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Essay on the environmental impact of wind power
Essay on the environmental impact of wind power
What are the advantages and disadvantages of wind as a renewable energy type
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Geography Research Paper Rough Draft Wind energy is really a converted form of solar energy. (Halacy) The sun’s radiation heats different parts of the earth at different rates. It is mostly noticeable in the day, but it also is available when different surfaces, like water and land, absorb or reflect at different rates. This causes portions of the atmosphere to warm differently. After, hot air rises, and that reduces the atmospheric pressure at the earth’s surface, and cooler air is drawn in to replace it. The result is wind. (“Wind”) Wind energy is kinetic energy, the energy of moving molecules of gas that cause a reaction in whatever they strike. (Halacy) Some portion of that energy can be converted into other forms of mechanical force …show more content…
(Halacy) The stronger the wind, the more power we get. A wind energy system will transform the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be harnessed for practical use. Wind electric turbines generate electricity for homes and businesses and for sale to utilities. There are two kinds of wind turbines: vertical-axis, and horizontal-axis machines. Horizontal-axis turbines are most common today with the ability to have 100 kilowatts capacity and larger. (“Wind”) The ability for these turbines to generate electricity is measured in watts. Watts are very small units, so the terms kilowatt, megawatt, and gigawatt are most commonly used to describe the capacity of generating units like wind turbines or other power plants. (Halacy) Electricity production and consumption are mostly measured in kilowatt-hours. That means one kilowatt, one thousand watts, of electricity produced or consumed for one hour. The output of wind turbines depends on the size and the wind’s speed. Wind speed is a crucial element in projecting turbine performance. Generally, an annual average wind speed greater than four meters per …show more content…
(Halacy) Utility-scale wind power plants require minimum average wind speeds of six meters per second. An average U.S. household uses about 10,655 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. One megawatt of wind energy can generate from 2.4 to more than 3 million kWh annually. Therefore, a megawatt of wind generates about as much electricity as 225 to 300 households use. It is more important to note that since wind does not blow all the time, it cannot be the only power source for that many households without some form of storage system. The purpose for getting wind farms in the U.S. is to cut back on our harmful carbon dioxide emissions from out fossil fuels. To achieve this we would need 400,000 wind turbines at 2.5 megawatts each. Each wind turbine needs sixty acres around it because the towers are several hundred feet tall and they have blades up to 165 feet long. To get 400,000 turbines, we would take up 37,500 miles, all of Indiana or Maine. Along with that, we would need to clear more land for ridge-lines, facilities, access roads, and other things needed to support these. (Komanoff) Therefore, restrictions should be placed on wind farms because they are inefficient, harmful to the environment and endangered species, and
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
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.
The question of whether or not a wind farm should be built in Nantucket Sound has divided residents of Cape Cod and the Islands, as well as many politicians famous for frequenting the area. Although many on both sides agree on the positive use of wind energy, many question building the farm in a location that is famous for the pristine beauty of the area. Those opposed to the project feel that constructing the farm will deter tourism, endanger the environment, and present safety problems.
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.
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
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).
In everyday life, there are things that one needs to survive. And sustainability problems arise every day. One such problem is energy loss. The world is using up a lot of energy and new ideas need to be formed to help the rest of the world and the future of the generations that are to follow, to survive. With that the problem is that people use up energy and they do not use it efficiently. Therefore scientists are needed to find ways to deal with the sustainability problem that is arising. That is where wind turbines are used to generate this energy but the actual wind-turbines are very large, loud and they kill birds, thus new designs need to be found in order to help energy usage and to bring the size and structure of the wind turbines to a smaller scale to prevent injuries to nature and the species around it.
Wind turbines can be very useful in bringing energy into your home. They are especially useful when solar panels aren't working. They take the wind speed from oceans, lakes, dugouts, or rivers and turn it into energy. To use the wind turbines most efficiently you should set up a wind power system.
Wind power is another form of solar power. Wind isn’t only a clean fuel source, but it is one of the most inexpensive e alternative sources of energy. Just as long 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. For many people the noise from the turbines is unbearable, and that’s something else that should be taken into
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 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 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.
Wind power is one of the most sustainable ways of generating electricity as no toxic emissions are produced; it does not add to global warming and is one of the most available sources of renewable energy and theoretically it is an infinite source of energy. On sufficiently windy areas, wind turbines are one of the most economical methods of generating electricity, which makes it appealing to many individuals, governments and organizations. Due to this it is the fastest growing source of electricity in the world (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014) with a 10% increase in yearly additions installed in 2012 compared with 2011 (Global Wind Energy Council, 2012). However the proportion of energy that can be harnessed through wind power is restricted by the cost of the infrastructure needed, construction, the amount of wind that occurs and that there are only a narrow number of sites within the UK that are windy enough for the wind turbines to be worth installing.
Secondly, 15% of world electricity comes from wind. In order to have wind energy, it is important to have turbines to get the wind in order to produce electricity. Tall turbines produce more energy. The drawbacks of wind power are that it requires steady wind and its installations may interfere with TVs, cellphones, and other electrical devices. However, it is quickly built and there is no pollution or noise produced.
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.