Wind Energy

Nick, Sophie, Zach

Pros of Wind Energy•Clean energy, no fuel to drill, frack, mine, transport or burn

•Renewable and sustainable

•Costs are relatively low and continue to decrease

•Abundant domestic supply (16X current electric demand)

•The power is essentially free once the infrastructure is paid for.

•Low life cycle carbon footprint. Breakeven in eight months.

•Can be used almost anywhere

• After use towers can be removed with no harm to the environment.

CONS OF WIND ENERGY• The wind is inconsistent, unsteady and unpredictable

• Wind power is not cheap and like many energy sources, rely on government subsidies to remain competitive.

• Wind farms are generally located in rural areas that might be otherwise picturesque. They are considered by some people to be an eyesore.

• Some people complain of noise from the turbines.

• Wildlife impact. Birds and bats have experienced fatalities.

• Localized impact on night-time temperatures and weather.

The energy produced by wind turbines costs about 3 cents per kilowatt

US can produce over 4.7 billion kilowatts of energy each year.

Modern turbines cost about 1.5-2% of their original costs, which can be $3-4 million.

Recent studies from 2012 have shown that the cost of fossil fuels is now more expensive than the cost of producing wind energy from wind turbines.

Investment in Wind Power

• increase in blade size and tower height

• jet-inspired turbines, which can produce electricity at half the cost of a convention wind turbine

• new sensor systems that can control how many cycles per minute a wind turbine can rotate.

Technological Advances

New York generates 2% of its energy from wind

The United States generates 2.3%.

Electricity Generated by Wind Power

The United States has 126 wind farms, and 24 proposed or under-construction wind farms.

New York has 6 wind farms that generate 1,403 megawatts, which ranks New York 12th in all of production of wind in the United States.

They have over 8,000 megawatts of new wind farms over construction.

Wind Power Plants

Works Cited• " Somaliland gets wind in its sails for revamping power sector | Nicholas Parkinson and Matthew Newsome | Global

development | guardian.co.uk ." Latest US news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | guardiannews.com | The Guardian . N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/apr/15/somaliland-wind-power-sector>.

•670, the end of 2010 about, 000 people were employed worldwide, and both. "About Wind Power / Why Wind Power." Cleantech News — Solar, Wind, EV News (#1 Source) | CleanTechnica. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://cleantechnica.com/world-wind-power/>. •"AWEA." AWEA. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.awea.org/>. •"AWEA WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition | Solutions for Success." AWEA WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition | Solutions for Success. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.windpowerexpo.org/>. •"Hitzer Stoves." Hitzer Stoves. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.hitzer.com/>. •Layton, Julia. "HowStuffWorks "How Wind Power Works"." HowStuffWorks "Learn how Everything Works!". N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/wind-power.htm>. •"Vestas appoints former Volvo executive as new CFO | Windpower Monthly." Wind power business, technology & policy | Windpower Monthly. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1178356/Vestas-appoints-former-Volvo-executive-new-CFO>. •"Wind Power - Converting wind energy into electricity." Alternative Energy News. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/wind-power/>. •"Wind Power Information, Wind Power Facts - National Geographic." Environment Facts, Environment Science, Global Warming, Natural Disasters, Ecosystems, Green Living - National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/wind-power-profile/>. •"Wind farm developers face new wave of opposition from MPs - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/9991898/Wind-farm-developers-face-new-wave-of-opposition-from-MPs.html>. •mid-1920s, the. "Wind power - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power>.