Wind power Benchmarks to understand the complementarity

Installed power

Might

Ability to perform a job. The units of measurement of power are the watt (W) and its multiples : kilowatt (kW) megawatt (MW) gigawatt (GW) and terawatt (TW).

Installed power

Total power generators that can provide a facility (wind, hydroelectric park).It is expressed in MW (million watts).

Water

A central two generating units of 50 MW each with an installed capacity of 100 MW.

TURBINES 2 X 50 MW = 100 MW

This does not mean that the plant still produces 100 MW, but if all generating units produce up to a point, the facility will provide an output of 100 MW.

Wind

A wind farm of 50 turbines with a capacity of 2 MW each with an installed capacity of 100 MW.

WIND 50 x 2 MW = 100 MW

This does not mean that the wind farm still produces 100 MW, but if all the wind turbines produce up to a point, the facility will provide an output of 100 MW.

Power warranty

Power warranty

Power warranty

Power that can be harnessed with a predetermined reliability. It is very important for an electric utility to have guaranteed power because electricity must be available on the spot when the customer needs.

Water

You can easily ensure hydroelectric power, because you can control the amount of water turbines at any time.

Hydropower plant with an installed capacity of 100 MW power guarantee nearly 100 MW (given the relatively low risk of failure of a turbine generator).

100 MW = 100 MW GUARANTEED

Wind

In terms of a wind farm, there is no guarantee that when Ventera will need energy.

For this reason, Hydro-Québec has determined on the basis of statistical and meteorological studies the contribution of all the wind farms during peak periods represent approximately 35% of the installed capacity of these parks.

100 MW = 35 MW GUARANTEED

Energy produced

Energy

This is the power produced by an installation (wind or hydroelectric central park) multiplied by the number of hours during which the power is supplied. Measurement units of energy are the watt-hour (Wh) and multiple or per kilowatt hour (kWh) per megawatt hour (MWh), the gigawatt hour (GWh) and terawatt hours (TWh).

It is the energy, or kilowatt hours, as measured by the electric meter and is charged.

Power x Hours = Energy
A wind farm that produces 100 MW continuously for one hour produces 100 MWh.

Utilization factor

No installation of electricity can not run at full speed all the time taking into account the need for maintenance, breakdowns and the availability of the energy source. To find out how much energy can produce an installation, it is necessary to consider the annual load factor, which is the ratio of electrical energy produced during a year and the energy that would have been produced if the plant had been operating for one year continuously at maximum power. This ratio is usually expressed as a percentage.

Water

A hydropower plant with an installed capacity is100 MW and whose duty cycle is 65% (average of all Hydro-Québec hydroelectric) annually produces 569,400 MWh .

100 MW x 65 % x 8760 h = 569 400 MWh

Wind

A wind farm with an installed capacity is 100 MW and whose duty cycle is 35% (estimated average of all wind farms) produced annually, on average, 306,600 MWh.

100 MW X 35 % X 8760 h = 306 600 MWh