Wind Energy!!!

Wind Energy Winds are caused by uneven heating of the Earth (landmass and water body together) by solar radiations generating air movement. These air movements are know to many of us as land breeze and sea breeze. This movement of air can be used to do work. This energy is harnessed with the help of a windmill and electricity is generated from it.

Energy in the Wind 3

How does a wind turbine work?

Wind Energy Technology At it’s simplest, the wind turns the turbine blades, which spin a shaft connected to a generator that generates electricity. Large turbines can be grouped together to form a wind power plant, which feeds power to the electrical transmission system. 5

Inside a Wind Turbine 6

Conversion of Wind Energy to Electricity

Wind Turbine Perspective Workers Tower 3 sections Nacelle 56 tons Blade 112’ long

Modern Windmills 9

Orientation Turbines can be categorized into two classes based on the orientation of the rotor. Vertical Axis Horizontal Axis Turbine can spin on a vertical axis or a horizontal axis 10

Types of Electricity Generating Windmills Small (10 kW) Homes Farms Remote Applications (e.g. water pumping, telecom sites, ice making) Intermediate (10-250 kW) Village Power Hybrid Systems Distributed Power Large (250 kW - 2+MW) Central Station Wind Farms Distributed Power 11

Very Low Maintenance Requirements Modern Small Wind Turbines: High Tech, High Reliability, Low maintenance Technically Advanced Only 2-3 Moving Parts Very Low Maintenance Requirements American Companies are the Market and Technology Leaders. 10 kW 50 kW 400 W 900 W When teachers build their Basic PVC Turbines they are more like a small wind turbine, simple direct drive systems. Emphasize high RPM…these things spin fast 300-600 RPM. Many of these are sent to villages offshore as they can provide power for an entire village…here in the US is hard to justify the cost for one household. $$ on small wind turbines 10K-100K 12

Close Up of a Bergey XL 1 a 1kW wind turbine Close Up of a Bergey XL 1 a 1kW wind turbine. Produces 1000w at peak output. 13

U.S.’s largest Windmill Manufacturers General Electric Clipper 14

Impacts of Wind Power: Noise Modern turbines are relatively quiet Rule of thumb – stay about 3x hub-height away from houses Many people think wind turbines are noisy. While this may have been true in the past (it is still somewhat true on older smaller devices)…newer larger devices are much quieter. 15

Wind Farms The largest Wind Farm in India, situated in Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Off-Shore Wind farms Many developers would like to move wind farms offshore because the wind are faster, smoother and they can be close to major population centers on the coast. This is very controversial in the US….we have a few planned offshore farms…Cape Wind and Long Island…but nothing installed. Major complaints about offshore are related visual impact, navigation impact and lack of history. 17

There are quiet a few offshore wind farms in Europe near Holland, England, Ireland, Sweden and the Denmark. This one is off the coast of Copenhagen. Middelgrunden 18

Ancient Wind Farms

Early “WINDMILL” in Afghanistan (900AD) 20

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Older Technology + Lower Elevations + Poorly Sited = Bad News! 1980’s California Wind Farm Older Technology + Lower Elevations + Poorly Sited = Bad News! 23

Jacob’s Turbine – 1920 - 1960 24

Smith-Putnam Turbine Vermont, 1940's 25

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