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WIND POWER 
| Around
the world wind power is emerging as a serious source of new clean
energy. There is over 72 TW (terrawatts) of energy available worldwide, just from wind. (Currently
humans use about 7 TW from all sources globally.) Wind energy alone could
provide enough power ten times over to provide for all of our needs. This page explores its continuing expansion and application and how other nations see it as a
crucial response to global warming. |
Recent news:
May 16 2013: 2012 record -breaking year for wind energy. In
2012 more wind turbines were erected than ever before worldwide, according to
statistics released by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) in Germany. According to the organization's 2012 report,
last year wind turbines with a total energy potential of 45GW were constructed
internationally. That brings global wind power capacity to 282GW. Wind power
now covers 3% of global electricity demand. One hundred countries
worldwide employ wind power, mostly in Asia, North America and Western Europe. link
April
12 2013: US wind power grew 28% in 2012. Wind power was the top source of new electricity
generation capacity installed in the US in 2012 as the market grew by 28%. The
report stated that 2012 saw more than 6,700 new wind turbines erected pushing
total capacity in the US beyond 60GW. Wind
farms added 42% of all new capacity to the grid last year, ahead of any other
source of electricity generation, the report said. link
OVERVIEW. In 2010 worldwide
wind energy capacity reached 194,000 MW, 2% of global energy supply. In
2005 output was only 59,012MW. By
year-end 2009, the USA supplied 22.1% of global wind energy
followed by China (16.3%) Germany (16.2%) Spain (11.5%) and India
(6.8%). China more than doubled its output from the previous year. For breakdown by country see pages 16/17 of pdf [Emerging Energy Research projects the
global installed base to grow to more than 600 gigawatts by 2020.]
Wind power is the fastest growing
energy source and consumes no fuel for continuing operation with no
emissions and zero pollution directly related to electricity
production. . While creating some
emissions in construction the initial carbon dioxide emissions "pay
back" is claimed by one company to be within about 9 months of
operation for their offshore turbines and the British Wind Energy
Association claim the average wind farm will pay back the energy used
in its manufacture within 3-5 months of
operation. The most
comprehensive study to date found the potential of wind power on land
and near-shore to be approximately 72 terawatts. (A terawatt is 1 trillion watts, the power
generated by more than 500 nuclear reactors or thousands of coal-burning plants.) Converting as
little as 20% of potential wind energy to electricity could satisfy the
entirety of the world's energy demands. link |
Other links: American Wind Energy Association - AWEA
European Wind Energy Association - EWEA
World Wind Energy Association - WWEA
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Below:
- Wind power globally
- Wind power in the USA
- Europe
- New technologies
- Wind power at sea
- Small-scale wind power & wind turbines effect on wildlife
Off-shore wind expanding
 More than 90% of the world’s offshore wind power is currently
installed off northern Europe, in the North, Baltic and Irish Seas, and the
English Channel. Most of the rest is in two ‘demonstration’ projects off
China’s east coast. China has set itself a target of 30 GW of
installations off its coast by 2020. link (Currently total is approximately 4.65GW off-shore)
February 2013. Wind power expanded by almost 20% in 2012 around the world to reach a
new peak of 282GW of total installed capacity. (Solar reached 100GW.) More than 45GW of new wind turbines arrived in
2012, with China and the US leading the
way with 13GW each. The UK now ranks
sixth in the world for installed wind power, with 8.5GW. In Europe, only
Germany (31GW) and Spain (23GW) have more. China leads the world with
77GW installed and the US is second with 60GW. link
Sepember 2012: Wind power could supply all world’s energy demands. US scientists say
that available wind power is enough to fuel all of the world's
energy demands. The atmospheric wind turbines in high altitude areas generate
even more power than ground-and ocean-based units. Near-surface winds could
provide more than 20 times global power demand and wind turbines on kites could
potentially capture 100 times the current global power demand. "Looking at
the big picture, it is more likely that economic, technological or political
factors will determine the growth of wind power around the world, rather than
geophysical limitations," according to Carnegie Institute's Ken Caldeira. link
November 2012: Strong outlook
for wind industry through 2030. The bi-annual Global Wind Energy
Outlook sees slower growth over the next few years, but still expects wind
to supply about 12% of global electricity by 2020 and 20% by 2030. By 2020
the industry is expected to create 1.4 million wind jobs employing 2.1
million people around the world. Over the past 15
years, the industry has seen average cumulative growth rates of
about 28% - which brought wind capacity across 80 countries in 2011 to a total
of 240 GW. 22 countries have more than 1 GW installed. 2012 will be a strong year, with
the industry expected to add at least another 40 GW, the same amount
as last year. link
November 2012: On-shore wind costs falling rapidly. Research
firm finds the cost of operating and maintaining wind farms is falling by an
average of 11% a year, based on confidential cost data from 38 large wind farm
operators around the world. link
 September 2010: Installed
power from wind turbines around the world will probably rival nuclear
generation within 4 years according to the Global Wind Energy Council.
