Definition of Wind Turbines - Research Paper Example

Wind Turbines Wind Turbines Outline Introduction What Are Wind Turbined Definition of wind turbines Wind Turbines And How People KnowAbout Them Wind turbines have existed since 200 BC The first ever automatically operated wind turbine was developed by Charles F. Brush The modern wind turbines were first installed in USSR during the period of 1931. Body What Are Wind Turbines Used For Various purposes including generation of electricity. How Wind Turbines Work This part discusses various components of a wind turbine including blades, shaft, generator, gear box and transformer and how these components help in generating and transferring electricity. The Benefits Of Wind Turbines How Wind Turbine Change Energy Field Wind turbines are changing the field of energy and replacing fossil fuels based energy. Air Pollution Wind turbines are helping in reducing pollution by replacing fossil fuel based energy. Wind turbines do not emit harmful gasses that are emitted due to burning of fossil fuels. Renewable Energy Fossil fuels are nonrenewable in nature and are depleting at a very fast pace. Wind is abundant and will exist as long as the sun exists. Wind based energy production is sustainable as wind is not a depleting resource. The Negative Effects Of Wind Turbine Occupying tremendous amount of ground area. Killing bats and birds Negative effects on the health of human beings caused due to the noise and visual of wind turbines. Conclusion Wind Turbines Introduction What Are Wind Turbines The term wind turbine is used to refer to a technological device that is used for the conversion of kinetic energy that is obtained from natural wind into the mechanical form of energy (Tong, 2010, p.20). The conversion of energy into mechanical form of energy assists in various tasks including water pumping or it can even be used in order to operate a generator that can assist in the conversion of mechanical form of energy into electric power that can be then transferred to grid station in order to supply electricity. The electricity that is developed through mechanical energy can even be supplied to individual users. Wind Turbines And How People Know About Them The concept and the technology of wind turbine is not a new one and it has existed for hundreds of years. The existence of wind turbines can be traced back to the period of 200 BC when this technology was recognized as a windmill and was used in the region of Persia (Fraenkel, 2006, p.212). The first ever wind turbine was named as the wind wheel that was developed by an individual who belonged to the field of mathematics and engineering. But the first ever wind turbine that existed in operational condition was developed in the region of Sistan during the period of 7th century (Fraenkel, 2006, p.212). After more than 5 centuries later the first ever windmill or wind turbine was utilized in the region of England and by the period of 14th century these windmills were witnessed as being used to drain the regions of Rhine Delta (Northrop, 2013, p.143). The first ever wind turbine that was used for the purpose of generation of electricity was during the period of 1887 when James Blyth used the technology in order to provide electricity for his holiday home and after a small period of time the first ever wind turbine that operated automatically without battery was developed by Charles F. Brush and this development helped in providing energy for the region of Ohio (Northrop, 2013, p.143). 13 years later these technological devices were used in the region of Denmark for the production of around 30 MW of electric energy. By the period of 1908, United States had even adopted this technology and had installed 72 generators of electricity that were producing electricity with the assistance of wind turbines. 22 years later these electricity producing devices were most commonly in use within the farms of the region of United States to produce energy (Northrop, 2013, p.143). The wind turbines that are available in the present day society, which is made up of horizontal-axis wind generators were developed and installed in the region for USSR during the period of 1931 (Northrop, 2013, p.143). History has provided immense details regarding wind turbines and how they produce electricity. History has even helped in learning that wind turbine helps in the production of energy and can help in decreasing the use of harmful fossil fuels that is used in electricity production and can change the field of energy by providing safe and environment friendly energy to consumers throughout the world. Body What Are Wind Turbines Used For The historical knowledge of wind turbine clearly states that wind turbine can be used for various tasks. For example wind turbines have been previously used for the purpose of draining Rhine Delta. But the main purpose due to which wind turbines are gaining popularity and have remained popular for several years is that wind turbines have the ability to generate electricity that is safe for the environment. In order to identify whether wind turbines produce eco-friendly energy or not, it is essential to understand how wind turbines work. How Wind Turbines Work The first step in the operation of wind turbine is the rotation of the rotor blades that are connected to the turbine and these blades rotate as wind passes through them. Wind turbines can have more than one rotor blade attached to them and the diameter of these blades are around 30 to 80 meters. The length of the blades is very essential for production of more energy. The higher the length of these blades, the higher will be the production of energy. The movement of these blades is essential for the turning of a shaft that is located within the box that is attached on top of the wind turbine. The movement of these shafts is essential for the gearbox to work which is essential for the increase in the speed of the rotation of the blades. The box that is located above the tower eve comprises of a generator that is essential for the conversion of the energy of blade rotation into electricity (Energy.gov, 2015(a)). The wind turbine is connected with a transformer which is used to convert the electricity being generated into voltage that has been set to be distributed to the households and organizations that are connected with the national grid and the national grid is powered by