Wind Power Energy

Wind power energy is the conversion of wind power into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. Although wind currently accounts for a small percentage of the world-wide electricity use, it is increasingly popular in some European countries, such as Germany, Denmark, Spain and Portugal. Globally, wind power generation increased more than fivefold between 2000 and 2007.

Most wind power is generated in the form of electricity, with large scale wind farms being connected to the electricity grid. Individual wind turbines are an increasingly popular method to supply electricity to isolated locations or to supplement existing power supply.

Wind power energy is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions when it displaces fossil-fuel-derived electricity. The intermittency of wind seldom creates problems when using wind power to supply a low proportion of total demand. Where wind is to be used for a moderate fraction of demand, additional costs for compensation of intermittency are considered to be modest.

Renewable wind energy is created by the uneven heating and cooling of the The Earth; the poles receive less energy from the sun than the equator. Equally, land heats up and cools down more quickly than the seas. This differential heating drives a global atmospheric convection system reaching from the Earth's surface to the stratosphere which acts as a virtual ceiling. Most of the energy stored in these wind movements can be found at high altitudes where continuous wind speeds of over 100 mph occur. Eventually, the wind energy is converted through friction into diffuse heat throughout the Earth's surface and the atmosphere.

A wind turbine is a rotating machine which converts the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy. A wind generator is simply a wind turbine creating renewable wind energy into electricity. Other terms for a wind turbine are wind power unit (WPU) or wind energy converter (WEC). Wind turbines are designed to exploit the wind energy that exists at a location. Aerodynamic modeling is used to determine the optimum tower height, control systems, number of blades, and blade shape.

Wind turbines convert wind energy to electricity for distribution. The turbine can be divided into three components. The rotor component, including the blades for converting wind energy to low speed rotational energy. The generator component includes the electrical generator, the control electronics, and most likely a gearbox component for converting the low speed incoming rotation to high speed rotation suitable for generating electricity. The structural support component includes the tower and rotor pointing mechanism.

Locating Wind POWER Energy Solutions

Land based Wind farms

The siting of a renewable wind turbine site is critical to economic development of wind power. Aside from the availability of wind itself, other factors include the availability of transmission lines, value of energy to be produced, cost of land acquisition, land use considerations, and environmental impact of construction and operations. Off-shore locations may offset their higher construction cost with higher annual load factors, thereby reducing cost of energy produced. Wind farm designers use specialized wind energy software applications to evaluate the impact of these issues on a given wind farm design.

Offshore Wind farms

Offshore wind turbine sites have the advantage of sea-based high winds and no landbased obstructions. Piles are driven into the sea bed, with erosion protection, similar to sea defences placed around to prevent damage. Once the wind turbine is assembled, sensors on the turbine detect wind direction and turn the nacelle or wind turbine head, holding the blades, to maximise the use of wind power energy. The movement of the wind over the aerodynamically shaped blades makes them rotate around a horizontal hub, which is connected to a shaft inside the nacelle. This shaft, via a gearbox, powers a generator to convert the energy into electricity. Subsea cables take the wind generated power to an offshore transformer which converts the electricity to a high voltage before running it back 5 -10 miles to connect to the grid at a substation on land.

Small scale wind power energy

The wind turbine charges a 12 volt battery to run 12 volt appliances. Small wind generation systems with capacities of 100 kW or less are usually used to power homes, farms, and small businesses. Isolated communities that otherwise rely on diesel generators may use wind turbines to displace diesel fuel consumption. Individuals purchase these systems to reduce or eliminate their electricity bills, or simply to generate their own clean power.

Wind turbines have been used for household electricity generation in conjunction with battery storage over many decades in remote areas. Grid-connected wind turbines may use grid energy storage, displacing purchased energy with local production when available. Off-grid system users either adapt to intermittent power or use batteries, photovoltaic or diesel systems to supplement the wind turbine.

In urban locations, where it is difficult to obtain predictable or large amounts of wind energy, smaller systems may still be used to run low power equipment. Equipment such as street signs may be powered by small wind turbines.

Renewable Wind power and the environment

Renewable Wind energy power consumes no fuel for continuing operation, and has no emissions directly related to electricity production. Operation does not produce carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, particulates, or any other type of air pollution, as do fossil fuel power sources. Wind power plants consume resources in manufacturing and construction. During manufacture of the wind turbine, steel, concrete, aluminum and other materials will have to be made and transported using energy-intensive processes, generally using fossil energy sources. The initial carbon dioxide emissions "pay back" is within less than a year for off shore wind turbines.

To find out more about how Mint Solutions can help you with your wind power energy needs, please contact us.