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Wind


Making Wind Work By Scott Gates


Wind energy has been used to improve quality of life for thousands of years. Rudimentary windmills were pumping water in Asia and grinding grain in the Middle East as early as 200 B.C. Wind turbines were first used to generate electricity in Denmark as far back as 1890, and multi- bladed mills used primarily to pump water became a symbol of rural America in the early 1900s.


With recent advances in technology, this driving force has been channeled by electric co- operatives and other utilities into electricity. At the end of 2012, wind generated about 60,000 megawatts of electricity—enough to serve more than 15 million homes.


Costs are dropping for wind power projects, although federal subsidies are still necessary for wind to compete with traditional sources of electricity generation. A January 2012 study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reports it costs be- tween 24 percent and 39 percent less to produce wind energy on a per-kilowatt-hour basis today than it did a decade ago. As the generation becomes


more affordable, wind power plants in some parts of the coun- try—often called wind farms—are now as common as weather- beaten windmills of the past. How to harness wind Wind power follows a basic premise: If you can turn a gen-


erator, you can produce electric- ity. Turbines convert the natural energy of wind into mechanical energy by attaching giant, wind- catching blades to a generator. When wind blows through the blades, they spin and generate power.


Wind turbines come in a variety of forms. The most com- mon are horizontal-axis varieties, which look like a large pinwheel or fan. These typically sport three blades, although some have two, facing into the wind. Some small turbines that can be built in a backyard to produce less than 100 kW, while their larger cous- ins tower hundreds of feet over the horizon, capable of generat- ing more than 3.5 MW of power. Another configuration puts blades on a vertical-axis to resemble an eggbeater held upright. This less common varia- tion, dubbed the Darrieus turbine after its French inventor, follows the same basic turbine principles. 217307 Viability


But wind doesn’t blow ev- erywhere and rarely does so around the clock. Even in areas with strong wind resources, an active wind turbine typically only generates 20 percent to 30 per- cent of its “capacity factor”—the total electricity it could generate operating around the clock. A 2010 National Renewable En- ergy Laboratory (NREL) survey found less than 1 percent of land in some states, notably Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia, is windy


enough to achieve at least 30 percent capacity factor. Because it’s temperamen- tal, wind can’t be relied on as a steady source of energy. Instead, think of wind as a “fuel displacer,” allowing baseload power plants that rely on fossil fuels like coal and natural gas to burn less when wind blows.


Moving energy from a wind farm to homes also raises dif- ficulties. Transmission infra- structure may not be available in areas where the wind blows best, and building new transmission lines takes time, money, and a lengthy governmental approval process. Before turbines go up, studies must be done to judge the wind’s variability in a given area. And although the sight of a tall, white wind tower may not be as intrusive as other types of power plants, environmental and economic impacts must be assessed. Will the turbine disrupt bird or bat migratory patterns? Will shipping routes be affected by an offshore wind farm? Although great strides have been made in recent years and more wind turbines are built daily, making wind work as a reliable, affordable energy source will take time.


Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, American Wind Energy Association, National Renewable Energy Labora-


tory


Kay Electric Cooperative • 5


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