Like ancient windmills, modern wind machine blades capture kinetic energy from the wind and slow it down to turn wing-like blades. These blades resembling airplane propellers are connected to a drive shaft that turns a generator to produce electricity, as the wind blows. The typical (horizontal axis) wind machine may be as tall as a 20-story building with three, 200-foot wide blades. Blades of the largest wind machines may span more than 100 yards (longer than a football field) apiece.
Of course, since the wind does not constantly blow, wind power is generally used in combination with other energy sources. Wind power cannot replace fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, one hundred percent, but it has a significant and positive impact on the environment, and is clean, effective, and efficient. Wind power sufficiently satisfies regulations imposed on utilities companies to obtain at least 25% of their energy from renewable sources.
Modern electricity-producing wind machines are not just “dotting the landscape.” Groups of large turbines form wind farms that run along the coasts, as well as are parked offshore, of nearly every continent. U.S. wind farms may be seen along the California/west coast and throughout the Midwest. The largest wind farm in the world is located in Texas (the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center). It has 421 wind turbines, able to power 220,000 homes. Clusters of wind turbines have also sprung up in Ireland, the U.K., and Japan. Most wind farms are located in Europe and the U.S., but anywhere there is a need and desire to replace fossil fuels with clean, cheap, renewable energy, modern wind machines may be a viable alternative for generating power.
Individual homes, businesses, and small farms have increasingly begun using small turbines to provide power. These small horizontal axis type wind machines typically generate less than 100 kilowatts. Larger commercial-sized turbines used and grouped in wind farms typically have a 5 million watts (or 5 megawatts) capacity.
The U.S. generated 26.6 billion kWh of electricity in 2006. Although this is enough to power 2.4 million households, it only represented 0.4% of the nation’s total electricity production for that year. Improved and less expensive technology, utilities “green pricing options,” and tax break incentives have increased wind energy as an alternative for electricity production.
Jason Grace
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