By 2014 installed wind capacity is expected to reach 400GW - current
nuclear capacity is 376GW. Around half the growth is now happening in emerging economies and developing countries. link
November 2011: Onshore
wind to reach grid parity by 2016. Analysts say perception of wind power as
'expensive and intermittent' is out of date as equipment costs fall and output
soars Electricity produced by onshore wind farms will cost the same as that
from fossil fuel plants by 2016, as efficiency increases and equipment costs
plummet. Research published last week by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF)
said that the best wind farms in the world already produce power as
economically as coal, gas and nuclear generators, and predicts a 12% drop in
price over the next five years. link
| Wind power in India December 2012: India's wind capacity to expand rapidly by 2020. India's installed wind power capacity is expected to reach 89
GW by 2020 and 191 GW by 2030, according to a new report. This expansion in
wind power is expected to attract $16.5 billion of annual investment, create
179,000 jobs and abate 179 tonnes of CO2 annually, the Wind Energy Outlook
reported. link
India is currently the fifth largest generator of wind power in the world. The Indian wind energy sector has
an installed capacity of 17,365.03 MW (as on March 31, 2012). In terms of wind power installed capacity, India is ranked 5th in the World. (India Wind Energy Agency)
|
Wind power in Africa: Extreme
temperatures also generate extreme winds and perhaps this is the reason wind
farms have great potential in Africa. Some 365 giant wind turbines will be
installed in desert around Lake Turkana in northern Kenya to create the biggest
wind farm in Africa. With completion expected in 2012, the project backed by
the African Development Bank will have a capacity of 300MW, a quarter of
Kenya’s current installed power and one of the highest proportions of wind
energy to
be fed in a national grid anywhere in the world. link
Wind power production: (June 2010) Comparing North America to Europe - link
January 2013: Wind power in U.S. up to 60GW. Wind
power accounted for 6% of the USA’s total electricity generation capacity in
2012, after developers rushed to finish projects before expiration of a subsidy.
The threat that the PTC (Production Tax Credit) would lapse on Dec. 31 prompted developers to
complete as many projects as they could last month. A record 13.2 gigawatts of
turbines were installed in 2012 including 5.5 gigawatts in December, the most
ever for a single month. Total wind capacity is about 60 gigawatts. link (* [As of March 2012, US wind power generated 3.0% of the
US energy, up from 1.3% at the end of 2008.] Map by states ot installed wind energy - click here May 2013: Iowa targets 40% wind energy. MidAmerican -Iowa's largest energy company - announced plans to spend $1.9
billion to install hundreds of wind turbines by the end of 2015, marking what
the governor described as the largest economic development project in the
state's history. The company wants to build 656 turbines, though the locations
have yet to be chosen. When
completed, the new turbines will have the capacity to generate as much as 1,050MW of wind power, which would
represent nearly 40% of energy used by customers. link October 2012: Wyoming to get what could be world's largest wind farm. Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar authorizes what he described as potentially the largest
wind energy project in the United States, if not the world: A Wyoming wind farm
with up to 1,000 turbines that would provide electricity to some 1 million homes.
link February 2010: U.S. wind potential more than 3 times greater than originally believed. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s most recent assessment
shows that U.S. wind resources are larger than previously estimated, according
to the American Wind Energy Association. A key finding of the new assessment shows that onshore U.S. wind resources
could generate nearly 37,000,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually, more than nine
times current total U.S. electricity consumption. The previous national
government survey, conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory, estimated U.S.
