WIND ENERGY

Ali Lorden, Drew Anderson, Luke Donahue, Claire Mullen

History of the Wind Turbine

Early History The first recording of a windmill came from a Hindu book dating

back to about 400 B.C.E. Scientists believe that the first windmills created to do work were

created in China 2000 years ago. There is no written history of this however.

The first recorded windmills that were created to do work are from seventh-century Persia.

The first historical reference to Chinese windmills was in 1219. This is significant because during this time windmills were used along the coast of china for wind power

Some windmills are still intact in Iran and Afghanistan from the 7th century These windmills are reverse of the windmills today

however, wind energy went into a chamber to turn blades, while today the blades are on an external axis

The y are still around today and can grind about a tonof grain per day

History After technology was brought back from

the Crusades Early European windmills were used to drain wet land by pumping water.

The design of the European windmills was based on the water wheel due to the factthat windmills should be put on a vertical axis when the windmills in Persia were built on a horizontal axis.

During this time the foundation for windmills was set. It was up for inventors to create new blades and other ways to make the windmill more efficient.

By the end of the nineteenth century there were over 30,000 windmills in Europe. They were used for more than just pumping water and grinding grain, people used them to run saw mills and other industrial plants.

Windmills in America The first American windmills were brought

over by the Dutch in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, and were assembled in New York and New England

When settlers moved out west to the great planes settlers would need to harness wind power in order to get work done but Dutch style windmills would fall apart in the strong wind that would sweep across the plains

A designer in New England, Daniel Halladay, created a new windmill for the conditions in the midwest. He made the new windmills have many blades and a tail on the back to direct the wind. This increased wind power production greatly in the midwest.

A few years later these new windmills were made with steel blades. The new blades would not break as easily than the old wooden blades, and the steel blades could be curved to maximize wind production.

Electrification

Until the late nineteenth century windmills would only produce mechanical power for their tasks such as grinding grain or pumping water.

With the creation of electricity, windmill makers found that windmills could be attached to a generator and used to create power for heating and lighting.

The first windmill used to produce electric energy was created in 1888 by Charles F. Brush.

These windmills needed to produce 500 revolution per minute in order to power a generator.

And Now

From the 1930’s to the 70’s coal and oil were relatively inexpensive and wind energy lost its popularity in America though windmills were used in many other countries throughout the world

In 1973 America was affected by the Arab oil embargo. This caused focus to turn toward wind power.

The U.S. Federal Wind Energy Program was established in 1974.

By the late 1980’s it was becoming very difficult to attract funding for wind energy because people did not believe that wind power could be strong enough to produce the same amount of power as oil.

Modern wind power is a strong option for alternative energy, and its rich history proves it can be used effectively

Pros of Wind Energy Wind is Free, and the power it

generates has been harnessed for centuries

Wind is a completely renewable resource because it is something that occurs naturally, once the means are there; technologically and practically, it can be harnessed constantly without destructive effects (emissions and use of resources) to our abused planet.

Generation and maintenance costs for turbines have decreased significantly in recent years

Wind power is well suited to rural areas

Cons of Wind There are many obstacles to

optimal use of Wind Power Transmission- How to get energy

from point A to point B Technology- Means storage and

containment of power must be developed

Weather- Wind power is highly subjective not only to location but also to climate, time of year, and currents/weather patterns

For many problems new tower designs provide an answer

Noise and view disruption become an issue with communities near wind farms

Endangered birds can be killed by flying too close to wind turbines

Wind Fluctuations- As the sun hits the earth,

much of its energy is absorbed by the atmosphere, more is absorbed by the warm air near the equator, and less towards the poles, these variations in pressure and temperature create movement, currents that flow around the planet, while the energy from these never runs out, it is not predictable, and can not be relied upon as a constant energy source

The major issue of wind fluctuation could be solved by the creation of a technology that can collect and distribute this power more efficiently

Modern technology New urban rooftop windmills

are new windmills with a smaller and quieter design. These windmills are designed to be more efficient with wind patterns occurring in cities. They are able to turn at wind speeds as low as 8 mph

What is Wind Energy?Wind energy is the transformation of the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be harnessed for practical use

 Trend in size and rated power output of current and future wind turbines. (After U.S. Department of Energy Wind Program Subcontractor Review Meeting, July 17–

19, 2000)

There has been a push towards creating larger wind turbines to optimize the use of wind. Researchers are

debating whether a larger turbine will create more power or more problems. Larger turbines need greater maintenance and have a greater cost in order to keep

them running efficiently.

