Wind Power

827 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Wind as a renewable energy source.

The Power of Wind Wind energy is a free and limitless power source. No matter where you go, there will always be wind. In the past, wind was captured and controlled through the use of sails for the powering of ships. Now that larger amounts of energy have been found, through the burning of fossil fuels, the art of sailing has faded to a recreational sport. Wind has also been used in the past to power mills, which have been used to pump water and grind grains. Though now these techniques of harnessing wind’s power are now not widely used, even though it is an effective power source. Wind is created by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface, and; therefore, is an unlimited source. The problem with fossil fuels is that they are pollutant and will eventually run out, whereas wind is clean and abundant. The technology and efficiency of windmills has improved significantly over the numerous years that they have been around. Figure 1: Windmills of the Past, Figure 2: and Present (University at Buffalo) The Power of Wind 3 Figure 3: Mills and the Power Generated (University at Buffalo) The windmill is a large vertical structure that can stand up to 500’ tall with blades as large as 250’. As the wind passes the rotor blades, the blades are forced to spin, therefore rotating the main shaft. Now, do to modern computers, windmills have been able to utilize a gearbox, improving the effectiveness of wind energy. These gears will control how fast the high-speed shaft will spin, the faster it spins in the generator, the more power that is produced. Then, the power is transported down the tower and directly into the city grid system. The Power of Wind 4 Figure 4: Structure of a Wind Turbine (University at Buffalo) Advantages and Dis... ... middle of paper ... ... (The Economist, July 26, 2007) Wind in the Future Wind energy is definitely going to be a valuable resource in the future. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has a Renewal Portfolio Standard which requires that 25% of our electricity be produced from renewable sources by 2013. This shows that the US is already converting to renewable resources such as wind and solar. The Power of Wind 6 References University at Buffalo, UB Green: Wind Energy. (2007, July) http://wings.buffalo.edu/ubgreen/energyforthefuture/technologies/wind.htm July 26, 2007. Where the Wind Blows, The Economist. Retrieved July 30, 2007, http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9539765 July 26, 2007. Trapped Wind, The Economist. Retrieved July 30,2007, http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9539806&CFID=16468099&CFTOKEN=46305302

Show More
Related

  • Case Study: The Keystone XL Pipeline

    2378 Words  | 5 Pages

    Its most known process of generating electricity would be movement of air through wind turbines. Wind power has two parts, mechanical and electrical systems. Mechanical systems are low speed and are used for mechanical tasks such as pumping water or grinding grain. Electrical systems are high speed and are used to generate electricity to power homes or schools. Many people feel that wind farms full of turbines, are aesthetically unpleasing, but wind power is a clean energy source and does not generate greenhouse gas emissions. It is a very abundant resource throughout the United States. Wind power is simple, relatively cheap, and low maintenance (Sambu). Wind power is again, free and very abundant so no matter how much we use now, we will still obtain enough in the

    Read More

  • Gu389 Task 2

    1249 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Wind Energy In Kansas

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every so often workers have to go up the tower and unwind the wire that is located in the generator at the top of the tower (Campbell). The reason they have to unwind the wire is so the wind turbine can turn into the wind to create energy. These wind turbines only rotate one way, they don’t rotate both ways, so after a while the wire turning the wind turbine tightens and the wind turbine is unable to turn anymore. So the workers have to go up to the generator of the wind turbine and unwind the wire manually (Campbell). Also, with all the wiring and gears up in the generator, workers have to go up the ladder which is found on the inside of a turbine, and check to make sure everything is alright (Gipe).

    Read More

  • Wind Power in the United States

    3334 Words  | 7 Pages

    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) .

    Read More

  • Wind Energy and its Environmental Effects

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Wind power and future of renewable energy

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    The need for alternative energy is a pressing issue for countries all over the world. One of the solutions this for problem is wind power, which has been in use for many thousands years. “About 5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians used wind to sail ships on the Nile River. Later, people built windmill to grind wheat and other grains. American colonists used windmill to pump water, and cut wood at sawmill. In 1920s, they started to use it to generate electricity.” (Renewable energy trends, 2005).

    Read More

  • Wind Energy

    2498 Words  | 5 Pages

    Wind Energy is a viable industry that has become a valuable energy source. The energy generated from wind is clean and efficient. The wind energy industry helps to ensure that electric demands are met, wildlife impact is minimal, the environment is not devastated, as well as creates new jobs during the construction of wind farms, daily operations, manufacturing components, and exporting components to foreign countries.

    Read More

  • What Are The Pros And Cons Of Wind Power

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    America 's supply of wind is abundant for energy usage, and the wind power capacity has increased by a large percentage. http://energy.gov/eere/wind/advantages-and-challenges-wind-energy Wind power can be used on a ranch or a farm, thereby helping the rural economy. And the rural areas have most of the best wind sites. Also, the owners of Wind power plants, can pay rent to the farmer or rancher for the use of their land. This could provide landowners with a lot of additional income, so it is a good investment.

    Read More

  • Advantages And Alternatives: Pros And Cons Of Alternative Energy

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Offshore Wind Power

    594 Words  | 2 Pages

    Urban area has been defined as a terrain with a population of 50,000 or a bunch of 2,500 to 50,000 people according to the US Census Bureau. Rural is later defined as anything external to that definition. Particular challenges are faced by rural areas when matter is of energy and water usage. For instance, utilities have to pay higher costs to modernize their energy groundwork and often find it stiffer to implement cleaner technologies because of the great distances between customers and crooked patchwork of reliable resources. Moreover, many system organizers and thought leaders for ground breaking energy know how live in suburban or urban areas and may discover it tougher to relate to the particular challenges of rural locations.

    Read More

  • Cause And Effect Essay On Greenhouse Effect

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Wind Turbines

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Renewable and Non Renewable Energy

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Wind Turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of the wind into kinetic energy of turbines. The turbines turn to generate electricity but they work only when there is wind. The efficiency is 30-40%. The environmental impacts are needs many large turbines to generate electricity which can be noisy and unsightly. Turbines may endanger birds and bats.

    Read More

  • Wind Energy Essay

    2268 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Wind Power And Solar Energy

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Wind Power

Open Document