Renewable Energy Ideas - Wind Energy

Wind Energy

Wind energy is an inexhaustible source. Energy production using wind as the source does not cause environmental pollution and is available in virtually unlimited proportions. Production costs are right now comparable to the energy produced from traditional fuels. Wind turbines - energy is generated in a low speed alternator, resulting in a voltage 240-400V power variable, as long as the wind blows. Bergey wind turbines produced in U.S. are the latest products in the field.

Although still a relatively minor source of electricity for most countries, wind energy production has increased almost five times between 1999 and 2006, coming, in some countries, the share of wind energy in total energy consumption is significant: Denmark ( 23%), Spain (8%), Germany (6%).

Winds are formed deorece sun does not heat the earth uniformly, which creates air movement. The kinetic energy of wind can be used to spin some turbines, which are capable of generating electricity. Some turbines can produce 5 MW, although this requires a wind speed of about 5.5 m / s, or 20 kmh. Few areas on earth have these wind speeds, but the strongest winds can be found at higher altitudes and in oceanic areas.

Wind energy is widely used today, and new wind turbines being built worldwide, wind energy is the energy source with the fastest growth in recent years. Most turbines produce power over 25% of the time, this percentage increasing in winter, when winds are stronger.

It is believed that the global technical potential of wind energy can provide five times more energy than is consumed now. This level of service would require 12.7% of land area (excluding oceans) are covered by parks turbines, assuming that the land would be covered with 6 large wind turbines per square kilometer. These figures do not take into account improving turbine efficiency and technical solutions used.

Benefits:

In the current context, characterized by the alarming increase of pollution from energy production from burning fossil fuels, is becoming increasingly important to reduce dependence on these fuels. Wind power has proved to be a very good solution to the problem of global energy. Using renewable resources is addressed not only energy production but the particular way of generating reworded and development model, the decentralization of sources. Wind energy in particular is among the forms of renewable energy applications suitable scale.

- The main advantage of wind energy is zero emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases, because it is not burning.
- No waste is produced. Production of wind energy production does not involve any kind of waste.
- Low cost per unit of energy produced. The cost of electricity in modern wind power plants decreased in recent years, reaching U.S. to be even lower than for power, fuel, even if not taken into account the negative externalities inherent in classical fuels.
- Lower costs of decommissioning. Unlike nuclear power plants, for example, where the costs of decommissioning can be several times the cost of power, if wind generators, the costs of decommissioning at the end of normal operating period, are minimal, which could be fully recycled.

Disadvantages:

The main drawbacks are relatively limited energy resource, wind speed variation and inconstancy due to the low number of possible locations. Few places on earth offer the possibility to produce enough electricity using wind energy. At first, an important disadvantage of wind energy production was the price high enough to produce energy and relatively low reliability of turbines. In recent years, but production cost per unit of electricity has fallen sharply, by improving the technical parameters of the turbines, the figures of the order 3.4 cents per kilowatt hour.

It also states that the turbines affect the surrounding environment and ecosystems, killing birds and require large land vacant lots for their installation. Arguments against are that modern wind turbines have a stylized attractive appearance, that cars kill more birds than turbines a year and that other sources of energy such as electricity generation using coal, is much more harmful to the environment, creating pollution and go to the greenhouse effect.

Another disadvantage is the risk for storm damage than if wind speed exceeds acceptable limits to design. No matter how great the permissible limit, there is always the possibility that it will be exceeded.