Wind power and future of renewable energy
Abstract:
Due to the development of technology around the world, the need of energy is increasing every year. But, what would be the best way to produce energy without polluting the air, or depleting fossil fuels? Renewable energy would also be the best solution for this problem. Of the available sources of renewable energy, wind power shows much promise. Wind turbines have been used through many generations, and the technology continues to develop. Wind Energy provides a feasible energy alternative to traditional fossil fuels.
Introduction:
The need for alternative energy is a pressing issue for countries all over the world. One of the solutions this for problem is wind power, which has been
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This is because they can generate electricity in low wind speed. On the other hand, “vertical axes are suited well to the turbulent wind found in urban areas, and they don’t make a lot of noise while turning. But they require high wind speed wind to start rotation.”(Scottish executive, 2007) wind power 4
As we can see, many countries have used wind power to generate electricity, and the results that they have are very good. “By 2001, wind turbines around the globe were generating 30 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity. About one-fifth of that was being produced in North America. By 2002, worldwide wind generating capacity was expected to exceed 25,000 MW. The European Wind Energy Association hopes to install 40,000 MW by the year 2010, which would be enough to supply electricity to about 50 million people.” (Wind Power in View, 2002). The United States has installed more new wind energy capacity than any other country in the world in 2005. (Wind energy – 2005)
Advantages and Disadvantages
Even though wind power has been used for a long time, it is not 100% efficient. The technology generates much noise while the turbines rotate, which may affect your television signal. Wind Power has both advantages and disadvantages. First, the wind is made because heat from the sun to our atmosphere is uneven; so, some paths become warmer than others. These warm patches of air rise and create wind. (Wind power- energy from the air). Wind is the product of the sun’s
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.
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.
First, wind power is one alternative energy source that America should pursue. Wind power is one of most noticeable of the main alternatives. The power of wind is captured using tall wind turbines or windmills. These turbines
One of the fastest growing energy sources in the world, wind power is a globally advantageous renewable resource.
Imagine getting free electricity, or electrical company’s paying you instead of you paying them, today’s windmills just might make this possible. Windmills dating back as far as the 1400’s have been used to turn wind into useable energy for grinding and pumping. Today’s windmills turn turbines to make electricity. They are popping up all over the United States, but the United States is way behind other countries in the development of wind energy. Countries like Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom are investing billions of dollars into wind energy, including off shore wind farms. Germany is holding the top spot in the production of wind-generated electricity. Denmark, being one of the smaller countries in Europe, produces twenty percent
Have you ever driven down highway 30 in west central Iowa at night, looked out the window and seen hundreds of red flashing lights? How about driving through north Lincoln and seeing two enormous white turbines spinning in the wind? If you did not know previously, the red flashing lights at night and white turbines are windmills used for generating power. These windmills can produce 2.5 to 3 megawatts of electricity daily. Wind power can be easily used to generate electric for both personal and public use. Looking at the benefits of wind power over fossil fuels, uses of wind power for personal and public use, and the effects of global warming on wind power, you can decide if using wind energy is a good option or not.
One of the great parts about wind energy is that it has a large amount of positives to the environment and hardly any negative effects. Because wind energy uses the wind for the energy there is no emissions generated from the energy produced. It is estimated that the use of one million kWh of wind power can save around 600 tons of carbon dioxide emissions (Saidur, Rahim, Islam, & Solangi, 2011). Therefore, it is easy to see that the widespread use of wind power can help mitigate climate change. This is critical to help stop climate change and the United States is uniquely positioned to be the leader in curbing climate. When the United States starts heavily investing in alternative energy sources other countries will likely follow suit, which will be key to reducing global emissions.
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.
Currently, wind power supplies just under 2% of global power, and has the potential to increase to 12-18% by 2020. It is the fastest growing power source, growing 25% each year.
The lab tested various properties associated with wind turbines while measuring the effect on the power. It was shown that wind turbines can supply a significant amount of energy and power. This wind energy has an important application with wind turbines across windy areas of the United States. These turbines can provide power as a replacement for nonrenewable resources. Although wind energy might not be the most vital form of energy currently, it could become a very important alternate energy source in the near future. Wind turbines can be placed all across the United States wherever there is a strong amount of wind. When talking about implementing wind energy there are a lot of things to think about.
“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
It drops almost 90 percent. (Brown 2005) (See Figure 2) However, the U.S was still behind Europe, because of some political and financial issues. Many European countries had started on building windmill projects. Europe comprised two-thirds of the global use of wind electricity-generating capacity. (Brown 2005). The leading countries that use wind power are Germany, Spain, USA, India and Demark. In addition, other countries are now started to utilize wind energy. Asia’s growth is up to 7000KW in 2005. (Florence 2006).
Wind Energy is a viable industry that has become a valuable energy source. The energy generated from wind is clean and efficient. The wind energy industry helps to ensure that electric demands are met, wildlife impact is minimal, the environment is not devastated, as well as creates new jobs during the construction of wind farms, daily operations, manufacturing components, and exporting components to foreign countries.
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 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.