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WIND ENERGY Lesson 3B Adapted from: http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=wind_home-basics (United States Energy Information Administration) January 2016 Energy From Wind Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the earth's surface by the sun. During the day, the air above the land heats up faster than the air over water. The warm air over the land expands and rises, and the heavier, cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating wind. At night, the winds are reversed because the air cools more rapidly over land than over water. How uneven heating of water and land causes wind Electricity Generation From Wind How Wind Turbines Work Wind turbines use blades to collect the wind’s kinetic energy. Wind flows over the blades creating lift (similar to the effect on airplane wings), which causes the blades to turn. The blades are connected to a drive shaft that turns an electric generator, which produces electricity (see illustration on page 2). 1 WIND ENERGY Lesson 3B Wind Turns the Blades Which Turn the Generator to Make Electricity Source: Google images Wind Power Plants Require Careful Planning Operating a wind power plant is more complex than simply erecting wind turbines in a windy area. Wind power plant owners must carefully plan where to position wind turbines. It is important to consider how fast and how often the wind blows at the site. Wind speed typically increases with altitude and increases over open areas without windbreaks. Good sites for wind turbines include the tops of smooth, rounded hills, open plains or shorelines, and mountain gaps that funnel and intensify wind. The Columbia River Gorge in Oregon is a gap in the mountains; wind funnels through the gap activating wind turbines located on the rounded hills above the Columbia River. Offshore wind power There is potential for significant electricity generation from wind energy in the waters off the coasts of the United States, and there are plans for several offshore wind project along the shores of the northeastern U. S. There are many off-shore wind energy projects operating in Europe. Wind Turbines and Wind Farms The size of wind turbines varies widely. The length of the blades helps determine the amount of electricity a wind turbine can generate. Small wind turbines used to power a single home or business may have a capacity of less than 100,000 watts. The largest turbines have capacities of five to eight million watts. Larger turbines are often grouped together to create wind power plants, or wind farms that provide power to electricity grids. 2 WIND ENERGY Lesson 3B One of the world's largest wind farms, located in Texas, has 430 wind turbines spread over about 47,000 acres. Cost of producing electricity from wind New technologies have decreased the cost of producing electricity from wind, and growth in wind power has been encouraged by government and industry incentives and subsidies. About 4 percent of U. S. electricity generation is from wind. The federal government provides research and development funding to help reduce the cost of wind turbines. The U.S. federal government also has offered tax and investment incentives for wind power projects. Types of Wind Turbines Most of the wind turbines currently in use are horizontal-axis turbines. Horizontal-axis turbines have blades like airplane propellers. The horizontal-axis turbines used on wind farms can be as tall as 20-story buildings and can have blades more than 100 feet long. Taller turbines with longer blades generate more electricity. Horizontal-axis turbines commonly have three blades. Source: National Energy Education Development Project (public domain) Wind Energy in Oregon Oregon now ranks among the top ten states with the most wind power installed. Climbing from 1 percent in the early 2000s, wind power accounted for 12.4 percent of total electricity generated in Oregon during 2013. Most of the wind turbines are located in the Columbia Gorge and in northeastern Oregon. Lesson3BWINDHandout.1.2016 3 Team Member Names_________________________________________________ List a positive environmental impact and a negative environmental impact of using wind energy to make electricity Lesson 3B WIND: Renewable Energy Analysis Worksheet Positive Environmental Benefit: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Negative Environmental Impact: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ In your opinion, rate from 1 to 5 how cost effective wind is as a source of energy for people in the United States. Provide at least two reasons why you chose this rating. Rating of 1: very cost effective; it is easy to change wind into electricity with wind turbines; it is easy to find locations for wind turbines; costs for materials to make electricity from wind energy are reasonable Rating of 5: not cost effective; difficult to find locations for wind turbines; electricity created from wind is costly to transport to the user; costs for materials necessary to make electricity from wind energy are not reasonable Your analysis of wind as a source of energy in the United States: COST EFFECTIVE? Rating = ________ Reason #1: __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Reason #2:__________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Lesson3BEnergyAnalysisWkshtWIND.1.2016