Renewable Energy from the Power of the Wind Articles | Renewable Energy

Wind power is terrific Consider the different examples of wind power from the sailboat gilding across the oceans. To the relief that is provided on a hot day by the gentle breeze or whenever a pinwheel starts spinning to the excitement of a child. Also think of the umbrellas that are turned inside out and the tiles that are blown off rooftops. Another important thing as well is the tornadoes that cause ruins due to their strong gusts. When you use the power of the wind to your advantage, you have a fuel that doesn’t cause pollution and one which produces clean energy when compared to fossil fuels.

Wind energy has existed over time. People have used it for everything from the saling of ships, to the grinding of wheat and the pumping of water. Wind energy is currently the world’s fastest growing form of energy and it can be used to produce electricity. It is also a renewable resource that became a lot more popular when there was an oil crisis during the 70’s.

Wind energy can easily be captured through the use of wind turbine machines. Two types of these machines are available. The horizontal axis machine has propellers tha are equipped with three blades. These machines are usually about 20 stories tall and just about 200 feet in width. The vertical axis machine is made up of blades that start all the way from the bottom and rise to the top. These are about 100 feet tall and tend to be about 50 feet in width. Propellers on wind turbines are quite large and they trap a great volume of air as well. They can also be angled or made to face the wind in order to derive the maximum effect.

These machines function by making use of a blade to hold the kinetic energy of the wind. The wind turns the blades and these blades in turn are connected to a drive shaft which turns a generator in order to create electricity. For wind turbines to be successful they need speeds of more than 12 miles per hour. If winds are too high the turbines are usually able to prevent the blades from getting damaged or turning too fast with the use of a brake.

Wind power plants are made up of about a dozen wind turbine machines which are collectively referred to as wind farms. All these farms are collectively owned by businessmen who are known as Independent Power Producers. Electricity that is produced on a wind farm is then collected and transmitted by the use of long distance power lines. It is essential that these power lines are located and transmitted in an area where the wind is most likely to be captured. You can easily find them located on high altitudes and areas that are open such as hilltops, open plains and shorelines.

Wind power has a lot of numerous advantages. It is a clean form or energy that doesn’t pollute or cause global warming. Though it is large it allows the land located under the wind turbines to be utilized for farming purposes. A disadvantage of wind turbines is that they tend to affect the wild bird population. Certain people also consider wind turbines eyesores.