Transcript Wind power - Fenwick High School

The future of energy;
Blowing in the wind
By James Claps and Max Joubert
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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
750,000 deaths a
year in china due to
pollution.
In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also
come a week earlier in spring and freezes
begin a week later.
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Wind is free and inexhaustible
Turbines don’t cause green house gases
or other pollutants
Remote areas not connected to a power
grid can supply their own power
Land below turbines can still be used for
farming.
Turbines vary in size, making it possible
for single houses and small villages
One of the cheapest renewable resources
Advantages
Parts of a turbine
How a wind farm works
 http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/printa
ble_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
Economics
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Wind power is generally
getting cheaper.
Technology increasing,
components made more
economically
Newer, more efficient
designs
◦ Same output, less turbines
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Trend towards larger
machines
Disadvantages
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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.
DISADVANTAGES CONT.
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
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 $1.5
million per mile cost of high-voltage lines
 Can take 5-10 years
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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
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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 nonintrusive 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
schools
 And they are able to withstand different levels of
hurricane winds
Conclusion
Wind 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
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