wind potential at 10,777,000 GWh. America’s onshore wind resource is over 10,000 gigawatts (GW) and the U.S. is
barely tapping into this resource with a current wind installed capacity of 35
GW. link Off-shore wind September 2012: Off-shore turbines could power eastern states. Placing wind turbines
off the East Coast could meet the entire demand for electricity from Florida to
Maine, according to engineering experts at Stanford University. It would
require 144,000 offshore turbines standing 270 feet tall and analysis shows
it's doable and where the best locations are. The team is not advocating for an "all wind" approach, but
they do think it could reach up to 50%. Today the U.S. gets about 4% of its
electricity from wind, but only via turbines on land. link April 2011: First off-shore wind farm in US approved. Final approval has been given for first offshore wind farm in the US. When
finally completed the $1bn Cape Wind project off the Massachusetts coast will
host 130 turbines in a 25 square mile area around 4.5 miles off Cape and
provide 468MW, enough energy to power more than 200,000 homes. link
(March 2013: Federal regulations conflict with state efforts. The Atlantic Coast region has an estimated 1,000GW
off-shore potential - link)
February 2011: US Atlantic coast targeted for
10GW of wind power. Four designated "wind energy areas" off
the mid-Atlantic coast will benefit from fast-tracked environmental assessments
designed to accelerate leasing and approval processes for proposed wind farms. The
strategy sets a target to deploy 10GW of offshore wind capacity by 2020. Capacity
would then increase to 54GW by 2030, forming a vital part of president Obama's
wider goal to supply 80 percent of US electricity from clean energy sources by
2035. link (According to the United States
Energy Information Administration, of the 48 contiguous states, 28 that have
coastal boundaries consume 78% of the nation’s electricity.) October 2010: Plans announced for a 6,000MW wind power transmission line. Google
and a New York financial firm agreed to invest heavily in a proposed $5
billion transmission backbone for the future offshore wind farms along
the Atlantic Seaboard. Google's green business director called the plan
"innovative and audacious" and would provide the equivalent of five
large nuclear plants in power supply. link
June 2010: Atlantic offshore wind energy consortium agreed. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and the governors of 10 East Coast states
signed a Memorandum of Understanding that formally establishes an
Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium. Under the agreement, the consortium will develop an action plan that sets
forth priorities, goals, specific recommendations and steps for achieving the
development of wind resources on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf.. link
February
2013: Europe exceeds 100 GW of wind capacity. Cumulative
European Union wind power capacity at end of 2012 was 105.6GW up from 94GW at
the end of 2011. link
March 2013: Plans for world's biggest off-shore wind farm in UK. The
Walney wind farm, off Barrow, already has 102 turbines and generates enough
power for about 320,000 homes. Danish-based developer Dong Energy wants to add
up to 120 additional turbines and provide power for about 500,000 more homes. If
approved, the project could be completed by 2017. link January 2013: New record installations for Europe's off-shore wind industry. Offshore
wind power installations in Europe rose by a third in 2012 and may increase by
another 20% this year as developers build bigger farms in deeper waters, according to the
European Wind Energy Association. 2012 saw 1,166MW of installations, a 33% increase on 2011’s 874MW. Total off-shore installations across Europe
reached 4,995MW. link September 2012: Beginnings of a European wind supergrid launched. The first
interconnector between
the Republic and Britain was opened yesterday, connecting the power grids of
the two countries. The 500-megawatt cable can carry enough power to supply
around 350,000 homes. The east-west interconnector goes from Co Meath to north
Wales, and is designed to help ensure adequate and efficient power supply for
the future. link
February 2011. 11% increase in EU wind capacity in 2011. The EU added 9,616MW of wind energy
capacity during 2011, making up more than a fifth of total new power
installations. Overall, Germany remains the EU country with the largest
installed capacity, followed by Spain, France, Italy and the UK. The level of
capacity added is slightly down on the 9,648MW that came online in 2010, due in
part to falling numbers of installations in mature markets such as France and
Spain. link
(November 2012: Last month, wind capacity in Europe crossed the 100 gigawatt threshold. Wind energy supplies about 7% of
the EU's electricity, and that will rise dramatically as the massive offshore
wind farms planned get built and connected to the grid. link January 2013: At the close of 2012, almost 6GW of wind power in France
covered a record 10% of the country’s electricity demand. link) June 2010: EU plans for 50% electricity from wind energy by 2050. The European Union has launched a 6 billion euro ($7.2 billion) research and
development program that will help pave the way for the region to source half of
its electricity supply from wind energy by 2050. The plan aims to bring energy to power 20% of the bloc’s
electricity by 2020, 33% by 2030 and 50% by 2050. link [Europe also aims
to slash emissions by 20% over the next 10 years.] December 2010: A North Sea off-shore electric grid serving Europe agreed. The
grid will link the ten member countries across Europe making it easier
for member states to trade energy. The off-shore wind farms in
the North Sea are expected to exploit 140GW of energy. link
January 2010: More than 100GW of offshore wind projects are under development in Europe,
around 10% of the EU's electricity demand, and equivalent to about 100 large
coal-fired plants. Sun, wind and wave-powered: Europe unites to build renewable energy 'supergrid'. By
autumn, nine EU governments (Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland and the UK) hope to have a plan
to begin building a high-voltage direct current network, a super-grid
of renewable energy sources, within the next decade. It will be an
important step in achieving the pledge that, by 2020, 20% of its energy
will come from renewable sources. link
The European Wind Energy Agency (EWEA) set a new 230 GW target for 2020, an example of the industry’s
confidence and the growing recognition of what wind power can offer European
citizens. Britain has an ambitious goal of 33 gigawatts of
wind power by 2020. [The 2010 target set by the European
Commission was 40 GW.] More on U.K. wind.
