Wind PowerSusan Zobitne, Chelsea Fufaro, Tim Bousson

Introduction• Wind power - power obtained by

harnessing the energy of the wind

• Wind farms – an area of land with a group of energy producing windmills or wind turbines

• Windmill – a building with sails/vanes in the wind and generate power to grind grain into flower

• Wind turbine – also referred to as a wind power plant, a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into electric current

How a turbine works

• The energy in the wind turns two or three propeller blades around a rotator

• The rotator connected to the main shaft spins, generating electricity

Objectives• Wind power growth• Laws/regulations impacting wind power• Production developed/undeveloped areas• Development• Construction• Operation• Lifespan/sustainability• Technical impediments to development/deployment of wind

power• Environmental/social/political issues

Evidence supporting wind power as a significant energy source in the future• Plentiful• Renewable• Clean• Consistent/reliable• Denmark• China

Why wind might not be major source in the future• Cost• Wind – 8.2 cents/kWh• Advanced clean coal – 11 cents per kWh• Nuclear, same as clean coal• Advanced natural gas-burning plants – 6.3

cents/kWh

• Subsidies/efficiency

Laws/regulations impacting wind power

• Individual state regulations

• Noise Control Act

Productions; developed areas• Wind power depends upon the ability of moving air to drive

blades on a turbine that in turn produces electricity. It is renewable in the sense that we will never run out of moving air. Also, wind power produces essentially no carbon emissions.

Productions; minimally developed• DEVELOPMENT

• Monitor/confirm site wind resource

• One of the first and most important steps in the development

process is to confirm

• the initial wind speed assessment ; install a temporary

meteorological mast on the site fitted with an array of anemometry

equipment.

• The more data we can gather the better; Generally at least 12-24

months’ worth before taking a project into construction.

• Consult with individuals and organizations with an interest in the project Begin permitting process at the same time as gathering wind data. This will include detailed site surveys and environmental studies which are supported or performed by specialist independent consultants. The scope of these depends on the characteristics of a particular site but would typically include:

• Ornithology• Ecology• Landscape• Archaeology• Ground conditions & hydrology• Traffic and transport• Aviation (FAA)• Noise• Socio-economic impact• Begin grid interconnection process

• CONSTRUCTION

• In parallel with this, an agreement is entered with grid management organization to connect the wind farm to the grid.

• Complete pre-construction activities• Receive Wind Turbine Components• Install Wind Turbines and interconnect with the grid

• OPERATION

• Between 9 and 18 months and, once complete, the wind farm then moves into the operational phase.

• Modern wind farms are fully automatic, continually reconfiguring themselves to extract to most energy out of the prevailing wind conditions, and are managed using remote telemetry from an off-site operations center

Wind power sustainability/ lifespan• Lifespan: 20-25yrs approx. • Since wind speed is not constant, a wind farm's annual energy production is never

as much as the sum of the generator nameplate ratings multiplied by the total hours in a year. The ratio of actual productivity in a year to this theoretical maximum is called the capacity factor.

• It’s consistent year to year; Many variations over shorter time scales.• As the proportion of wind power in a region increases, a need to upgrade the

grid, and a lowered ability to supplant conventional production can occur.[5][6] • Power management techniques such as having excess capacity storage,

geographically distributed turbines, dispatchable backing sources, storage such as pumped-storage hydroelectricity, exporting and importing power to neighboring areas or reducing demand when wind production is low, can greatly mitigate these problems.

• Weather forecasting permits the electricity network to be readied for the predictable variations in production that occur

• Worldwide there are now over two hundred thousand wind turbines operating, with a total nameplate capacity of 282,482 MW as of end 2012

Technical impediments to development/deployment of wind power• Environmental effects of wind power are relatively minor.• Danger to birds and bats has been a concern in some

locations.• Noise levels• Power Curtailment• Wind towers require aircraft warning lights, which create

bothersome light pollution

Overcoming impediments?

• Many of the impediments cannot be overcome.

Environmental problems

• Impact on wildlife• Land use/ Aesthetic problems• Other concerns

Social/political problems• Noise • Power Availability and Transmission • Invasion of space• Problems with poor practice• Social Disruption• Other problems

Conclusion• Wind power production is growing worldwide• It is a clean, renewable resource that is reliable• There are regulations in place concerning wind power• It has a lifespan of 20-25 years• It has relatively minor environmental effects

Works cited• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power• http://www.eia.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/wind/

wind.html• http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-

science/wind-power.htm• http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/

renewable-energy/how-wind-energy-works.html• http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/wind.htm• http://www.windpowermonthly.com/• http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/• http://windeis.anl.gov/guide/concern/