Given the recent discussion on-list, thought I'd pass along this: > >Wind Power : A commentary from Bill Hammack's > public radio program > >You can listen to this commentary at > http://www.engineerguy.com > > > >Energy from the wind is renewable and pollutes very > little, yet > >the wind supplies only about one percent of the > United States electricity. Why such a small amount? > > > >There are several reasons that wind energy hasn't > been universally adopted in the United States. > > > >First, wind energy only recently became cheap. The > most important > >piece of machinery in turning wind into electricity > is a turbine. > >The large blades of the windmill spin the turbine, > and its motion > >turns wind energy into electricity. A turbine, of > course, is the > >same thing that drives a jet. So naturally the first > >manufacturers of turbines for capturing wind power > based their > >designs on jet engines. But this yielded wind > turbines that were > >inefficient, making the cost of a kilowatt of wind > energy about > >40 cents in the early 1980s - many times more than > fossil fuels. > > > >Today's state of the art windmill is fifteen > stories tall, with > >blades 200 feet or more across. They move very > slowly, typically > >about fifteen revolutions per minute, a tenth that > of older > >systems. New turbines are so efficient that wind > energy costs > >about the same as coal, natural gas or nuclear. > > > >With these advances, what's the problem now? > > > >It's this: You have to build the wind mills where > there is wind. > >Typical places for wind farms, as they call banks > of windmills, > >are plains, shorelines, the tops of hills, and the > narrow gaps > >between mountains. Places rarely near transmission > lines. > > > >The United States transmission system was designed > to supply > >electricity to a local area, so power plants are > typically built > >near cities. Since we build our cities where the > wind doesn't > >blow, there are no power lines near wind farms. > This calls for > >building costly transmission lines over unforgiving > terrain. > > > >In addition, wind power differs from fossil and > nuclear fuels in > >a critical way: It can supply steady electricity, > but not a burst > >of electricity. Utilities use coal- and > nuclear-powered plants, > >in addition to peak plants that kick in when demand > is greatest. > >Engineers are designing special batteries to supply > energy when > >the wind dies down, but the problem hasn't been > solved yet. > > > >To find the solutions we might look to other > countries. For > >example, Denmark gets one-third of their > electricity from wind. > >Yet, oddly this highlights the scale of the problem > in bringing > >wind power to the United States. Denmark is > slightly smaller than > >Vermont and New Hampshire combined and has a > population about > >that of Chicago. To generate their electrical > energy from wind > >takes over 6,000 wind turbines, located off-shore. > > > >So, wind power isn't the pancea that will save us. > The most > >optimistic estimate I can find is from the American > Wind Energy > >Association. They think that about six percent of > America's power > >will be from wind in the next twenty years. Mostly > likely wind > >power will be part of a patchwork of many energy > systems that, if > >all goes well, will supply the energy needs of the > United States. > > > >Copyright 2003 William S. Hammack Enterprises
Every now and then, when I'm driving in the foothills, I'll see a single wind turbine near a ranch house -- it does look incongruous near the more common windmill water-pumps! Grow Your Own Maru :) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
