WIND ENERGY CAMI GHANBARABBASI, KRISTEN RUNDSTEIN AND RACHEL STEINER

RENEWABLE OR NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY? RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE The major types of wind power are: Utility-scale wind Distributed or "small" wind Offshore wind Picture taken by Rachel Steiner in Indiana--- Utility-scale Wind Off-shore wind Fact: Off-shore wind farms of 350 Mega- Watts will generate enough energy to power 125,000 homes annually

OFF-SHORE POTENTIAL IN AMERICA The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s report found that offshore wind capacity could provide 54 gigawatts of the 300 GW needed to deliver 20% of the nation’s electricity from wind energy by That’s enough energy to power over 16 million homes. Pros of offshore wind energy: Create significant job-creation potential, It has been proven to have environmental benefits Will be in close proximity to demand

HOW IS WIND ENERGY CREATED? Well… when a mommy wind and a daddy wind love each other very much… Wind power captures the natural wind in our atmosphere and converts it into mechanical energy then electricity. HOW DOES THE ELECTRICITY GET TO YOU? Wind turbines stand together in a windy area that has been through a development process in an interconnected group called a wind project or wind farm, which functions like a wind power plant.

WIND ENERGY EFFICIENCY It costs $1940 per kwhr but the price is going down due to advanced technology, improved siting techniques, and learning across all sectors as the industry increases In any given year, the total Giga-watts produced is 238 Pollutant Output: 0%

WIND ENERGY EFFICIENCY In 2011, it was reported that 3% of the world uses Wind Energy Top World users include China, United States and Germany Every state in the United States has some form of wind power (operational energy project, or a wind related manufacturing facility) Pros: Wind industry Bringing jobs Investment Development, New business Clean wind energy generation across the country Texas is the national leader in wind energy - with more installed capacity, more wind turbines and more jobs than any other state. Fun Facts: Texas established a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in 1999 and it was amended in The current RPS provisions require 5,880 MW of renewable energy by The state also has a target of reaching 10,000 MW of renewable capacity by 2025, a target that the wind energy industry met in 2010.

PROS AND CONS Pros Renewable: will never run out No waste/pollution Can offset 2600 tons of carbon dioxide waste Creates jobs: By 2030, 200,000 workers will be employed in Europe by the offshore wind sector and currently there are 85,000 employed in land based wind industry in the United States Cons Not aesthetically pleasing to some Only works in windy areas Could kill birds (technologies to prevent killing birds is in the process of development) Take up land (100 square feet)

THE HISTORY OF WIND ENERGY 1887 first windmill used for electricity built in Scotland 1927 Jacobs Wind factory created, first commercial wind turbine generators 1941 worlds first megawatt wind turbine 1970’s U.S. government begins research into commercial wind turbines 1973 energy crisis began, encouraging the experimentation of wind energy 1980 first wind farm started with 20 turbines in New Hampshire 1991 first offshore wind farm created in Denmark

POLITICS The federal government’s more important roles is to ensure that energy is abundant, affordable and American made to fuel the U.S. economy. Wind energy fits this bill and is a key piece of America's current and future energy needs. The Industry’s top federal policy priorities are: Stable and predictable tax credits A national standard for renewable electricity Transmission policies to improve the nation’s power grid Cautious siting policies. The renewable energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) have been the keys to: Installing enough American wind power capacity to power the equivalent of over 15 million homes; Building over 550 wind energy-related manufacturing facilities across 44 states; Growing the wind energy workforce to 80,000 direct employees; and, Driving down the cost of wind by over 90%.

RECENT EVENTS Dirty Wind caused by too many wind turbines? Wind is cheaper than Coal natural-gas-bnef-says.html natural-gas-bnef-says.html

WORK CITED