chapman.chisholm.wiki.spring.2011

The problem at hand is that the world is two dependent on dirty power. The modern world uses too many fossil fuels every day and the environmental effects are becoming way to devastating to our planet earth. Fossil fuels usage and burning of other fuels have accounted for the depletion of the earth’s ozone liar. In certain cities around the globe, people have to wear medical masks to prevent the smog from entering their longs. Also the world’s fuel supplies are starting to run lower and lower making it become more and more expensive to use these products as an affective fuel for power. However, wind power is a very effective alternative to these fuels. Wind power is only used in only about 1 percent of the world’s electricity use. Wind power is very efficient and clean way of making electricity. Basically huge turbines in the sky are connected to electrical grids which then feed electricity to wires that eventually run to your home.





media type="custom" key="9652626" Wind Power works much like hydroelectric power. It uses one form of energy and converts it to the next. Instead of using water, it uses the wind from the atmosphere in the same manner hydroelectric power works. The kinetic energy from the wind moves the blades through the air. This blade is connected to a shaft which spins. The shaft is connected to some gears and a generator which uses the rotation of the spinning blades to create AC current. This current is then sent to an inverter which converts it to dc current which is used for domestic use. media type="custom" key="9652648"

Advantages: Wind is a free and ever renewable energy, it is also a somewhat modern technology. It also does not emit any dirty pollutants after it is placed into operation. The land that is taken up is a very small amount of land, although they are tall and can be aesthetically unappealing. In most places that there is a lot of wind, there are agricultural farms present in the area. This can be a good thing because cattle can graze freely without much room being taken up by the windmills. Third world countries could use this energy source which would save their precious funds. By 2020, it is projected that 12% of the world’s electricity will be given from wind power. The majority of wind power technology is located in Europe, but the U.S. is strongly considering implementing many more wind farms on, and off of its coasts. Electricity emission is responsible for 76% of SO2 pollution in the southeast of the United States. If the U.S. and the world are trying to change the path of a currently dirty air supply, we must look to wind energy to reduce pollution from fossil fuel powered plants. Wind will also never hurt our future generations, and is never going to run out. Disadvantages: Damage can occur to wind turbines from natural disasters, usually thunderstorms. Since they are so tall, they are a prime target for lightning to strike because the turbine will most likely be the tallest object in the open area.

media type="youtube" key="SRCekFYWsPo?version=3" height="349" width="425" “At last. This report confirms what we have been saying,” said Angela Kelly, director of Country Guardian, an umbrella group for the anti-wind-power lobby. “Wind power is three times more expensive than conventional electricity. It is a scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money.” Source: [|sustainablog] ([] )

Wind energy produced worldwide: 65,000,000,000 kWh per year (enough power for 6 million U.S. homes) Wind energy produced in the U.S.: 16,000,000,000 kWh per year (enough power for 1.6 million homes) Potential U.S. wind energy production by 2020: enough power for 25 million homes yearly Installed cost of wind energy: 2-6 cents/kWh Yearly emissions eliminated by generating energy from a 1 MW wind turbine instead of 1 MW of conventional sources: over 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide, 6.5 tons of sulfur dioxide, 3.2 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 60 pounds of mercury in one year. Wind power farms generate between 17 and 39 times as much power as they consume, compared to 16 times for nuclear plants and 11 times for coal plants, according to a study of Midwestern wind farms by the University of Wisconsin.

"The Whinash project, by replacing energy generation from power stations burning fossil fuel, will reduce carbon dioxide emission by 178,000 tonnes a year. This is impressive, until you discover that a single jumbo jet, flying from London to Miami and back every day, releases the climate-change equivalent of 520,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. One daily connection between Britain and Florida costs three giant wind farms." __George Monbiot professor at Oxford Brookes University. This shows that although wind energy is a great idea, it is far less efficient than it needs to be to be have a large impact.

Unfortunately, wind power is not used as much as it should be and this is because of the current oil companies which are extremely greedy and refuse to lose any revenue whatsoever. Whenever a new idea like wind power surfaces, oil companies have found a way to buy out the maker. Another prime example of this happening is alternative sources being used instead of gasoline for cars. There have been reports that a man in Florida has found a way to run an engine on just water. This would be an absolutely incredible solution to the current oil crisis. The same thing goes for solar power and wind energy, these ideas have not really taken off the way they could have if the government really supported the ideas. This is definitely why wind power has not produced as much electricity as it potentially could. There is a bit of light for this idea though, even here on campus. We have a wind turbine which produces most of the power for electricity for our dorms and other buildings. If we were in charge of pushing this product along, then we would try to increase efficiency and get more funds from the national government. We all know that in the near future we will have to find a long term solution for energy. Fossil fuels and other non renewable sources are not the answer. Wind power and solar power are ever renewable and can help in the solution for our future, if efficiency is increased.



media type="custom" key="9652752"This guy is Mad about Wind Power. [] [] [] [] []