(no subject)
Wind Power
By Kyle Dietz Period 4
What makes up 6% of the electrical source of Germany? 8% of Spain’s power? The answer is wind power. Now you may ask (with good reason) what wind power is? Well, as Wikipedia lists it, “Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into more useful forms,” In California, 4,258 million kilowatt-hours of electricity were collected from California which is more than enough electricity to light up the size of San Francisco like a Christmas tree. The greatest aspect of wind power is how ample, renewable, clean, and widely dispersed it is; and it takes aim at reducing the chances of global warming in comparison to fossil-fuel-derived electricity that is. It is a cheap source of electricity that is near infinite with little feasibility and small risk.
Firstly important, is how electricity is converted from wind. Wind power is mostly generated from the converting of turbine blades into electrical current by means of an electrical generator. The concept is that wind power turbines use the energy in the wind’s movement to make mechanical energy, which is then converted to electrical energy. More specifically, wind’s power can be taken by allowing masses of air to blow past the wings of the turbine, exerting torque on a rotor. The power P available in the wind is given by: P=1/2pπR2v3. So, the faster the wind the more energy produced (this is because of the directly proportional relationship between the amount of power transferred to the density of the air). For this reason, wind turbines are placed on generally flat landscapes where wind can collect easily to increase the winds force and power. So, they are generally placed on deserts, basin, plains, or on cliffs to receive different sources of updraft. For a general rule (as to not waste manufacturing and placement costs,) wind generators are placed in areas of land with an average wind speed of 10 mph (16 km/h) or greater. Wind generators are even placed off coast to intercept coastal winds before they collide with land. An Ontario company, Magenn Power, Inc., is in fact trying to create tethered aerial turbines suspended with helium to receive the large untapped wind source that is: the sky.
The cost to produce wind power has dropped in California four times since 1980 says Electric Power Research Institute. It is approximately 3.5 cents per kilowatt/hour says the Energy Commission in California. Wind power has also been growing in America from 25% in 2002, to 33% in 2003. The amount of wind turbines in California is quite large: 13,000 being the approximation. These 13,000 wind turbines have created employment as well. Listing 1,200 direct jobs and 4,000 indirect jobs in 1990. Then, in 1991, private investment in California’s wind power amounted to 3.2 billion dollars.
Thankfully, wind power consumes no fuel for continuing operation, as well as no emissions directly related to electricity productions. However, wind power stations do. Generally speaking though (especially in California), wind power has hardly any pollution hazards. It is a renewable resource, so it doesn’t retract from the finite supplies the Earth gives to us, It is a clean energy source producing no mercury, particulates, sulfur dioxide or any other type of air pollution, and it mitigates global warm. Although, all these benefits are small and produce only 1.5% of California’s electricity, wind power is more beneficial in all aspects of its costs than it is negative. Of course wind turbines could impact the number of some bird species, on the contrary though, conventionally fueled power plants could wipe out thousands of species through climate change, acid rain, and pollution. Wind farms, which are large-scale wind energy facilities, are considered controversial due to their impact on local environment, unsightly appearance, and affect on migratory birds or bats. These points may be slightly true, but their negative impact on these topics is so low, that they are hardly debated. The argument is then more shifted on whether it has the potential to successfully replace other large sources of electricity. This is often referred to as scalability.
Despite the fact that wind power plays a minimal part in the monster electrical consumption of California (only 1%). Wind power is still one of California’s many resources. More importantly, it is an economical and ecological investment. It has benefits overruling its negativities and is an agreeable topic, both to political misers and Greenpeace protesters. Wind power is an important part of California’s, and the world’s economy.
Just thought i'd post my science project: WIND ENERGY OF THE WEST
By Kyle Dietz Period 4
What makes up 6% of the electrical source of Germany? 8% of Spain’s power? The answer is wind power. Now you may ask (with good reason) what wind power is? Well, as Wikipedia lists it, “Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into more useful forms,” In California, 4,258 million kilowatt-hours of electricity were collected from California which is more than enough electricity to light up the size of San Francisco like a Christmas tree. The greatest aspect of wind power is how ample, renewable, clean, and widely dispersed it is; and it takes aim at reducing the chances of global warming in comparison to fossil-fuel-derived electricity that is. It is a cheap source of electricity that is near infinite with little feasibility and small risk.
Firstly important, is how electricity is converted from wind. Wind power is mostly generated from the converting of turbine blades into electrical current by means of an electrical generator. The concept is that wind power turbines use the energy in the wind’s movement to make mechanical energy, which is then converted to electrical energy. More specifically, wind’s power can be taken by allowing masses of air to blow past the wings of the turbine, exerting torque on a rotor. The power P available in the wind is given by: P=1/2pπR2v3. So, the faster the wind the more energy produced (this is because of the directly proportional relationship between the amount of power transferred to the density of the air). For this reason, wind turbines are placed on generally flat landscapes where wind can collect easily to increase the winds force and power. So, they are generally placed on deserts, basin, plains, or on cliffs to receive different sources of updraft. For a general rule (as to not waste manufacturing and placement costs,) wind generators are placed in areas of land with an average wind speed of 10 mph (16 km/h) or greater. Wind generators are even placed off coast to intercept coastal winds before they collide with land. An Ontario company, Magenn Power, Inc., is in fact trying to create tethered aerial turbines suspended with helium to receive the large untapped wind source that is: the sky.
The cost to produce wind power has dropped in California four times since 1980 says Electric Power Research Institute. It is approximately 3.5 cents per kilowatt/hour says the Energy Commission in California. Wind power has also been growing in America from 25% in 2002, to 33% in 2003. The amount of wind turbines in California is quite large: 13,000 being the approximation. These 13,000 wind turbines have created employment as well. Listing 1,200 direct jobs and 4,000 indirect jobs in 1990. Then, in 1991, private investment in California’s wind power amounted to 3.2 billion dollars.
Thankfully, wind power consumes no fuel for continuing operation, as well as no emissions directly related to electricity productions. However, wind power stations do. Generally speaking though (especially in California), wind power has hardly any pollution hazards. It is a renewable resource, so it doesn’t retract from the finite supplies the Earth gives to us, It is a clean energy source producing no mercury, particulates, sulfur dioxide or any other type of air pollution, and it mitigates global warm. Although, all these benefits are small and produce only 1.5% of California’s electricity, wind power is more beneficial in all aspects of its costs than it is negative. Of course wind turbines could impact the number of some bird species, on the contrary though, conventionally fueled power plants could wipe out thousands of species through climate change, acid rain, and pollution. Wind farms, which are large-scale wind energy facilities, are considered controversial due to their impact on local environment, unsightly appearance, and affect on migratory birds or bats. These points may be slightly true, but their negative impact on these topics is so low, that they are hardly debated. The argument is then more shifted on whether it has the potential to successfully replace other large sources of electricity. This is often referred to as scalability.
Despite the fact that wind power plays a minimal part in the monster electrical consumption of California (only 1%). Wind power is still one of California’s many resources. More importantly, it is an economical and ecological investment. It has benefits overruling its negativities and is an agreeable topic, both to political misers and Greenpeace protesters. Wind power is an important part of California’s, and the world’s economy.
Just thought i'd post my science project: WIND ENERGY OF THE WEST