Renewable Wind Power - Research Paper Example

? Renewable Wind Power Introduction Wind power is a renewable source of energy. It is renewable because wind energy is available off and on the coastmost of the times, all days of the year. It is a preferred source of energy because it does not create any pollution as is the case with all fossil fuels. Wind energy helps keep our environment clean and safe. This paper looks at how renewable Wind Power technology works and how the companies can save money by harnessing wind energy. Wind Power Technology A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy of wind into mechanical energy. When mechanical energy is put to use directly in some equipment such as grinding stones or a pump, it is called a windmill. Instead, when it is converted to electricity for further use, the device is known as wind turbine or wind generator. Wind turbines are mounted at high elevation so as to receive a constant flow of wind power at higher average velocity. Usually, wind turbines need an average speed of 35 kilometer/hour or 11 meters/second. Wind velocity mapping is done before selecting a place for wind turbine. Higher the wind speeds, more are the chances to get continuous flow of electricity (Whitburn, 2012). As terminology implies, 1- kW rated capacity wind turbine would generate theoretically maximum of 1 kW of power per hour, if continuous flow of wind with the average wind velocity is available at all the time; however, in all practical purposes it does not happen so because wind energy is intermittent. In the long run, wind turbines are found to generate electricity only at 10-40% of their rated capacity. This means that wind turbine with the rated capacity of 1 kW would generate between 2.4 kWh (1? 24? 0.10) and 9.6 kWh of power per day (1?24? 0.40) (Whitburn, 2012). Wind turbines can be segregated on the basis of horizontal- and vertical-axis turbines. Horizontal-axis turbines have tail fins that keep blades facing the wind. A constant flow of wind keeps turning the rotor blades of the turbine, which is connected to the generator through a rotating shaft and gear-wheel assembly. The power so generated is called Direct Current (DC) and needs to be converted to Alternating Current (AC) for its use as all devices for home use are usually designed based on AC current. The conversion from DC to AC is done through a device called inverter. Inverter is connected to a battery bank that is a store house of electricity produced in this way because wind energy is available intermittently while electricity demand is continuous. When no sufficient wind energy is available, electricity production comes to a standstill; however, the need of end users are met through the stored energy in the pool of battery (Whitburn, 2012). The following schematic shows the steps involved in the production of wind power. Source: http://exploringgreentechnology.com/wind-energy/how-does-wind-energy-work/ How Wind Energy Can Save Money Companies can save a huge amount of money if they use this renewable source of energy. Subsidies that are available at Federal and State levels give extra cushioning; technological advances and scale of operations have changed the scenario in clear terms. Subsidies Available on Wind Energy The production tax credit (PTC) is the subsidy available to the producers of wind power and that, currently, rules at 2cents/kWh (zFacts, 2011). Most of the wind generators have qualified for this and they will receive it for 10 years. Moreover, double declining 5-year depreciation is the second benefit that companies get on investment toward wind power. This allows investor to take a 40% tax deduction on the very first year and 24% deduction on the second year. It is allowed to be completed in five years. The combined federal-sales tax rate is around 43% and in that sense the depreciation allowance is lucrative enough and in terms of benefits, it accounts for half a cent/kWh (zFacts, 2011). Though wind produces electricity free of operating cost, it requires still huge investment toward the cost of equipment and installation and its impact on total costs needs to be taken into account. The below mentioned table provides an overview of the fixed and variable costs comparison between wind and gas turbine (zFacts, 2011): Type Equipment and Fixed Cost Variable Cost Total Cost Installation Cost per kWh per kWh per kWh per kW (in cents) (in cents) (in cents) Gas Turbine $439 5.2 8.7 13.9 Wind $1,254 7.5 0.0 7.5 At some places, installation cost of wind turbine is more and estimated at $1900 per kW. Even this extra cost counted with, the total cost of production in wind power is less than that of gas turbine. This is the reason why more and more companies are opting for wind turbines for power generation in the increasing way (zFacts, 2011). American Wind Power (2011) describes that wind power creates opportunities for companies small and large. According to them wind is at forefront amongst cost-effective means of electricity generation. Since 2007, wind energy accounts for 35% of all new additions in capacity of electricity generation. This has happened due to reduction in turbine prices lowering the installation cost of the new wind power unit. Recent technology advances have now improved turbine efficiency to a high level. During '80s the leveraged cost of energy was in the range of $45-50/MWh, which has now reduced to $5 or less/MWh. That means the reduction in cost is a whopping 90%. This was possible due to increase in productivity of a typical turbine from 250kW to 1.77MW, an almost 700% increase. Thus, the companies embarking on wind turbines for their power needs can now save huge sums of money depending upon the capacity of the project. Bigger the size of wind turbine, the larger the benefits will be in terms of savings. American Wind Power (2011) informs that Alabama Power had its first wind power purchase when it was discovered by Public Service Commission that the cost of energy from the wind turbine will be lower than the cost of electricity produced by the Company from its own resource. Xcel Energy at Colorado also had similar findings when the company realized that it can safeguard itself from the natural gas price volatility. It is not at all surprising that wind energy installations have been growing at a fierce pace. Between 2007 and 2010, wind accounted for 35% of all new additions of electricity generation installations matching with the natural gas installation – a prime source of electricity generation so far. Conclusion Wind turbine is a clean energy source that produces no atmospheric emissions and helps check global warming. Wind farms can be installed in urban or rural setting wherever sufficient wind is available. Wind energy offers promise to last for infinity against fossil fuels that would exhaust in next one hundred years or so. Wind Power is, certainly, the energy of the future. References American Wind Power (2011). American Wind Energy Association. Retrieved July 7, 2012 from http://www.awea.org/learnabout/publications/upload/AmericanWindpowerBrochure.pdf The site clearly spells out the recent activities on wind power electricity generations in the US and has helped the researcher of this paper put the matter in the right perspective. Whitburn, G. (2012). How does wind energy work? Retrieved July 7, 2012 from http://exploringgreentechnology.com/wind-energy/how-does-wind-energy-work/ Some of the very important facts and details have been found from this site, particularly how wind energy can be harnessed. zFacts (2011). Electricity from Wind Turbines. Retrieved July 8, 2012 from http://zfacts.com/node/244 This site is launched by Steven Stoft, an economist and a man with scientific temperament, who believes in giving a balanced view point. He has written books on the subject such as Power System Economics and Carbonomics. The costs of production and benefits available to the wind power producer have been attended to with openness and freedom of biases. Read More