Wind Turbines

Difference between a Wind Turbine and a

Windmill
The windmill was made to pump water and
grind grain, whereas the wind turbine creates
energy. Windmills also have much larger blades
than a wind turbine.

Characteristics of a Wind Turbine

Placement of
Wind Turbines
The

Wind turbines are used to create electricity

using the kinetic power of wind. In the past
they were mostly used as a device to turn
machinery. There are two main kinds of wind
generators, one has a vertical axis the other a
horizontal axis.
The Vertical axis wind Turbine has the main
components at the base of the turbine; these are
about 30ft tall and 4ft wide.
The horizontal axis wind turbine has the main
rotor shaft and electric generator at the top of
the tower. There are three sizes to a horizontal
wind turbine: Residential, Intermediate, and
Commercial.

By Bradley Branch, Casey Stone,

Jonathan Pass, and Katelyn Weatherly

Residential: This rated capacity is below

30kW, the rotors diameter is 4-4.3ft, and
the height of the hub is 60-120ft tall.

Intermediate: This rated capacity is

between 30 and 500kW, the rotor diameter
is 40-100ft, the height is 115-164ft tall.

Commercial: This rated capacity is

between 500kW and 4.5MW, the rotor
diameter is 100ft or more than 325ft, and
the height is 164ft or more than 260ft tall.

placement and rotation of wind turbines

can affect how much energy generation
they are producing. For instance, if they
are placed too close together, one turbine
would not receive as much wind power as
its neighbor because they would block
each other. If the turbines are all facing the
same way and the wind changes direction,
they would not be getting any wind power.
Therefore, wind turbines have to be placed
far apart and be rotating in opposite
directions. Set up like this, wind turbines
create power generation ten times greater,
from 2-3 watts per square meter, to 21-47
watts per square meter, according to
Professor John O. Dabiri of California
Institute of Technology.

Columbia River Gorge Turbines

Oregon

There roughly 483 wind terminals along

the Columbia Gorge on the Oregon side.
6.0% of power in Oregon is wind power.

Washington
Along the Gorge on the Washington side
there are about 141 wind terminals
3.4% of power in Washington is wind
power.
All along the gorge is a total of 624 wind
terminals.

A 10kW wind turbine costs

approximately $48000 to $65000 to
install.

How does this compare to their energy

generating levels?

Its a clean fuel source

Wind energy is a domestic source of

energy

Lane, Tom. Wind Turbines. 2010. Web. 1

Mar. 2015.

It is sustainable

Cost effective

Hamilton, Rose W. Whistling Ridge. 2011.

Web. 1 Mar. 2015.

Wind turbines can be built on

existing farms and ranches

Harrison, John. "Climate and Climate

Change." NW Council. N.p., 31 Oct. 2008.
Web. 1 Mar. 2015.

How does this compare to fossil fuel

based energy generation?
Wind

Building

Installing
Fossil Fuel

Turbine Costs

Works Cited

Air Flow and Power Generation

A higher air flow makes the blades on the
wind turbines spin faster which in turn
creates more power. The average wind
speed in the Gorge is 10mph but
frequently can rise up to 20mph. This
means higher power generation levels
when the wind speed increases.

Looking at all the prices, wind turbines

may be expensive but fossil fuels are much
more expensive because youre having to
pay for all the equipment to find it whereas
with the wind turbine you only have to pay
for the parts and the installing cost.

Fuel cost

Integration cost

Operating cost

Tax

Durbin, Kathie. "Wind Farms Growing

Along the Columbia River Gorge." Seattle
Times. N.p., 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 1 Mar.
2015.
"Oregon Energy Facts." IER. N.p., n.d.
Web. 1 Mar. 2015.
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/media
/state-regs/pdf/Oregon.pdf
"Biglow Wind Farm." PGE. N.p., n.d.
Web. 2 Mar. 2015.
<https://portlandgeneral.com/community_
environment/initiatives/renewable_energy/
biglow_canyon/default.aspx>
"Washington Energy Facts." IER. N.p., n.d.
Web. 2 Mar. 2015.
<http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/medi
a/state-regs/pdf/Washington.pdf>

"Location Location Location: Wind

Turbine Power Output Increased
10x." Watts Up With That. N.p., 16 July
2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2015.

"Vertical Axis Wind Turbines vs

Horizontal Axis Wind
Turbines." Windpower Engineering &
Development. N.p., 10 Nov. 2009. Web. 1
Mar. 2015.