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Will Wind Power Ever Be An Essential Energy Resource?
With the price of fuel these days, there is much talk about alternative energy sources. Wind energy is one such source, and the public eye has settled on the efficiency of wind farms. Wind has the advantage of being an extremely clean and limitless source of power. Wind power is actually a form of solar power, because the inconsistent heating of the ground by the sun contributes to the change and variability of the wind. An electrical current is then generated from transforming the power of the wind.
Wind farms as a large-scale way of capturing the energy created by wind has been adopted by a number of nations. Similar to the propellers on an airplane, the blades of wind turbines, put up in large numbers in one location, are used to capture the power of the wind. Wind farms, as a result of the big number of turbines working together, have the capability to generate energy in huge quantities. The potential of wind farms will become obvious when you understand how they work. The way wind turbines function is, the propeller turns a shaft as the gusts of wind turn the propeller blades. The shaft is linked to a generator, which produces electrical energy from the turning action of the shaft. Hydropower is precisely the same, except for making use of water instead of wind as the source of energy.
The power made by one turbine is sufficient, at best, for no more than a farm, so bigger electrified areas require more than just one wind turbine. When the ability of a turbine is multiplied by having several of them, like you see on a wind farm, the compounded amount of electrical energy that can be produced is very big. The electric power created is adequate for running an entire community when you store it on an existing utility grid or in special large-scale battery cells. The technology behind wind turbines has grown remarkably, so that now they are effective no matter which way they face compared to the wind – even swirling winds can be used.
The efficiency is increased also when the turbines are taller, or if the blades are larger. Calculating the efficiency of wind turbines is made difficult by the complexity of elements involved. It’s difficult to ascertain common factors on different farms, as besides the size of the turbines being variable, the farms themselves vary so much when it comes to the natural terrain and the properties of the wind. Nevertheless, the typical turbine converts about 20% of the power in wind to electrical energy. Prime production efficiency is achieved when the wind blows at no less than 5 miles an hour, and not more than 20 miles an hour.
Wind power with an efficiency rating of 20% is higher than solar by 5 to 7 percent, but solar is a lot more constant than wind. Wind is one of the more favourable kinds of renewable source of energy, and benefits from technology getting better each day. Amongst alternative energy sources it has become vital, but has not yet found global favour. One government a lot is Germany.
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2012-11-15 02:42:11
Source: http://www.gosolarpowerforhomes.com/will-wind-power-ever-be-an-essential-energy-resource/
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