Understanding Wind Power
In recent years, more and more people have turned to alternative
power sources to meet their energy needs. The idea is to diminish
reliance on non-renewable fuels that can cause pollution and harm our
environment. One of the most popular alternatives to these harmful power
sources is the wind. Although it currently only accounts or a small
percentage of our power usage, wind energy production is on the rise.
Eventually, it is expected to make a huge impact on our reliance on
resources like oil and natural gas.
Wind power is harnessed by wind turbines. These machines are able to
convert the energy produced by blowing wind into electricity, which can
then be used by consumers. Traditional turbines have rotating blades,
which move when the wind blows. As the blades move, they produce
mechanical energy. Engineers design wind turbines to be aerodynamic and
use complex data and equations to determine a turbine’s height and
shape. This information is used to optimize turbines to harness the most
power.
Some designers have started creating turbines that do not rely on the
rotating blade system. These designs use various methods to collect wind
power. However, they are not yet being utilized on a larger scale. Most
of these non-traditional turbines are small and intended to be used by
individual homes. The most promising alternative seems to be the MagLev
turbine, which is being used in China to generate electricity for
streetlamps and help power rural areas.
Since a single wind turbine produces very little energy on its own,
several of these machines are installed close together on wind farms.
The turbines are interconnected so that their energy can be harnessed in
larger quantities. The largest wind farms can contain more than one
hundred turbines. Wind farms are generally located in areas where the
average wind speed is at least ten miles per hour and flows smoothly
through the area. Such conditions are usually found on large, flat
fields.
Wind farms can take up considerable space on land. However, the space
between the turbines themselves can still be used productively. Most
commonly, wind farms are also food production farms, and crops are grown
on fields beneath and around the turbines.
Some wind farms are not even located on land. Instead, they have been
constructed off-shore to harness power from the faster winds blowing
over an ocean or large lake. Since water produces less friction than
land, these farms have access to a more stable wind source. They are
particularly popular in Western Europe, and nations like Denmark have
several off-shore farms. The largest such facility is currently located
in Ireland and was constructed by GE.
Wind energy has many positive features. It is clean and produces no
waste or pollution. Thus, it has no adverse effect on the environment.
Furthermore, wind power is relatively cheap and does not require as many
land resources as larger power plants. Wind turbines can also be
self-sufficient. Thus, rural areas can use these devices to get power
without being connected to a power grid. Individual homes and
under-developed communities can also benefit from small-scale use of
wind turbines to generate electricity.
Despite its many benefits, there are a few drawbacks to using wind
power. Most notably, the wind is not constant. Subsequently, wind
turbines produce varying amounts of energy depending on weather
conditions. There are even instances where no energy will be produced do
to low winds. Additionally, traditional wind turbines are rather noisy.
This can be disruptive to those who live or work nearby. Finally, it
takes many wind turbines to generate enough electricity to power a large
area of homes and businesses.
Thankfully, technological innovations are in the process of resolving
all the negative issues associated with wind power. Soon, improvements
will be made to how efficiently electricity can be garnered from the
wind. When this happens, we will see even more communities relying on
this clean, cheap power source to meet their energy needs. |
