Wind Power - Free energy using the wind. Perhaps we should install it as part of our green strategy
Wind generators are one of the most ancient kinds of alternative power sources on the planet. They are designed to generate energy by transforming the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy, which is then either used directly (in the case of windmills, for example, which were used to change wheat into flour, or to pump water for farming) or coupled directly to a generator that provides a direct current electrical output that can be used in a more general sense. In this publication we will be discussing the type of wind generators that output electric energy, as this is more useful to us in our daily lives.
Wind turbines are basically large windmills, with big blades that rotate in the wind and generate energy from the conversion of the winds energy. Wind turbines are created of fiberglass, aluminium, carbon fiber and various other space age materials.
Wind generators can have a few pronounced negative impacts on the environment. They are obviously very visible, and quite ugly since they must be located in close proximity to windy, fairly open terrain to be economical - recent efforts to position them offshore have been greeted with incredible success. Wind Turbines also require a lot of energy in their manufacture, energy which is typically fossil-based, and therefore it can take a substantial time before they are net-negative in terms of total carbon emissions - this time can be anywhere from 2 to 5 years. They are often associated with the decapitation of rare species of birds that can be shredded as they pass through the turbine blades during migratory passages.
With all of the detractors aside, wind turbines should be a logical inclusion when talking about a broad strategy for renewable energy. Once up and running, wind turbines are highly efficient in a larger sense - they generate power from a green, eco-friendly renewable resource, without the hidden social or environmental impacts that we incur with the burning of fossil fuels - theres no need to mine for fuel or to transport it - there are no greenhouse byproducts generated, and no need to contain, process, or to deal with toxic wastes.
At the small side of the spectrum, turbines can be as small as five feet in diameter and might be capable of only a few hundred watts. On the large end of the spectrum, turbines can be as large as 300 feet in diameter and may be capable of generating two to five megawatts of power.
Like with photovoltaic solar energy generation, there may be rebates available for construction, and excess energy can be sold back to the grid.
Wind velocity is affected by topography and increases with altitude, so wind turbines are generally installed on top of large towers. In a typical application, the wind turbine sits atop a tall tower and generates low voltage DC that is used to charge batteries - this stored energy is harnessed by passing it through an inverter which transforms the DC power into higher voltage AC electricity for use in household applications. By positioning a lot of turbines into wind farms a massive amount of power can be stored and harnessed, perhaps for a whole city or town.
Due to the fact that the wind doesnt blow all the time in many areas, wind turbines are used in hybrid configurations with many different technologies like photovoltaic panels, and diesel generators to generate a consistent source of electricity.
Dissimilar to coal power stations, wind turbines are clean - they do not manufacture the carbon dioxide emissions that are causing global warming or the sulfur dioxide emissions that cause acid rain.
Todays wind turbines are divided into 2 major categories, namely horizontal turbines and vertica axis turbines. Modern horizontal axis wind turbines are actually far superior at capturing the wind than vertical axis machines given the same amount of swept blade area (which is the size of the circle traced by the tip of the rotor blades).
Peter is a contributing editor to Fuzing.com. This viewpoint is brought to you by trade leads from the Wind Turbines section of our Business to Business site.
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