Types of Alternative Energy - Essay Example

Alternative Energy Introduction Alternative energy is a source of energy that is an alternative to fossil fuel. These alternative sources are meant to address the concerns about the use and consumption of fossil fuels. The term alternative energy is somewhat controversial in today’s time. The controversy is because the nature of what constitutes an alternative source has changed considerably because of the varying degree of energy use. Furthermore, the variety of energy choices and differing goals of their advocates has also led to the controversy of the definition of the term alternative sources. In a generalized sense, alternative energy as it is currently conceived is the energy that is produced without having the undesirable outcomes or consequences that are inherent with the use of fossil fuel particularly high carbon dioxide emissions. The emission of carbon dioxide is an important factor in global warming. Some of the currently accepted form of alternative energy includes solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass, ocean, and hydrogen energy sources among others. The following is a report that deeply looks at one of the alternative sources, technology or the method of storing the energy. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages are also reported. The viability of the energy source in the hopes of replacing other traditional forms of energy that uses fossil fuels and emits carbon dioxide as a powerful polluting agent. Wind Energy Wind energy research and its possible use date back decades to the 1970s when NASA developed an analytical model that predicts wind turbine power generation during periods of high winds (Dismukes, Miller and Bers 182). Currently, both the Sandia national Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have programs that are dedicated to more wind research. Sandia’s program focused on the advancement of materials, aerodynamics, and sensors. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory wind projects are centred on the improvement the wind plant production thus reducing their capital costs and making wind energy more cost effective to produce overall. Wind power is the energy that is extracted using wind turbines to produce electrical power. Historically, wind power has been used in order to power and propel ships in particular directions. The large wind farms consisting of hundreds of individual wind turbines connected to the national electric power transmission network. According to a study initiated by the European Union, wind power especially inshore is an inexpensive source of electricity (Reddy, P. 3079). Furthermore, it is competitive with or in many places cheaper than most fossil fuels, for example, coal or fossil fuel plants. The building and maintenance of offshore wind farms are expensive even though they are less of an eyesore to the general public. The use of wind power is advantageous because wind is plentiful, sustainable and plentiful. As of the year 2013, Denmark generates more than a third of its energy and electricity needs from wind power (Lipp, P. 5489). Furthermore, more than half of the countries in the world are using wind sources as sources of power. The generation and use of power in the world is currently at four per cent, and the use and generation are increasing rapidly. Wind power technology In a generation of electricity through Wind power, wind turbines are used. Wind turbines are devices that transform the wind’s kinetic energy into electrical power. A turbine is as a result of over a thousand years of research into windmill development and modern engineering which resulted in modern designs. Today’s turbines are manufactured in a variety and range of the horizontal axis and vertical axis types. The smallest types of turbines are used for applications such as the charging of batteries for auxiliary power supplies (Sherif, Barbir and Veziroglu P. 655). Slightly bigger and larger wind turbines can be applied in making contributions to a domestic power supply while also selling the remaining or surplus power to the national grid via the utility supplier. Arrays of large turbines, commonly known as wind farms, have increasingly become important sources of renewable energy. They are also increasingly being used by countries as alternative sources of cleaner energy sources as opposed to fossil based fuels which are harmful to the environment and unsustainable. Furthermore, they are being used as part of a larger strategy to reduce over reliance on fossil fuels that are limited. The technological design of the wind turbines is meant to extract the absolute maximum energy from the wind. The installation of the turbine consists of the requisite systems needed to capture the wind’s energy, point the turbine into the wind, and convert the mechanical rotation into electrical power (Hau and Renouard 49). Also, other systems needed to start, stop and control the functioning of the turbine. The aerodynamics of any wind turbine is not straightforward. The flow of air at the blades is not the same as the flow of air far away from the turbine. The nature in the way in which energy is extracted from the air causes air to be deflected by the turbine. Additionally, the aerodynamics of the wind turbine at the rotor surface exhibits behaviour that are rarely witnessed in other aerodynamic fields. Therefore, the shape and dimensions of the turbine’s blades are determined by the aerodynamics performance that is needed to extract energy efficiently from the moving wind. Also, the strength that is needed to resist the forces on the blade. The technological design of the wind turbine must also address the design and implementation of the rotor hub, the tower structure, generator, the nacelle, the controls, and foundation (Hau and Renouard 109). Further designs need to be considered when integrating the wind turbines into the power grids. Wind power storage Two scenarios necessitate the need for storage of wind power. Firstly, the storage of power is an important factor to consider because it eliminates the chances and the occurrence of overloads in the national electricity grid. Power storage enables the turning off of wind turbines at peak times to avoid the overloading of the grid especially at times with low power demands. Secondly, wind energy is not available on a constant basis, and it is dependent on whether the wind is blowing or not. Wind is a natural resource which we cannot control on how and when it blows. Wind turbines only generate power only when the wind is available and, therefore, wind turbines are not able to generate power every minute of the day. Therefore, such two scenarios, the need for storage is important. The one particular thing to note when considering the storage of wind power is the fact that it cannot be stored in batteries since it does not make any economic sense. It is said that, generating wind power is the way much cheaper than buying the batteries to store the power. The energy cost of building the batteries does not justify it because it is more than the value of the power that would be lost through curtailment. One way of storing wind energy is through compressed air, which is also known as compressed air energy storage (Hadjipaschalis, Poullikkas and Efthimiou, P. 1516). The system involves the conversion of wind energy that is generated from the turbines into compressed air that can be used in the production of electricity when there is no wind or during peak times. The compressed air is kept in underground caverns or above ground storage tanks. It means the use of high power natural wind to generate electric power and when there is a likelihood that there is not enough natural wind power, switch to the compressed energy storage system. The use of hydrogen is yet another example of storing wind energy. The excess wind energy is stored in hydrogen fuel cells. The method involves splitting water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen by electricity that is generated from wind turbines (Hadjipaschalis, Poullikkas and Efthimiou, P. 1516). The separated hydrogen is stored in hydrogen fuel cells for electricity generation when wind is not available. Conclusion Wind energy is a sustainable and alternative source of energy with no adverse effects on the environment. Wind turbines take up less space as compared to the traditional fossil fuels, and they are a source of great energy for remote regions. Furthermore, more technology is being developed that makes the generation of such power more efficient while reducing the overall cost which is highly advantageous especially to developing countries. Wind energy continues to be the fastest-growing form of renewable energy in use today with the installed capacity increasing tremendously. In economic value, the global wind market in the year 2007 was 36 billion dollars with Germany, the USA, Spain, India and China leading other nations in terms of generation and use. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The disadvantages include the fact that wind turbine construction is expensive and costly, and it produces less energy as compared to fossil-based fuels and the fact that wind is an unreliable factor. However, considering the mere fact that wind is a resource that its depletion is not a future prospect, as opposed to fossil fuel, is enough reason to justify its investment. Works Cited Dismukes, John P, Lawrence K Miller and John A Bers. "The industrial life cycle of wind energy electrical power generation: ARI methodology modeling of life cycle dynamics." Technological Forecasting and Social Change (2009): 178-191. Print Hadjipaschalis, Ioannis, Andreas Poullikkas and Venizelos Efthimiou. "Overview of current and future energy storage technologies for electric power applications." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2009): 1513-1522. Print Lipp, Judith. "Lessons for effective renewable electricity policy from Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom." Energy policy (2007): 5481-5495. Print Reddy, Nanda Gopal K. "A Study and Analysis in Renewable Energy." International Journal of Applied Engineering Research (2014): 3077-3106. Print Read More