Wind power is a very important renewable energy resource. As our nation is currently dwelling in an energy crisis I think we, as a nation should be finding other ways to be fueling our precious planet. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before people start to realize that the rewards of wind power can significantly change energy emissions resulting in a healthier planet. The subject of wind power is currently an important topic in our quest to combat climate warming.
Although wind turbines weren’t made right away there was a slow but steady process that got us to the point where we are today. In 3200 B.C. the Egyptians invented the sail. As time went on the Romans used wind to power their fleets and the Chinese invented the windmill. By 1000 A.D. the Vikings traveled and explored the North Atlantic because of the use of wind power. Around the 14th century the Dutch used wind power to pump water for flooded fields with a windmill. The invention of this windmill led into other modern wind power turbines as well as other similar machines. In 1854 a wind powered water pump similar to the windmill was invented and introduced to the United States. During the 1930s a Frenchman created a wind power machine that resembled an eggbeater. By the 1940’s there were around 6 million windmills in the United States and in Vermont a 1.5-megawatt wind turbine powered central Vermont. Recently, in the 1980’s wind power development in the United States began in earnest. 6,870 turbines were installed in California and there were about 4600 turbines installed and operating outside the state of California.
There’s a lot of technical and physical work that’s required to create a wind turbine. These machines create kinetic energy into mechanical energy. In a newer advanced type of wind turbine the rotational energy is converted into electricity through a generator. Most wind turbines consist of three main parts: the tower, the nacelle and the rotor blades. A usual turbine is about 80 feet tall and weighs about 19,000 pounds. Most wind turbines include a utility box, which converts wind energy into electricity. The tower parts are made in a factory off site but assembled on-site and during placement on-site; a crane is used to lift the tower into position. Modern rotary blades are either aluminum or fiberglass. These blades are bolted onto the nacelle after the crane has set up the towers. Finally, the utility box is installed when the nacelle and blades are positioned.
Before a wind farm is made the manufacturer and municipal planners must develop a site-specific plan for the placement of wind farms. The winds have to be at least a constant 15 mph. Most successful wind farms are those set in open rolling hills surrounded by mountains because the geography channels the wind over the landscape. Consideration must be made, at this time, whether reasonable energy savings will offset the production costs, both monetary and environmental.
Although wind turbines are a great alternative to fossil fuels, which have accelerated global warming, there are drawbacks and concerns to using these machines. Wind turbines are a proven threat to birds. Often birds will mistakenly fly into a moving turbine and get injured or die. This is an important consideration in the siting of a wind farm, especially along ridgelines. Also, these turbines are loud, and farmers working in open land often complain about how noisy they are. In addition, since many thousands of turbines make up successful wind farm needs large amounts of open space for their production. It’s hard to use this technology to power cites where there isn’t much surrounding free space and getting the power long distances to cities can be costly. Lastly, some scientists are worried about erosion where these turbines are built, primarily one that are built in the eastern side of the United States. This, too, is an important environmental consideration when developing wind power.
Currently, in Vermont, there is a debate raging regarding wind power on a ridge in the Lowell Mountains where Green Mountain Power will erect 21 turbines. The debate is whether developing wind power should be at the cost of the surrounding landscape, including changing the profile of the actual ridgeline through explosives and clear-cutting on steep slopes. Balancing the environmental costs with green energy development is the core of environmental policy.
Fortunately, there have also been a number of success stories with these turbines. For example, In British Columbia in an area that’s called “The Peace” a group of people created a wind farm. This group of people together set up a wind farm that was very successful providing many jobs and energy independence.
Other success stories include The University of Pennsylvania that became the number one educational institution in the world for wind power usage. Rock Port, Missouri has also become energy dependent with the use of wind power, making it now the number one town for its size in the United States for renewable energy. In Europe, Spain hit a wind power production record hitting 27% of total consumption reaching 10,032 megawatts of production.
Fortunately, too, the many positive factors of wind turbines greatly offset the negative factors. For example, if 20% of a family’s monthly energy bill came from wind power it would only be about 2 dollars higher. However, that’s a bargain compared to the environmental costs of using fossil fuels and as the technology advances, the costs for energy use should drop. Also, farmers can earn up from 2,000 to 5,000 dollars per wind turbine. And wind turbines boost the local economy because energy companies pay taxes. In Colorado one town made so much tax money from wind turbines that they were able to provide money for schools and other local funds. This clean energy is an economic boost to rural communities rich in open space.
A benefit of wind power is its small carbon footprint. Compared to oil and other fossil fuels there’s no carbon footprint transporting the oil overseas. And wind power doesn’t release toxic emissions. Wind energy is much safer compared to other forms of fuels. For example, with nuclear power there’s always a possibility of disaster and with fossil fuels there’s a risk of oil spills or explosions. Unfortunately, we have seen both of these scenarios play out recently with the tsunami in Japan and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Wind turbines don’t use much water, only 0.001 gallons of water per kilowatt-hour, which is highly beneficial for drought-like areas such as deserts.
A most important benefit from all forms of renewable energy is a national safety issue. Our “addiction to oil” makes it necessary for us to remain in the volatile Middle East and as soon as we become more energy efficient, the less we will have to depend on their fossil fuels. Recently, as oil and natural gas prices have dropped, there is less demand for alternative fuels. However fossil fuels are not renewable and will one day run out. Advancing the technology of renewable energy is not only an environmental issue, but a security one as well. I hope that the United States will become an energy independent nation in my lifetime.
In conclusion, wind power technology is just one part of the energy puzzle. But we will always have wind so it makes sense to continue to develop this renewable energy source. Wind power is important for the health of our planet.
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