I personally do not like windy days. However, wind could be helping us more than we realize. We could be using the wind to produce energy. This is what wind turbines do and now I will be researching them to determine the physics involved with them and how they work, their history, along with some statistics from the United States. Then I will go in-depth for the wind turbines of Texas, Washington, and Kansas and compare them.
The Physics of Wind Turbines
There is physics involved in these wind turbines as they change wind into mechanical energy and then into electricity. The energy produced depends on the volume of the air, the density, and the wind speed. The mass per unit time is the mass times the density times the wind speed or m = mass, p = density, A = area, and v = wind speed; m = pAV. Because the function of the wind turbine is to transform the wind’s kinetic energy into electricity the equation for kinetic energy is needed; KE = ½ mv2 or kinetic energy equals one half the mass times the velocity squared. Then, using substitution, the power in the wind depends on the density of the air, area swept out by rotors, and the cube of the velocity or ½ pAV3. Using Betz’ law the theoretical energy model for extracting 59% of the energy is power = 16/27(½ pAV3) .
The power passing through or created by the wind power is ½ pAv3. All the power cannot be captured though, because that would mean the wind had to be still, absolutely no wind, which is impossible when the wind starts the whole process. Thus, one needs to find the maximum theoretical power output. To find the power, take the kinetic energy in through the wind turbine minus the kinetic energy out. Then using three different areas one can find the constant rate of ...
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...issued on 2009 Aug 11, cited 2010 Oct 3]. [about 5 paragraphs]. Available from: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/raising-wind-output-with-longer-blades/
American Wind Energy Association [Internet]. AWEA c 2009. U.S. Wind Energy Projects-Kansas [updated 2006 June 1, cited 2010 Oct 2]. [about 3 lines]. Available from: http://www.awea.org/projects/Projects.aspx?s=Kansas
Unrhuh C, Leiker D. [Internet]. cJ.S. S.W. Aber. Kansas wind power. [last update 2009 Nov, cited 2010 Oct 3]. [about 1 paragraph]. Available from: http://www.geospectra.net/kite/ks_wind/ks_wind.htm
McDermott M. [Internt]. TreeHugger.com:c 2010. Largest wind farm in Kansas. originally from Science and Technology [posted 2008 Oct 3, cited 2010 Oct 3]. [about 1 paragraph]. Available from: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/largest-wind-farm-kansas-built-by-italian-developer.php
2. Personally i am for wind farms and in my opinion. I think that wind energy has a great potential not only is wind energy very reliable and sustainable. it is also not as expensive as some at the other types of renewable green energy sources.
People in favor of the wind farm believe that the benefit of using wind energy is more important than anything the Sound currently offers. In perfect weather conditions the farm will supply three-quarters...
How often do you think of where you get your electricity? How our cars are able to work, and how our houses are heated in the wintertime to keep us warm? There are many different types of renewable energy, but how often do we use them? Wind energy is probably Kansans best bet of creating the energy we need to prosper. By looking at the pros of renewable energy sources, the pros of wind energy in Kansas, and the efficiency of vertical axis wind turbines to the horizontal axis, we’ll discover this together.
These include the history of windmills and their role concerning the survival in the immense plains that range from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River. The rise of the economic condition of those living around the wind farms along with the surge of investments from energy companies. Finally, the promising data relating to the amount of energy produced, and the consequences they will have on the environment. In the later and longer part of the article, the possible negative results or wind farms are brought up. Primarily, the points against wind farms have to do with the conservation of wildlife. This is separated into two sections, the first addresses the dangers wind turbines present to birds, the other on the dangers presented to bats.
Wind energy can play a critical role in saving our planet from the negative effects of energy powered by fossil fuels. Wind turbines work effectively at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. For instance, a single utility scale wind turbine can prevent the emission of 5,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere a year by displacing the power generated by fossil fuels. Also, a single 750-kilowatt turbine can produce roughly 2 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Turbines of this nature are the ones now being used in power plants around the world (Wind Energy Weekly). One good example is California. Their wind power plants displace 4.5 billion pounds of CO2 each year with the 3 billion kilowatt hours of energy they produce. To put it into an environmental perspective, that is as much CO2 as could be absorbed by a forest covering 1100 square miles (Wind Energy Weekly). Although wind energy has little to no impact on the environment when it comes to air pollution or greenhouse gases, there are other environmental concerns surrounding this form of energy production. Some of the concerns about wind energy include visual impacts, birds and other living resources, lightning and noise (Wind Energy Development).
