1. WIND POWER Jacob Kirk Evan Smith Sareha Sulesky

2. So, What’s Wind Anyway? WIND: Created by uneven heating of atmosphere Irregularities of the Earth’s surface Rotation of Earth. MODIFIED BY: -local terrain, bodies of water, weather patterns, & vegetative cover.

3. What Is Wind Power? Uses turbines to harness the power of the wind. Converts the kinetic energy of wind into other forms of energy

4. Pros Moderate to high energy High efficiency Moderate capital cost Low electricity cost Very low environmental impact No carbon dioxide emissions Quick construction Easily expanded It is a form of Solar Energy (Hot air)

5. Cons Steady winds needed Backup systems when needed winds are low High land use for wind farm Visual pollution Noise when located near populated areas May interfere in flights of migratory birds and kill birds of prey. LeBron Says “Boo hoo” 

6. How Does Wind Power Work? Works the opposite of a fan The energy in the wind turns two or three propeller-like blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected to the main shaft, which spins a generator to create electricity.

7. (continued…) Wind turbines are mounted on a tower to capture the most energy. At 100 feet (30 meters) or more above ground, they can take advantage of faster and less turbulent wind. Wind turbines can be used to produce electricity for a single home or building, or they can be connected to an electricity grid (shown here) for more widespread electricity distribution.

8. $$$$$COST$$$$$ From 1980 to 2000- 40cents to 3.5-5 cents per kilowatt- hour. More funding from government for research- cost could lower to 2.5 cents, making it cheapest form of energy. 1 windmill costs about 3 million dollars for construction & maintenance, fairly inexpensive from then on.

9. Greatest Potential Midwestern U.S. (South and North Dakota, and Texas have enough wind resources to meet all the nation’s demands in electricity. Sizeable wind farm projects are being developed in 12 states with the world’s largest single wind project are now being developed in Iowa.

10. Structure of Wind Turbine The structure of a wind turbine is: a steel or concrete tower equipped with a nacelle on top, which turns around an axis in a way that the rotor always faces the wind. Most wind turbines have three blades, a more appealing set-up than two- blade turbines that are lighter and easier to assemble.

11. Resources yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nst www.energy.gov/energysources/wind.htm Miller, G. Tyler. Living in the environment principles, connections, and solutions. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2002. R., Brown, Lester. Plan B 3.0 Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Third Edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008.

12. Resources cont. http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn _rt/nn_rt_wind/article_1101_en.htmhttp://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn _rt/nn_rt_wind/article_1101_en.htm http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/so urces/renewable/wind.htmlhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/so urces/renewable/wind.html http://www.awea.org/projects/ (The site above allows you to see what wind energy projects are underway in each state. Ohio has 7 as of December 31 st,2008)