WIND POWER

Wind Power

Wind Power

Introduction

One thing that could be considered as a constant phenomenon on the surface of the earth is the wind. As long as the sun heats the earth, wind will always be present. This is because the wind is created by the uneven heating of the earth's surface. Since there is energy in the wind, it has been used by men to produce something valuable just like electricity. Wind power energy today has gotten a lot of attention due to its viability.

It is very important for the human being to capture the wind energy as more as possible on a limited earth surface. Present wind power devices in commercial operation can not do that. To capture the wind energy in high air, a wind turbine and its generator are installed at the top of a very high tower, that the wind energy below the wind turbine can not be utilized. The operative efficiency about 20-30% of a wind power device means that most of the wind energy escapes from back of the wind wheels.

These wind turbines are tall structures that have the capacity to capture the energy of the wind and process it to produce electricity. These turbines are made of 3 blades and they are directed or pointed to the wind using motors. Computers are the ones that control the motors so as to accurately point the blades of the wind turbines. These turbines are really tall, and could reach up to 90 meters. The blades are also very long with some reaching up to 40 meters. The turbines are made to be tall so that they may be able to capture wind more efficiently. There are now a lot of wind farms all over the world. Some of these are offshore, and others are onshore. The former are those turbines that are installed on seas, while the latter are those installed on land.

These turbines generate medium voltage electricity, which is then directed towards the substation. A transformer in the substation increases the voltage of this electricity before it could be connected to the transmission system that runs higher voltage electricity. From the transmission lines, it then distributes the power to end users like homes and business establishments. And this is basically how wind power energy works.

Other renewable resources are inorganic and organic materials that replenished by biochemical and physical cycles. The main sources of renewable energy are biomass (wood and waste burn for fuel), hydroelectric power (energy produced from flowing water), geothermal sources (energy from heat sources in the earth's surface), Tidal energy (gravitational forces of attraction between the Moon, Earth and Sun resulting from the tides), solar (energy from the sun), and wind energy. Nonrenewable resources may be recyclable so that their usefulness to human beings can be extended, but often they transformed during use into useless matter such as waste gas. The term renewable energy covers a range of energy sources in theory, which depleted over ...