Power squandered by protection policy

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Norwin's Ole Sangill at the launch of the Bahrain World Trade Centre wind turbines. (Getty Images)

Excess power generated by the Bahrain World Trade Centre’s (BWTC) wind turbines is being wasted, the firm that installed the turbines has said.

The BWTC's turbines are being switched off intermittently because utilities companies will not accept power into the grid from alternative sources despite power shortages across the GCC.

Ole Sangill, managing partner of Danish firm Norwin which installed the turbines, believes the move forms part of a protection policy on the part of the Bahrain authorities.

"It's mostly a political decision," said Sangill. "Somebody needs to say we want to do this, and they need to accept the wind turbines that can supply the grid.

"If you want to put in wind farms the whole idea is to export the power into the grid. The situation has to be resolved. It is a discussion that has been going on for quite a while."

The Bahrain director of electricity distribution was unavailable for comment.

Norwin has been constantly monitoring power consumption in the BWTC and comparing this to power generated by the turbines since they were switched on in April.

"There are times when there is wind yet practically no power consumption within the building, so we actually need to stop the turbines," said Sangill.

"I believe that down the road this issue can be solved and we will be allowed to do that (feed into the grid), because that is the way forward."

When fully operational, the BWTC will generate 15% of its power requirement via the turbines. But excess power is generated when the buildings power requirement falls, such as overnight and at weekends.

A project to link the electricity grids of the six GCC nations to create a more functional and efficient "super grid" is due for completion in 2010.

The project will be the first development to include all six GCC nations and would form part of a bid to avoid crippling power shortages across the region.

A recent Global Insight report predicted that Gulf energy consumption will increase by 50% over the next five years, while power generation will increase by only 30%.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Comment on Article from BWTC & Norwin
Posted by Julia Atherton-Dandy, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain on Wednesday 24 September 2008 at 10:48 UAE time


It is correct that BWTC feels an important issue to get in place is a political decision to allow power from turbines in wind parks into national grids - this is a problem in the whole region and well known in the wind industry, not in the Bahrain World Trade Center alone. The BWTC proudly projects Bahrain as a country that is looking progressively towards the future energy needs for the region and the rest of the world, and is the first of its kind in the world.

We stress that because the integration of wind turbines into a commercial building has never been executed before on a global scale, it is natural that the testing should be properly completed before supply for the turbines is connected to the national grid. Due to the novelty of the project it is a well considered precaution policy of EDD to protect the grid. BWTC shall consult with the EDD further regarding the export of power when all research and testing is completed.

In addition, the power generated from the turbines is not being “squandered,” since our rigorous testing indicates that situations where the BWTC does not consume the power will only occur in exceptional circumstances, and the power lost on these occasions will be negligible with respect to the power produced by the turbines.

In the few situations where excess power is generated and not consumed by the buildings, the turbines will be turned off in a controlled manner and restarted when there is a power demand. We reiterate that this is not expected to happen often, and have previously publicly stated that the turbines will turn approximately 50% of the time to appropriately fulfill the power demand.

We truly have pushed the boundaries of environmental architecture with this project, and it is a testament to Bahrain that private developers are investing in sustainability and pioneering design, which is certainly the future of architecture as it shapes the planet in years to come. We have also had the full support of the government, who we will be in further talks with regarding the national power supply.

Finally, returning to the discussion on technical and political challenges of introducing renewable sources like wind turbines in the Gulf region, we see the work being done in this project as pioneering steps for wind energy development in the Middle East.

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