the transformer. The blades of a turbine are connected to a tower this tower is at least 75 meters long and is placed in an upright position so more wind energy can be consumed. Wind turbines even comprise of a monitor that is useful for the detection of the speed as well as the direction in which the wind is blowing. This is necessary in order to rotate the blades towards the direction in which the wind is blowing in order to generate continuous electricity. This is even important in order to protect the wind turbine from being damaged that may be caused due to high speed of energy. The Benefits Of Wind Turbine How Wind Turbine Change Energy Field Wind turbine is completely altering the production of energy and entire field of energy. Currently the world including the United States of America is heavily dependent on the burning of fossil fuels in order to produce energy and electricity. For years electricity power plants have been operating on fossil fuels. In these power plants various carbon laden fuels including oil as well as gas is burned in order to produce steam that is essential for the operation of turbines that help in the production of electricity. The burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation can cause heavy damage to the environment. This is because burning of fossil fuels result in the production of huge quantity of carbon dioxide which is a major cause of global warming and unhealthy changes in the climate (World-nuclear.org, 2015). Wind turbine and wind based production of electricity has the ability to replace power plants that are functioning on fossil fuels. They may not be able to completely replace fossil fuel based power plants but they can result in the reduction of these power plants. According to the organization of Union Of Concerned Scientists, a wind tribune that has the ability to produce 750 KW of energy has the ability to produce enough energy that can be utilized by 328 homes and these wind turbines can be installed to replace fossil fuel based power plants (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015). Air Pollution In the above paragraph it has been established that fossil fuels produce electricity that is harmful for the environment. On the other hand wind turbines can produce electricity that is safe for the environment and can lead to reduction in air pollution. Wind turbine requires wind power for the production of energy and do not require the burning of coal and natural gas that create carbon dioxide and are harmful for the environment. Geller states that one of the leading cause of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels and this is negatively impacting the health of human beings. He further asserts that the activities that human beings conduct for the production of energy account for a major percentage of pollution in the air. Furthermore, he even states that 85% of the sulfur dioxide, 45% of the lead as well as 20 % of the nitrous oxide is emitted into the air by human beings as a pursuit of producing energy and these gasses are negatively harming the air that human beings breathe in (Geller, 2003, p.6). On the other hand if wind tribune is used for the production of energy, the emission of these gasses in the air will decline and thus will result in decreasing air pollution. Environment America is a state controlled and publically funded environmental organization that has provided tremendous insight regarding the impact of wind turbines and wind based energy on air pollution in America. The environmental group states that America has become a leader in the adoption and production of wind based energy and if it continues to expand the production of electricity through wind tribunes it will be able to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide in the air. The amount of carbon dioxide that America can reduce by adopting wind energy is equal to decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide that can be attained by removing more than 32 million vehicles from the roads of America (Boggs, 2013). Renewable Energy The term renewable energy is used to refer to energy or electricity that is developed with the use of natural resources including the rays of the sunlight, wind and other natural resources. Wind tribunes produce energy that is renewable in nature and have the ability to replace energy sources that are nonrenewable in nature, such as fossil fuels based energy. Fossil fuel based electricity is produced through resources that are nonrenewable in nature and this form of energy is regarding as a gift to human beings that can only benefit them at one point in time. This means that the resources that are used to produce fossil fuel based energy do not reproduce themselves or even if they reproduce they take millions of years to reproduce. Due to this, these natural resources or fossil fuels are depleting at a very fast pace and it has already been predicted that these resources are going to be very soon depleted and a need for energy produced through renewable natural resources has already been felt. A research was conducted by Shafiee et al. during the period of 2009 in order to identify the time when significant fossil fuels including coal, gas and oil will reach to the level at which they will be recognized as depleted resources. The researchers identified that if human beings continued to use fossil fuels at the rate at which they are currently being used then by the period of 2040 oil reserves will be depleted. Furthermore the researchers have identified that by the period of 2042 and 2112 the reserves of gas and coal reserves will be depleted (Shafiee, 2009, p.181). Since there is a threat that mankind will run of fossil fuels reserves, there is a need to replace energy that is produced by fossil fuels with energy that is produced with wind and wind turbines is the best possible solution. Wind turbines are the best solution because wind turbines produce energy with the assistance of wind. According to the Department Of Energy Of United States, the region has abundant amount of wind and within a period of 10 years it has been recorded that the capacity of wind power in United States has increased at a yearly average of 30% (Energy.gov, 2015 (b)). The organization further states that wind are developed when the atmosphere is heated up by the sunlight and as long as the Sun continues to supply heat there