Energy comparison: wind turbines

Hello,

Finally, we are back with another energy comparison. Today we're looking at wind turbines. Wind power is a fast-growing renewable energy source. In the US, the wind power industry currently employs 120 000 people across all 50 states. It could grow to employ hundreds of thousands of people by 2050. 9% of the electricity in the US in 2021 came from wind turbines, that’s 136 000 megawatts. The wind power industry saves 329 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year.

General knowledge and categorisation

We should probably start off by clarifying how wind turbines actually work and what types there are. I’m not going to give an in-depth description of how wind turbines work because I don’t want this post to turn into a physics lesson. To put it very simply, the wind turns the blades, which turns the rotor. The rotor then turns the generator, which converts the kinetic energy (movement) into electricity. There are obviously a lot more parts involved (up to 8000 of them) but this is the main idea.

There are two different types of wind turbines. Horizontal-axis turbines are the wind turbines that most people thought of when they saw the title of this post. Horizontal-axis turbines mostly have three blades that are about 60 metres long, and the turbine always turns to face the wind (upwind) to maximise electricity production. The second type of wind turbine is less commonly known. Vertical-axis turbines look quite different to horizontal-axis turbines. There are several designs. The main difference to their more common counterpart is the fact that they don’t turn to face the wind: it doesn’t matter what direction the wind is coming from.

Wind turbines can also be categorised into where they are installed. Land-based wind turbines normally range from 100 kilowatts to multiple megawatts. They can normally be found in wind plants made up of dozens of land-based wind turbines. Offshore wind turbines are out at sea. They make use of the incredibly strong ocean winds to produce large amounts of electricity. They are also very tall, often taller than the Statue of Liberty. The last category is distributed wind. This includes all set-ups that are close to where the power is then used. Small wind turbines, normally under 100 kilowatts, are installed in residential, agricultural and small commercial areas. They can also be used as part of hybrid energy systems, where they are combined with other energy sources such as solar, coal or water. These hybrid systems can typically be found in off-grid locations, so areas that aren’t connected to the national power grid.

Advantages

Wind is created by the sun warming the earth, the earth’s uneven landscape and the rotation of the earth. None of these factors are going to change any time soon, making wind an unending resource. It is definitely renewable. Wind turbines do not cause air pollution and do not need fuel, making them less damaging to the environment than fossil fuels, like coal and oil. Wind power is also cost-efficient, and its price isn’t as high as that of other energy sources.

Disadvantages

The sites with the most wind are often in remote places. Getting a construction team and all the needed materials out there and sending the gained electricity back can quickly become very expensive. They are also dangerous for birds. However, according to this article in a German newspaper, there are 10 000 - 100 000 deaths caused by wind turbines and 70 million deaths caused by cars annually. Most worryingly, the infrasound produced by the wind turbines has been theorised to cause health problems. This is still being studied and researched. Wind is also highly variable, meaning that the energy produced can flucatute massively in a matter of seconds if the wind also changes. This puts a strain on the power grid.

Conclusion

Wind turbines are a game changer when it comes to the shift to renewable energy sources. They provide hundreds of thousands of people with jobs. However, the infrasound theory should be thoroughly researched and hopefully proved wrong to avoid any unnecessary harm to the population.

We hope you enjoyed this post and see you next week.
Your Green World Blog Team💚

Sources:
https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/advantages-and-challenges-wind-energy
https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/wind-energy-basics
https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work
https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/articles/top-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-wind-power
https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/windkraft-deutschland-energiewende-grafik-100.html
https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/1968/publikationen/161128_uba_position_windenergiegesundheit.pdf
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-materials-are-used-make-wind-turbines
https://www.energysage.com/about-clean-energy/wind/pros-cons-wind-energy/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230919154844.htm

Image: This image is owned by a blog editor.

