Exploring Wind Energy
What Makes Wind
Global Wind Patterns
History of Wind Energy
5000 BC
Sailboats used on
the Nile indicate
the power of wind
500-900 AD
First windmills
developed in
Persia
1888
Charles F. Brush
used windmill to
generate electricity
in Cleveland, OH
1985
CA wind capacity
exceeded 1,000 MW
1300 AD
First horizontalaxis
windmills in
Europe
Early 1900s
Windmills in CA
pumped saltwater
to evaporate ponds
1850s
Daniel Halladay and
John Burnham build
Halladay Windmill;
start US Wind
Engine Company
1941
In VT, Grandpa’s
Knob turbine
supplies power to
town during WWII
1993
2004
US WindPower developed
Electricity from
first commercial variable-speed wind generation
wind turbine
costs 3 to 4.5 cents
per kWh
Late 1880s
Thomas O. Perry
conducted 5,000
wind experiments;
starts Aermotor
Company
1979
First wind turbine
rated over 1 MW
began operating
2011
Wind power provided
over 12% of renewable
energy used in US
Why Wind Energy?
o Clean, zero emissions
- NOx, SO2, CO, CO2
- Air quality, water quality
- Climate change
o Reduce fossil fuel dependence
- Energy independence
- Domestic energy—national security
o Renewable
- No fuel-price volatility
Renewable Electric Capacity
Worldwide
The NEED Project 2014
US DOE, EERE 2012 Renewable Energy Data Book
US Electricity Generation from
Non-Hydro Renewables
300
Geothermal
250
Waste
Wood
Solar Thermal
Million kilowatt-hours
200
Solar Photovoltaic
Wind
150
100
50
0
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2011
2012
2013
Top Installed Wind Power Capacity
THE TOP TWENTY-FIVE STATES
for Installed Wind Capacity, in MW as of December 31, 2012
1 Texas
12,212
14 Pennsylvania
2 Iowa
5,549
15 Michigan
988
3 California
5,137
16 Idaho
973
4 Oregon
3,153
17 South Dakota
784
5. Oklahoma
3,134
18 New Mexico
778
6. Minnesota
2,986
19 Wisconsin
649
7 Washington
2,808
20 Montana
645
8. Kansas
2,712
21 West Virginia
583
9 Colorado
2,301
22 Missouri
459
10 North Dakota
1,679
23 Nebraska
459
11 New York
1,638
24 Maine
431
12 Indiana
1,543
25 Utah
325
13 Wyoming
1,410
The NEED Project 2014
1,340
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Annual Installed U.S. Wind Power
Capacity
AWEA U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report Year Ending 2013
Installed Wind Capacities
1999-Present
Total: 61,946 MW
As of 6/30/2014
1999
Total: 2,500 MW
Top Twenty States for
Wind Energy Potential
Rank
State
1
Texas
2
Potential
Installed
Capacity
(MW)
Rank
State
Potential
Installed
Capacity
(MW)
1,901,530
11
New Mexico
492,083
Kansas
952,371
12
Minnesota
489,271
3
Montana
944,004
13
Colorado
387,220
4
Nebraska
917,999
14
Missouri
274,355
5
South Dakota
882,412
15
Illinois
249,882
6
North Dakota
770,196
16
Indiana
148,228
7
Iowa
570,714
17
Wisconsin
103,757
8
Wyoming
552,073
18
Michigan
59,042
9
Oklahoma
516,822
19
Ohio
54,920
10
Alaska
494,703
20
California
34,110
U.S. Wind Resource Map
Transmission Challenges
China Leads the World in Wind Capacity
Total Installed Generating Capacity (MW)
Top 5 Countries for 2013
New Installed Capacity
1. China
2. Germany
3. United Kingdom
4. India
5. Canada
Why Such Growth?
…costs are low!
• Increased Turbine Size
• R&D Advances
• Manufacturing Improvements
1979
40 cents/kWh
2000
4-6 cents/kWh
2004
3-4.5 cents/kWh
2011
Less than 5
cents/kWh
Modern Wind Turbines
Turbines can be categorized into two
classes based on the orientation of the
rotor.
The NEED Project 2014
Vertical-Axis Turbines
Advantages
Disadvantages
o Omni-directional
- accepts wind from any
direction
o Components can be
mounted at ground level
- ease of service
- lighter weight towers
o Can theoretically use
less materials to capture
the same amount of
wind
o Rotors generally near
ground where wind is
poorer
o Centrifugal force stresses
blades
o Poor self-starting
capabilities
o Requires support at top of
turbine rotor
o Requires entire rotor to be
removed to replace
bearings
o Overall poor performance
Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines
Small (<10 kW)
oHomes
oFarms
oRemote Applications
(e.g., water pumping,
Telecom sites, ice
making)
Intermediate(10-250 kW)
oVillage Power
oHybrid Systems
oDistributed Power
Large (250 kW-2+ MW)
oCentral Station Wind Farms
oDistributed Power
oSchools
Large Wind Turbines
 Common Utility-Scale
Turbines
328’ base to blade
Each blade is 112’
200 tons total
Foundation 20’ deep
Rated at 1.5-2
megawatts
o Supply about 500
homes
o
o
o
o
o
Wind Turbine Components
How a Wind Turbine Operates
The NEED Project 2014
Installation of Wind Turbines
The NEED Project 2014
Wind Turbine Perspective
Workers
Blade
112’ long
Nacelle
56 tons
Tower
3 sections
The NEED Project 2014
Wind Farms
Offshore Wind Farms
Residential Wind Systems and Net
Metering
Potential Impacts and Issues





Property Values
Noise
Visual Impact
Land Use
Wildlife Impact
Properly siting a wind turbine can mitigate many of these issues.
Impacts of Wind Power: Noise
The NEED Project 201
Wildlife Impacts
For More Information
The NEED Project
www.need.org
info@need.org
1-800-875-5029
Energy Information Administration
U.S. Department of Energy
www.eia.gov
The NEED Project 2014