| A wind turbine emits no CO2 or other pollutants, and over its
20-year life it will produce 80-120 times more energy than it consumes. The European wind energy sector
employed 160,000 people directly and indirectly in 2008.
Europe’s wind energy avoided the emission of 108 million tonnes of C02 in 2008 –
equal to 31% of the EU-15’s Kyoto obligations and the equivalent of taking more
than 50 million cars off the roads. |
Technology has impacted all
stages and aspects of the wind development business. Over
the past 10 to 15 years, enhancements in technology and computing power
have revolutionized the wind development business. From prospecting the
best
sites to constructing wind farms, from mapping cadastral data to
estimating the
wind resource at specific proposed turbine locations, technology has
improved
our ability to efficiently select, develop, and ultimately construct
utility-scale wind farms. link
There are well over 30
different significant manufacturers currently delivering wind turbines rated at
more than 1 MW and more than 130 different models of varying capacities.
Read here to learn of
the factors taken into account for on-shore or off-shore turbines.
8MW turbine announced by Danish company. Danish
wind turbine specialist Vestas was already looking to claim the title of the
world’s largest offshore wind turbine with its proposed V164 that ups the
capacity from seven to eight megawatts. So not only is the V164 set to boast
the largest swept area of any single wind turbine, it will also claim the title
for the world’s largest capacity wind turbine. The current titleholder for the
largest swept area goes to the G10X prototype installed by Gamesa in Spain,
with a rotor diameter of 128 m (420 ft) and a capacity of 4.5 MW. Meanwhile,
with a rated capacity of 7.58 MW and rotor diameter of 126 m (413 ft), the
Enercon E-126 has held the title for the world’s largest capacity wind turbine
since its introduction in 2007. link
December 2010: Just how big can a wind turbine get?
With lots of manufacturers developing 7 to 10MW turbines (the ones
prevalent today average about 1.5 - 2MW), a Spanish consortium
plans to dominate the market with a 15MW turbine which could be ready for market by 2020. link |
January 2013: Apple re-inventing the wind turbine. Apple patent suggests using wind turbines that
converts rotational energy from turbine blades into heat, which is then stored
and used to generate electricity when necessary. Today’s turbines often turn
kinetic energy from turbine blade rotation directly into mechanical energy or
electricity - more Floating turbines. October 2010: Floating wind turbines may be more efficient. Floating wind turbines
are a little more complicated and require higher initial costs. But a new study
by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) in the UK has found that due to
their greater ability to access stronger and more consistent winds deeper out
at sea, they are more economically efficient in the long term. link February 2011: An alternative to large turbines.  Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), is classified as a "
the spinning mechanism that sits at ground level, rather than atop a tower,
with two arms reaching up and out in a V-shape that spans 900 feet across. The
vertical orientation means its weight does not alter its efficiency as it
rotates, which does occur in horizontal axis turbines, and it can take
advantage of wind coming from any direction. The new turbine design causing a lot of excitement,
promising 10 megawatts per machine and potentially more as the design scales
up--around three times the current yield of wind-power generators. A prototype
is slated for completion by 2013. link
October 2010: Floating wind turbines may be more efficient. Floating wind turbines
are a little more complicated and require higher initial costs. But a new study
by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) in the UK has found that due to
their greater ability to access stronger and more consistent winds deeper out
at sea, they are more economically efficient in the long term. link
 June 2009: The world's first floating wind turbine is to be towed out to
sea this weekend. The Hywind, a 2.3 megawatt (MW) wind turbine built by Siemens, combines
technologies from both the wind farming industry and the oil and gas sectors,
and will be tested off the coast of Norway for two years. Floating wind farms could later be established off both coasts of North America
and off the Iberian peninsula and the coasts of Norway and the United Kingdom. link
September 2009 - update:
December 2011 The offshore wind industry passed a milestone recently with the
installation of the world's first floating offshore wind turbine off the coast
of Portugal. The WindFloat project consists of a 2MW semi-submersible wind
turbine that can be deployed without heavy machinery. The turbine was
assembled onshore in a controlled environment before it was transported to the
sea and towed more than 217 miles to open water. The structure will undergo
trial operations, commissioning and startup procedures over the next few weeks.