Comments

The life of ... an alcon blue butterfly

Hi everyone, Today we are going to be looking into the life of an alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon). After mating, the females lay their eggs on marsh gentian, a blue-coloured wildflower. The eggs can only be laid on these flowers, as this is what the newly hatched caterpillars will eat. Although in some alp regions, they can also be found on willow gentians, a close relative of the marsh gentian. Once the caterpillars have hatched from the eggs, their main predator and danger are the ants that swarm below. But high on their plant homes, the caterpillars are safe. However, this isn't where the alcon blue caterpillars are going to stay forever. Eventually, they drop down to the ground using silk strings. With no protection, they are soon dragged off by the ants. The most amazing part is, the alcon blue caterpillars give off the same scent and chemicals as the ant larvae. So the ants take the caterpillars back to their brood chamber, wher...

March Top Tips // 10 little things you can avoid in daily life

Welcome to the Top Tips this month! We'll be talking about 10 things you can avoid using in everyday life. We know it's a really simple topic, but it can actually make quite a difference. The avoidable stuff will be things many use because they look nice or taste nice or similar, but aren't actually necessary. We will also write a couple of facts on these things, and give ideas on how you could substitute them if possible. Many might be very obvious, but think about it, do you actually not use them? Have fun! Chewing Gum Most people would not be surprised when told that lots of chewing gum have synthetic colouring and flavouring. However, most people would be surprised when told that chewing gum is largely made of plastic. What the companies call the "gum base" is plastic and partly made of the same stuff plastic bags are made of. The gum contains microplastics that, if you spit your gum on the ground often tend to get into the oce...

10 Animals on the Edge of Extinction No. 10- The Javan Rhino

The Javan rhino is listed as the 1st animal on WWF’s list of the 10 world’s most endangered animals, and I for my part, had never heard of it! If you hadn’t either, we’re changing that now. A bit about the rhino’s lifestyle The Javan rhinos are now exclusively found on the island of Java in Indonesia, but were once found in vast regions of northeast india and Southeast Asia. They have a dark grey colour which looks almost black when wet, and their (often pink) skin folds look a bit like plated armor. Both males and females have lower incisors which resemble tusks that they use to fight. Males have one relatively short horn of about 25 cm (10 inches). Javan Rhinos live in tropical forests, marshy areas and in the thick bush. They are mainly browsers and eat over 100 plants species they find in the forest, weigh between 900 and 2300 kg (1984-5071 pounds) and are between 3 and 3.2 meters (10- 10.5 feet) long. How endangered are we talking? Javan rhinos are the most ...

April Top Tips: ten tips for environmentally friendly travel

Hi Everyone! We haven't been very present on the blog again recently but we are back today with ten top tips for environmentally friendly travel. Most forms of travel over long distances (unless you are willing to put in a lot of physical effort) use fossil fuels and are generally not good for our planet. So today we will be giving you a few tips which although won't mean that your travel is 100% planet friendly, will be a good start to doing as much as you can. Your Green World Blog Team💚 1. Use trains and boats rather than planes where possible Planes are awful for the environment. They are, however, extremely practical and so easy to use, cheap...It's hard to avoid them! They are so quick too so you don't have to spend as much time travelling. However, they are really bad for the environment. For example, you could fly once to Edinburgh from Heathrow for the same carbon dioxide levels as driving to Edinburgh 336 times! 2. Fly...

Energy comparison: natural gas

Hi everyone, Today we're talking about natural gas. Natural gas is a commonly used fossil fuel. So we thought we would go over the pros and cons of natural gas. So first of all, we can quickly cover what natural gas actually is. In its natural form it's a mix of mostly methane and then some other chemical components like propane and butane. However, it's normally processed so that it's almost pure methane. Natural gas forms when organic materials (like dead plants and animals) are crushed into the ground. So it's like coal in that sense. The most popular theory is that the different conditions like temperature and pressure then control whether coal, oil, or gas is formed. Natural gas reserves are found globally. The largest gas fields are in Russia, under the North Sea, in the United States, Canada, Algeria and the Middle East. It's often found near to or even in oil fields. Natural gas is colourless, odorless, tasteless and ...

