Wind Energy

Introduction

Wind energy is a renewable source, and it is mainly used for the generation of electricity. Wind is air in motion and it is generated as because the earth's uneven surface results in uneven heating, which causes winds. As the earth's surface has many different types of land and water, the rate of heating by the sun is different.

How Is It Done?

The wind machines today function about the same as the windmills used in older days. They have air foiled shape blades which catch the wind's resistance and catches lift, and thus cause them to turn. The idea behind this is to catch the air resistance, so as such, the blades are usually made to be long and big, so as to let it encounter more resistance.

The blades are attached to a shaft, which is attached to a generator, which generates energy when the blades and shaft is rotating. This converts the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy.

Analysis of Energy Source

Availability

Wind energy is quite abundant, as there is wind blowing everyday, in the day and also in the night. However, it is totally reliant on the presence of wind. Therefore, the best place to catch the wind would probably be large open areas like fields and big windy areas, where there are no buildings or tall structures that could block off the wind.

Cost

Wind energy does cost a bit of capital. Firstly, there is the cost to buy or build the windmill/wind machine. Apart from the maintenance of the machine, transmission lines and substations have to be built, as the prime sites for wind energy are usually located in rural areas or places far away from the cities. But however, the wind is free to use, and it is also renewable.

Level of Technology

Modern day technology makes wind energy a possible source of energy. Also, due to technological advancement, the price of wind energy has fallen rapidly since the 1980s. As such, it is affordable to most countries, and also available to countries with better than average technologies.

Transport and Accessibility

Such sites for wind energy are usually located in areas that are far away from the cities and the sources of demand, therefore transmission lines and substations have to be built, in order to channel the electricity to the cities.

However, the price for such construction has fallen rapidly since the 1980s, and thus it may not be that big a problem to construct such transmission lines and substations.

Feasibility

Wind as a source for energy is quite feasible. It is a clean and renewable energy source, and it is totally free to use. Even though it may be limited to being in rural areas where there is more wind, it is quite a safe source for energy.

Also, it can be used to produce a considerable amount of energy. The US can currently generate more than 10,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the wind, which is enough to power approximately 2.5 million average US homes! Experts in this industry predict that with proper development and research, wind energy will be able to constitute 20% of the world's energy in the future.

Government Policies

Governments see wind energy as a safe and clean source of energy. Not only is it renewable and free, it has also proven to be able to produce a vast amount of energy.

As such, governments such as the US Department of Energy has funded the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the US to carry out research to implement cost efficient and multi-megawatt wind turbines to generate electricity. It has shown much success, so much that the cost per unit of energy obtained from wind energy is starting to compete with conventional energy sources such as coal and oil.

Environmental Concerns

As wind energy is relatively a safe way to obtaining energy, there is not much environmental concerns about it. However, the blades of the wind machines may hit birds, which could cause death. Currently, there are researches going on to minimize the impact, which could save birds. But from a wider perspective, conventionally fueled power plants could wipe out hundreds or even thousands of the world's species through climate change, acid rain, and pollution, compared to a few birds that these wind machines could kill.

Examples

Wind energy has been relatively successful. It has been used in various parts of the world, such as the US , UK and Australia . For example, in the US , wind energy can generate up to 10,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, which can power about 2.5 million average US homes. It is also predicted that in the future, wind energy can generate up to 20% of the world's energy, which is quite a lot.