These procedures will include a full production capacity test. The WindFloat
technology decreases wave and wind-induced motions, which allows a large
turbine to be placed in waters with depths of more than 164 feet, where it is
able to capture stronger winds. The platform allows for the use of any
off-the-shelf turbine. link |
December 2012: British study finds wind turbines wear sooner than expected. The
analysis of almost 3,000 onshore wind turbines — the biggest study of its kind
—warns that they will continue to generate electricity effectively for just 12
to 15 years. The wind energy industry and the Government base all their
calculations on turbines enjoying a lifespan of 20 to 25 years. The study
estimates that routine wear and tear will more than double the cost of
electricity being produced by wind farms in the next decade. Older turbines
will need to be replaced more quickly than the industry estimates while many
more will need to be built onshore if the Government is to meet renewable
energy targets by 2020. link
July 2011: Direct drive may replace less efficienty gearboxes. A different drive train design that eliminates the gearbox between
a turbine’s rotor and generator is attracting wind turbine manufacturers in the
quest for higher power output, increased offshore reliability, and potential cost
savings over the system’s lifetime. link
Answers provided for intermittent wind problem.
July 2010: Storing wind energy proceeds for release at peak times.
The rapid growth of wind farms, whose output is hard to schedule
reliably or even predict, has the nation's electricity providers
scrambling to develop energy storage to ensure stability and improve
profits. Storing in batteries allows wind energy to be bought at a low
price, such as in the middle of the night, and resold hours later at a
higher price. link
 December 2011: A123
Systems announces that a Hawaiian wind project developer will use its batteries
to firm up power delivery into the grid. The Auwahi Wind project, which has a
generating capacity of 21MW, will be buttressed by a giant battery bank
able to deliver 11MW of power. It's the second time this year that A123
Systems' storage systems, built around shipping container-size battery banks,
were chosen to be co-located with a wind farm. The Laurel Mountain wind farm in
West Virginia has a 32MW battery bank attached
to it, making it a more reliable source of electricity. link
April 2011: Largest wind storage system announced for Texas. Duke Energy Corporation and Xtreme Power will build the world’s largest
power-storage system as back-up for a wind farm in Texas. The 36-megawatt
energy storage system will be a back-up for Duke Energy’s 153-MW wind
installation in Notrees. The system will store power that’s generated when
demand is low, but that can be tapped when electricity consumption is highest, or
when winds are not blowing. link
April 2010: Giant gravel batteries could make renewable energy more reliable. Wind and solar power are often criticised for being too intermittent, but
Cambridge researchers could change that. link |
 June 2010: Large
kites could harvest the fast crosswinds at high
altitude. Airborne wind turbines will take off and fly to around 2000 feet,
where they will float, generating power that can be transferred to the ground
via a tether. "Global wind is a tremendous source of energy carrying nearly 870
terrawatts in global tropospheric winds," says JoeBen Bevirt who
is developing the wind turbine technology. "In comparison, the global demand is 17 terawatts. Harnessing a tiny fraction
will transform the way we power our civilization." link
Kite Wind Generator, or KitGen. Kites are seen as the perfect and cheapest way to  capture the enormous energy
in the wind at a kilometre or more above the ground, where winds carry hundreds
of times more energy than on the ground. An experiment, carried out last year in Italy, generated enough electricity to power
10 family homes, and the researchers have plans to test a 50kW version of their
invention, called Laddermill, eventually building up to a proposed version with
multiple kites that they claim could generate 100 megawatts, enough for 100,000
homes. link
Sail-powered cargo ship test results in: It cut fuel by 20 percent
 Early 2008, the MV Beluga SkySails, a cargo ship rigged up with a billowing 160-meter
sail from Sky Sails, used
approximately 20 percent less fuel than it would have without the sail during a
two-month voyage. Put another way, that's 2.5 tons of fuel, or $1,000 a day, in
operating costs. Beluga Shipping ultimately hopes to save $2,000 a day with the
technology. The ship left Bremen, Germany, on the 22nd of January, sailed to Venezuela,
and then headed toward the Norwegian port of Mo-I-Rana, docking on March 13. In
all, the ship sailed 11,952 nautical miles. The sail was up, depending on the
winds, from between 5 minutes and 8 hours a day. link [Ships
engaged in international trade account for 2.7% of the world's carbon
dioxide emissions from human activities - this contributes about a
billion tonnes of CO2. That's more than the entire economies of Germany
or the UK..]