will be wind energy. This means that wind energy will last forever and human beings can benefit from this energy without being afraid of wind becoming an extinct resource. Negative Effects Of Wind Turbines Producing electricity through the use of wind turbines has several benefits which includes environment friendly production of energy and renewable energy production. Even though it has several benefits, producing energy through wind turbines have several disadvantages associated with it that can impact the lives of human beings in a negative manner. One of the major negative effects associated with producing energy through wind turbines is the huge amount of land resource that is required for the installation and operation of wind turbines. Wind turbines are made of huge blades that rotate and it is necessary to place these turbines at a distance from each other and due to this wind turbines occupy immense amount of land space that can be used for various productive purposes such as agricultural purposes, tourism purposes and livestock rearing purposes. According to a report authored by Denholm et al. during the period of 2009, in order to produce one megawatt of energy through wind turbines a total land area of more than 30 to 140 acres is required (Denholm et al., 2009). This means that as more and more electricity will be produced through the method of wind turbines, more and more land area will be required and this land area could be used for other productive purposes. Other than the huge amount of land that is required for the installation of want based power production technologies another issue that is associated with the use of wind turbines is that these turbines impact the wildlife in a negative manner. Wildlife and animals that are airborne face a threat to their lives due to the wind turbines. Several birds and bats have experienced death as a result of their collision with the blades of the wind turbines. These bats and other flying animals have even experienced death due to the increased air pressure that is created due to the fast pace spinning of the blades of the wind turbines. According to Rule, more than 0.45 million bats experience death as a result of collision with wind turbines on annual basis (Rule, 2014, 86). The death of these bats is especially troublesome for human beings and the livelihood. Bats are indulged in the act of eating insects and in turn are quite advantageous for the agricultural production that is an important segment of the dietary habits of human beings. If bats continue to die to the blades of wind turbines then there is a possibility of human life being affected in a very negative manner. Other than the indirect negative effects of wind turbines on the health and wellbeing of mankind, wind turbines even directly effects human beings in a negative manner. The two main negative effects of wind turbine that directly impact human beings are the sounds as well as the visibility of the wind turbines. Sound is one of the major negative effects of wind turbines. The sound that is developed due to the movement of the blades is referred to as aerodynamic in nature and the turbines themselves can create sounds that can be regarded as mechanical in nature and due to these sounds people living near the wind turbines are experiencing health related issues. These health related issues includes sleep related disorders and mental health issues. A research was conducted by Nissenbaum et al. during the period of 2012 and in this research the researchers identified that people who were living as close as 1.4 kilometers near to the wind mills were experiencing sleep deprivation and during the day time they used to feel more sleepy and scored less on mental health tests (Nissenbaum et al., 2012, p.240). Other than the negative effect of the sound of wind turbines on the health of the citizens, the visuals of the wind turbines have even negatively impacted the mental health of citizens who live near the areas where wind turbines have been installed. Bakker et al. states that citizens who live near wind farms and can view wind turbines experience higher levels of annoyance and the negative effects of sound of the wind turbines are elevated if they are able to see the visuals as well as hear the sounds of the wind turbines (Bakker et al., 2008). Conclusion Wind turbines are a technological advancement that can be used to develop electricity or energy with the assistance of the natural resource of wind. The concept and the technology of wind turbines have been in existence since the period of 200 BC. In order to produce electricity, the wind flows through the blades of a wind turbine which in turn helps in the movement of the shafts and these shafts help in the operation of the gear box which increases the speed of the blades. The movement of these blades provides fuel to the generator which in turn produces electricity that is transferred to users through a transformer. The electricity that is produced through wind turbines helps in reducing air pollution as it does not produce harmful gasses such as carbon dioxide that is produced due to the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are burnt in fossil fuel based power plants and due to this there has been an increase in the emission of gasses that generate air pollution. Energy that is produced through fossil fuels that is nonrenewable in nature, but the energy that is produced through wind turbines is renewable as well as sustainable in nature. Wind turbines cause health problems for people living near these technological devices. These health effects are caused due to the sound and visual of the wind turbines. References Bakker, R.,, Bouma, J.,, Pedersen, E.,, & Berg, F., van den,. (2008). Project WINDFARMperception Visual and acoustic impact of wind turbine farms on residents. (Research paper.) < http://umcg.wewi.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/root/Rapporten/2008/WINDFARMperception/> Boggs, J. (2013). Wind Energy Slashes Climate and Air Pollution, Saves Water. [online] Environmentamerica.org. Available at: http://www.environmentamerica.org/news/ame/wind-energy-slashes-climate-and-air-pollution-saves-water [Accessed 6 Feb. 2015]. Denholm, P., Hand, M., Jackson, M., & Ong, S. (2009). Land-use requirements of modern wind power plants in the United States. 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