Wind Energy Facts.doc

8/14/2019 Wind Energy Facts.doc

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Wind Energy

Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area

of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unevenly heats

the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill

the void. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. And as long as

the wind blows, people will harness it to power their lives.

Ancient mariners used sails to capture the wind and explore theworld. Farmers once used windmills to grind their grains and pump

water. Today, more and more people are using wind turbines to wring

electricity from the breee. !ver the past decade, wind turbine use

has increased at more than "# percent a year. $till, it only provides a

small fraction of the world%s energy.


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&ost wind energy comes from turbines that can be as tall as a "'(

story building and have three "''(foot(long )*'(meter(long+ blades.

These contraptions loo lie giant airplane propellers on a stic. The

wind spins the blades, which turn a shaft connected to a generator

that produces electricity. !ther turbines wor the same way, but the

turbine is on a vertical axis and the blades loo lie a giant eggbeater.

The biggest wind turbines generate enough electricity to supply about

*'' -.$. homes. Wind farms have tens and sometimes hundreds of

these turbines lined up together in particularly windy spots, lie along

a ridge. $maller turbines erected in a bacyard can produce enough

electricity for a single home or small business.

Wind Energy & the Environment

Wind: A Clean Source of Energy

Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or

water pollution. The use of wind for energy has fewer environmental

impacts than using many other energy sources. Wind turbines )oftencalled windmills+ do not release emissions that pollute the air or water

)with rare exceptions+, and they do not reuire water for cooling.

They may also reduce the amount of electricity generated from fossil

fuels and therefore reduce the amount of air pollution, carbon dioxide

emissions, and water use of fossil fuel power plants.

And since the wind is free, operational costs are nearly ero once aturbine is erected. &ass production and technology advances are

maing turbines cheaper, and many governments offer tax incentives

to spur wind(energy development.

A wind turbine has a small physical footprint relative to the amount of

electricity it can produce. &any wind pro/ects, sometimes called wind


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farms, are located on farm, graing, and forest land. The extra

income from the turbines may allow farmers and ranchers to stay in

business and eep their property from being developed for other

uses. For example, wind power pro/ects have been proposed as

alternatives to mountain top removal coal mining pro/ects in the

Appalachian mountains of the -.$. !ff(shore wind turbines on laesor the ocean may have smaller environmental impacts than turbines on

land.

Drawbacks of Wind Turbines

Wind turbines do have negative impacts on the environment, but the

negative impacts have to be balanced with our need for electricityand the overall lower environmental impact of using wind for energy

relative to other sources of energy to mae electricity.

&odern wind turbines are very large machines, and some people do not

lie their visual impact on the landscape. A few wind turbines have

caught on fire, and some have leaed lubricating fluids, though this is

relatively rare. $ome people do not lie the sound that wind turbine

blades mae. $ome types of wind turbines and wind pro/ects cause

bird and bat deaths. These deaths may contribute to declines in

species that are also being affected by other human(related impacts.

&any birds are illed from collisions with vehicles and buildings, by

house cats and hunters, and by pesticides. Their natural habitats may

be altered or destroyed by human development and by the changes in

the climate that most scientists believe are caused by greenhousegases emissions from human activities )which wind energy use can help

reduce+. The wind energy industry and the -.$. government are

researching ways to reduce the impact of wind turbines on birds and

bats.


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&ost wind power pro/ects on land also reuire service roads that add

to their physical impact on the environment. &aing the metals and

other materials in wind turbines and the concrete for their

foundations reuires the use of energy, which may be from fossil

fuels. $ome studies have shown that wind turbines produce much

more clean electricity over their operating life than the euivalentamount of energy used to mae and install them.

0evertheless, the wind energy industry is booming. 1lobally,

generation more than uadrupled between "''' and "''*. At the end

of last year, global capacity was more than 2',''' megawatts. In the

energy(hungry -nited $tates, a single megawatt is enough electricity

to power about "#' homes. 1ermany has the most installed windenergy capacity, followed by $pain, the -nited $tates, India, and

3enmar. 3evelopment is also fast growing in France and 4hina.

Industry experts predict that if this pace of growth continues, by

"'#' the answer to one third of the world%s electricity needs will be

found blowing in the wind.


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Wind Energy Facts

Wind power involves turning energy from the wind into other

forms of useful energy.

Wind power can be harnessed in a number of different ways. For

example, windmills create mechanical energy, sails move boatsand wind turbines generate electricity.

Windmills have been around for a long time, they were used in

5ersia )Iran+ as far bac as "'' 6.4.

Wind energy is clean and renewable.

7arge groups of wind turbines are called wind farms.

Around 8' different countries use wind power to generate

electricity commercially )as of "''9+.

In :992 wind power generated only '.:; of the world


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Wind turbines can even be installed offshore on floating

structures, sending the electricity generated bac to land with

the help of undersea cables.

