Climate change is one of the top serious issues we are currently facing. Many countries from across the globe use renewable energy sources such as wind energy to lessen carbon emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, and resilience to fossil fuels.
So what exactly is wind energy, and why do many countries use it? Also, what are some advantages of wind power and some disadvantages of wind power? Keep reading to find out more.
What Is Wind Energy?
Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources. It has a renewable power source that does not pollute the surroundings nor produce greenhouse gases. In a nutshell, wind energy is consumed when we use the wind to produce usable electricity using kinetic energy created by the air.
The wind is one of the most abundant and inexhaustible resources. Wind energy is becoming increasingly popular and widely used as an alternative source to generate power and electricity worldwide. It provides a clean, sustainable energy source that is cost-effective and accessible to communities worldwide.
Now that you’re familiar with wind energy, let’s hop into the wind energy pros and cons.
Advantages Of Wind Energy
The massive use of wind energy continues to provide numerous benefits, so there are numerous wind energy advantages.
The Environmental Benefits
One of the best wind energy advantages is how it provides a free, green, and renewable source of energy. The energy generation from wind turbines can avoid up to 327 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually. That is equivalent to 71 million cars!
In 2013, the operating wind energy capacity avoided over 250,000 tons of air pollutants such as nitrogen, nitric, and sulfur dioxide.
Scientists predict that wind energy could avoid about 12.3 gigatons of greenhouse gases by 2050.
Employment Opportunities
A wind turbine electrician is one of the fastest-growing jobs in the US. Across all 50 states, nearly 117,000 American employees are in the wind energy industry. The wind energy industry has also provided 24,000 wind manufacturing jobs in over 500 facilities.
Accessibility and affordability
Wind energy benefits the people residing in rural areas where it’s hard to generate energy. The location of wind turbines provides excellent generating power for remote or isolated areas, especially those living “off the grid.”
The price in the wind industry is less sensitive to volatility, unlike using natural gas and coal fuel. As consumers using traditional electricity, we pay more. Shifting to wind energy consumption makes energy prices decrease.
Disadvantages Of Wind Energy
On the other hand, here is a list of the cons of wind energy.
Requirement for large space
Larger land space is needed to cater to large-scale wind farms. Don’t worry; you’re still free to roam around on the solid ground. Here, we are talking about the space intervals in each wind turbine in wind farms.
Unpredictability
Wind turbines can only operate when the wind blows. There is a direct relationship between how much a wind turbine can produce energy to its wind speeds. If the wind blows slowly, the energy produced would be less, and if the wind blows faster, the more power it can produce.
Environmental hazards
Although wind turbines are tall enough not to hurt any humans on the ground, the rotor blades and power lines can be extremely dangerous to birds. Due to their height, wind turbines are highly susceptible to damage from natural causes such as lightning.
Reducing the noise a wind turbine produces is one of the best technological advancements for these machines. The noise is minimal, like the so-called white noise — the one we hear at home from electrical appliances.
Wind Energy Vs. Solar and Nuclear Energy
The call for generating electricity using renewable energy is multiplying as we find ways to combat climate change. Today’s top three renewable energy sources are solar panels, wind turbines, and nuclear power plants.
Wind energy relies on kinetic energy used to power wind turbines. One of the best wind energy pros is that it can generate electricity on a bigger scale. We use wind turbines for industrial, commercial, and even residential purposes. With this, operating costs and maintenance costs are higher.
Solar energy uses solar power called solar cells. It works when sunlight is converted into fuel using solar cells (photovoltaic cells).
The design of solar panels is for residential purposes. Compared to wind turbines, solar panels have low operating costs. Additionally, you should hire installers that reputable solar companies employ for the best equipment.
Nuclear energy is another electricity generation option that provides clean energy for everyone who uses nuclear power plants. A nuclear power plant is a location where nuclear power generates electricity. Despite its benefits, not many countries use this type of renewable energy because of incidents like the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in 2011.
