Friday, June 26, 2009

Taking A Really Close Look At Wind Turbines And What You Might Select

By Jacob Smithson

Many nations understand that the timing of these occurrences is rapidly sneaking away from us; we realise now that we are at the "we need to get it done now stage". Sooner rather than later, the influence will quickly start to be; we had better get this done and then we wish we had gotten our energy habits under control.

In most respects, the full problem can be intimidating and to a certain degree depressing. As luck would have it, there are solutions to the world's energy issues if they are simply applied and developed to their fullest and most efficient potential. Solar energy is beginning to make excellent headway in technology and execution as are other unconventional energy solutions. One of these alternatives is wind turbine energy, a source of eternal clean energy that is actually making great strides in reducing coal power energy point source where it is being utilized.

What is a wind turbine? A wind turbine used for making electricity is not all that challenging a thing to comprehend. It is almost exactly like the water wheels that centuries of people have used to make their flour. The only difference is that instead of using water to turn the water wheel wind is used. The wind makes the blades of the wheel turn which; with the help of some gears, magnets and resistance creates electricity which turns a motor to send the energy along power lines. Unfortunately, at the moment the energy generated from the turbine cannot be stored in batteries so there is a need for back-up systems but, for the most part, it is a fairly efficient system.

Location, location, location This last point about not being able to store the generated electricity in batteries for later use puts quite a bit of emphasis on where the turbines are placed. Since the power that is generated needs to be sent along the power lines and used right away, the turbines need to be located in a place where the wind is constantly blowing. One might think, well that shouldn't be that difficult. Well yes and no. The turbine needs to be located where there is a steady wind most of the time, but just as importantly it also needs to be positioned in a place where quite a few turbines can be located. The current issue is that one turbine generates quite a bit of energy, but not enough energy to make it economically feasible. Several hundred turbines need to be in place to make this happen. There are many places around the world where this is possible, but the overall concept is regional in nature. In other words, the electricity made in Vegas, stays in Vegas. The power generated in West Texas, stays there too. This is not generally a bad thing since larger cities in places like North Dakota are deriving a nice chunk of their power from the wind turbines which lessens the need to use coal power needed for other places like Denver.

With a new focus on green energy sources, we believe that Wind power is at the start of a huge surge. Think about wind power for your home.

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