1.  Wind Energy By Jon Clemente, Ray Sites, Kathryn Roshong

2. Overview  Our group is going to talk about the following topics:  What is Wind Energy  Types of Wind Turbines  Advantages  Disadvantages  Is Wind Power Truly Sustainable  Lifespan of New Wind Farms

3. What is Wind Energy?  Differential heating of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere causes vertical/horizontal air currents known as WIND.

4. What is Wind Energy?  A wind turbine then produces electricity by converting the force of the wind ultimately charging a generator through the rotation of the wind turbine’s rotor blades.

5. Wind Turbines  Further explanation of wind turbines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsZITSeQFR0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsZITSeQFR0

6. Different Types of Wind Turbines  Windmills  If the mechanical energy is used directly by machinery, such as a pump or grinding stones, the machine is usually called a windmill.

7. Different Types of Wind Turbines  Wind Turbines  If the mechanical energy is then converted to electricity, the machine is called a wind generator.

8. General Types of Wind Turbines  Vertical Axis Wind Turbine – Uncommon  Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine – More Common

9. Advantages of Wind Energy  Wind blows day and night, which gives wind turbines the ability to produce electricity at all hours of the day.  Wind energy is a domestic source of energy, produced in the United States and the nation’s wind supply is abundant.  Clean  Wind energy is a renewable source of energy that generates no pollution.  Unlike: fossil fuels such coal/natural gas  Does not produce atmospheric emissions that cause acid rain or greenhouse gasses.

10. Advantages of Wind Energy  Cheaper  Wind energy is one of the lowest-prices renewable energy technologies available today, costing between 4 and 6 cents per KWH  As of 2013, farmers who host wind turbines are typically paid at least $10,000 per turbine per year by companies that run wind farms.  Farmers can also still continue to use the land due to the turbines only taking up a fraction of the land

11. Disadvantages of Wind Energy  Efficiency of a wind turbine depends on the wind speed.  Noise Problems  Some people find it annoying, and if it is close to a house, it may stop some people from sleeping and lead on to anxiety and stress for some individuals which could lead to health issues.  Power Availability and Transmission Problems  Requires very expensive high capacity, high voltage, transmission lines.  Even though the cost of wind power has decreased dramatically in the past 10 years, the technology requires a higher initial investment than fossil-fueled generators

12. Disadvantages of Wind Energy  Invasion of Space  Some people move to country areas because of the relatively undeveloped feel of the place and they typically do not appreciate the construction of wind turbines.  Environmental Problems  Wind turbines kill birds and bats  Destruction of native vegetation  Erosion problems  Fires in wind turbines, while very rare, are extremely difficult to fight

13. Is Wind Energy Truly Sustainable?  Yes  All you need is wind!  There is no use for any fossil fuels to power a wind turbine.

14. Lifespan of New Wind Farms  Industry predictions  20-25 years  Actual findings  No more than 12-15 years  The machinery needs to be replaced; there is wear and tear of the turbines over time.

15. Works Cited  http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/wind_ad.html http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/wind_ad.html  http://www.teachergeek.org/wind_turbine_types.pdf http://www.teachergeek.org/wind_turbine_types.pdf  http://ramblingsdc.net/Australia/WindProblems.html http://ramblingsdc.net/Australia/WindProblems.html  http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland/wind- turbines-lifespan-far-shorter-than-believed-study-suggests- 1.62945 http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland/wind- turbines-lifespan-far-shorter-than-believed-study-suggests- 1.62945