Essay Types of Turbines

Wind turbines have altered the way that we get our energy. Wind turbines are used to harness wind power and turn into electricity. They are comprised of usually 2 or 3 blades that are connected to a shaft that was attached to a generator which then turns into electricity. Although we now generally use it to produce electricity, wind energy was originally used in the form of windmills to do chores and housework. Because of the rapid increase in the use of wind turbines, it has added jobs and changed the way we get energy.

Water turbines are near the oldest ways to run power without using fossil fuels. The new age had turned these into hydro turbines that generally reside in dams. These machines take similar shape to wind turbines. Hidden in the base of a dam, there is a very large turbine that, in a simple explanation, when water runs through it spins. With the energy used by the spinning turbo it is turned into different power sources that are stored into power cells. Way back in time, this idea was used in power mills. Those old spinning wheels on the side of houses that rotate with water pressure. The first power plant was constructed in 1879 at Niagara Falls, Canada. In the United States the first plant was in 1882 in Wisconsin. These extravagant machines seemed marvelous, but that is no longer the outcome. The current age hydroelectricity dams are currently being shut down for harmful aspects triggered from the giant production. Causing an environmental failure to marine life and habitats all around. The possible outcomes are: changing the oxygen levels in the water that cause organisms to perish; fluctuating water levels that cause different

Wind energy, one of the oldest forms of renewable energy used by humans, is produced simply by harnessing the power of the wind with wind turbines and generating electricity. Geothermal energy is energy from the heat of the Earth, and is drawn from locations with naturally heated water like hot water reservoirs and geysers or areas deep within the Earth accessed by drilling (NREL, "Learning About Renewable Energy"). Hydroelectric power, in simplest terms, uses the power of water rushing downwards to rotate a propeller attached to a generator that in turn produces electricity (Perlman). Another form of renewable energy is biomass, such as wood, biofuel, and bio-waste, which is burned to produce energy; however, it is not clean energy.

Hydropower is a renewable resource that is clean, affordable and durable. This resource is clean due to the way you gather the energy from it. hydroelectric and coal-fired power plants produce electricity in a similar way. In both cases a power source is used to turn a propeller piece called a turbine, which then turns a metal shaft in an electric generator (the motor that produces electricity). A coal-fired power plant uses steam to turn the turbine blades; whereas a hydroelectric

Wind turbines are another common way to power things. They are usually made to power a city and many are needed for a lot of energy to be created at once. Wind turbines are made to be very tall because that the higher up you go, the windier it gets.

When the wind is blowing on wind turbines it produces electric power, Fans are old techniques used in the mills and then the water pump, but now it has developed the technology and has become used for electric power production.

Turbine: A machine that converts the energy from a moving fluid into rotary motion, and is used to produce continuous power.

easy to use energy for humanity. Wind power is from the turn of a turbine in the wind that

Combustion Turbine: Oil is burned under pressure to produce hot exhaust gases which spin a turbine to generate electricity.

One resource that is essential to produce electricity is renewable energy. Providing one’s own energy consists of utilizing solar panels, wind turbines and micro hydroelectricity. Solar panels absorb energy from the Sun to produce solar energy. A great number of people who live off the grid use solar power. Wind turbines generate electrical power from the wind and functions in the reverse manner as a fan does. Micro hydroelectricity is another source of energy, which fascinatingly “uses a source of running water, like a stream, to generate electricity” (Dunn 3). Between all three sources of renewable energy, micro hydroelectricity is the most efficient, reliable and commonly used form.

“A wind turbine is a machine for converting the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy”. (1) The inventor of the first electric wind turbine was Clevelander Charles Brush, who ran his entire Euclid Avenue mansion off of one for 20 years, which later made the cover of Scientific American in 1888. (2) Although the use of alternate energy didn't rise a great deal afterward, this event did open the eyes for many environmentalists. Wind power is only one of our several “energy source[s] whose ‘fuel’ is free and will never be exhausted” (3) with the pros and cons not completely weighed out as to whether it will be truly beneficial or not. The two main issues regarding wind turbines are the environmental effects that they have and the

In 1831, scientist Michael Farday discovered the first form of electricity. He found that when a magnet moved inside a copper coil it created what is known as an electric current. This invention is known as a turbine generator. Even today, in full sized power stations this simple invention is still used and works very effectively. These power stations create mass amounts of energy to turn the turbines. Most of the time the energy is made from the heat, for example when coal is burned. More environmentally friendly power stations use wind or flowing water to turn these turbines. This is known as renewable energy because it will not run out, unlike when oil and coal are used.(3)

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.

The type of turbine purchased depends on the wind speeds, the electricity the grid can absorb and the cost of the turbine. According to the United States International Trade Commission in 2008 there were 13 turbine manufacturers with two United States manufacturers generating 50% of the market. The chart below shows the dimensions of a turbine for three of the top manufactures.

The main cost of wind energy is in the initial investment in the construction of a wind turbine; the upkeep cost is generally marginal and lower than one cent per kWhr. In general, wind power works by having air molecules move across the turbine blades transferring kinetic energy from the molecules to the turbine, causing it to turn. As it turns, the mechanical energy can be used to perform tasks such as grinding grain. More commonly, the turbine turns and utilizes a power generator to convert the mechanical energy to electrical energy.