Wind Energy (Is wind energy really that cheap Is it effective Is it practical) - Research Paper Example

Wind Energy Wind energy is free, clean and extensively available energy, which is never going to end. Its quantity was the same today as it was thousands of years ago. It has also served mankind in different ways for several years, like in the propelling ships, yachts, in pumping water from the underground and driving the wind turbines for the production of electricity. Wind is also a form of solar energy, because winds are mainly produced because of the temperature irregularities in the atmosphere caused by the sun, the unevenness of the earth’s surface and its rotation. Then this energy is used to turn the turbines and produce electrical energy. Basically the wind turbines are used to convert this wind energy into mechanical energy, which is later on used to transform it into electrical energy via generators or alternators. If we go through a brief history of electricity generation from wind turbines, Denmark was the first one to do it, who was able to produce 5 to 25 kW by 1910. Then in around 1925, wind-electric plants ranging from around 200 W to 3 kW were commercially available in the American market, and then in that era, the largest wind turbine was made in 1941 by Palmer C. Putnam with a capacity of 1250 kW. It was a hybrid hydro-electric capacity, in which, wind was the main source of energy, but in the absence of wind, water could also be used to turn the turbines. So Putnam’s main idea was also to save water, by driving the turbines with wind mainly, and thus, reduce the overall electricity cost. But during World War II the machine was seriously damaged after working for around 1100 hours since it was made and could not be repaired. It was estimated that similar hybrid wind turbines could be made for $190/installed kW at that time, but the price for oil and coal fired generation was around $125/installed kW, which was a huge difference, so this project was discontinued. And then further researches were made by other countries also, in which the wind power systems got pretty good advancements. Now let us discuss some pros and cons of wind energy, and its cost effectiveness. As I have explained earlier, wind is a free, clean, never ending and non-polluting source of energy unlike conventional power plants, which usually use furnace oil, diesel and coal, emitting a lot of pollution, thus badly affecting the environment. In 1990, according to the US Energy Department, the production of electricity using wind energy reduces the production of about 2.4 billion pounds of carbon dioxide and around 14.9 billion pounds of other pollutants. The cost of wind energy is reduced up to much of the extent in last 10 years, but still, it requires higher initial investment as compared to fuel generators. But the main cost is the machinery cost, which is around the 80% of the total cost. Whereas the running cost is almost free as compared to other sources of generating energy. So if we examine the total overall initial and total cost of the wind systems with other fossil fuel systems, then the cost of wind systems is quite competitive with other systems because on one hand where it saves the running cost or reduces it to the minimal, it also saves the fossil fuels, which are reducing in the earth’s crust day by day. Thus the energy produced from the wind also provides a soft edge against the increase in electric power prices as the prices of fossil fuels are increasing gradually. Another major issue, that we have to face while using wind as a power source is that wind is an intermittent source, for it is sometimes available at the required rate and sometimes it is not available. So it may or may not work, whenever electricity is needed, or at places where electricity is needed at every time. Though electrical energy produced by the wind mills can be stored in batteries, but wind itself cannot be stored anywhere to be available at the timing of electricity demands. And usually wind blows at faster rate in remote locations, which are usually far away from the main cities, where the demand of electricity is much more than those areas. So the transmission of this much load to the far away areas is also a big deal because of the line and other losses and has to be managed. So though the price and cost of wind energy is quite low, but transmitting it is still to be managed. In order to resolve this issue, wind turbines can be located on lands to be used for farming, harvesting and supplying electricity to the nearby residents. So, wind as an energy source is only practical in areas that have strong as steady winds, because the faster the wind blows, the more efficiently it will generate. We can usually find such areas at remote locations, villages, open areas, some of the mountainous areas and specially the coastal areas, where the wind usually always blows and its speed is sufficient to turn the wind turbines. Therefore the efficiency of the wind systems in highly dependent on the site it is installed at. Now the question arises how practical is wind energy for one. Small wind energy systems can be connected to the transmission or distribution lines through a gird connected system, or it can also be used for stand-alone purposes. If connected to the grid system, the wind turbines may reduce the consumption of electricity produced by other sources, and if the energy produced by the grid system is more than consumed, then the excessive energy can also be sent back to the grid by using automatic switchers and other devices. Whereas stand-alone wind energy systems can be useful for homes, offices, factories and even for small communities. Now according to my review, I must say that wind energy is the need of the present era of life, and in the new energy paradigm, it has also made its place and a very popular and vital source of renewable power. The increasing number of wind farms in the world and the growing and advanced researches made for wind power shows the awareness of people towards the renewable energy sources, because of the varying prices of oil and gas prices, the fuel import dependency and specially the environmental issues and the environmental pollution that is produced because of the energy produced by fossils. According to my analysis, wind energy is very cost effective, efficient, and practical for most of its applications. For as explained before, it may serve for commercial purposes by connecting lines with a grid system or may serve for stand-alone purposes also thus saving the environment, fuel cost and the utility cost as well. BIBLIOGRAPHY Johnson, Gary L. Wind Energy Systems. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 1985. Print. Wind Energy Basics, Wind Power, Wind Energy Basics, On the right track towards no-fuel energy, Read More