Using wind turbines, wind mills, wind pumps or even just sails, moving air can be transformed into other forms of energy to use for electricity, mechanical power, to pump water or move ships. The main advantage of wind power is the availability of free energy from moving air, without creating pollution from burning fuel. The biggest wind turbine developed is as high as the statue of liberty. Wind turbines in particular are what people think of when discussing wind power. Wind energy is an energy source that comes from the wind. The united states is home to one of the largest and fastestgrowing wind markets in the world. It has over 600 members, which are active in over 50 countries. Check out our fun wind facts for kids and enjoy a range of interesting information about wind. This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about wind across 24 indepth pages. The facts about wind energy and emissions renewable. Therefore, the available wind power that can be converted into other forms of energy is approximately 1. Approximately 2% of the solar energy striking the earths surface is converted to kinetic energy in wind. The capital wind farm near lake george the one treasurer joe hockey finds offensive wind farms. Actually the only joke is that they you know who do not want to provide it for free.
The land between the turbines can be used for farming meaning it doesnt take up too much space. Wind energy people have used wind energy for a very long time. Wind energy benefits pdf the future of wind energy. Fun energy facts for kids solar power, wind, kinetic. Pdf on jul 1, 2010, lawrence martin and others published wind energy the. Wind energy penetration and integration in part ii, we consider the largescale integration of wind energy in the context that wind will meet a substantial share of the european electricity demand in the future. Learn important energy laws, what potential energy is, how. When it comes to power, a wind generator by itself will do absolutely nothing for you. Introduction to wind energy systems article pdf available in the european physical journal conferences 148. This wind is converted into wind power and used as a source of electricity.
The main disadvantage is the unreliability of the winds. While wind energy will cover around 4 per cent of electricity demand in 2008, ewea targets for. There is no need to dig underground or drill for the resource. Wind energy refers to the process of creating electricity using the wind or air flows that occur naturally in the earths atmosphere. The politics and economics of wind energy have played an important role in the. Wind energy is set to continue its impressive growth and become an ever more mainstream. Just like solar power, its good to know as much as possible about this future energy source. Wind turbines convert the winds kinetic energy to electricity. For example, the european union targets to meet 25 per cent of their. Any prospective user, regardless of his background, will feel large gaps in his knowledge, areas where he does not even know. Top 10 things you didnt know about wind power energy. The authoritative reference on wind energy, now fully revised and updated to include offshore wind power. Wind power information and facts national geographic.
Usage is on the rise worldwide, in part because costs are falling. The global wind day is celebrated worldwide, annually on 15 june. The economics of wind energy the european wind energy. The 97 gw of wind energy capacity installed at the end of 2007 will save 122 million tonnes of. Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution. But as energy demand climbs, so have efforts to turn wind into a viable option for producing electricity on a large scale. The politics and economics of wind energy have played an important role in the development of the industry and contributed to its present success, but the engineering is still pivotal.
It is cost effective and the cheapest source of electrical energy. The 97 gw of wind energy capacity installed at the end of 2007 will save 122 million tonnes of co 2every year gwec, 2008, helping to combat climate change. In fact, by adding more wind power and using the free fuel it provides, were making the entire grid more dependable, with energy coming from many diverse. Wind energy factsheet center for sustainable systems. Qualified energy conservation bonds qecbs are interestfree financing options for state and local government. To stay competitive in this sector, the energy department invests in wind research and development projects.
Fun wind facts for kids interesting information about wind. Wind energy is a converted form of solar energy which is produced by the nuclear. A decade on from its first release, the wind energy handbook, second edition. The 2009 edition of wind energy facts, updates the previous. Up for the job of powering the economy south australia leads the nation on wind energy and renewables. As long as the sun shines, there will be winds on the earth. The world wind energy association wwea published the key statistics of the world wind energy report 20. You need a windenergy system, which consists of most or all of these. Recent data and analyses have made it clear that the emissions savings from adding wind energy to the grid are even larger than had been commonly thought. Wind turbines convert a fluctuating and free energy source, into. The united states wind turbine database uswtdb provides the locations of landbased and offshore wind turbines in the united states, corresponding wind project information. Ewea is the voice of the wind industry, actively promoting wind power in europe and worldwide.
Learn how wind forms, what we use to measure wind speed and direction, what sports take advantage of wind. Wind power consists of turning energy from the wind to other energy forms. As an inexhaustible and free energy source, it is available and plentiful in. The politics and economics of wind energy have played an important. Modern wind turbines are used to capture kinetic energy from the wind and. The first windmills were built over 5000 years ago, some were used for grinding stones that crushed grain into flour and others were used to pump water out of wells. The wind is a clean, free, and readily available renewable energy source. Each day, around the world, wind turbines are capturing the winds power and converting it to electricity. Wind is a renewable source of energy as we will never run out of wind, and it is free. Pdf introduction to wind energy systems researchgate. If we replace fossil fuels with wind energy, the amount of air pollution will decrease.
There is a big lie about free energy and we are about to tell you why. Theres a lot of good news about wind energy these days. Wind energy is a clean and environmentally friendly technology that produces electricity. Wind energy is the fastestgrowing source of renewable energy. Wind turbines convert the wind s kinetic energy to electricity without emissions. Windenergy thefacts dorinaiuga projectmanager european wind energy association 12june2009 budapest,hungary. Wind energy systems draw on a wide range of disciplines.
Wind energy has made positive strides insomuch that it will have a strong presence in the future. Hence, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere diminishes and the effects of climate change are gradually fading. Learn the top wind energy facts about each state by using the interactive map or downloading a statespecific pdf. The sector keeps putting more and more people to work. Wind energy facts free math worksheets, free phonics. Global installed windgeneration capacity onshore and offshore has. The process of wind energy conversion is completed by wind turbines. Wind power is one of the fastestgrowing renewable energy technologies. Wind turbines were originally designed for the highest wind speed sites and were not wellsuited to areas like the southeast. Wind turbines are big, and a lot of people work on a wind farm, so moving people and equipment in and around the site has to be carefully planned. Wind turbines can be used to supply energy in remote places. Read about interesting types of energy such as solar, wind, kinetic, chemical, nuclear and geothermal.