Studying wind power in Wellington

Postgraduate students Daniel Akinyele and Hatem Alzaanin from New Zealand’s Victoria University are researching the potential of wind power in the windy city of Wellington. The students are part of a newly formed power and renewable energy systems research group led by Dr Ramesh Rayudu at Victoria’s School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Akinyele is researching the use of microgrids - small-scale power generators such as a solar panels or wind turbines that could be located on residential or commercial buildings, connected to the main network or operated independently. He is investigating how microgrids can provide extra power to the network during peak times and act as a back-up source of energy following a natural disaster.

“In a major earthquake, Wellington could be left without power for days or weeks,” said Akinyele. “If we had a network of microgrids, the impact could be much less severe.”

The biggest challenge, said Akinyele, is making it attractive to home and business owners to install a small power generator such as a wind turbine. He suggested, “We may need financial incentives to help people cover the cost of installation.”

Alzaanin is meanwhile looking at smart use of appliances to balance the fluctuating energy levels produced by wind. He is focusing on how to run appliances in the most energy-efficient way, though he noted that any solutions his research comes up with will only work if they are convenient for people to use.

“Freezers, for example, don’t need to be running all the time to keep food frozen,” said Alzaanin. “Domestic devices account for around 11% of power loads. Many people would be surprised at how much power can be saved by using appliances more efficiently.”

Akinyele and Alzaanin have received the only two available scholarships from Transpower, owner of New Zealand’s national electricity grid, to present their research at the New Zealand Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition, which takes place from 14-16 April at Te Papa in Wellington.

Dr Rayudu is excited two of his group will have a chance to present at the conference, saying, “It’s a great achievement for both of these scholarships to have gone to Victoria students. It shows we are becoming known as a centre of excellence in renewable energy and particularly wind power.”

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