Wind God by John D. Rockefellar top lawl and Sieng for me swagLy.

Source For more than two millennia wind-powered machines have ground grain and pumped water. Wind energy as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation. The first windmill used for the production of electricity was built in Scotland in July 1887 by Prof James Blyth of Anderson's College, Glasgow.

Efficiency & Cost Wind energy is now the cheapest and most nonpolluting way to produce electricity. The total cost in 2004 was about 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Variations in air flow have a big effect on wind turbine efficiency. Turbines perform best when air flow is constant, a condition rarely achieved in nature. A modern wind turbine is designed to operate for more than 20 years and at the end of its working life, the area can be restored at low financial and environmental costs.

Advantages Wind is free, wind farms need no fuel. High efficiency No CO2 emissions Low environmental impact Quick construction Can be located at sea The land beneath can usually still be used for farming.

Disadvantages Steady winds needed Backup systems needed when winds are low High land use for wind farm Visual pollution Can be noisy Can kill birds - migrating flocks tend to like strong winds.

Extraction & Use Wind energy is extracted by using wind turbines to produce electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships. There are large wind farms to generate electricity. A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into electrical power. A wind turbine used for charging batteries may be referred to as a wind charger. Generally two types of wind turbines are being used in wind farm, they are horizontal axis wind turbine and vertical axis wind turbine.

Consumption/Usage The current estimate of wind energy potential is 10 times the amount of electricity consumption for the entire country. For the 12 months through August 2014, the electricity produced from wind power in the United States amounted to terawatt-hours, or 4.33% of all generated electrical energy. In 2013, Iowa and South Dakota produced more than 25% of their generation from wind energy. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 20% of the electricity in the United States could be provided from wind energy with the existing transmission infrastructure. That’s more than nuclear energy and about the equivalent of natural gas. To learn more, see the 20% Wind Energy by 2030 About ¾ of the world’s wind generated power is produced in Europe.

Vertical axis wind turbine VAWTs have main rotor shaft set vertically and the main components have been installed at the base of the turbine. Do not need to be pointed into the wind, which removes the need for wind-sensing and orientation mechanisms. Horizontal axis wind turbine HAWTs have the main rotor shaft and electrical generator at the top of a tower, and must be pointed into the wind.

Environmental Concerns Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to fossil fuel power plants, there is some concern over the noise produced by the rotor blades. Birds and bats having been killed (avian/bat mortality) by flying into the rotors. Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly reduced through technological development. Studies indicate that wind turbine kill as many as 40,000 birds a year.

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