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| EOLO wind farm is located in the red part of the map, indicating the highest wind flow. |
The EOLO wind farm is located in between the West coast of Lake Nicaragua and the West coast of the Pacific Ocean in South West Nicaragua. In this location the wind comes either directly from the East or from the North East depending on the season. It is all due to the location of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. During months such as May and June the Inter Tropical Convergence zone will be positioned directly over Nicaragua and Costa Rica causing strong winds and a lot of moisture to come from the east. The convergence zone is the dynamic line that is formed by the convergence of the South East trade winds, and the North East trade winds. The location of the convergence zone is dependent on the location of the sun above the Earths surface. One other aspect to the location of EOLO is the geography. Wind in this area may very easily travel across the Central American isthmus to the west coast of Nicaragua where Wind can very easily travel across Lake Nicaragua. Therefore the wind is much closer to the ground than in other cases. It just so happens that all of the wind energy companies in Nicaragua are located in this small area between Lake Managua, and the Pacific Ocean. EOLO claims that the wind flow where their turbines are located has a typical wind flow of 8-8.8 m/s. EOLO wants to place turbines in some low mountains directly west of their current facility due to more consistent, and stronger winds in that location.
The engineering involved in any macro wind energy project will always be very complex. The model of wind turbine is known as the G90. EOLO does not take part in any design of the turbine itself, it only takes part in the planning of the locations of the turbines and the construction of them. The G90 model is made in France and shipped from there. Within EOLO’s property there are six kilometers of roads. These roads are lined with turbines each 90m in diameter (blades of the turbine are 44m). The facility has a total of 18 turbines along lake Nicaragua, and 4 turbines on the East side of the Pan American Highway. The blades of the turbines are lightweight, hollow, and made with very strong material such as fiber-glass and carbon fiber. The turbines are made to be flexible in order to bend with winds of up to 21m/s. If the wind reaches a speed higher than 21m/s the brake of the turbine will be engaged and the blades will be rotated to their most aerodynamic positions. EOLO has a total of 7.8km of circuit due to their vast property and the location of substations. The generator in the turbines produces energy with a low voltage, which is not efficient if the energy will be traveling a long distance. Low voltage is not efficient because of the loss of energy through heat. In order to prevent the loss of energy there is a transformer in the turbines, and a larger transformer in the substations. The transformers convert the energy from 630 volts, to 34000 volts, to 200,000 volts and then the energy is sent out and used by the citizens of Nicaragua.
Energy Production:The EOLO wind farm alone produces 42 megawatts of electricity. The plant has 22 turbines each with an average production of 2MW. In the area of the EOLO wind power facility there are 3 other large wind power facilities that basically function the same way as EOLO. The first other plant is called Blue Power. The site has an average production of 39.6 MW. Just north of EOLO is the production facility Alba, which produces 40MW of energy. The last wind farm in the EOLO area is called Amayo I and II, which on average produces 63 megawatts of electricity. In total the capacity for these wing energy plants is 186.6 megawatts. EOLO is 22.5% of the total wind energy in Nicaragua. The percent of Nicaraguan electricity that is from wind energy is 27%. Therefore EOLO alone is 6% of the total energy output for the whole country. The country’s energy is divided into 5 different categories: Biomass which accounts for 8.6% of the total energy, Hydro 10.8%, geothermal 14.4%, wind 26.8%, and non renewable sources 39.3%. The amount of Wind energy is only going to increase from here on out. In general renewable sources of energy are on the rise and non-renewables are having a downfall.
Energy Distribution:Energy Distribution and sale is a complicated topic. The topic has to do with politics, economics, and energy readily available. All 3 of these factors are very dynamic, constantly changing. Due to Nicaragua’s strong dependence on oil for energy in the past the country experienced a sever energy crisis. Energy prices skyrocketed and the country was desperate for a new source of energy and a way to boost the economy. The country looked at renewable energy resources for an answer and immediately began planning a new system. In 2009 the first wind turbine was built. Now in 2014 27% of the country’s electricity comes from wind energy. The strategy has sparked economic growth, and a more stable supply of energy. First factor that must be functioning for electricity to be produced by turbines is of course the wind. The wind must be moving between 3 m/s and 21 m/s in order to harness energy. Next, EOLO has a capacity of 60 MW. Therefore they have a cap on the amount of energy they are able to sell. Once the electricity leaves the facility it must go through three organizations: The Ministry of Mines and Energy, CRIE, and INE. The ministry of energy and mines buys energy from energy companies, then INE monitors the quality of energy, then CRIE regulates energy going to other countries. As of now Nicaragua does not have permission to sell energy to other countries but most likely will in the near future. After these organizations the electricity goes to the consumers.
Pros of wind energy (and some cons):Wind energy is a very efficient and sustainable source of energy. Out of all sources of macro energy, wind energy most likely affects the environment the least. Wind energy switches dependence on energy from nonrenewable sources (fossil fuels) to renewable sources. As a result the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere, and soil is decreased significantly. EOLO wind farm calculated how much carbon they prevented from releasing and the number came out to 110,054 tons of CO2 per year. This is only from the use of 22 wind turbines producing 2 MW each. The implementation also diverts support for petroleum companies, and lowers the production of petroleum. The construction of EOLO has saved 99,016 barrels of petroleum being bought per year. The use of wind energy at the EOLO plant lastly promotes development of the surrounding communities through modernization and easy access to electricity. EOLO also promotes environmental education in the area simply due to their presence in the area. The only possible cons to wind energy is the fact that sometimes they are very aesthetically unpleasing and that they are very expensive to build. A country wanting to build modern wind turbines must have the available capital to invest in the turbines. Which makes wind energy not possible in some places.
A modern wind turbine is built to last for a total of 120,000 operating hours over it’s life span of 20 years. We are assuming that these turbines are producing energy for 66% of that 20 years. The turbines may last longer, or shorter, depending on how well and how frequent maintenance is done. Maintenance costs per year are anywhere from 1% -3% of the price of the turbine. Typical maintenance includes all turbines being expected every day, blades to be cleaned off once a year (algae may grow on the blades, causing inefficiency), turbines to be shut off when the wind conditions are inappropriate, and miscellaneous repairs. 5.5 out of 10 times that there is needed repair on a turbine the problem is electrical. Maintenance crews must fix the problem before too much money is lost. Other than equipment management EOLO must deal with land management. EOLO is located on the western beaches of lake Nicaragua and creates an environmental sanctuary that stretches kilometers along the lake shore. EOLO has an employee dedicated to making an itinerary of species on the land and noting how the environment could be changing. The land also has multiple uses, a very sustainable practice. Within the EOLO land area there is cattle ranching and rice patties. Products are sold locally by local farmers.
AUTHOR: Matt Richards
