WIND POWERFACTS AND CONCEPTS

August 5, 2011by Joseph Sanford

One Megawatt of Wind Energy = 2,600 Fewer Tons of Carbon Dioxide

Wind energy has great potential for carbon dioxide reduction. So, with all the noise about clean energy, what kind of improvement are we really talking about with wind? Consider that every year 1MW of wind energy can offset approximately 2,600 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), and the interest comes into focus. The simple math is less fossil fuel consumption equals less CO2. And measuring carbon reduction has become a key benchmark for monitoring the progress of alternative energy adoption.

In Massachusetts, for example, the average resident produced 4.5 tons of CO2 as a result of using electricity in 2004. Just 1MW of wind energy could power up to 400 homes without emitting any CO2. And besides reducing CO2 levels, wind power is dramatically easier on water supplies, with the same 1MW of wind energy saving about 1,293 million gallons of water in hydro power at dams.

Wind Power is Actually Solar Power

Surprise, surprise. The sun's the mastermind behind wind power, too.

What's the source of this magical, unending source of free and clean energy? The sun. The sun warms up our planet, but because of surface irregularities and its rotation, the Earth doesn't heat uniformly. These variances in temperature also cause irregularities in air pressure, and air molecules migrate from areas of high air pressure to areas of low air pressure. This results in wind, the intensity, duration and direction of which are influenced by a number of factors including weather, vegetation, surface water and topography.

All of these variables add to wind's unpredictability and contribute to the concern that it could never be consistent enough to meet all of our energy needs. Some of the most predictable winds occur offshore, which, of course, adds to construction costs.

World Wind Power Production Quadrupled from 2000 to 2006

Is the future a wind-powered world?

With so much potential, companies are positioning themselves to take advantage. In fact, production surged between 2000 and 2006. And even later, in 2009, while world economies plunged, the wind industry thrived. That year alone, the installed wind power capacity, or the amount of energy capable of being produced by existing equipment, increased to 158,000 megawatts. World production is currently capable of serving the needs of 250 million people, and more than 70 countries have installations.

However, the United Nations recently issued a report that said making the jump from fossil fuels to renewable energy (not wind exclusively) would require more than $12 trillion over the next two decades. This level of commitment will not come easily, especially while traditional resources remain relatively inexpensive. So, in order to continue the growth curve established between 2000 and 2006, it's going to take serious government and private sector incentives to encourage development.

In 2008, U.S. Wind Turbines Generated Enough Energy to Power Colorado

The U.S. generated 52 billion KW hours in 2008, about 1 percent of total nationwide electricity production at the time. This may sound insignificant, but it was enough to power nearly 5 million homes -- or the entire state of Colorado.

As new technologies help drive down the costs associated with wind farming, the practice will, no doubt, become more and more accessible. These developments, along with government subsidies, tax breaks and other incentives, will contribute to furthering wind power production. One such initiative is green pricing programs, or options provided to customers that give them the choice to pay a premium for electricity that comes from renewable sources.

States Leading the Way

State: MW Installed:

Texas 10,085 MW

Iowa 3,675 MW

California 3,177 MW

Minnesota 2,192 MW

Oregon 2,104 MW

Washington 2,104 MW

Production by Country

Country Windpower capacity

(MW) China 44,733 United States 40,180 Germany 27,215 Spain 20,676 India 13,066 Italy 5,797 France 5,660 United Kingdom 5,204

How does Wind Generation Work?

The Wind Energy Cycle

Free Wind blows across the blades of the turbine, turning them to run an electrical generator inside the housing of the tower, which sends electrical power through cables to a transformer on the ground to increase the power going to a substation near the wind farm. This increases the power again to send it long distances over the power lines to where the people are. From there it goes to another substation near the towns and the cities, which sends it over the power lines on your street, to where you live, so you can have heat, and lights, and recharge your cell phone!

Diagram of a Wind Turbine

Multi-Blade Generator

Typical Wind Farm (note house in front!)

Wind Generator for One House

Power Generation Chart in Watts per Square Meter of Blade Area and Wind Speed in

Meters/Second

New Concepts in Design

Clean Technology Tower, In Chicago, a building that incorporates photovoltaics and building-integrated wind turbines into the design.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Wind Generators Inside Existing Power Towers (In France)

Sample of a Problem:

• Texas Landowners Say “Yes” to Wind Turbines and “No” to Transmission Lines

• by Brit Liggett, 01/21/11• filed under: Renewable Energy, Wind Power

The State of Texas is having an issue convincing its residents to install enough power lines to support its growing wind energy market. Sustainable energy won’t do much good unless you can transmit that power to the places that need it most and most of the time we still need less than attractive high voltage power lines to do that for us. It is a “not in my back yard” argument that the renewable energy world hasn’t really encountered yet — generally it is the turbine people don’t want, as we recently saw in Wisconsin.

Texas’ current infrastructure doesn’t allow for the wind market to expand and without the installation — or expansion — of high voltage lines, they’ll probably have to relinquish their spot as the state with the most wind power generation. Texas residents have vigorously fought almost every new proposed high voltage power line, stating that new transmission lines will ruin the state’s natural beauty — so will the pollution from coal fired power plants and drilling for oil, but you pick your battles, right? The powerful once-oilman, now turned green energy advocate, T. Boone Pickens was even thwarted, his $12 billion wind farm in the panhandle had to be cancelled after residents blocked his ability to install new transmission lines.

Conclusion

• While Wind Power only services about 2% of our country’s current energy needs, it will continue to grow. And while building more wind farms is expensive now, it will only get more expensive in the future. While not perfect, Wind Power does fill the need for clean and renewable, sustainable energy. Along with solar, hydro, and geothermal production, it will slowly but surely replace fossil-fuel energy production while making the world a better place to live. What we can do now, though, is use less energy by making conscious choices on how we use it and trying not to waste it, at home, at school, and at work.

• It is up to all of us to do our part to conserve and be aware, as well as support the people and companies which invest in this technology to provide us with clean, renewable, and sustainable energy from now into the future