EXPERIENCE AND PROSPECTS OF USING WIND PUMP PLANTS FOR DISTANT PASTURES
The issues of water supply of distant pastures in the arid steppe arid zone of the Orenburg region are considered. Attention is drawn to the prospects of using wind energy for lifting from various sources of drinking water. The designs of various types of wind-lifting installations are described, starting from the simplest structures with an unregulated radius of the crank, structures with radius control according to the static principle, designs with an astatic optimizer for loading a wind turbine, and also wind-driven pump installations. It is noted that wind pump installations with an unregulated radius of the crank, despite their relative simplicity, do not pump water in light winds, but they also have a low coefficient of energy use at operating wind speeds. In this regard, wind-driven installations with an adjustable crank radius have a wider range of operating wind speeds, and wind-driven installations with a wind turbine loading optimizer also have a maximum utilization of wind energy in the entire range of operating speeds. Wind power pumping units capable of lifting water from deep wells, as shown by the experience of their operation, do not work stably under conditions of frequent changes in wind speed, and therefore require the accumulation of electrical energy. To reduce the required capacity of electric batteries, it was proposed to carry out only partial accumulation of electric energy, and for the period of no-wind, sufficient accumulation of drinking water. Based on the review and analysis, it is recommended to use wind pump units with a load optimizer for lifting water from mine wells and shallow (up to 20 meters) wells. For wells with a depth of groundwater of 20 meters or more wind-driven pumping units with partial accumulation of electric energy and full accumulation of water in tanks of sufficient capacity for a period of no-wind.