Wave Energy

Wave energyis the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and

the capture of that energy to do useful wor > for example,electricity generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water

)into reservoirs+. &achinery able to exploit wave power is generally

nown as a wave energy converter)WE4+.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_surface_wavehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_workhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_generationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_desalinationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_surface_wavehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_workhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_generationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_desalinationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump


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In "''8, the first experimental wave farmwas opened in 5ortugal, at

the Agu?adoura Wave 5ar. The ma/or competitor of wave power is

offshore wind power.

How Does Wave Power Work?

6elieve it or not, the energy trapped in ocean waves can be called a

form of solar energy. Well, you now that energy can


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this is a renewable resource that will never run out lie fossil fuels

will.

Wave energy is also cheap. After the wave converter devices are put

in place, it costs very little to eep them woring and to capture the

energy. This means that the electricity made from wave energy won


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danger of collisions, which would cause the ship


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Tidal Energy

Tidal Energy is the energy produced from the tidal power, which is

nothing else than the power of a tide. Tidal 5ower is more predictable

than the other two ma/or renewable energy sources, solar powerandwind power.

Facts about Tides, te sources of Tidal Energy


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Tides are simply the rise and fall of water level and are caused by

combination of two forces the gravitational force of either the sun

or the moon and by the rotation of the Earth.

There are places which experience two not /ust one high tides and an

eual number of low tides. The rise and fall of water levels variesfrom place to place but it is measured and it is nown at the specific

place and it is nown at the tidal range!A tidal range of :' feet )=

meters+ is enough to enable us to produce tidal energy which will be

economically viable.

"s Tidal Power #enewable?

@es Tidal power is renewablebecause tides will continue to happen as

long as the sun and the moon exist and as long as the Earth turnsB

Water is not used at all in this processC it /ust rises and falls so tides

will continue to ebb and flow.

There are basically = ways to capture the power of the tide and

convert it into useful tidal energy. These are the Tidal Barrages,

Tidal Fences and Tidal Turbines!

Tidal Barrages

A barrage is a dam

which is built along a

watercourse so as to

increase the depth of

the water. 6arrages

are built on inlets on

the seashore. A

barrage has gates

which allow the water

to come in at the
http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/category/renewable-energy-2/water-energy-renewable-energy-2/ocean-energy-water-energy-renewable-energy-2/tidal-energy-ocean-energy-water-energy-renewable-energy-2/http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/category/renewable-energy-2/water-energy-renewable-energy-2/ocean-energy-water-energy-renewable-energy-2/tidal-energy-ocean-energy-water-energy-renewable-energy-2/


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instance of a high tide. The water is trapped in the barrage and when

the water level on the outside of the barrage lowers the power of the

outgoing tide is used to turn the generator and produce electricity.

The outgoing tide is also nown as ebb. &odern generation systems

used at barrages produce electricity both directions, that is, in the

inflow and outflow of water.

Tidal Fences

Tidal Fences are another way to capture the power of the tide and

convert it into useful energy. In this case vertical axis turbines are

mounted in the fences which are used to fence the water. The water

is forced to pass through the turbine and thus turn the turbine the

power of which produces electricity. While tidal barrages are built at

inlets, tidal fences are built in areas where there are channels of

water.

Tidal Turbines

Tidal turbines operate with the same philosophy as the wind turbines

and they are basically water turbines which are located under the

water at locations where there is strong tidal flow. This way when the

water flows, it turns the turbine which produces electricity.

As with any time of power, Tidal power has both advantagesand disadvantages.

Tidal Power $dvantages

$ome of the advantages of Tidal power are

It is cheap to produce

Tides are predictable thus tidal power is predictable too
http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/tidal-energy-in-a-nutshell/http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/tidal-energy-in-a-nutshell/http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/tidal-energy-in-a-nutshell/http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/tidal-energy-in-a-nutshell/


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6eing predictable it maes it very reliable and thus we can plan

its used

It does not produce any waste or pollution

Tidal Power Disadvantages

As with every form of energy, Tidal Energy has some disadvantages

0ot many sites in the world are suitable for Tidal Energy.

There is high initial cost, especially in the case of 6arrages

It only produces energy for about :' hours, the period that the

tide lasts

It may cause disruption of the animal and plant life in the area

where the plants are built

%o&e &ore Tidal Energy Facts

In addition to all the Tidal Energy facts given you may find some more

facts below

Although there is a high initial cost in setting up a tidal energy

plant, its operational cost is very low because there is no need

for staffing it. The tides do their wor unattended It is hard to give the cost of electricity produced per W from

the tidal power because the cost varies per geographical area.

Tidal Turbines are gaining popularity among the methods of tidal

energy due to their lower cost than the other two methods
http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/tidal-energy-tidal-power-facts/http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/tidal-energy-tidal-power-facts/


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Tidal Energy plants have efficiency of 8'; which is probably the

highest of the other renewable green energy sources and

especially some forms of solar energy

Tidal Energy plants can be built in such a way that they would be

beneficial to the community in more forms than one, lie acting

as a bridge between to areas of land. The -$A has no tidal plants as of today.

Tidal Energy is one of the # renewable green energy sources and

despite of the fact that is location specific, it has great potential at

places with high tides.
http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/renewable-green-energy-sources/http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/renewable-green-energy-sources/

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