The future of energy; Blowing in the wind By James Claps and Max Joubert.
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Transcript of The future of energy; Blowing in the wind By James Claps and Max Joubert.
The future of energy; Blowing in the wind
By James Claps and Max Joubert
First windmills used in the 11th century by Middle Eastern people
Idea travelled to Europe through merchants and crusaders
Used to pump water in the New World.
Replaced by the steam engine
Returns due to increasing oil prices during the 1970s
What is a wind farm?A group of wind
turbines bunched together for producing electric power.
Interconnected with a medium voltage power collection system.
Usually between a few dozen and 100 turbines and cover up to hundreds of square miles
Why we need wind farms
Average temperature has climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit around the world since 1880
In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later.
750,000 deaths a year in china due to pollution.
AdvantagesAdvantages
Wind is free and inexhaustible Turbines don’t cause green house gases or
other pollutantsRemote areas not connected to a power
grid can supply their own powerLand below turbines can still be used for
farming.Turbines vary in size, making it possible
for single houses and small villagesOne of the cheapest renewable resources
Parts of a turbine
How a wind farm works
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/printable_versions/wind_animation.html
The wind turns the blades around a rotor, which is connected to the gears,
The gears twist the shaft that spins the generator to produce electricity.
The energy is then connected to an electricity grid to distribute the power
EconomicsEconomicsWind power is
generally getting cheaper.
Technology increasing, components made more economically
Newer, more efficient designs◦Same output, less
turbinesTrend towards larger
machines
Disadvantages
Wind force isn’t constant making it unreliable
Can vary from zero to storm force. Turbines are too noisy and are seen as
eyesores The blades endanger wildlife Large scale farms are needed to
provide for entire communities Requires a higher initial investment
than fossil fuel generators.
Good wind sites are usually located in remote locations
Wind farms must compete with alternate uses for the land and could be seen as less important
excess transmission lines depleting $1.5 million per mile cost of high-voltage
lines Can take 5-10 years
Largest turbine in the world, in Hawaii, stands 20 stories tall and has blades the length of a football field
Twin Groves II is the largest wind farm in Illinois in McLean county. It has a megawatt capacity of 161.6
Lynn and Inner offshore wind farm In the United Kingdom 54 turbines powers 130,000 homes
Caununda wind farm, Australia 54 turbines 30,000 homes
Altamont pass, California Largest concentration of turbines. 4900 relatively small turbines
A wind farm in Derrybrien Ireland caused a mud slide that killed fish and polluted water. Scientist believe similar slides will occur in Scotland
Projects like cape wind are right where a tornado could come through and wipe out.
Wind farm turbines are breaking in many wind farms in America.
With recent improvements, a lot of the original problems have been fixed
Too loud- you can now hold a conversation underneath a wind turbine without raising your voice.
Excessive turbine lighting- Wind farm lights are now non-intrusive and further design improvements will make them even less so.
Blade throwing and collapse-Blade throws were common earlier on, but due to better turbine design and engineering they are now safe enough to operate in rural areas and near schoolsAnd they are able to withstand different levels of
hurricane winds
ConclusionConclusionWind generators are
different sizes which makes it possible to solely power a single home.
Extra power your house produces can be sold back to power companies.
Although they haven’t figured out all the kinks yet, we believe wind power will be key to powering our future