Wind Energy

Erica, Keirstyn, Neal

EGEE101

Introduction: The Problem

Within the past 27 years, the Earth has experienced its
20 hottest years since 1880
Fossil fuel plants emit oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide,
particulate matter, and heavy metals, such as mercury
into the air, which is destroying the environment
The U.S. gets 84% of its total energy from fossil fuels
Thus, the United States, and governments around the
worst, must focus on finding a form of sustainable and
renewable energy to support the energy needs of the
world

Introduction: Objectives/Hypothesis
Wind energy is one of the best choices for investment
and further development within both the United States
and around the world
Its benefits are overall more advantageous than its
disadvantages
Through further development, technological advances,
especially in that of storage technologies, and an
upgraded electrical grid, wind energy has the capacity
to provide a substantial portion of U.S. electricity

Brief History
Wind energy has been harnessed since 5000 BCE, when it was first used
on the Nile River as sails to navigate
By 200 CE,the Chinese, Persians, and various other peoples in the Middle
East have developed crude windmills to pump water and grind grain.
Around 1300, Europeans began to implement waterwheels and windmills
into their societies
By 1400, the Dutch refined the windmill by connecting mills to multistory towers, which were endowed with a living space and separate
floors for grinding grain, removing chaff, and storing grain
By the 19th century, old heavy wooden blades had been replaced with
lighter steel ones and the windmill went on to aid in both the
industrialization and development of the West and beyond

Brief History
During the 1940s the largest wind turbine in operation was a
1.25-megawatt turbine located on Grandpas Knob, a hilltop in
Vermont, which fed electric power into the local utility network
From 1974 to the mid-1980s the United States government
worked with industry to advance technology and promote the
incorporation of wind energy as a viable source with the
deployment of large scale commercial turbines
Since then, wind energy has continued to develop globally in
response to environmental concerns, and currently China leads
wind production

Technological Aspects: Wind Turbine

Two main types of wind
turbines
o Horizontal Axis (HAWT)
o Vertical Axis (VAWT)

Technological Aspects: Availability

About 2% of solar energy
reaching the Earth is
converted to wind.
Wind is intermittent
Wind speeds are greater
at higher altitudes
Class 3 winds are the
general minimum for
viable commercial wind
farms.
Onshore vs. Offshore

Technological Aspects: Efficiency

Wind turbines convert kinetic
energy to electricity at around
45% efficiency.
The capacity factor for wind
energy has been increasing and
is between 30% and 45%
o Lower because of wind
variability
Wind energy availability factor
is around 98%

Technological Aspects: Capacity

U.S. actually leads the
world in wind generated
electricity, but only 4.3%
of total electricity
Texas leads the country in
wind generation capacity
Denmark Leads the world
in wind energy share of
net generation.
o Goal of 50% by 2020

United States Largest Wind Farm

Alta Wind Energy
Center
Located in the
Tehachapi Mountains
in California
Capacity of 1,320 MW

Technological Aspects: Drawbacks

There isnt always wind
Energy storage is not advanced yet
o Hydro
o Batteries
o Compressed Air
The case of negative electricity price in Northern Europe
High initial cost for wind farms

Technological Aspects: Significance

The current estimate of wind energy potential is 10
times the amount of electricity consumption for the
entire country
By 2030, an improved combination of factors, along with
sustained effort and development, could lead to 20% of
U.S. overall electricity being produced by wind energy
Wind energy has drastically reduced in price over the
past 10 years
It is the number one growing renewable resource in the
United States

Social Aspects: Advantages

Economically, wind energy boosts the economy
through both job creation and the leasing of
farmlands, which boosts rural economy
Farmers who lease their land out to wind
companies could make around an extra $14,000
per year from leasing 250 acres of land
Wind energy also employs about 1.83 times the
number of people that natural gas plants employ

Social Aspects: Disadvantages

Many find wind farms and turbines to be
aesthetically unappealing, which has led to
some backlash against wind energy in the
U.S. and Europe
The noise of turbines in the past was also
an issue, but modern turbines are now
extremely quiet

Environmental Aspects: Advantages

Wind energy has few environmental impacts
It produces no carbon dioxide emissions,
thus it is not adding to the environmental
destruction that fossil fuels cause
It uses both little water and land, which
can also be used as farmland at the same
time

Environmental Aspects: Disadvantages

Many anti-wind groups claim that turbines
endanger both birds and bats, but this danger
could be lessened by proper planning
Habitat fragmentation due to the
infrastructure needed for wind farms is also a
large threat to wildlife, but the habitat
alteration is much less with wind farms than
with fossil fuels

Summary
Problem: Rising temperatures, greenhouse gases,
destruction of the environment, finite fossil fuels
Advantages of wind: boosts economy, emits no
carbon dioxide, uses little water/land, domestic
form of energy
Disadvantages of wind: high start up costs,
aesthetically unappealing, lack of practical and
inexpensive storage, and hazard to bats/birds

Conclusions
Despite the disadvantages that wind energy potentially
carries, such as intermittency of wind, lack of storage
options, and wind turbines unappealing aesthetics,
wind energy is one of the most viable sources for
renewable and sustainable
Continued expansion of wind power depends on a
variety of factors
The 2015 Wind Vision Report has released
documentation showing that by 2050 it is possible for
35% wind energy

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