Wind turbine at manufacturing plant has hydraulic tip-up tower
Wago Corporation installed a Renewegy VP-20 Wind Turbine capable of generating 20 kW for its Wisconsin headquarters. Hydraulics raise and lower the tower; Wago components are used.
Wago Corporation installed a Renewegy small-scale, commercial-grade VP-20 Wind Turbine at its Germantown, Wis., headquarters. Capable of generating 20 kW for Wago's engineering, manufacturing, and sales hub, the VP-20 installation also uses Wago 787 Series power supplies, 756 Series cables and connectors, 288 Series fuse blocks, and backup capacitor module.
The 30-meter-tall turbine features a monopole tip-down tower with an innovative tip-up function, which essentially raises itself. This replaces large cranes and heavy-duty equipment for install/maintenance with the tip-up hydraulic cylinder system. Within 8-10 minutes, the tower and turbine are raised or lowered. Within just 25 minutes, the VP-20 at the Wago site was raised, spinning at 600+ rpm, and generating power.
Key to power generation for the VP-20 is Renewegy's segment-exclusive electronic Variable Pitch (VP) feature. Patterned after utility-scale turbines, VP controls pitch for each blade within 1/10th of a degree while pitching at speeds up to 15 degrees/sec. A closed-loop, Active Pitch Servo manages blade speeds in wind conditions ranging from 6.7-55.9 mph. An electric Active Yaw Servo ensures optimum power generation by directing the blades' direction into the wind.
Power supply and signaling reliability are essential for coping with widely varying wind conditions. Renewegy specified Wago's IP67-grade 756 Series cables and connectors for the VP-20's microprocessor-driven control system. The connections are designed to resist dust, water, and mechanical loosening caused by vibrations.
Anchoring the VP-20 is a control cabinet supported by Wago 288 Series Capacitor Back-Up Module and 787 Series Epsitron Pro 24 V dc power supplies. (These units were specified because they feature PowerBoost, which provides twice the current at constant voltage for approximately 4 sec for cold-weather start ups.)
Wago Corporation
See a VP-20 video: http://www.renewegy.com/news.html
- Edited by Chris Vavra, Control Engineering, www.controleng.com
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