WInd+Energy+Research+Notes

=Audrey Potts Notes on Wind Power=

Point form notes
__**DEFINITION:**__ · **Wind Turbine:** Machines that generate mechanical or electrical power from wind · Could have 2 or more blades to create power which comes from wind


 * __SIZES OF TURBINES:__**

- Modern wind machines vary in size, smallest are called microturbines, designed for use on recreational vehicles, sailboats, electric-fence chargers, and other lower-power applications - Next in size are the miniturbines, they are suited for vacation cabins or as a backup supply of electricity for homes and businesses - Larger are household-size wind machines, suitable for homes, farms, ranches, small businesses, and telecommunications - The largest wind machines are commercial units, capable of producing 30 to 50 times more energy than large household-size units. They are installed singly in remote areas to power entire towns or on large wind farms to provide power to cities

__**DIFFERENT DESIGNS OF TURBINES:**__

- Although many designs to tap into the wind 's energy have been proposed over the years, most modern wind machines fall into one of two groups: horizontal-axis and vertical-axis
 * Horizontal:** In a horizontal-axis machine, blades spin about a horizontal shaft, most common
 * Vertical:** Vertical-axis machines are designed with blades that attach to a vertical shaft, like the blades of an eggbeater, can receive wind from any direction not as popular as horizantal

__**HISTORY:**__ - The first windmills were used for irrigation in Persia in the 5th century A.D

__**PROS OF WIND POWER:**__ - Safe, clean, and non-polluting, with wind power, we can reduce the release of carbon dioxide by replacing fossil fuel plants with wind power plants - A single, 750 watt turbine engine prevents as much carbon dioxide emissions each year as could be absorbed by 500 acres of forest - Less pollution means less health problems and environment problems - Wind turbines only consume a little of water to clean rotor blades if there is no rainfall to clean them itself - Wind technology has a long life span - Turbine blades last for around 10-20 years or longer - When a turbines blades need to be replaced or there is an issue with a turbine in a wind farm, the whole farm does not need to be shut down and only one will not produce electricity while the others will continue - Takes only 2 and a half years to plan a wind farm, that’s faster then creating a coil-fired plant - The price needs to be low for wind power to evolve into the future yet it relates to the cost of fossil fuel prices (3-6 cents per kilowatt-hour) it is expected to drop over time

__**CONS OF WIND POWER:**__ · Wind turbines cannot operate at 100% every day, the capacity rate is about 35% each year (number of hours that the turbines is at 100%) · Small wind farms are having trouble developing and getting loans because the banks do not recognize · Turbines must be placed where there is a lot of wind · It is hard to find places to place wind turbines that do not disturb the wildlife around them · Not everyone trusts and accepts wind power · Complaints with TV signals, noise, the look of it

__**WIND POWER IS USED FOR...**__ Most modern wind machines are used to generate electricity and are referred to as wind generators

= =

=Research Notes=
 * ===Problem to investigate/topic: Wind Turbines and wind farms === ||
 * ===Bibliographic information in correct format===

Chiras, Daniel D. "windmills and wind power." //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia//. 2010. Grolier Online. 18 Feb. 2010 
||
 * ===Point form notes===

· **Wind Turbine:** Machines that generate mechanical or electrical power from wind · Could have 2 or more blades to create power which comes from wind · The first windmills were used for irrigation in Persia in the 5th century A.D · Although many designs to tap into the wind 's energy have been proposed over the years, most modern wind machines fall into one of two groups: horizontal-axis and vertical-axis · **__SIZES:__** - Modern wind machines vary in size, smallest are called microturbines, designed for use on recreational vehicles, sailboats, electric-fence chargers, and other lower-power applications - Next in size are the miniturbines, they are suited for vacation cabins or as a backup supply of electricity for homes and businesses - Larger are household-size wind machines, suitable for homes, farms, ranches, small businesses, and telecommunications - The largest wind machines are commercial units, capable of producing 30 to 50 times more energy than large household-size units. They are installed singly in remote areas to power entire towns or on large wind farms to provide power to cities · With increasing performance and rising efficiency, global wind-power production has skyrocketed. It is the fastest-growing source of energy in the world, although it still meets only a fraction of total global demand · The federal Production Tax Credit now offers tax incentives to companies that develop wind power · · || · Most modern wind machines are used to generate electricity and are referred to as wind generators · The power produced during this process is used to perform work—for example, to pump water, grind grain, or operate a [|generator] that produces __ [|electricity] __ · Early European windmills pumped water or turned the grindstones of mills used to produce flour from various grains · ||
 * Horizontal:** In a horizontal-axis machine, blades spin about a horizontal shaft, most common
 * Vertical:** Vertical-axis machines are designed with blades that attach to a vertical shaft, like the blades of an eggbeater, can receive wind from any direction not as popular as horizantal
 * ===Quotes from the Source===