Technological Advancements

How Wind Energy is Best Used

As of today wind energy is best fit to be used as an alternative source of energy but as costs go down and effectiveness goes up this could soon change, and wind energy may become a viable option the leading source powering the future. Placement is key in using wind farms and windmills, because if the money is to be spent to create one, optimal effectiveness will need to be assured.

How Wind Energy is Best Used

Wind power is a renewable energy source that has virtually no disrupting effect on the environment

With limitations due to price and storage issues it is not a viable option as a constant source of power Especially considering the fact that

practical wind machines only extract 5% to 45% of available power depending on the efficiency of the turbine design

We are best served to use wind energy in harmony with other forms of energy.

Windmills and Wind Farms

•A single 1MW windmill turbine operating at a 45% production rate will generate about 3.9 million kW of electricity in a year. This would be enough to meet the needs of about 500 households per year.

•A wind farm will consist of anywhere from 12 to 100 of these 1MW windmills.

OTHER OPTIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Wind alone can not solve today’s energy crisis in one day, but together with many other

forms of renewable power, maybe someday we can help relieve the damage to our planet caused by the overconsumption of fossil fuels.

Solar Power Solar panels are a viable technology

most used in remote locations with abundant unused land, but many people have been adapting them to settings like urban rooftops, or private houses, building small arrays to produce a faction of their needed power

these situations are rarely cost effective Each panel contains many solar cells

that collect light energy and turn it into electricity, if this technology can be improved upon, solar energy may become a more reliable option in the future

Most other forms of solar power are only practical for large business operations, not residential or municipal use

Problems with Solar Power There is a common misconception that Solar

Power is the most common of all sources of renewable power, or the most effective While solar energy is constantly striking the earth,

making it a totally renewable resource it is still contingent upon weather, season, and time of day in a given location

The chemicals required to make today's solar panels are not cheap, nor are they particularly

Solar panels require lots of space, they can be effective but are usually not cost efficient

Hydro power Researchers have discovered

that placing turbines underwater could be a more efficient and reliable source of energy

A major set back is the challenge of anchoring those turbines to the ocean floor, through harsh storms.

If a way was discovered to do this, underwater turbines would also help break down storm waves decreasing the damage done towards shore

The ocean turbines use the incoming waves to generate power.

Other forms of Hydro Power

Dams and Water Wheels have been used for centuries to provide mechanical power for mills , and later forms of early Electrical power

Hydro Power is clean and totally renewable so once reliable technology is wide-spread this could provide power to coastal regions all over the world

Reliablity

Hydro power is much easier to predict than wind because of its consistency, tidal patterns and water flow are much more regular than wind which is constantly changing, which means that it can be used more effectively

Nuclear Power Positives

Fuel is inexpensive Energy generation is

the most concentrated source

Waste is more compact than any source

Easy to transport as new fuel

No greenhouse or acid rain effects

Nuclear Power Negatives

Requires larger capital cost because of emergency, containment, radioactive waste and storage systems

Requires resolution of the long-term high level waste storage issue in most countries

Potential unstable nuclear reactor explosion danger

Why Fossil Fuels are Bad

Fossil fuels consist of a number of different substances but they all contain some mixture of hydrogen and carbon (hydrocarbon) compounds

There are two kinds of fossil fuel power plants, steam turbine and gas turbine, steam turbine plants are larger and more common in highly populated areas, often they are used together

To release energy these fuels are combusted, the heat energy releases stored energy in the molecules, but since the burn is not clean, many harmful emissions are released into the atmosphere

Many people say thattechnologies for cleaner burning of fossil fuels canbe developed, but thisdoes not solve the problem of over consumption

“Clean” Coal

Clean coal is a technology that has been researched for years, as scientists try to find a way to burn coal with out the massive release of Carbon Dioxide

The problem with this is that coal is still a nonrenewable recourse that will soon run out, as it is mined from landscape leaving mountains devastated because it is so in demand that companies will literally just blast the top off of a mountain and then collect the coal and leave a flat topped hill

New Energy Is NEEDED

It is clear that the energy crisis the world is in right now is not going to get any better without drastic change, we have technologies that could lead us into the future, but people need to accept these changes, and try to cut down on their consumption. There are lots of forms of power that could work together to light our future, but first we need to stop our dependence on destructive fossil fuels and start working on the difficulties that could arise from new forms of power.

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