Wind Energy

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Wind Energy

• By Jon Clemente, Ray Sites, Kathryn Roshong

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Overview

• Our group is going to talk about the following
  topics
• What is Wind Energy
• Types of Wind Turbines
• Advantages
• Disadvantages
• Is Wind Power Truly Sustainable
• Lifespan of New Wind Farms

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What is Wind Energy?

• Differential heating of the Earths surface and
  atmosphere causes vertical/horizontal air
  currents known as WIND.

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What is Wind Energy?

• A wind turbine then produces electricity by
  converting the force of the wind ultimately
  charging a generator through the rotation of the
  wind turbines rotor blades.

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Wind Turbines

• Further explanation of wind turbines
  http//www.youtube.com/watch?vtsZITSeQFR0

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Different Types of Wind Turbines

• Windmills
• If the mechanical energy is used directly by
  machinery, such as a pump or grinding stones, the
  machine is usually called a windmill.

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Different Types of Wind Turbines

• Wind Turbines
• If the mechanical energy is then converted to
  electricity, the machine is called a wind
  generator.

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General Types of Wind Turbines

• Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Uncommon
• Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine More Common

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Advantages of Wind Energy

• Wind blows day and night, which gives wind
  turbines the ability to produce electricity at
  all hours of the day.
• Wind energy is a domestic source of energy,
  produced in the United States and the nations
  wind supply is abundant.
• Clean
• Wind energy is a renewable source of energy that
  generates no pollution.
• Unlike fossil fuels such coal/natural gas
• Does not produce atmospheric emissions that cause
  acid rain or greenhouse gasses.

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Advantages of Wind Energy

• Cheaper
• Wind energy is one of the lowest-prices renewable
  energy technologies available today, costing
  between 4 and 6 cents per KWH
• As of 2013, farmers who host wind turbines are
  typically paid at least 10,000 per turbine per
  year by companies that run wind farms.
• Farmers can also still continue to use the land
  due to the turbines only taking up a fraction of
  the land

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Disadvantages of Wind Energy

• Efficiency of a wind turbine depends on the wind
  speed.
• Noise Problems
• Some people find it annoying, and if it is close
  to a house, it may stop some people from sleeping
  and lead on to anxiety and stress for some
  individuals which could lead to health issues.
• Power Availability and Transmission Problems
• Requires very expensive high capacity, high
  voltage, transmission lines.
• Even though the cost of wind power has decreased
  dramatically in the past 10 years, the technology
  requires a higher initial investment than
  fossil-fueled generators

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Disadvantages of Wind Energy

• Invasion of Space
• Some people move to country areas because of the
  relatively undeveloped feel of the place and they
  typically do not appreciate the construction of
  wind turbines.
• Environmental Problems
• Wind turbines kill birds and bats
• Destruction of native vegetation
• Erosion problems
• Fires in wind turbines, while very rare, are
  extremely difficult to fight

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Is Wind Energy Truly Sustainable?

• Yes
• All you need is wind!
• There is no use for any fossil fuels to power a
  wind turbine.

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Lifespan of New Wind Farms

• Industry predictions
• 20-25 years
• Actual findings
• No more than 12-15 years
• The machinery needs to be replaced there is wear
  and tear of the turbines over time.

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Works Cited

• http//www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/wind_ad.html
• http//www.teachergeek.org/wind_turbine_types.pdf
• http//ramblingsdc.net/Australia/WindProblems.html
  
• http//www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland/wind-tur
  bines-lifespan-far-shorter-than-believed-study-sug
  gests-1.62945