Wind Power
Energy production causes more pollution than any other industry in the country. Currently, nearly all of the electricity produced in the United States is generated by fossil fuel plants, nuclear plants, and hydroelectric plants. The build-up in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels now threatens far-reaching climate change. In addition to global warming, conventional methods of electricity generation release the gases responsible for acid rain, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. In order to prevent further degradation of our environment and successfully transition to a sustainable society, we must change our current patterns of production and consumption.
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A gearbox behind the blades, called the nacelle, is where the power of motion turns gears to generate electricity.
Wind energy can be stored by battery, pumped-hydro equipment, and other devices. Wind turbines are also often connected to a utility, which provides back-up electricity when needed.
The location of wind turbines is as important to the generation of electricity as the design. Wind turbines function best in locations where average wind speeds are high and constant. In the US, the best locations for wind turbines or wind farms (large groups of turbines set up in rows at especially windy spots that generate megawatts of electricity) are along certain mountain passes and ridges in California and Hawaii, as well as the flat plain regions of the Midwest, (AccessScience, "Energy in the Wind").
The Pros and Cons of Wind Power:
Wind is an environmentally friendly source of energy that avoids the bad aspects of fossil fuels and nuclear power. In addition to cutting down pollution, wind turbines do not leave behind dangerous byproducts to dispose of like nuclear-generated power does. Also, while nuclear reactors and coal and gas-fired electric plants guzzle water, wind turbines do not require any water at all. At Swarthmore College alone, 200,000 kilowatt-hours of wind energy would displace conventional electric generation that would otherwise produce 140 tons of carbon dioxide, the primary source of global
For many, the mention of wind energy conjures images of giant white turbines, their blades slowly rotating, stretching off into the distance with no end in sight. This is how it has been portrayed in pictures, but this is not how wind energy truly looks. Photographs in books and magazines imply that wind energy would require these never ending fields. On the contrary, smaller fields where a limited amount of turbines create all the power needed and more for a city that is nearby, or smaller individual turbines creating enough energy for a home or neighborhood without being obtrusive, is how wind energy truly looks. Wind energy harnesses the power of the wind and converts it to other forms of energy, one of the main known forms being electricity.
Wind is a form of solar energy so when it is used it creates electricity. Electricity is a physical phenomenon associated with fixed or moving electrons and protons. The wind power development was a step forward for the use of electricity on how to generate more electricity using the wind. The accomplishments for electricity is that Senegal used 10MW for a wind farm and they gave a positive report and is now using it since the second half of 2005. (Dodge) Another thing is during the Second World War; small wind generators were used on German U-boats to recharge submarine batteries as a fuel-conserving measure. The good thing about wind power is can produce electricity at night as well as during the day and that it is plentiful, renewable, and it reduces the greenhouse gas emissions. (ERIC) The Wind Power would be cheaper to develop electricity and it is less harm to our daily lives.
The way the wind turbine works is when the wind blows, the blades on the wind mill (or turbine) are spun to run the motor that is attached to the back of the turbine. The motor transfers its energy through wires to a substation where the energy is transferred into electricity that can be useful for residential and commercial areas. The energy is then delivered through wires across the country.
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.
With the difficulty’s wind power companies are having inland, there is a big push to go offshore, and the great lakes seem to have every component for a successful wind farm. (Lots
According to Ten Kley the Missouri and the Midwest have some of the best areas for wind farms.
Another benefit to wind energy is the environmental offset it has on more local environments that traditional energy sources are destroying. Oil, gas, and coal power plants destroy local environments by polluting the water and soil and wasting tons of water. Wind energy will mitigate this problem because Wind power does not require any water and only requires a very small land footprint. This will not only save us from environmental harms from the water and soil it will also help prevent droughts and increase the water available to us. This is particularly critical when we have places like California that are running bone dry currently. Thermoelectric power plants (majority of coal, nuclear,
One of the fastest growing forms of energy in the United States is wind energy. How does wind energy work? Bergey Windpower describes it like this, the wind turbine, which is installed on top of a tall tower, collects wind energy and converts it into electricity. The turbine output is then made electrically compatible with the utility and the output is fed into the household wiring at the breaker panel (Bergey). In 2013, the United States used more energy than any year before but we used it more efficiently than before as well (Danko). 12 states are responsible for most of the wind energy used in the US last year, with Texas topping that list using using a total 36 million megawatt hours, MWh (GENI). There are some bad things that go along with wind energy though, for instance in order to get the metal that we need to make these massive wind turbines we have some serious consequences. A few repercussions from that is that we destroy vegetation, produce a lot of CO2, and we also kill birds that fly into them. Wind energy is also very expensive to start up and may not be worth it in the long run of things.
Wind farms can be found either on land or offshore in either shallow or deep water. Smaller wind turbines can be found on the roofs of houses that just produce electricity for one household. How much energy a wind turbine produces depends on its size.
“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
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.
In 1986, the National Renewable Energy Laboratories developed a wind resource assessment for the U.S. Department of Energy. The assessment consisted of surface wind data and upper-air data. The results of this project help today’s developers determine the best location for a wind farm, as shown in
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.
The most of global energy production produces from fossil fuel such as coal, oil and natural gas. The vast fossil fuels generate energy which use for many purposes for instant residential, transportation and industrial sectors. While the rate consumption of fossil fuel higher than their formation leads to oil price crisis. Another concern of fossil fuel combustion is the impact on the environment. Global warming is a significant problem which results in increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. These problems drive researchers and societies to search alternative energy such as switching to renewable energy or carbon-free energy to replace fossil fuels. For example Nakata et al., (2011:465) show ‘low-carbon society’