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Wind Power
In the search for more environmentally friendly sources of energy, we are looking into renewable energy sources. These reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and save the environment from damaging pollution. One source of renewable energy is wind power. Read on to learn more.
What is Wind Power and how does it work?
Wind energy is abundant, renewable, clean, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions when used in place of electricity gained from fossil fuels. The intermittence of wind is seldom a problem if wind energy is used to supply a lower proportion of total demand. Wind power is becoming more popular thanks to advances in wind power science and technology that are making the cost of this form of electricity competitive with many other energy sources.
In a standard coal-fired power station, chemical energy stored in coal is converted to heat energy by burning and then kinetic energy by heating water to produce steam. The high pressure steam is used to turn a turbine which then turns a generator to produce electrical energy. When generating electricity from wind, the chemical and heat energy steps are unnecessary, the kinetic or movement energy of the wind turns the turbines or blades, which then turns a generator in order to produce electricity.
The power available from a wind turbine increases with wind speed – a doubling in wind speed can result in as much as eight times the production of power. Therefore, wind generators need to be placed in an area where wind speed is high, and also reasonably constant. The length of the rotor blades is also a factor – doubling the diameter of the circle made by the blades produces a four fold increase in power.
Modern wind turbines make relatively little noise but the level of sound varies according to the shape of the land, the position of the person, and the speed of the wind. The sound that a wind turbine makes is described as a cyclic whooshing or swishing sound.
Advantages of Wind Power
Some advantages of wind power include:
• it is renewable and therefore won’t run out
• does not produce greenhouse gases or pollutants
• useful for creating energy in remote areas not connected to main energy grid
• free once equipment is installed
• relatively low maintenance
• can share the land used with other activities
Potential Issues with Wind Power
One potential problem with wind power is that the wind can be erratic or intermittent – a gentle breeze one day and a strong gust the next. The speed of the wind may not correspond to the demand for electricity. For example, it may be blowing strongly in off peak hours instead of peak hours. These problems are being solved though, by locating wind turbines effectively, and also ensuring that the turbines are high in the air, to help catch wind. Wind power may also have an effect on birds in that birds can be killed or injured by the rotating blades; the available bird habitat is reduced; and the noise may be disturbing to birds.
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