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Wind EnergyCaitlin Reidy

+How WIND TURBINES Work Similar to a hydroelectric generator

Wind current spins rotor of a turbine

Rotor drives shaft of generator

Generator produces electricity

Can be a few feet – hundreds of feet in diameter

+Economics 2.5-5.5 cents per kilo-watt hour: price expected to keep

dropping as technology improves

Cost-competitive to fuel sources

Least expensive of renewable sources

Building + Producing leads to a wide variety of jobs

Unaffected by international conflicts

Pays for itself in 3-8 years, lasts for up to 40

+Environmental Benefits

Renewable – does not exhaust other natural resources

Does not emit pollutants that are believed to be the cause of global warming when used

Energy needed to build a turbine is renewed in a matter of months

One wind turbine = 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide displaced per year (equivalent of 1 sq. mile of forest)

^also the equivalent of: Recycling 4,500 glass jars Recycling 6,900 aluminum cans = Recycling 1,150 lbs of steel

+Potential Fastest growing renewable energy source – over a

decade

Annual growth rate >20%

2008: US increased generating capacity by over 50%

Can power 7 million households in US, right now

Potential to provide up to 10,777 kWh annually, 2x as much generated today

+Video Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsZITSeQFR0

+*Points of Interest

Reliability?

Unsightly?

Noisy?

Kills Birds?

+Numbers 1.2 to 2.6 million, per MW of capacity

Smaller turbines: 3-5 thousand per kilowatt of capcity

10 kilowatt (average house) would cost approx.$35,000

8 wind turbines: 6 months to asseble

Typically lasts 30 years, with some replacements

+Credits http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/gallery/C651

137E-9CD0-7A28-6FB054DBFF592EBC_3.jpg

http://www.mywindpowersystem.com/2009/07/land-for-wind-farms-have-you-got-land/

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JdFs87ua_1s/SI6AUswPhlI/AAAAAAAAE70/YU4JFpT_Drw/s400/windmill+farm.jpg

http://www.mywindpowersystem.com/marketplace/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/GE-2_5MW-Wind-Turbine.jpg

http://www.nrgsystems.com/AboutWind/HowtheWindCreatesElectricity.aspx

http://www.alternative-energy-resources.net/disadvantages-of-wind-energy.html

http://wind-turbine.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/phk_ee_re_001502-3.jpg

+Credits

http://www.copper.org/environment/green/casestudies/wind_energy_myth/images/chart.gif

http://www.windenergyplanning.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/wind-turbine-noise.jpg

http://www.china-mike.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/economist-global-wind-power-chart.gif

http://www.copper.org/environment/green/casestudies/wind_energy_myth/images/chart.gif