Executive summary:
This report provides an overview on wind energy. The advantages of off shore wind power over onshore wind power. It also compares the cost of offshore wind farms over other renewable energy sources. The amount of greenhouse gases produced by off shore wind is low compared to coal fired power stations.
The global overview suggests that wind power deployment is increasing over the year with Europe being the highest wind power generator.
London array was taken as a case study where there was significant impact on the bird community, which can be reduced by decreasing the area of wind farm and stopping its construction during the migratory period. London array are fitted with navigational lights to warn ships and aircrafts.
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Wind power is important due to its long term strategy, since it uses natural energy and inexhaustible power. The location of wind energy is classified in two types: Off shore and on shore wind energy. Off shore wind power refers to the installation and production of wind farms on water bodies such as seas and oceans. Onshore wind power refers to wind energy generated on land.
The key features of wind energy are:
• Wind energy do not require any active intervention, such as mining, extraction or burning for their construction and operation
• Energy generated by wind is clean, environmentally friendly which does not release hydrocarbons or release any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (Spiropoulou et al.).
• Uses comparatively less land compared to conventional sources of energy
Worldwide there is over two hundred thousand wind turbines installed which includes both on shore and offshore wind turbines. Europe is the global leader in wind production followed by china, Canada, Australia and US.
Offshore and Onshore wind Energy
Offshore Wind Energy is large and is faced by fewer obstacles to planning of site than onshore wind turbines. Onshore wind farms are usually economical compared to offshore wind farms in terms of installation, construction and maintenance. Offshore wind energy has comparatively less land price.
Advantages of offshore wind energy are:
• They require less land as compared to onshore wind farms and thus
Wind energy is clean and renewable. The wind is never going to stop blowing; therefore, there will always be enough to keep the turbines going. While some areas may have more wind than others, there is always wind. Wind turbines do not produce any pollution or waste, making them one of the cleanest energy sources on the planet. However, environmentalists are concerned that with the increase of wind turbines, bird populations with decrease because they are getting hit by the wind turbines and dying. Because of the huge poles in the ground, turbines can cause erosion and disrupt wildlife habitats. Wind turbines are also huge; at 30 meters (100 feet) above the ground, with large spinning blades, they can be a bit of an eyesore. They are also loud and have a deep buffeting sound. But the idea is that the large wind farms will be located in the middle of nowhere so they don’t cause an issue in suburban areas. Small wind turbines may be located in backyards to feed houses directly, but these would be so small that they wouldn’t bother any
• According to the World Energy Council, the global installed capacity of offshore wind capacity reached around 12,107 MW by the end of 2015, with 2,739 turbines across 73 offshore wind farms in 15 countries. It further says that in 2016, more than 92% (10,936 MW) of all offshore wind installations are in European waters but that governments outside of Europe had set ambitious targets for offshore wind, and that development had started to take off in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US.
In a growing world, electricity production is becoming a problem due to coal fired electrical plants releasing millions of gallons of greenhouse gases, ecological problems with pollution in water, and health risks concerning workers and people living nearby. But with new technology and advances in renewable energy sources, wind energy is becoming one of the most popular energy sources for many states.
One of the fastest growing energy sources in the world, wind power is a globally advantageous renewable resource.
Everyone can agree climate change is real but not everyone agrees whether it is an issue that needs solving. One side of the argument states that the rate of climate change is worrying and that this is caused by the mass burning of fossil fuels. Whatever a person 's stance on the topic is they both agree that mass use of fossil fuels are unsustainable. Research into renewable energy sources has been done at exponential rates every year. This research has led to the argument of which renewable source is the most effective. Two lead candidates for this spot is Wind and Hydropower. Each one of these sources has trade-offs when it comes to reliability, energy output, and environmental impact but both energy sources would work better together.
Today, we have what is known as wind turbines. These large structures are used as a renewable and free energy source. The way a wind turbine works is very simple. As the wind blows, it moves the blades, which then turns a generator and makes electricity. These wind turbines are only a small source of energy because they work about 65 to 90 percent of the time. When many wind turbines are placed together in one area, it is known as a wind farm. The majority of wind farms are found in Texas and California. Wind farms are hoped to be spread all across the country to become a more prominent source of energy that is not only renewable, but also free.
Wind turbines can be placed on land or water, and can be placed at different altitudes, making the search for wind farm locations easy. Wind farms can be placed on traditional farms as well.
Offshore wind power has become a need of the hour in renewable energy production due to the rising prices of oil and continually increasing demand for a separate energy sector. Offshore wind has the prospective to deliver at least four times the current U.S. demand of energy, as per mentioned by the Global Wind Energy Council. However, there are many challenges and advantages that are significant for us to comprehend.
We are facing an energy crisis on Earth. Burning fossil fuels are harming the atmosphere; this global warming and affects produces chemicals that hurt our body. People are starting to think about using alternative energy. Wind power would be our first choice, because it’s clean, inexhaustible and renewable. Today, wind power is mainly used in Europe. We believed wind power would be the main source of alternative energy for world use.
What makes any form of electrical generation efficient? Is it the cost per energy unit, or the acreage needed per produced energy unit, or the impact/s on the climate? The reality is all of those factors and many more go into it – and there are varying degrees of “yes” and “no” depending on which factors the analysis is based upon. Considering the finite reality of natural resources, fossil-fuel produced electricity will never be a permanent solution to electricity needs and shortages - but can wind power play a real role in replacing those fossil-fuel based power plants? The solution this paper will suggest is an educated effort at the best and most practical (and efficient) uses for wind power.
Fossil fuels are having great impacts toward nature such as global warming and greenhouse effect. Plus, the depletion of it contributes to the rising price of petroleum. Therefore, wind power rise as it is a source of clean, non-polluting renewable energy (Nash, 2008). This type of energy generation provides us with loads of benefits environmentally and economically.
Wind turbines offer many positive advantages. They boost the economy, on a local and national level. Wind power is a clean energy source, and unlike dirty fossil fuels. Wind power helps protect our planet by reducing pollution and lowering the amount of harmful emissions that contribute to global warming. Wind is completely renewable, and is a domestic source which will decrease our dependence on other countries.
As another renewable energy widely used, wind power, which is now mainly used for generating electricity today, has been used for thousands of years powering human activities. Unlike solar energy previously mentioned, wind is caused by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun so that wind energy is an indirect form of solar energy (Volker, 2005). Wind is called a renewable energy source owing to the infinite sun shines.
Wind power is a clean and renewable energy that, while at times unreliable, has very low upkeep cost and is growing at a rapid rate. While there is currently enough wind power to provide many times our current energy need, it is unfeasible in reality. Wind power utilizes the kinetic energy of air and uses it to power a generator to produce electricity. Even though dependence on wind power is impossible, it still can provide a strong, clean, quantity of power to supplement current energy production.
Wind ranches comprises of a few wind turbines joined with electric force transmission network.onshore wind homesteads are relatively less expensive wellspring of power than the fossil powers plants.many organizations purchase huge measure of power from these coastal wind farms.offshore wind is substantially all the more enduring and solid however the expense of setting up the wind ranches is a great deal more higher than that of inland wind ranches.