Animals 36-40 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi, As you probably noticed, we took a break from this series, mostly due to having just too much to do. But we're back now with the last three posts. 36. The Pinocchio frog The Pinocchio frog can be found in the Foja Mountains in Indonesia. They mainly eat insects, although little is known about them. They are named because the males have a spike on their noses. They were only discovered in 2008, and this was completely by accident! It remained unnamed scientifically until over ten years later when it was given the name " Litoria pinocchio " . There is very little information about them but Wikipedia states that "the male Pinocchio frog inflates its nose when calling, and the nose decreases in size when the frog is calm and quiet," which I think is hilarious and so interesting! 37. Snub-nosed monkey Especially noticeable due to their curious looks, the snub-nosed monkeys can be found in the forests of central China and northern...

Animals 11-15 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hello, We have another five amazing animals for you today. Enjoy! 11. Dhole This is a dog species which looks rather like a red fox . They are difficult to put into any of the dog subfamilies. They aren't foxes, nor wolves, nor domestic dogs. Dholes are fast runners and live in packs of 5-12 individuals. Although sometimes, different packs will join forces to become a pack of 30 or more individuals! However, these super packs are broken up after a successful hunt. The different packs rarely attack each other as neighbouring packs are often closely related. Dhole packs live in burrows with multiple entrances. They can be found in eastern and southern Asia. They eat wild berries, insects and lizards and as a pack hunt deer, rodents and other wild mammals. Interestingly, unlike other dogs, they rarely kill by biting at the throat. They are also good swimmers! 12. Irrawaddy dolphin The Irrawaddy dolphin can be found in coastal areas of south a...

Climate change: what is it and what's the problem

Hello, I've noticed that we are always mentioning climate change. Not only us blog editors but also politicians, activists and so on. The words climate change are bounced around in the media and probably in your households, but do you actually know what it is or how it works? I know that for a long time, I didn't know what it really meant. I hope that this post changes that. What is climate change and how does it work? The words climate change describe a slow shift in the earth's temperature and changes in the weather patterns. Having a single warm winter does not instantly mean climate change. Climate change happens over a long period of time. If you look at a temperature graph over the years, it doesn't go up in one day and then stay the same for another hundred years. It curves up slowly but steadily. This is a average temperature graph from 1880 to just after 2000. You can see how the temperature gradually gets warmer....

10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no.3- The Monarch butterfly

The monarch butterfly is an animal you will probably have seen around in your life. It's not the kind of animal you will know the name of, much less the extinction status, but the monarch butterfly is rated "endangered" on the WWF website. It's affected by climate change and humans and its numbers have declined greatly. Fast Facts The Monarch Butterfly is a rather small animal, however pretty large for one of its species. Their wingspan ranges from about 90 to 100 mm, the male butterflies being slightly larger than the female. They are orange with a black patterning and white dots on the sides of their wings, the vibrant colours warn predators of their bad taste. Monarch butterflies are known for their migration habits. They are mainly found in northern America, but travel to the south (Mexico or California mainly) to hibernate. These tiny butterflies travel almost 3 thousand kilometres and can be found all over the planet by now...

Eco System, Galapagos: Part 2 Evolution

Hello and welcome to our second post in the Galapagos Series. Today we are going to talk about the iconic evolution in the Islands. The evolution on Galapagos is incredible. It was these islands that gave Charles Darwin the idea of Evolution by Natural Selection. He landed on the Galapagos island on September 16th 1835. The Galapagos Islands are home to hundreds of different types of animal. Creatures like the Galapagos penguin swam to the islands. Giant Tortoises and Marine Iguanas were carried to the islands by ocean currents. They can survive for months without food or water. Birds carried seeds to the islands when they stopped for a break. Insects like spiders got blown off branches and landed on the islands. The arrival of pollinators was crucial for plant life and therefore also the entire ecosystem. Carpenter Bees make nests in tree trunks. It is thought that some carpenter bees' nests were carried across the ocean as d...

Green World

Search This Blog