Sign in or 
Share this
Wind Energy
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into more useful forms, like electricity. In 2005, worldwide capacity of wind-powered generators was 58,982megawatts; although it currently produces less than 1% of world-wide electricity use, it accounts for 23% of electricity use in Denmark, 8% in the United States, 4.3% in Germany and approximately 8% in Spain. Globally, wind power generation more than quadrupled between 1999 and 2005. Most modern wind power is generated in the form of electricity by converting the rotation of turbine blades into electrical current by means of an electrical generator. In windmills (a much older technology), wind energy is used to turn mechanical machinery to do physical work, like crushing grain or pumping water. Wind power is used in large scale wind farms for national electrical grids as well as in small individual turbines for providing electricity to rural residences or grid-isolated locations. Wind energy is abundant, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and mitigates the greenhouse effect if used to replace fossil-fuel-derived electricity. The cost of wind-generated electric power has dropped substantially. Since 2004, according to some sources, the price in the United States is now lower than the cost of fuel-generated electric power. In 2005, wind energy cost one-fifth as much as it did in the late 1990s, and that downward trend is expected to continue as larger multi-megawatt turbines are mass-produced. An estimated 1 to 3% of energy from the Sun that hits the earth is converted into wind energy. This is about 50 to 100times more energy than is converted into biomass by all the plants on earth through photosynthesis. Most of this wind energy can be found at high altitudes where continuous wind speeds of over 160 km/h (100 mph) occur. Eventually, the wind energy is converted through friction into diffuse heat all through the earth's surface and atmosphere. There are many thousands of wind turbines operating, with a total capacity of 58,982MW of which Europe accounts for 69% (2005). The average output of one megawatt of wind power is equivalent to the average consumption of about 160 American households. Wind power was the most rapidly-growing means of alternative electricity generation at the turn of the century and world wind generation capacity more than quadrupled between 1999 and 2005. 90% of wind power installations are in the US and Europe, but the share of the top five countries in terms of new installations fell from 71% in 2004 to 55% in 2005. By 2010, World Wind Energy Association expects 120,000MW to be installed worldwide. Germany, Spain, the United States, India, and Denmark have made the largest investments in wind generated electricity. Denmark is prominent in the manufacturing and use of wind turbines, with a commitment made in the 1970s to eventually produce half of the country's power by wind. Denmark generates over 20% of its electricity with wind turbines, the highest percentage of any country and is fifth in the world in total power generation. Denmark and Germany are leading exporters of large (0.66 to 5MW) turbines. Wind accounts for 1% of the total electricity production on a global scale (2005). Germany is the leading producer of wind power with 32% of the total world capacity in 2005 (6% of German electricity); the official target is that by 2010, renewable energy will meet 12.5% of German electricity needs - it can be expected that this target will be reached even earlier. Germany has 16,000wind turbines, mostly in the north of the country - including three of the biggest in the world. Germany's Schleswig-Holstein province generates 25% of its power with wind turbines. Spain and the United States are next in terms of installed capacity. In 2005, the government of Spain approved a new national goal for installed wind power capacity of 20,000MW by 2012. In 2005, both Germany and Spain have produced more electricity from wind power than from hydropower plants. India ranks 4th in the world with a total wind power capacity of 5,340MW. Wind power generates 3% of all electricity produced in India. The World Wind Energy Conference in New Delhi in November 2006 will give additional impetus to the Indian wind industry. In December 2003, General Electric installed the world's largest offshore wind turbines in Ireland, and plans are being made for more such installations on the west coast, including the possible use of floating turbines. The wind farm near Muppandal, India, provides an impoverished village with energy for work. On August 15, 2005, China announced it would build a 1000-megawatt wind farm in Hebei for completion in 2020. China reportedly has set a generating target of 20,000MW by 2020 from renewable energy sources - it says indigenous wind power could generate up to 253,000MW.
|
coolest_rg2006 |
Latest page update: made by coolest_rg2006
, Nov 21 2006, 3:34 AM EST
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by coolest_rg2006
2 words deleted view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
None
More Info: links to this page
|
There are no threads for this page.
Be the first to start a new thread.