Wind energy, solar energy, and nuclear energy have pros and cons. Still, one best thing they have in common is that they can create more renewable energy sources. That’s the goal.
America has already started storing wind and solar energy in energy storage technology. The creation of energy storage technology preserves wind energy and solar energy for future use just in case the wind isn’t moving enough and the sun isn’t shining much.
What Is a Wind Turbine?
Wind turbines are machines used to convert kinetic energy into mechanical energy or usable electricity. In simpler terms, wind turbines create electricity using wind energy.
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines within the exact location. A larger site is needed to cater to large-scale wind turbines. Wind farms must be in the windiest places to reach maximum wind power capacity.
How Do Wind Turbines Work?
Wind turbines use the wind to make usable electricity, but the operation isn’t as easy as it sounds. Here’s a detailed process of how a wind turbine works.
The wind pushes the blades.
A wind turbine uses blades to catch the kinetic energy of the wind. Ideally, the location of wind turbines is in places with consistent and regular air movement.
This air movement pushes the blades to allow the wind to move effortlessly. The blades used in wind turbines are designed and shaped to move downwind and upwind. These blades are similar to airplanes as they generate lift and move!
The transformation of kinetic energy
Kinetic energy is the free energy from the wind. When the wind meets a turbine’s blades, it transforms kinetic energy into mechanical energy. To store and be able to use kinetic energy, it first needs to be converted into usable electricity.
The transformer converts electricity
Inside the wind turbine’s nacelle, there is a spinning drive shaft connected to a gearbox that increases their wind speed of rotation. Enough wind speed spins a generator to power up. The electricity produced by a wind turbine’s generator is a 60-cycle alternating current (AC).
A transformer is needed to convert the energy produced, depending on the energy demand of the locals.
The electricity is now being used or stored.
This last part of the process only indicates that the electricity produced by wind turbines is now ready for distribution. It is delivered through transmission lines and a power grid for consumption or to be stored in a battery.
The electric grid of wind turbines is located underground and connected to a nearby substation.
What Are Parts Of A Wind Turbine?
To utilize the wind’s kinetic energy, convert it into generating energy. It all starts with installing wind turbines.
The principal components of a wind turbine are as follows:
Support tower
The primary support tower of a wind turbine is steel. It is finished with several layers of protective paint to protect it from different elements. The wind turbine tower must be tall enough to ensure that the rotor blade does not interfere with normal ground-level operations.
Another thing to consider why wind turbines need to be tall is that the higher the wind turbines are, the higher the capacity they can provide. Wind turbine heights and rotor blade sizes have increased through time due to technological advancements and efforts made by different research institutions.
The height of an average wind turbine is between 60 to 120 meters. As of 2019, GE’s Haliade-X holds the world’s largest turbine title, with a support height of 138 meters.
Nacelle
The head of a wind turbine is called the nacelle. The nacelle is what you see on top of a support tower. The wind turbine nacelle is the housing of all the generating components for wind turbines to work, such as:
- Gearbox assembly
- Aerodynamic braking
- Mechanical braking
- Turbine generator
- Electrical power transmission systems
Rotor blades
The three long thin blades we see attached to the nacelle of a wind turbine are called rotor blades. The rotor blades are designed to capture the kinetic energy from the wind as it passes and then convert it into rotational energy.
As of 2021, wind turbines with over 115cm rotor blades are the largest wind turbines manufactured in the world. The blade tips of this kind can sweep through 230 mph in the air.
How Many Homes Can One Wind Turbine Power?
In 2020, the US. The Energy Information Administration stated that one home in the United States uses an average of 893-kilowatt hour (kWh) energy consumption per month. The mean wind power capacity in commercial and residential applications is 2.75 MW.
According to the 2021st edition of the Land-Based Wind Market Report by the Department of Energy, 42% is the average capacity factor among recently built wind turbines in the US. With this average, it could generate 843,000 kWh per month, enough to generate electricity for more than 940 US homes.
