In recent years, Europe has been faced with the problem of continuous urbanization and excessive energy consumption, closing in on exhaustion of available energy resources. In view of this, the notions of sustainability and resilience have become paramount in resource management and policy-making. Within such a context, renewable energies play a key role in the global energy pool. Amongst these, wind energy production accounts for almost half (43%) of the global generating capacity [1]. Nonetheless, despite its obvious merits, the “Big Wind industry” comes with a number of potential shortcomings largely relating to the short life-span of these components and the lack of efficient operation and maintenance (Ο&Μ) planning schemes. The latter may in fact rise up to 25-30% of the total levelized cost per kWh produced over the lifetime of a wind turbine (WT) or 75-90% of the investment costs [2].
The service life of a wind turbine (WT) is set at approximately 20 years with very few turbines having in fact already reached their life expectancy. This relative infancy translates into a lack of experience on the appropriate maintenance and optimal operation planning of these facilities. Nonetheless, unlike conventional engineering systems, wind turbines are subject to significant levels of continuous cyclic loading, rendering the system prone to fatigue. As a result of the strenuous conditions they are subjected to, wind turbine components are designed to sustain a rather short life-span of 20 years, so as to ensure the system is not left standing idle due to early failure of one sub-component. In reality, the significant question of when repair or substitution of components might be in fact preferable to complete replacement still remai...
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...y, the remaining challenge to be addressed is demonstrating the benefits of the long term monitoring of such systems. The second pillar of the suggested framework is a methodology for translating the value of monitoring information into quantifiable terms, delivering a reliability framework for LCA of WTs, able to address the following issues, as identified in [4]:
1. Automate inspection and maintenance work.
2. Increase safety by minimizing the risk of accidents, several of which have been reported as fatal.
3. Decrease excessive O&M costs, which are disproportionally increasing towards the advanced life stage of a WT (by minimizing down time, lowering the frequency of sudden breakdowns and associated maintenance and logistic costs, providing reliable power generation). Figure 2 illustrates the proposed scheme, inspired from the work of Frangopol et al. (2001) [9].
...ility of the experimental method is somewhat limited in that some outcomes cannot generalize into real world outcomes. The design method used was also expensive, since there are several pieces of equipment and tools that were required to complete the study. Further, the reliability of the study is limited in that it failed to identify and analyze the relative import of other factors that could lead to fatal accidents, such as localized infrastructure deficiencies. (DAlessio, Stolzenberg and Terry, Clinton, 1999).
Several measures have been put in place to try and control safety concerns. The leading areas of concern is poor working conditions for drivers, driver exhaustion, hour of service, drivers shortages, fuels prices, driver
Nijhuis presents a series of detailed explanations that argue in favor of and against the development of wind farms. In the first portion of “Selling the Wind”, the
When it comes to safety most people think they are safe, and they have a true understanding on how to work safe. Human nature prevents us from harming ourselves. Our instincts help protect us from harm. Yet everyday there are injuries and deaths across the world due to being unsafe. What causes people to work unsafe is one of the main challenges that face all Safety Managers across the world.
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).
United States International Trade Commission (2009, June). Wind Turbine Industry and Trade Report. Retrieved, August 12, 2011 from http://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/ITS-2.pdf
Vattenfall is a Swedish state owned energy company with 35,000 employees, with over 17,000 working in Germany. Together it produces heat and electricity from six energy sources: wind, hydro, biomass, nuclear, coal and gas. Throughout much of Europe, Vattenfall, has become a familiar name amongst many of the continents consumers. Vattenfall, which is Swedish for ‘waterfall’, has expanded into many countries including Finland, France, Germany, Poland, Holland and Britain, since 1992. Because of this ambitious expansion program, it has become one of the largest wind power operators in Britain and the third largest electricity producer in Germany. Industry insiders were expecting the company to join in Germany’s EON and France’s EDF as one of Europe’s top three electricity producers.
The technological advancement of wind mills to wind turbines has been largely contributed from science. This new technology has cause an uproar between two fractions. One fraction side goes against wind turbines as it has resulted in an increased of birds and bath mortality and has negative impacts to the human health (The Wind Resistance of Ontario, Unknown). The other fraction supports the use of wind turbines as it is a clean and renewable source of energy and it can reduce carbon emissions (Windfact, 2013). The use of scientific research da...
In the debate of traditional energy vs. renewable energy the clear winner is renewable energy. Renewable energy is vastly superior over traditional energy because it decreases dependence on foreign resources, produces no emissions, and is not limited in quantity. Opponents of renewable energy are likely to argue that this is not the case and that instead, traditional energy is better because it creates job growth, is reliable during all hours and climates, and comes with a lower cost. These advantages however are either misconstrued or hardly outweigh the long-term positive benefits of renewable energy.
(Transition: Let’s start by looking at the first point is prevent death when an accident occurs)
Energy can be put into two broad categories Renewable energy and none renewable energy. Renewable energy sources can be reused continually as they are abundantly found in nature. All of them are non-polluting but devices used to collect the energy may impact the environment adversely. They are free but producing storage equipment or converting them into another form of energy may be costly.
I have discussed major safety topics including road and work safety and their effect in our daily living. We can’t evade from danger. The importance is that we learn to control and avoid factors that can cause us harm, injury or loss. This starts by making smart decisions. We should continue to teach our children to detect unsafe situations, places, things, and elements at an early age so that they practice safety habits throughout their life. In conclusion, is better to be safe than sorry.
As the wind energy industry continues to grow, it will provide many job opportunities for workers and job seekers. These careers will extend beyond just the wind farm. To build and operate a wind turbine, it will take the efforts of many workers. The workers will be in factories and offices. There are construction employees, electricians, engineers, operators, gearbox makers and bla...
Global warming is an extremely important and troubling aspect of the world’s current situation. This is due to the fact that the majority of the world’s energy production is from non-renewable energy sources, which are energy sources that either can not be naturally replenished or require thousands of years to be restored. Based on our current energy usage growth rates, there are an estimated 100 years left before our natural resource reserves are exhausted. (Non Renewable Natural Resources: How Much Is Left, Environmental Thinker) China alone consumes nearly as much coal as the combined usage of coal from the rest of the world. (US Energy Information Administration, China Consumes Nearly as Much Coal as the Rest of the World Combined) There is visible evidence of this happening with the increasing pollution levels. Carbon Dioxide and Methane pollution levels in the world reached a record high in 2012 and are 260% higher than the pre-industrial levels. (UN: CO2 Pollution Levels at a Record High, John Heilprin) Converting our world into a more renewable energy dependent society is the most advantageous and likely method for preserving our dwindling fossil fuel supply while also protecting the world that we call home.
Using fossil fuels such as coal and oil is inefficient, dangerous, and otherwise a process that is known to eventually fail as a long lasting energy source. Yet, there is hope for the future of energy, this new hope has many shapes and forms, but requires a chance to be fully implemented in our everyday life. Such energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro power are the key to our future. These energy sources are proven to be long lasting, safe, more reliable, and the next innovation. In short, all Americans should switch to renewable energy, resulting in a safer and more efficient world.