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As Texas’ electric grid operator prepares to add power lines for carrying future wind-generated energy, an electrical engineer at The University of Texas at Austin is developing improved methods for determining the extent to which power from a wind farm can displace a conventional power plant, and how best to regulate varying wind power. With a two-year, $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Santoso and his students are developing computational methods to measure how much a wind farm can contribute to meeting expected power needs. Santoso’s lab is also using the funding to establish the technical requirements of energy storage systems that would serve as temporary ”batteries” for releasing stored wind energy at optimal times. |
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Photo at left: Dr. Santoso stands in front of a photograph of a Siemens wind turbine at King Mountain Wind Ranch in McCamey, TX. These towers can measure up to 68 meters in height, with blades as long as 30 meters, generating 1 to 2 megawatts (million watts) of power. |
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Photo at left: Here, Dr. Santoso holds a 500-watt turbine used for small household applications such as a water pump, refrigerator, or other such small electronic devices. Energy generated by this size of turbine is stored in a battery. |