What Countries Can Harvest Wind Power?
In many countries, wind energy has become an essential part of their energy systems, improving the air quality. Although considered the best renewable energy source, not all countries can build a name in the wind energy sector. It is crucial to plan and know the best location and height of wind turbines.
Below are the top countries and regions that have built the most wind energy projects to this day:
China
China is still the leader in wind energy production worldwide, contributing to over one-quarter of wind energy capacity globally. The Chinese wind power industry has built the largest onshore wind farm located in Gansu Province.
United States
So far, despite its dependency on the fossil fuel industry, Wind Power in the United States has already generated 139GW of onshore wind energy capacity. The majority of the largest onshore wind farms are in the US. The Alta Wind Energy Center in California is the second-largest wind farm globally.
Germany
Germany has Nordsee One Offshore Wind Farm that provides energy supply for 400,000 homes. The German wind industry also has some of the largest offshore wind farms, Gode Wind Farms Phase 1 and Gode Wind Farms Phase 2, with a capacity of 582MW combined.
United Kingdom
Wind Energy in the UK has a very important role in the regions goals for Net Zero. The UK has some key wind farms, like Dogger Bank, London Array, and Inch Cape.
Who Are The Main Manufacturers Of Wind Turbines?
Here are the top wind turbine manufacturers this 2022:
Vestas
Vestas wind turbines are located in Denmark and are currently the top and largest wind turbine manufacturers. They dominated the wind turbine market in 1898 and represented over 16% of the wind energy industry.
To this day, Vestas has installed over 600,000 turbines across countries. Its manufacturing facilities are in Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America.
Siemens Gamesa
The Siemens Gamesa wind turbines rank second on the list. Siemens Gamesa is known to have a firm position in the offshore wind market.
They were the first to install an offshore wind farm in 1991. Since then, they have never stopped dominating the offshore wind market, with around 70% market share in Europe alone.
Goldwind
As of 2022, the Chinese wind turbine manufacturer, Goldwind, remains in the world’s top three list of largest wind turbine manufacturers. By late 2019, Goldwind has installed a 50GW capacity for wind turbines in more than 20 major countries worldwide.
How Much Wind Energy Can One Wind Turbine Produce?
The amount of wind energy a wind turbine can produce depends on the wind speed. The quicker the wind blows, the more energy wind turbines can produce. Another factor to consider is the model and size of the wind turbines.
Here are the three kinds of wind turbines according to size and model and how much wind energy they can produce.
Commercial Wind Turbines
This kind of wind turbine is generally the largest among the three types. It can produce up to 600 MWh annually using 2.5-3 MW onshore wind turbines. If we use a 3MW offshore turbine, it may double the production of generated electricity.
Residential Wind Turbines
Residential wind turbines are the ones we can install on our house roofs. Given its name, this kind of wind turbine is smaller than commercial wind turbines. However, compared to commercial wind turbines, most residential wind turbines can only generate electricity from 1 kW to 10 KW.
Portable Wind Turbines
Portable wind turbines have the lowest electricity power among the three kinds of wind turbines. That said, it is suitable only for small appliances. Its principal function is to provide electricity for cameras, charging phones, and the like.
Conclusion
Countries worldwide have taken the initiative to move closer to a cleaner and greener future by using energy independence. This is the term used in the US for preventing too much reliance on oil and fuel.
Continuous consumption of renewable sources such as wind energy may also reduce carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. With the wind energy pros and cons, it’s still one of the best clean, renewable energy alternatives to fossil fuels.
As the production of energy storage technology continues and the more countries follow this concept, the more hope we have to save the planet in the future.
Take note that the maximum capacity of wind energy a wind turbine can produce depends on the height or elevation of the support tower, the size of the rotor blades, the wind speed, and the location.
Lastly, the location of wind farms brings revenue to rural areas by providing jobs. So, they are safe and not harmful to people living near the wind farm and are also great for local and rural economies.