333.92 TEC
 * ===Problem to investigate/topic: Wind Power === ||
 * ===Bibliographic information in correct format===

Betsy Dru Tecco. __The Library of Future Energy__. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003.

||
 * ===Point form notes in my own words===

· More than 1 million water pumping windmills around the world · As the blades turning the wind, gears inside the rotor turn, operating a piston pump that draws water up from the underground and the water goes into a storage tank or directly onto dry fields (how to pump water with windmills for farms) · **Heat from windmills:** powering wind furnaces, the furnace can warm water by driving a paddle or pump to churn water inside a closed, insulated tank, thus converting mechanical energy into heat · There are countless used for powering electricity with windmills · In the past, medium sized turbines (25-100 feet long blades) were more reliable and economical than large turbines (up to 150 feet long blades) now new advances in technology show that it is more efficient with larger turbines rather than medium sized · Wind turbines are usually installed in a group called wind farms or wind power plant · Turbines are usually installed in places where wind blows very consistently and well, (mountains, high planes, coastlines) · Turbines capture the wind and don’t create it · Wind plants are usually connected to the same electricity transmission and distribution systems as other power plants à system is composed of over head power lines that make up a utility grid which is then distributed to homes locally if there are no power lines to support this, it can be quite pricey to install · **PROS:** · Safe, clean, and non-polluting, with wind power, we can reduce the release of carbon dioxide by replacing fossil fuel plants with wind power plants · A single, 750 watt turbine engine prevents as much carbon dioxide emissions each year as could be absorbed by 500 acres of forest · Less pollution means less health problems and environment problems · Wind turbines only consume a little of water to clean rotor blades if there is no rainfall to clean them itself · Wind technology has a long life span · Turbine blades last for around 10-20 years or longer · When a turbines blades need to be replaced or there is an issue with a turbine in a wind farm, the whole farm does not need to be shut down and only one will not produce electricity while the others will continue · Takes only 2 and a half years to plan a wind farm, that’s faster then creating a coil-fired plant · The price needs to be low for wind power to evolve into the future yet it relates to the cost of fossil fuel prices (3-6 cents per kilowatt-hour) it is expected to drop over time · · **CONS:** · Wind turbines cannot operate at 100% every day, the capacity rate is about 35% each year (number of hours that the turbines is at 100%) · Small wind farms are having trouble developing and getting loans because the banks do not recognize · Turbines must be placed where there is a lot of wind · It is hard to find places to place wind turbines that do not disturb the wildlife around them · Not everyone trusts and accepts wind power · Complaints with TV signals, noise, the look of it · **FUTURE OF WIND POWER:** · Already new wind farms being built · new project in Washington, one of the biggest farms in the world · 300 megawatt · power about 70,000 homes · 700 megawatt farm in Texas · a HUGE project being planned in South Dakota 3,000 megawatts named Rolling Thunder · if the researches belief that the price of wind power will drop my 30-50% then wind power will be one of the most inexpensive forms of the electric forms of electric generation in this century · the new technologies forming the blades make them catch 35% more wind · longer rotate blades create more energy · average towers are 100-230 feet high · estimated around the world there are 2 billion people that do ont have electricity · ENDED HYBRID SYSTEMS ON PAGE 53 · || · · ||
 * ===Point Form Notes in My Own Words===

__THE FIVE FIELDS OF GEOGRAPHY__

- **windmills need wind for the production of energy** -
 * 1) __Physical__: This field includes the study of land forms, climate, soils, vegetation, etc..

-
 * 1) __Urban__: This field includes the study of built-up areas, the layout of cities, land use, and urban problems such as transportation, pollution, and garbage disposal.


 * 1) __Social__: The social field includes the study of people and how they interact with themselves and their environment.


 * 1) __Environmental__: This field includes the study of our surroundings, and how we as humans utilize and often abuse our environment.


 * - A single, 750 watt turbine engine prevents as much carbon dioxide emmisions each year as could be absorbed by 500 acres of forest**


 * 1) __Economic__: This field includes activities which extract or create goods and provide services; all of which create jobs and maintain our economy


 * - In the past, medium sized turbines (25-100 feet long blades) were more reliable and economical than large turbines (up to 150 feet long blades), now new advances in technology show that it is more efficient with larger turbines rather than medium sized**