Research Experience for Undergraduates

Economic Potential of Distributed Wind on the University of Denver Campus

In the summer of 2019, I participated in a 9-week research program funded by NSF and run by Dr. David Gao, a professor at the University of Denver. Myself, along with the rest of the small cohort of students, were able to visit some very interesting and eye-opening facilities including NREL in and a power distribution center. All of our research projects were at least loosely related to power electronics and renewable energies, as this was the primary area of expertise among our mentors.

For my research, I analysed wind patterns of easily accessible locations and rooftops on the University of Denver’s campus and the economic potential of distributed wind on our campus. Unfortunately, DU’s campus doesn’t appear to be too viable for wind energy.

Atomata weather station w/ custom railing mount

I used a slimmed down version of the weather station I had made for Atomata to gather essential data for the project. The first step in figuring out economic potential of wind turbines is figuring out what wind speeds they might be exposed to upon installation.

Small Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) Temporarily Installed on Rooftop of Physics Building

This turbine, while far from perfect in terms of placement and design, gave valuable insights. By comparing expected energy output (based on wind speed) to the realistic energy output of the turbine, we can make a pretty good guess on the amount of energy that can actually be extracted from the wind at a given location. Things like turbulence and direction affect how useful the wind is for your turbine.