WARP - A MODULAR WIND POWER-SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTED ELECTRIC UTILITY APPLICATION

Steady development of wind turbine technology, and the accumulation of wind farm operating experience, have resulted in the emergence of win d power as a potentially attractive source of electricity for utilitie s. Since wind turbines are inherently modular, with medium-sized units typically in the range of a few hundred kilowatts each, they lend the mselves wed to distributed generation service. A patented wind power t echnology, the Toroidal Accelerator Rotor Platform (TARP) Wind-frame, forms the basis for a proposed network-distributed, wind power plant c ombining electric generation and transmission. While heavily building on proven wind turbine technology, this system is projected to surpass traditional configuration windmills through a unique distribution/tra nsmission combination, superior performance, user-friendly operation a nd maintenance, and high availability and reliability. Furthermore, it s environmental benefits include little new land requirements, relativ ely attractive appearance, lower noise and EMI/TV interference, and re duced avian (bird) mortality potential. Its cost of energy is projecte d to be very competitive, in the range of from approximately 2 cent/kW h to 5 cent/kWh, depending on the wind resource.