Wind Power
Richard Harth
Angelina Genelow
Stephanie Wilkie
Patrick Verrastro
Objectives
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Significance to Electrical Demand
Agreement
Locations for Development
 Current
 Developing
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Problems
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Technical
Environmental
Social
Political
Laws and Regulations
Sustainability
Introduction
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Wind Power is the
conversion of wind
energy into a useful
form of energy, such
as using wind turbines
to make electricity,
wind mills for
mechanical power,
wind pumps for
pumping water or
drainage, or sails to
propel ships.

Unequal distribution of
heating on the Earth’s
surface creates an
atmospheric convection
system that results in
wind patterns.
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The modern wind
power industry
began in 1979.
The industry takes
advantage of wind
by using large-scale
wind farms
connected to an
electric power
transmission
network.
Wind Significance in Electrical
Demand
On a global scale, wind turbines are
currently generating about as much
electricity as eight large nuclear power
plants.
 A small, 10-kW-capacity turbine alone
can generate up to 16,000 kWh per
year, and a typical U.S. household
consumes about 10,000 kWh in a year.

A typical large wind turbine can generate
up to 1.8 MW of electricity, or 5.2 million
KWh annually, under ideal conditions -enough to power nearly 600
households.
 Clean
 Renewable
 Independent
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Opposition
Turbines do not always operate at 100%
 As a result, operators of wind-power
plants have to back up the system with a
small amount of reliable, non-renewable
energy for times when wind speeds die
down.

Optimum Locations
Placement is key.
 Most efficient in areas that are along the
coastlines and in mountainous areas
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Production Enhancement
More efficient turbines
 Vertical vs. horizontal
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Technical Impediments
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Wind is one of the most rapidly growing sources of
alternative energy, spurred largely by rapid evolution
in the development of turbines, blades, and towers.
Wind strength varies which disables the amount of
energy at a given location to be appropriately
indicated.
Wind farms don’t have consistent outputs, (as
opposed to fuel-fired power plants), since they use
power from existing generators. Thus wind power is
mainly a fuel saver.
Wind energy cannot be stored and can’t meet all
electric demands.
Blades are noisy and kill birds.
Technical Impediments (ctd.)
Lee Ranch Facility in Colorado
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WorldWindPower2008.png
Technical Impediments (ctd.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WorldWindPower2008.png
Can They be Overcome?
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Proper placement of wind mills

Vertical Air Wind Turbines
http://science.howstuffworks.com/wind-power2.htm
Environmental Problems
No air pollutants.
 Consumes no fuel
 Danger to Bats and Birds
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Social Problems
Aesthetic
 70% of people either like, or do not
mind, the visual impact
 Many people believe that wind holds
great promise as a viable source of
alternative energy
 Some people do not like the noise, light
flicker, and potential dangers from ice
throw and leaking lubricants

Political Problems
In an attempt to better deal with issues
arising from the deployment of wind, state
and local agencies are developing
ordinances to regulate windfarms
 Act 213 of 2004, the Alternative Energy
Portfolio Standards Act, signed into law by
Governor Edward G. Rendell on November
30, 2004, requires that 18 percent of the
electricity sold to retail customers in
Pennsylvania come from renewable and
advanced energy sources within 15 years
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Solutions
Sound is minimal, topped out at 64
decibels and went as low as 45 (smalltown residential cul-de-sac)
 Make decoys so birds and bats do not
try to fly up to the tower
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Laws and Regulations
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Act 213 passed in 2004, goes for all forms of
alternative energy stating that a percentage of
electricity generation has to be sold to PA
customers
Transmission of energy to the grid by having
organizations build new transmission facilities,
also studying the cost and reliability impacts of
wind transmissions
This leads to transmission expansion, fixing
system operations, and reliability standards
http://www.awea.org/policy/regulatory_policy/transmission.html
Laws and Regulations
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AWEA siting handbook, provided developers with
information land based wind projects
To start wind energy projects they must pass the
bureau of land management policies
The US forest service allows wind projects on
forest service managed lands with special permits
US fish and wildlife services released guidelines
for private development
Minerals management services deals with
offshore wind projects
http://www.awea.org/policy/regulatory_policy/siting_policy.html
Sustainability
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Wind power is a renewable energy source
that is efficient
AWEA is currently trying to CO2 by 15-20%
by 2020 which would be possible if wind
power was used more
If the US generated 20% of electricity from
wind power that would be the same as
removing 140 million vehicles from roadways
http://www.awea.org/policy/regulatory_policy/cleanair.html
Sustainability
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Currently wind power is the fastest growing
energy source
Its one of the cleanest most sustainable
ways to generate electricity
Wind power produces no toxic emissions,
doesn't contribute to global warming, and is
becoming a very cost competitive energy
source
Wind power started in the US from the early
1920's used by farmers and the idea and
concept stayed the same through the 1970's
with new win turbines and bigger energy
output
Sustainability
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By the early 1990's with new development
and research costs lowered more
development began
Wind still hasn't reached its full potential for
world development, estimated in 2005 that
on land and offshore there is 72TW
(equivalent to 54,000 million tons of oil per
year)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power#Economics_and_feasibility
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/technology_and_impacts/energy_technologies/howwind-energy-works.html
Questions?