played an important role in the development of productivity as a source of energy to replace human and animal energy. The widespread application of electromechanical power in modern times and the discovery of oil deposits in the Middle East in the 1950s slowed the development of wind turbines.

In the early 1970s, due to the “oil crisis”, energy shortages appeared. People have become aware of the instability and limitations of conventional fossil energy supplies, so the search for clean and renewable energy has become a key issue in the modern economy. world. an important subject. As a natural energy sourcerenewable and non-polluting, wind energy has once again attracted attention.

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