1. Nick Mellon

2. What is it? Wind energy is generated using big turbines that are on top of huge poles. They work like a household fan does, but there is a generator that is attached to the blades, so wind the wind blows, it spins the fan and generates electricity.

3. History? Farmers first started using windmill as a way to pump water out of the ground to water plants. They also used the water for cattles to drink and for their own drinking water. Before this method, they had to hand pump their own water, which made them limited to how much crops and cattles they could have

4. How are they set up? The turbine generators are set up usually in rural areas, where there is more wind. The electric company will have flat beds with the disassembled parts driven out with a construction crew. They will pour cement in the ground and have a base installed to hold the pole, then they pull the pole up with hoists and set it into position

5. How much do they cost? Turbine generators come in many different sizes, so pricing can vary. In 2007, the cost to install a commercial size generator was $1.2 million to $2.6 million. Most of the commercial size turbines installed today cost about $3.5 million.

6. How much electricity can one generate? A good size turbine in a good location can produce 4,700,000 kWh of electricity per year, enough to meet the needs to power 1,000 households.

7. Is it a renewable resource? Yes and no. While wind will never go away, the raw materials used to make them and the fuel for the transport trucks and the energy needed to cast the metal is limited.

8. What’s the downside? The whole body of the windmill is huge, and they need to close down roads to transport them to different places. They fan blades need to be taken off and are a threat to motorists when they are on the trailer.

9. Harm on enviroment? Although the trucks that transport the parts that make up a wind generator. They burn diesel, which is less harmful to the enviroment than conventional gasoline engines.

10. What country uses turbines the most? Germany uses wind energy more the any other country in the world. The United States is second to the most. Spain is third.

11. Where are windmills usually needed? Windmills are usually needed in rural areas. The reason why is because some people need electricity in very remote locations, and it is hard to install cables going from a far away energy plant. Plus there is more wind in rural ares.

12. Is it in Minnesota? Yes, Minnesota is one of the leading states that use wind generators to make electricity. We are fourth behind Texas, California, and Iowa. Roughly 25% of our electricity should be generated from wind generators in 2020.

13. Works Cited En.wikipedia.org Google.com Windustry.com