A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind, also called wind energy, into mechanical energy in a process known as wind power. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind turbine or wind power plant. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or pumping water, the device is called a windmill or wind pump. Similarly, it may be referred to as a wind charger when used for charging batteries.
The result of over a millennium of windmill development and modern engineering, today’s wind turbines are manufactured in a wide range of vertical and horizontal axis types. The smallest turbines are used for applications such as battery charging or auxiliary power on boats; while large grid-connected arrays of turbines are becoming an increasingly important source of wind power-produced commercial electricity.
A quantitative measure of the wind energy available at any location is called the Wind Power Density (WPD) It is a calculation of the mean annual power available per square meter of swept area of a turbine, and is tabulated for different heights above ground. Calculation of wind power density includes the effect of wind velocity and air density. Color-coded maps are prepared for a particular area described, for example, as “Mean Annual Power Density at 50 Metres”.
The Term Paper on Wind Power Energy For A Sustainable Future
Introduction. Harnessing the natural power of the wind is by no means a new concept. Asides from sailing, wind power has been utilised for many thousands of years, principally for agricultural purposes. Basic windmills are thought to have been used in Persia (now Iran) as early as the 7 th century AD. Their ability to make use of otherwise untapped energy sources without the needs and costs of ...
In the United States, the results of the above calculation are included in an index developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and referred to as “nrel class”. The larger the WPD calculation, the higher it is rated by class. Classes range from Class 1 (200 watts per square metre or less at 50 m altitude) to Class 7 (800 to 2000 watts per square m).
Commercial wind farms generally are sited in Class 3 or higher areas, although isolated points in an otherwise Class 1 area may be practical to exploit.
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships. Large wind farms consist of hundreds of individual wind turbines which are connected to the electric power transmission network. Offshore wind is steadier and stronger than on land, and offshore farms have less visual impact, but construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher. Small onshore wind farms provide electricity to isolated locations.
Utility companies increasingly buy surplus electricity produced by small domestic wind turbines. Wind power, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation and uses little land. The effects on the environment are generally less problematic than those from other power sources. As of 2011, Denmark is generating more than a quarter of its electricity from wind and 83 countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.
In 2010 wind energy production was over 2. % of total worldwide electricity usage, and growing rapidly at more than 25% per annum. The monetary cost per unit of energy produced is similar to the cost for new coal and natural gas installations. Wind power is very consistent from year to year but has significant variation over shorter time scales. The intermittency of wind seldom creates problems when used to supply up to 20% of total electricity demand, but as the proportion increases, a need to upgrade the grid, and a lowered ability to supplant conventional production can occur.
The Essay on Summary Of Wind Power Puffery
In the article Wind Energy puffery written by H. Sterling Burnett , one of the leaders of the National Center for Policy Analysis , Burnett discusses wind energy is not easy to exploit or benefit as environmentalists say . Build it expensive and do not provide a reason good enough to be used . Burnett believes that the benefits are often exaggerated , and its adverse effects are ignored .Burnett ...
Power management techniques such as having excess capacity storage, geographically distributed turbines, dispatch able backing sources, storage such as pumped-storage hydroelectricity, exporting and importing power to neighbouring areas or reducing demand when wind production is low, can greatly mitigate these problems. In addition, weather forecasting permits the electricity network to be readied for the predictable variations in production that occur
