Winds of Change
Large
Large[the following information comes from the Canadian Wind Energy Associations website]
How Wind is Produced
Like all forms of energy, wind is created as a result of the sun.
The sun heats a land mass and the heat from the land is absorbed by the surrounding air. When the air reaches a certain temperature, it begins to rise quickly upwards. This results in a low pressure area at ground level and a higher pressure area above the land. Air naturally moves from high pressure zones to low pressure zones. This air movement creates wind.
Areas of the Earth that are close to the sun, such as the equator, become warmer more quickly than areas further away, such as the poles. As air moves over warm areas and rises, cooler air from surrounding areas rushes in to fill the space left by the rising air, thereby creating surface winds.
Due to elevation, topography, surface roughness, and location, some areas experience more wind than others. The faster the wind, the more energy can be produced. For this reason, it is important to place wind turbines at sites with high wind speeds.
[img:windfarms]
How Wind Energy is Produced
Wind turbines capture the kinetic energy in surface winds and convert it into electrical energy in the form of electricity.
To do this use they use three basic parts: blades, a shaft and a generator. As wind moves over turbine blades, it cause “lift” — the same effect used by airplane wings. Lift makes the blades rotate. The turning blades turn a shaft. The turning shaft moves a magnetic field in the generator, which in turn creates electricity.
Wind Energy Applications
There are two kinds of wind energy applications in Canada: large scale and small scale.
Large-scale wind generation provides power to your local utility grid. Just as large-scale coal, hydro or natural gas electrical generation facilities send power to the grid, so can wind energy facilities. A single large-scale wind turbine produces enough energy to power hundreds of homes. Clustered together in a wind farm, turbines can produce enough energy for thousands of distant homes and businesses.
Small-scale wind generation provides local, on-site power to a home or business. Turbines are placed at the same site where the electricity will be used. Any additional energy that is generated, exceeding the needs of the user, can be sent to the local electrical grid.
Benefits of Wind Energy
* Wind energy is clean. It does not produce any air pollution.
* Wind energy is completely renewable, highly reliable and very efficient.
* Wind energy is one of the most economical sources of new large-scale electricity generation.
* Wind energy is becoming even more economic to produce as economies of scale are reached.
* Wind energy is associated with few environmental impacts compared with other sources of energy.
* Wind energy reduces our contribution to global climate change.
For More Information:
SRI Petrochemical: www.oilsponge.com
Canadian Wind Energy Association: www.canwea.ca
