Wind Power May Provide Energy Liberty For America
Who hasn’t enjoyed the soft caress of the wind against their face. There can be no one who hasn’t experienced this pleasant taste of Mother Nature but few have realized what this pleasant breeze can produce beyond that. Wind energy is the future of electricity.
The power of the wind has worked for mankind for many centuries. It can be harnessed and used to produce other forms of power such as electrical or mechanical energy. The simple act of boat sailing would not be possible without the force of the wind in the sails propelling it across the waters surface. Windmills have often been seen on farming land with the wind turning the blades to bring forth water from wells.In days of yore, the wind was used to set grinding stones in motion to grind wheat into flour. Centuries have passed with the windmills of Holland being used to bring water to areas where it was needed.
The power of wind once harvested, can easily produce plentiful supplies of electricity. Think of a wind turbine along the lines of a child’s pinwheel. As the air propels the toy, so the air propels the large blades of a turbine. These blades sit on a hub and rotate. The hub is then connected to a shaft that goes into a transmission box. This transmission will cause a generator to turn and electricity is produced. Winds that are too strong could actually harm the blades of these turbines, so an automatic braking system has been introduced,
With the birth of the modern day wind turbine came much controversy. People who did not have the knowledge of how these turbines worked were fearful of them, and many complained of the whirring sound made as the blades turned. Despite this many small turbines are located on private property to power individual homes. To meet the ever increasing demand for power, turbines located on wind farms are numbered in the thousands. Controversy and concerns set aside, wind turbines are becoming a routine fixture.
Areas with known windy conditions are the ultimate placement of these turbines. How efficient the turbines are depends directly on the amount of wind there is to operate them. If a single turbine can produce a kilo, or 100 watts, of electricity, it can light ten 100 watt bulbs. It follows then that the production of 300 kilowatts would light three thousand 100 watt bulbs. To continue to multiply this number by the thousands of turbines producing electricity is just short of phenomenal.
In the state of California alone, there were 11,368 wind turbines in 1999. Located in the windiest areas, the sate is home to three wind farms. You can find the locations in Altamont Pass, San Gorgonio Pass, and Palm Springs. These three wind farms are capable of lighting up the entire city of San Francisco. Now located in areas all over the United States, California still holds the distinction of the highest amount of electricity produced. Joining us in the search of producing electricity through the use of wind is Germany and Denmark.
Transformers are used to distribute the collected power. Power lines will generate electricity for many miles. As the debate continues in regard to the good and bad of wind turbines, you are beginning to see them in more and more locations. Man is continuing his search for ways to make electricity provide the power needed in all aspects of our daily lives.
Wind Turbine Testing The power of the wind has worked for mankind for many centuries. The future of electricity is in wind power. The power of the wind has worked for mankind for many centuries.
