Budny 10:00 AM
R09
CONTINUING WIND ENERGY
Jimmy Phillips (jrp95@pitt.edu)
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOURCE
Finding, using, and developing resources into energy is
and will continue to be a highly debated topic among nations
across world. Some nations are better suited for extracting
and finding these resources than others. For example, the
Middle East is obviously a region where countries can very
easily extract oil from their ground. Likewise, Pennsylvania
has recently been in the news for being located above the
Marcellus and Utica Shale gas reserves. This is clearly a
prime spot for drilling for natural gas, but I believe actual
clean, renewable energy is a better investment for our
country and our future. While natural gas is undoubtedly an
improvement over coal, I firmly believe our country must
keep investing in sustainable energy sources. Sustainable
energy sources are constantly being updated, and new
information is always being brought forward. Therefore, it
is essential that we continue this research so current
students, and future engineers, will be able to study these
sources in school. I would love to start studying a
developing field with experts while still in school instead of
first hearing about the topic after graduation. Research
projects, like this one, make it very useful and helpful for
current students, like myself, to realize the vast career
opportunities available upon graduation. Civil and
environmental engineers should be highly committed to
making our country energy independent. Like almost all
professions, civil engineers must abide by a code of ethics.
A code of ethics is used to ensure a profession is being
honest and helpful to all members of society. I believe not
investing in wind energy would go against a civil engineers
code of ethics. I believe this because if we were not trying
to improve our nations air and water quality, become energy
independent, and reduce energy costs then we would not be
trying to help the people of the United States. A code of
ethics is installed to ensure people are being helped and
developing wind energy would have countless benefits.
Harvesting the wind as energy is critical for many reasons
and will certainly provide thousands of jobs for possible
engineers like myself in the future.
AN EXTENDED SUBSIDY
Wind Energy, like nearly all forms of energy, has a
subsidy created by our government. However, the subsidy
for wind energy is set to expire at the end of the year and
congress will have the option to either extend or end it [1].
In my opinion congress must extend the current subsidy, or
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create a new one, so effective research on more efficient
wind turbines can be conducted. As it is, wind turbines are
extremely expensive and simply cannot compete with coal
and natural gas prices. Constructing, transporting, and
installing hundreds of feet and tons of metal is not a cheap
process. However, the return comes from the free electricity
produced by the wind moving blades on the turbines.
According to Mark Muro, renewable energy sources need a
few more years before they can even begin to compete with
coal and gas prices [2]. Furthermore, research by Bloomberg
New Energy Finance shows that wind energy is only a few
years away from “the point where its cost equals the baseline price of power on the grid” [2]. If this research is
accurate, the government would only need to extend the
subsidy a few more years so that wind energy can continue
to make progress in becoming the energy source of the
future.
Energy in the US
Here in the United States wind energy has “cycles of
boom and bust” times where as wind energy is moving along
at a “breezy pace” in many “overseas” countries [1]. I
believe we can also consistently improve sustainable energy
sources as long as we continue our investment and research
in creating more efficient wind turbines. According to the
civil engineers code of ethics, engineers must use “skill” to
“enhance” and improve “human welfare and our
environment” [3]. This is the very first principle listed under
the ASCE code of ethics. Clearly, committing to improve
our environment and quality of life is fully expected of all
civil and environmental engineers. Developing sustainable
energy in the US would dramatically improve human
welfare and our environmental conditions. I believe
European countries have committed to creating wind energy
well before our government has. In fact, wind energy
consumption in Europe has grown at about “15% from 2007
to 2011”[5]. This growth has led to wind energy becoming
one of the most popular energy sources in Europe and
“caused The European wind energy industry” to have around
“$24.8 billion” in total revenue in 2011 [5]. According to
Research and Markets, even with the expected decline in
growth, the wind industry is expected to total approximately
49 billion dollars once the calendar hits 2016 in Europe [5].
As seen in Europe, a commitment from our government to
turn to clean and sustainable energy can clearly work and
generate money at the same time. Currently, a subsidy is
needed to continue the production of wind energy at a
reasonable price. The additional research and commitment
will certainly increase jobs in the United States and pay off
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“macro ethical” problems [6]. This clearly shows that
companies and schools should take a larger role in holding
their workers accountable for knowing the ethics of an
engineer. Environmental engineers can focus on creating
new technology for wind turbines since there are not any
controversies over ethics.
in the future. In order to discover new information about
wind energy, we must continue to pursue the prospective
energy source like other countries have shown.
