![]() Use the Department of Energy’s Wind Resource Maps to find the average wind speeds in your state or hometown. Higher wind speeds mean more electricity and wind turbines get taller to reach higher heights above the ground where it is even windier.Wind turbine blades average over 190 feet long and turbine towers average 295 feet high – about the height of the Statue of Liberty. A wind turbine consists of up to 8,000 different components. Today’s wind turbines are much more complicated machines than the traditional prairie windmill. ![]() Today, modern wind turbines use wind to generate electricity. Early forms of a windmill used the wind to crush grain or pump water. Human civilizations have used wind power for thousands of years.Since the swept area is A = pir 2, where r = radius of the rotor, a small increase in blade length results in a larger increase in the power available to the turbine The larger the swept area (the size of the area through which the rotor spins), the more power the turbine can capture from the wind. If everything else is the same, turbines will produce more power at lower altitudes and in places with cooler average temperatures. Air is less dense at higher altitudes than at sea level, and warm air is less dense than cold air. The air density varies with altitude and temperature. The denser the air, the more energy the turbine receives. Small changes in wind speed have a major impact on the power available in the wind. In other words, when the wind speed doubles, there is eight times more energy in the wind (2 3 =2x2x2=8). The amount of energy in the wind varies with the cube of the wind speed. Three key factors affect the amount of energy a turbine can harness from the wind: The rotor turns the driveshaft, which turns an electric generator. Wind turbines convert the energy in the wind into electricity by rotating propeller-like blades around a rotor. Mountains, bodies of water, and vegetation influence the wind flow patterns. The wind is caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, fluctuations in the earth’s surface, and the earth’s rotation. Therefore, it must be used in conjunction with other power sources to ensure a reliable supply. Locally, there is a variable performance that is constant from year to year but changes significantly over shorter periods of time. The wind is an intermittent source of energy that cannot be dispatched when needed. Wind power is a popular sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller environmental impact compared to burning fossil fuels. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water), or can be converted into electricity by a generator. ![]() Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. The terms “wind energy” and “wind power” both describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |