Renewable Energy: Wind Power

Wind Power is the use of our natural wind that converts it into mechanical energy which eventually becomes electricity. You may not realize this, but we used wind power that dated centuries ago. It pumped water, ground grain, and plenty of other things. (Resources, awea.org)

Ever since recorded history, people had the ability to use wind as a source of energy. Wind power was been used to propel boats along rivers as early as 5000 B.C. At 200 B.C., China used windmills to pump water, while in Persia and the Middle East used vertical-axis windmills with woven reed sails were grinding grain. (history-wind-energy, energy.gov) Eventually, discoveries for wind energy became vast. Plethora of ideas developed. During the 11th century, the Middle Easterners used the windmills for food production. Which then allowed nomads, merchants, and crusaders to further bring back the idea back to Europe. The Dutch further improved the windmill by making it for draining lakes and marshes in rivers. Settlers took this advanced technology to the New World, and began using the windmills to pump water for farms and ranches and much more. Then eventually, to generate electricity, for homes and industries and soon to become, wind turbines.

In order to calculate such wind turbines, it depends on three main variables: the size of the turbine, the speed of the wind, and the efficiency of the turbine as well as the generator. The formula in order to calculate the wind power is: P=½ρAV³.

P = power in watts. ρ = The air density (1.2kg/m³ at sea level and 20° C)

A = The swept area of the turbine blades (m² square meters)

V = wind speed (meters per second) (Wind Turbine Kits and Supplies, windgenkits.com)

Let’s test this equation out. Let’s say we have a pretty n...

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...rgy. Texas is ranked 1st in state for the most MW (megawatts) installed, having over 7,772 turbines alone.

Did you know that China has the largest wind market size of any country? It was ranked 1 out of all the countries. China had around 67.7 gigawatts of wind capacity from its enormous installations. The U.S. was behind China, ranking at 2nd for having 60 gigawatts total wind power capacity.

Did you also know that Wind Power is actually Solar Power? Crazy right? The sun is also responsible for what we call “Wind Power.” (10 Incredible Wind Power Facts, science.howstuffworks.com)

You expect that these giant turbines would make loud noises? Well it’s totally the opposite. It’s actually surprisingly quiet. The noise impacts are regulated by municipalities as well as the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). (Wind Energy: Facts, mass.gov)