NEW DESIGN
Wind turbines are in the process of undergoing extreme
evolutions that will help maximize the energy produced by
them. Making “wind turbines taller and increasing the blade
size” is a focal point in the revolutionary design of modern
wind turbines [1]. Taller wind turbines will be the start of a
new future for wind turbines and more research needs to be
conducted to further our knowledge of creating sustainable
energy sources [1]. Creating new designs for wind turbines
is a duty that environmental engineers need to focus on.
According to the code of ethics, “Engineers shall perform
services only in areas of their competence” [4]. While this
may seem fairly obvious, environmental engineers are
mainly responsible for the main design of wind energy. This
heavily impacts my future because as a potential
environmental engineer, I know I can be counted on to
develop new energy sources and not completely phased out
by chemical and industrial engineers. As long as renewable
energy sources are being developed, there is a need for
environmental engineers too. This code greatly impacts my
future as well as millions others as we go through school and
seek careers. These turbines will prove that investing our
time and money into researching and developing wind
energy is necessary. Finding and creating more renewable
energy sources needs be a goal for our country over the next
several decades in order to keep our environment intact and
reduce the amount of excessive pollutants in our air.
Taller and Bigger
Wind energy is still a relatively new and almost foreign
idea to most people in the United States since we are still
learning so much about it. New advances will certainly be
made when researching a new topic like wind turbines.
Recently, General Electric (GE) acquired new technology
from another company that would enable taller wind
turbines to be created. Some turbines would reach “over 100
meters” tall, but these taller towers must be used to go along
with the “longer blades” that were being created to improve
“energy output” [7]. Simply put, wind turbines that are
taller are better because they cover more area where wind
can blow. In addition to covering more area, they reach
higher altitudes and therefore spin more since there is more
wind at higher altitudes. Area works in square units so
“doubling” the size of the “blade means four times as much
power” [1]. Finding important conversions between size and
energy produced is key for future designs of turbines. In this
case, a taller the turbine translates to more power that a wind
turbine is able to produce.
Practical Use
However, turbines cannot just be made as large are
possible. Factors like manufacturing and transportation are
huge problems when doubling the size of wind turbines and
farms. Taller wind turbines continue to produce more
benefits in producing energy. Wind energy “increases by the
cube” so “doubling” wind speeds results in “eight times
more power” [1]. Research like this is what will propel the
sustainable energy to become the future of America.
Knowing that creating taller turbines has more than one
large benefit is key in the design of future wind turbines.
Also, to prevent “damage to the blades”, wind turbines
“have an automatic shutdown speed” that usually is between
“45 and 80 miles per hour” [1]. Clearly wind turbines have
a limitation for collecting energy. Taller turbines have
turned out to be much better than small ones and I imagine
that with more research and development, we will soon be
able to create turbines that exceed this speed limitation. We
are continuing to discover new, breaking information about
wind energy since we are just now starting to actually be
able to produce and create energy from wind. Moreover, as
we continue to create these turbines, we advance our
knowledge of the technology needed for these massive
energy machines. Technology is rapidly changing, and these
Ethics in Wind Energy
Ethics are often a heated discussion point in many
energy conversations. However, wind energy does not have
many ethical problems surrounding it. I believe this is
because it is naturally abundant wherever you go and not
just in certain places miles beneath the surface like gas or
oil. Many of the “codes” and “fundamental canons” are
easily followed when researching and developing wind
energy [4]. In my opinion this is another huge benefit of
developing wind energy for our country and citizens. The
engineers investing time and money into wind energy need
to make sure they follow all procedures to avoid any ethical
problems. These guidelines are clearly laid out by the NSPE
and ASCE and are essentially basic rules to follow to ensure
safety and fairness among companies and workers.
According to Byme, engineers who are taught the ethics and
understand them in school will have a greater concern for
ethical issues [6]. I think if you are dealing with ethics on a
daily basis then you will most certainly have a greater
concern for larger ethical problems around the world, and
not just in engineering. Byme also points out that engineers
are more likely “to inform the public” and find a solution to
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turbines will probably become easier to manufacture and
move as we learn how to make them more efficient.
determine if a topic has a legitimate future. New
breakthroughs will always be made when it is worth the time
and effort, and engineers are generating new designs such as
taller, more efficient wind turbines every day. These
turbines show us that discoveries are constantly happening
and soon enough we will have a viable source of using
renewable energy. I believe more discoveries will continue
to happen at an increased rate if engineers in school are
studying and focusing on specific topics in their freshman
year. These taller turbines have made wind energy extremely
more practical than ever before and they are still being
designed to be even more efficient.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE
Researching a popular, yet thought-provoking topic like
wind energy has interested me greatly in the field. I knew I
wanted to study engineering when I came to Pitt because of
the amount of opportunities it gave me. However, I wasn’t
quite sure what sort of engineering I wanted to do. This
paper was exactly what I needed during my freshman year.
