The New Nation - Internet Edition

Azfar A. Khan

Due to astronomical rise in fossil fuel prices, the cost of production of electricity is also on the rise. Hence, it's imperative to adopt some other means for the production of electricity. This article dwells on the generation of electricity through wind and focuses on manufacturing of wind turbines, the machines used for the generation of electricity.

Generation of electricity through wind is not something new. India, the fourth in line of countries in the world for the generation of electricity, is producing more than 8000 MW of electricity by utilizing the wind turbines. It is manufacturing these turbines and exporting them too.

One would be surprised to know that in the region of Nevarra, Spain, 70 per cent of the region's energy needs are being fulfilled by wind and solar energy. It's a classic example of using renewable energy in any country. The question that automatically comes to one's mind is: "If it can be done in Spain, why can't it be done in any other country?" The answer is a big "Yes".

A layman would ask as to what a wind turbine is? Simply put, a wind turbine is a machine that is used for the generation of electricity from wind. It's installed on a tower at a windy location to capture wind so as to generate electricity. The faster the wind blows, the more electricity would be produced. Once a wind turbine is installed, it would generate electricity for 25-30 years free of cost as no other fuel is used in its generation except wind.

A typical wind turbine comprises a rotor with one, two or three blades, a gearbox, two shafts, a generator and a controller. It's installed on a steel tower facing the wind. The higher the turbine is installed, the more electricity it would produce. If the wind is slow and turbulent near the ground, that would not be suitable for energy generation. The turbine operates for 363 out of 365 days a year and stopped only for two days during the year for carrying out its scheduled maintenance.

During my lectures on wind turbines, a question is generally asked: "If a country goes for the wind energy option, it would be needing hundreds of wind turbines in order to make up for the shortfall of electricity, which means that these turbines would have to be manufactured in-country as one cannot rely on the foreign manufacturers due to the long lead time involved. Moreover, one would be dependent on the manufacturers for the supply of spares for times to come."

It may be mentioned that any country can venture into the manufacture wind turbines as it wouldn't be cost-effective to import such a huge quantity of turbines from abroad. It can set up such facilities locally. But still, it would be better if such facilities are set up in any developing country as the real savings would be accrued on manpower that is extremely cheap and easily available in such countries.

Here I'd like to narrate a small incident that happened during one of the projects of which I was the overall in-charge. We wanted to manufacture a certain item in one of the factories of our country for which we had to collaborate with a French company dealing in that item. The French company handed over the software and material for eighteen parts of a certain item for manufacturing in our factory. The team visited the factory after two weeks to evaluate the expertise of the technicians deployed for that job. The French team leader was highly impressed with the expertise of our technicians. He asked his Pakistani counterpart as to what he would charge for the expertise of his (Pakistani) technicians if it was decided to manufacture the item in his country (Pakistan).

Our team leader just said off-the-cuff that he would charge $10 per hour per technician.

On hearing this, the French team leader jumped and declared that, leaving everything else aside, he would be saving $ 35 per hour per technician straightaway as a technician of such calibre was charging a minimum of $ 45 per hour in France!

I have conducted a study in this regard and as per my survey, if a technician, who's trained in the manufacture of electronics products in any developing country, is paid US $ 10 per hour in his own country, he would be the happiest man on earth! Such technicians could be employed for the manufacture of wind turbines; as the day you hire them, they would be productive. Shaheen Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan maintains a computerized record of such technicians.

Another thing that I want to highlight here is that the cost of manufacture could be brought down drastically if we were to utilize the existing in-country manufacturing facilities for the parts and components of the wind turbines. The assembly of these turbines would however be done at a central location, followed by their rigorous testing.

During a survey of the manufacturing facilities in my own country (Pakistan), I got convinced that all the parts and components of the wind turbine could be easily manufactured indigenously. The blades and hub (the item to which the blades are firmly connected) can be produced without any hassle at Aeronautical Complex, Kamra as the complex is already busy in manufacturing such items. If Kamra is unable to undertake this job due to its over-commitment, there are other reputable concerns where this job could be undertaken.

The gearbox and the two shafts are purely mechanical items, nothing special about them.

The services and expertise of Machine Tools Factory, Landhi, Karachi, the southern port city of the country, can be utilized. These gearboxes can also be manufactured at Heavy Mechanical Complex, Taxila or any other facility dealing in mechanical items.

The electrical generator installed behind the gearbox can be produced by any of the electrical concerns at Lahore, Karachi, Gujrat, Gujranwala or any other industrial city of the country. The same goes for the controller that utilizes electronics besides computer software.

Much more complicated projects are being undertaken in electromechanical-cum-electronics-cum computers concerns of the country.

As for the steel towers on which the turbines would be installed; these are being manufactured in thousands and installed on the roadside by the country's Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). These towers could be modified as per the desired specifications for use with the wind turbines. Regarding cables, already numerous manufacturing factories exist in the county.

If required, their existing capacity could be upgraded to produce cables of the required specifications that could be used to connect the wind turbines to a home, business, factory or the national grid.

This brings us to the crux of the matter and I'm saying it with conviction, based on my more than 31 years' experience in the technical field: Instead of setting up manufacturing facilities for each and every part of the wind turbine, the existing facilities of the country should be utilized to their optimum level.

Wherever required, these facilities could be upgraded and strengthened. We don't need to establish a factory for each part of the turbine. It only requires excellent management and sincerity of purpose and nothing else. By following this strategy, the cost of manufacturing would come down significantly. If we plan carefully and apply all the tools of modern management in manufacturing, there's no reason why we shouldn't make this experience a thundering success!

(Mr. Azfar A Khan has put in 31 years in technical management field. He has been involved with various projects in collaboration with international reputable firms like SAGEM of France, FIAR of Italy and CEIEC of China. He is a consultant and quality auditor. He has provided consultancy for ISO 9001: 2000 to various organizations and conducted their gap analyses as well. He has also conducted various courses on wind energy, ISO 9001: 2000, internal auditing and other standards.)