Escolar Documentos
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Ally Keefe, Dave Mccabe, Geoff Frazier, Ryan Whalen, Meghan Moroni, Jeb Stuart, Brianna Parke, Peter Virchick
General Info
Wind constitutes less than 3% of US energy sources. Many say wind has the power to add more to US generating capacity than coal in the next 20 years. North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas alone have enough harnessable wind to meet national electricity needs.
Wind as Electricity
The first use of a windmill to generate electricity was in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 by Charles F. Brush. In 1891, Dane Poul la Cour made the first aerodynamically (low solidity, four bladed) designed system. By 1920, the la Cour system replaced all previous sail and fan systems.
-During the 1920s modified propellers were used to drive direct current generators. -Bulk Power Wind Energy was first made in Russia in 1931 (100kw Balaclava Wind Generator). -The largest bulk wind energy producer was the Smith-Putnam Machine (Installed in Vermont, 1941)
Wind power is a measure of the energy available in the wind. It is a function of the cube (third power) of the wind speed. If the wind speed is doubled, power in the wind increases by a factor of eight (23). This relationship means that small differences in wind speed lead to large differences in power.
Rotor- The hub and the blades together are referred to as the rotor. Wind turns the blades which turn the drive shaft. Shaft- Two different shafts turn the generator. One is used for low speeds while another is used in high speeds. Gear Box- Gears connect the high and low speed shafts and increase the rotational speeds from about 10-60 rotations per minute to about 1200-1800 rpm, the rotational speed required by most generators to produce power.
Generator- The generator is what converts the turning motion of a wind turbine's blades into electricity. Inside this component, coils of wire are rotated in a magnetic field to produce electricity. Different generator designs produce either alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC), and they are available in a large range of output power ratings. The generator's rating, or size, is dependent on the length of the wind turbine's blades because more energy is captured by longer blades. Controller- Turns the blades on at 8-16 mph and shuts them down around 65 to prevent any high wind damage. Tower- Tall tubular metal shaft. The taller the tower, the more power produced.
Wind power Units are quickly constructed. Wind generators are much smaller in size compared other types electrical generators. Small size allows wind power to be very versatile.
Wind power is a great compliment to a house with a preexisting photovoltaic system. Serves as a great backup system. Wind power gives off no harmful emissions into the environment.
It is a renewable resource. The more time spent researching makes each new wind turbine more efficient. Mass production of wind turbines drives down costs.
Aesthetics
Turbines are around 50ft high and can be seen for miles Wind Farms use up more space than any other form of power plant Access roads will follow the construction of a wind farm Houses too close to turbines will be disturbed by their noise
Denmark
2338
4240
35
12.1
Germany
6095
8400
486
1.73
Japan
121
76
817
0.009
Failure Stats for Germany (2000) FAULT % TURBINES AFFECTED Loosening of parts-------3 Cause unknown----------8 Other causes------------10 High wind----------------4 Grid failure--------------6 Control system---------20 Icing---------------------1 Component failure---44 Lightning---------------4
UK
408
895
388
0.23
USA
2554
6000
3688
0.16
Sources
Hinrichs, Kleinbach, Energy: Its Use and the Environment, 3rd ed. Thomson Learning, Australia 2002. Nigel Barnes, An Ill Wind An Objection Against Windfarms in Ireland. http://www.geocities.com/nigbarnes/#oth 3.28.04 www.windpowercons.com 3.28.04
navigation hazard
blades will kill birds interrupts whale migration
help navigation
turbines are too slow Horseshoe Shoal is shallow
best location
Cape Winds Visual Simulations from Cotuit 6.0 miles off the coast
www.cleanpowernow.org
www.saveoursound.org (The Alliance) www.windstop.org