Wind Alternative Energy

Wind is created from the heating and cooling of the air, which causes wind currents and wind flow that we feel on a breezy summer day or what chills us during a frigid winter gust. The energy of wind can be capture and put to good use as a renewable energy source. It is clean and cannot be depleted. It is very cost efficient and a good investment for homeowners that have a bit of land. Wind power is a great way to cut electric bills and will not degrade the environment.

Wind has kinetic energy. The energy can be harnessed the blades on a wind machine or a turbine, which is similar to a windmill. The blades work like an airplane’s wings, the wind flow causes lift, which is what makes the blades turn. The wind machine connects to an energy generator, so when the blades move, energy is produced. The amount of energy produced depends on the amount harnessed; the amount harnessed depends on how much wind is actually blowing.

There are two different types of wind machines, horizontal-axis and vertical-axis. Most of today’s wind machines are the horizontal-axis kind. They are about 20 stories tall and have 3 blades that are 200 feet long. The reason they have to be that large is because the bigger and taller the wind machine, then the more wind it can capture. A wind farm or wind power plant is where there are a lot of wind machines together that can power a whole electrical grid.

It is important that a wind farm be placed on a site with a lot of wind flow or it won’t be very cost competitive. The best places are in the Midwest and also on the tops of slightly elevated land. Wind farms are not owned by public utility companies but by Independent Power Producers. Europe and the U.S. have the most wind farms in the world because of government support of wind power development. The power of wind has residential use also, and not just in big wind farms.

A person can put up a wind turbine on as little as on acre of land. It will cut utility costs as much as 90% and after a few years, electricity will be virtually free. A wind turbine is a great investment and can drastically increase the value of a home. Although a turbine is an initially high cost investment, over six to 15 years it has good turn around.

Wind power is great because it is renewable, doesn’t pollute the air, or produce atmospheric emissions, also there won’t be a surprise rise in electricity costs as with a utility company who is using depleting energy resources. The United States Department of Energy hopes that by 2030, America will be running on 20% wind power. To achieve this a new transmission infrastructure would have to be built and the number of turbines put in place each year would have to triple.

For more information about Wind Alternative Energy:

Wind Generation Potential