Reading up information and searching for clues (which were not extremely easy), turns out to have broadened my knowledge on Nature and Biomimicry itself and that there are so many people already using wind turbines to harvest the winds energy and know how the world can be saved. Therefore I have come to the conclusion and have seen that my hypothesis has been proven right.
Just as long as wind continues to blow and the sun shines, then wind power can produce energy to send to many different areas. There aren’t many locations that have continuous wind. And because of that, the widespread development of wind power isn’t as great as it could be. Although there are more advantages than disadvantages when it comes to this energy source, the disadvantages should be taken just as seriously. Wind power can harm animals, there was a study that stated birds were coming in contact with turbines and dying.
Wind is called a renewable energy source because wind will continually be produced as long as the sun shines on the earth. The sun’s contribution to wind energy deals with converting air into heat or cool wind. Wind is produced by the irregular heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. On land, the warm air spreads and goes up in the sky, in the water, heavier and cooler air moves in to take the warm air’s place, thus providing local winds. This power source should be used more often in the United States for its safer standards regarding the environment and finance.
Winds are caused by the irregular heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the variations of the earth's surface, and rotation of the earth. This wind flow, or kinetic energy, when "harvested" by modern wind turbines, can be used to generate electricity. There is an abundance of wind to meet our needs, “the potential of [the total] wind power [in the world] is. 20 times more than what the entire human population needs” (Maehlum). Currently, wind power is one of the lowest-priced renewable energy technologies available, costing between four and six cents per kilowatt-hour, depending upon the wind resource.
"Wind and Water Power Program: Hydropower Resource Potential." EERE: EERE Server Maintenance. U.S. Department of Energy, 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. .
Diandong, R. (2010). Effects of Global Warming on Wind Energy Availability. Journal of Renewable & Sustainable Energy, 2(5), 052301.
Wind turbines are a great source of energy around the world. Wind turbines produce wind energy that can be used to power our homes. Wind turbines convert kinetic energy into mechanical power. Then this mechanical power gets generated into electricity. Wind turbines make energy by the wind turning the large blades, which spin a shaft that is connected to the large blades, which then operates the generator making electricity.
The wind is an incredibly valuable renewable energy source and is in the forefront of renewable energy developments. It is used to convert wind energy into energy that can be harnessed and used via a variety of methods, including; wind turbines, windmills, sails and windpumps. For a renewable energy source, however, it is wind turbines that are used to generate electricity (see figure 1). Wind power has been used for this since the end of the nineteenth century, after Professor James Blyth of the Royal College of Science and Technology first attempted it (Boyle, 2012). However, It wasn’t until the 1980s that using wind power technology was sufficient enough to experience a rapid growth of the technology.
Wind is a form of solar energy. The term wind energy describes the process by which the wind is used to generate electricity or mechanical power. Wind turbines convert mechanical energy from the wind into electrical power. Wind turbines usually have three main parts. There are blades that connect to a central hub, a box behind the blades that contains the generator, and a long stem that connects to the ground. The way how it works is that the wind turns the blades, which spins a shaft that connects to a generator making electricity. After the electricity is produced it is sent through transmission lines to a substation that is sent to business and homes. For the sake of our planet, we must promote a renewable energy economy. Wind power can be a foundation of that sustainable energy future because it provides jobs in states that are building wind turbines, is a renewable energy source, and does not damage our environment. The environment will not be damaged by the pollution, the natural resources will not be used up, and there won’t be generating of hazardous wastes. Welcoming wind energy today will lay the foundation for a healthy tomorrow that will affect everyone in the United States. There are obstacles and challenges that will make it more difficult, but the environmental impact is well worth it to invest more money into wind energy.
Deal, W. (n.d.). Wind power: An emerging energy resource.Technology & Engineering Teacher, 70(1), 9-15. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=a747d6c4-9f9f-4066-be3e-d7d26a427ef2@sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=114&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCxjcGlkJmN1c3RpZD1zc2Mmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU=