The Power of Wind

1. The Power of Wind

2. What is Energy? • Energy is defined as the ability to do work. • We use energy for everything we do from walking down the hallways to sending astronauts into space. • The energy we use in our daily tasks, such as driving a car, cooking a meal or working on a computer; must be produced and delivered to us.

3. Where does the energy come from? • There are two main sources of the energy we use: renewable and non-renewable. • Renewable sources are those that can be replaced in a short period of time. • Non-renewable sources are those that can not be replaced.

4. U.S. Energy Facts • As a developed and advanced industrialized society, each year the United States consumes nearly 22% of the energy produced in the world. • Our consumption outweighs our production by nearly 30%, making the U.S. rely heavily on energy imports Our current production and consumption of energy.

5. How do we use all this energy? • We can sort our energy usage into 5 sectors: • Transportation • Industry • Commercial • Residential • Electrical • Notice that electrical energy use is the largest sector.

6. What sources supply the energy for these uses? Sources of Energy Consumed in the U. S. (2006) • Only 7% of the energy we use comes from renewable resources. Q: What will happen as our needs increase, but the non-renewable sources diminish?

7. A: Look into increasing our use of renewable resources! • Based on the need for new, environmentally consciences energy production, wind energy is the best overall choice for investment in research and implementation. • Winds are created by uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, therefore will be in supply as long as the sun shines on us. The wind flow can be used to generate electricity. • Man has used wind power throughout history. Harnessing wind energy was one of man's earliest achievements.

8. How wind energy works! There are 2 types of wind turbines that generate energy: horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) and vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT). Since most technology has been developed for the horizontal axis, we will focus on that type.

9. The technology is pretty simple. The wind flows through a set of blades in the turbine, causing them to rotate on a axis. The spinning of the axis transfers this energy into electricity using a generator. Click the picture above for cool details of how it works.

10. 5 Reasons to Support Wind Energy 1. Clean up the air. Wind power reduces smog, acid rain, and air pollution. 0% Emissions. 2. Renewable energy. Wind is inexhaustible. 3. For kids' sake. Our oil, natural gas, and coal won't last forever. 4. Cheap energy is a myth. Think about the hidden costs of cheap energy: smog, acid rain and snow, oil spills, climate change, human health impacts, nuclear waste, and lost species. 5. It's the right thing to do. It’s time to be environmentally conscious.

11. Advantages of Wind Power • Wind is free, wind farms need no fuel. • Produces no waste or greenhouse gases. • The land beneath can usually still be used for farming. • Wind farms can be tourist attractions, which promotes rural communities. • A good method of supplying energy to remote areas. • Can be used small-scale from individual homes to large-scale wind forms for entire communities. • One of the cheapest energy sources.

12. Disadvantages of Wind Power • The wind is not always predictable - some days have no wind. • Suitable areas for wind farms are often near the coast, where land is expensive. • Some people feel that covering the landscape with these towers is unsightly. • Can kill birds - migrating flocks tend to like strong winds.However, this is rare, and we tend not to build wind farms on migratory routes anyway. • Can affect television reception if you live nearby. • Can be noisy. Wind generators have a reputation for making a constant, low, "swooshing" noise day and night, which can drive you nuts. The major drawbacks of wind energy are reliability and costs.

13. Description of current ways or places that use it. • In 2005, wind machines in the United States generated a total of 17.8 billion kWh per year of electricity, enough to serve more than 1.6 million households; but it is only about 0.4 percent of the nation's total electricity production. • New technologies have decreased the cost of producing electricity from wind, and growth in wind power has been encouraged by tax breaks for renewable energy. • Wind machines generate electricity in 25 different states in 2005. The states with the most wind production are California, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. • The United States ranks third in the world in wind power capacity.

14. The Future of Wind Energy Wind energy is the fastest growing energy source growing at more than 35% per year.

15. Based on wind resource potential, there is ample potential for the development of wind farms in rural areas in the rocky mountains. Many of these areas are publicly owned lands and should be looked into. Wind Strength at 50 m

16. In a nutshell:There is an enormous untapped resource of areas available for wind energy.The ability for wind energy to be used small scale will increase its versitility.The technology is improving rapidly to increase efficiency and reduce cost and hazzards.The government is willing to subsidize and promote its use. The Projection • Technological advancements and supportive policy measures have the ability to drastically increase the future of wind energy development in our nation and our world. • Wind power has the unique ability to provide even greater sources of distributed energy production, which means less risk and a stronger energy portfolio. • America’s ingenuity and drive for independence are well suited to increased wind energy development in the future.

17. Top 5 Newest Wind Farms

18. Data about Current Wind Farms

19. Resources • http://www.eia.doe.gov/ • http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/index.html • http://science.howstuffworks.com/wind-power.htm • http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/ • http://www.windustry.com/wind-basics/learn-about-wind-energy/learn-about-wind-energy • http://www.awea.org/projects/project_data.html