It really helped me focus my interests early on and not waste
anytime on topics I have no interest in. For this reason, I
highly recommend this assignment to every single
engineering school in the country. Also, some schools have
been introducing basic engineering curriculum during the
freshman year. According to Glassey, introducing a
chemical engineering during a weeklong module greatly
helped students pick up chemical engineering more quickly
later in school [8]. This really shows how early exposure
creates a greater interest and an easier learning environment.
At first, it was not easy to choose a topic and I believe this is
now a benefit to me. I was able to look through many
options for engineering and write about the one topic that
interested me the most. I started with sustainability and
found it is a much more popular topic than I originally
thought. Researching wind energy helped me find broader
information for studying environmental engineering. For
example, “environmental engineering” is considered more
“practical” than environmental management [9]. Learning
about a job market is extremely important while in college,
because majoring in a field where getting hired is unlikely is
just foolish. Also, I wasn’t exactly sure if civil or industrial
engineering was best for sustainability, but “sustainable
development” is a “key mark” for civil and environmental
engineering [9]. This paper will have a huge impact on my
future major, classes and eventual degree. Many students
are unsure of what is best for them but writing a research
paper about what you are truly interested in is the best way
to consider a possible career path.
BETTERING OUR FUTURE
Engineering more efficient products in a cost effective
way should always be the main goal of a project. With an
extended subsidy on wind energy, this goal is also achieved
with added benefits. Benefits like creating a better future for
our world and people through clean energy, improving our
current job market, and becoming energy independent all
come with the continual research of wind energy. I firmly
believe benefits like these will greatly help our future.
Finding an alternative clean energy source seems like it has
endless benefits to everyone and continuing with our
development of wind energy is critical to finding it. Also,
following a code of ethics for engineering is necessary to
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friends for encouraging me to stay focused and finish my
paper.
REFERENCES
[1] Hosansky, D. (2011, April 1). Wind power. CQ
Researcher,
21,
289-312.
(Online
Article)
http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/
[2] Muro, M., & Kreutzer, D. (2012, 10 08). Do we need
subsidies for solar and wind power? Wall Street Journal.
(Online
Article)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444032404
578008183300454400.html
[3]“Code of ethics”. 2012. http://www.asce.org/Leadershipand-Management/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/
[4] National Society of Professional Engineers “NSPE Code
of
Ethics
for
Engineers”
(2012).
http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html
[5] "Research and Markets: The Timely Report Wind
Energy in Europe Is Expected To Increase to a Value of
$43.2 Billion by the End Of 2016." M2 Presswire 29 June
2012.
General
OneFile.
(Online
Article)
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE
%7CA294777118&v=2.1&u=upitt_main&it=r&p=ITOF&s
w=w&authCount=1
[6] Edmond P. Byrne, (2012) "Teaching engineering ethics
with sustainability as context", International Journal of
Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 13 Iss: 3, pp.232 –
248
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1704
2044&show=abstract
[7] "GE Completes Acquisition of Next-Generation Wind
Turbine Tower Technology." Business Wire 11 Feb. 2011.
General OneFile. (Online Article)
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE
%7CA248806274&v=2.1&u=upitt_main&it=r&p=ITOF&s
w=w&authCount=1
[8] Jarka Glassey, Sue Haile, (2012) "Sustainability in
chemical engineering curriculum", International Journal of
Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 13 Iss: 4, pp.354 –
364
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1705
3808&show=abstract
[9] Paulikova, Alena, Jana Vargova, and Emil Wessely.
"Environmental engineering and environmental management
support sustainable development in industry." Annals of
DAAAM & Proceedings (2009). Academic OneFile. Web.
30
Oct.
2012.
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE
%7CA224712869&v=2.1&u=upitt_main&it=r&p=AONE&
sw=w&authCount=1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge all the people that help me
write this paper. Including but not limited to the writing
instructors for their clarifications and help, the librarian for
helping me find my sources in databases and finally my
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