important use of wind energy
Answers
Modern wind turbines tower above one of their ancestors-an old windmill used for pumping water. Credit: Warren Gretz
We have been harnessing the wind's energy for hundreds of years. From old Holland to farms in the United States, windmills have been used for pumping water or grinding grain. Today, the windmill's modern equivalent - a wind turbine - can use the wind's energy to generate electricity.
Wind turbines, like windmills, are mounted on a tower to capture the most energy. At 100 feet (30 meters) or more aboveground, they can take advantage of the faster and less turbulent wind. Turbines catch the wind's energy with their propeller-like blades. Usually, two or three blades are mounted on a shaft to form a rotor.
A blade acts much like an airplane wing. When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air forms on the downwind side of the blade. The low-pressure air pocket then pulls the blade toward it, causing the rotor to turn. This is called lift. The force of the lift is actually much stronger than the wind's force against the front side of the blade, which is called drag. The combination of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like a propeller, and the turning shaft spins a generator to make electricity.
Wind turbines can be used as stand-alone applications, or they can be connected to a utility power grid or even combined with a photovoltaic (solar cell) system. For utility-scale sources of wind energy, a large number of wind turbines are usually built close together to form awind plant. Several electricity providers today use wind plants to supply power to their customers.
Stand-alone wind turbines are typically used for water pumping or communications. However, homeowners, farmers, and ranchers in windy areas can also use wind turbines as a way to cut their electric bills.
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Wind is the natural movement of air across the land or sea. Wind is caused by uneven heating and cooling of the earth's surface and by the earth's rotation. Land and water areas absorb and release different amount of heat received from the sun. As warm air rises, cooler air rushes in to take its place, causing local winds. The rotation of the earth changes the direction of the flow of air.
Why wind energy?
The project is environment friendly.
India has good wind potential to harness wind energy.
A permanent shield against ever increasing power prices. The cost per kwh reduces over a period of time as against rising cost for conventional power projects.
The cheapest source of electrical energy. (on a levelled cost over 20 years.)
Least equity participation required, as well as low cost debt is easily available to wind energy projects.
A project with the fastest payback period.
A real fast track power project, with the lowest gestation period; and a modular concept.
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs are low.
No marketing risks, as the product is electrical energy.
A project with no investment in manpower.
A country like India or any region where energy production is based on imported coal or oil will become more self-sufficient by using alternatives such as wind power. Electricity produced from the wind produces no CO2 emissions and therefore does not contribute to the greenhouse effect. Wind energy is relatively labour intensive and thus creates many jobs. In remote areas or areas with a weak grid, wind energy can be used for charging batteries or can be combined with a diesel engine to save fuel whenever wind is available. At windy sites the price of electricity, measured in Rs/kWh, is competitive with the production price from more conventional methods, for example coal fired power plants.