Wind Energy
Published on Nov 25, 2015
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Wind Energy
Faith Gray
Photo by sparktography
In recent years, wind energy has become one of the most economical renewable energy technology. Today, electricity generating wind turbines employ proven and tested technology, and provide a secure and sustainable energy supply. At good, windy sites, wind energy can already successfully compete with conventional energy production. Many countries have considerable wind resources, which are still untapped.
Photo by The Nick Page
How does this work?
Wind energy begins when the sun heats air, causing a basic circulation pattern. Hot air goes upward due to its lowered density, since the atoms spread out more, and cool air fills it place by sinking. This creates an ongoing loop of air sinking, heating up, rising, sinking, etc. The energy of the moving air is harnessed by a wind turbine, which is made up of a large propeller, but is attached to a generator instead of a motor. The wind turbine may have its own power source to turn the blades into the wind, which increases the percentage of the wind energy captured. The blades turn in the wind, which turns a magnet in a coil, which creates the motion of electrons, electricity! This electricity is sent to a transformer, which increases the voltage of the electricity to prevent the electricity from weakening. By your home, or possibly outside the city limits is another transformer, which lowers the voltage to usable and less dangerous voltages. Wind turbines are dangerous for local birds though, which crash into them, lowering their population, and some say wind turbines ruin the "view". Overall though, wind turbines are a very useful way to capture energy.
Photo by mripp
How could it be used?
Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity to power homes, businesses, schools, and the like.
Photo by vaxomatic
Examples of current use
Locomotion: Sailing ships, sailplanes, ballons, ice boats, land yachting, wind surfing, kite surfing
Cooling: evaporative cooling, driving a wind tubine to keep air moving in attic spaces
Agriculture: windmills to pump water for irrigation and watering livestock
Recreation: kite flying, hang glinding, wind chime for making music, making a flag flutter,
Weather forcasting: wind vanes tell us the direction of the wind
Household chores: drying clothes on a clothes line in combination with the suns heat
Photo by Public Domain Photos
Effects on our Enviorment
Best Answer: As many wind turbines are in rural locations, they may have a small effect on animal life. Access roads for servicing would have to be built. There has also been some talk of birds striking the blades of a turbine.
The only other problem with wind turbines is well .. People. Some people complain that they are an eye sore, or produce low frequency noise, which results in headaches.
Photo by travel oriented
Is wind energy widely accepted? Why or why not?
There are lots of places that use wind energy. But, wind energy has a couple of problems: First is storage. Unless you use the wind to charge a large battery or something like that, the energy is only available when the wind is blowing. Second is infrastructure. Wind turbines take up a lot of space and you need to have them positioned in a place that gets sustained strong winds. Third is environmental concerns, from the noise they make, to the sight of hundreds of windmills on a hillside, to the threat to birds that unknowingly fly into the turbine blades.
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Photo by sonofparker
Positives of Wind Energy
1. The wind is free and with modern technology it can be captured efficiently.
2. Once the wind turbine is built the energy it produces does not cause green house gases or other pollutants.
3. Although wind turbines can be very tall each takes up only a small plot of land. This means that the land below can still be used. This is especially the case in agricultural areas as farming can still continue.
4. Many people find wind farms an interesting feature of the landscape.
Photo by jamtea
Negatives
1. The strength of the wind is not constant and it varies from zero to storm force. This means that wind turbines do not produce the same amount of electricity all the time. There will be times when they produce no electricity at all.
2. Many people feel that the countryside should be left untouched, without these large structures being built. The landscape should left in its natural form for everyone to enjoy.
3. Wind turbines are noisy. Each one can generate the same level of noise as a family car travelling at 70 mph.
4. Many people see large wind turbines as unsightly structures and not pleasant or interesting to look at. They disfigure the countryside and are generally ugly.
Photo by Green Energy Futures