| Small sacle wind energy / Effects on wildlife |
July 2012: Thailand - where
turbines power a country that isn't windy. 70% of the area in
the world has a low wind speed. Dr. Roy is a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
in Bangkok and owner of a company that specializes in low wind-speed turbines.
He is excited about the prospects for wind energy in Thailand, but insists that
it must be done correctly.
A few years ago, during the fuel crisis in Thailand,
wind energy suddenly became popular. Regular large windmills from abroad
look like a monument but they don’t rotate until a storm comes. Low speed, decentralized
wind turbines can be put anywhere and are small, light structures, like
ants feeding the grid. link
March 2011: Small
wind energy systems are experiencing significant growth as the technology
finally appears to be coming of age. These systems are now more reliable,
quieter and safer than those introduced in past decades. Typically generating just enough power to meet
the demands of a home, farm or small business, small wind energy systems belong
to a renewables genre that continues to grow. Currently, some 250 companies in 26 countries
manufacture, or plan to manufacture, small wind turbines, according to latest
figures released by the American Wind Energy Association. The world's leading
15 manufacturers continue to predict exponential sales growth in the US market
over the next five years, with projections of over 1000 MW of cumulative
installed small wind capacity in America by 2015. link
 A
new design wind-powered turbine overcomes height restrictions and
noise problems and is said to be friendly to birds and bats. The Helix Wind Savonious 2.0 is a "2kW rated turbine
that can be tower-mounted between 14 and 35 feet or roof mounted just 2
feet above roof line. The rotor measures 6ft by 4ft and
utilizes long helical blade scoops to maximize energy performance in
turbulent, gusty or multi-directional wind conditions". link
 VAWT's or Vertical Axis Wind Turbines. VAWT's are an economical alternative for residential and
small commercial applications where wind power can now be harnessed at lower
wind speeds and without expensive towers. Due to the
unique design of their vertically installed blades, VAWT's are less affected by
turbulent air than standard horizontal axis wind turbines or HAWT's. This makes
VAWT's better suited for residential areas where obstacles such as other
houses, buildings and trees generally disturb the airflow. link
Bringing wind turbines to ordinary rooftops. Rooftop turbines send the electricity they generate straight on to the
home’s circuit box. Then owners in a suitably wind-swept location can watch the
needle on their electricity meter turn backward instead of forward, reducing
their utility bills while using a renewable resource. link ______________________________________
Wind turbine effects on birds and bats.
Windfarms do not cause long-term damage to bird populations. A new study, the
largest carried out in the UK into the impact of onshore windfarms on bird life,
quashed fears that onshore windfarms are causing long-term damage to bird
populations, but found new evidence that some species are harmed when windfarms
are built. The study concluded that a large majority of species can co-exist or
thrive with windfarms once they are operating. link
British bird society calls for more wind farms. Ruth Davis, head of climate change policy at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said it was in favour
of such an expansion because of the "truly terrifying" impact that global
warming was increasingly having on birds. "Left unchecked, climate change threatens many species with extinction," she
said. link
Fossil fuel plants pose a much higher threat to birds than wind turbines.
Fossil-fueled
facilities are 17 times more dangerous to birds on a per GWh basis than
wind power. Wind turbines may have killed 17,000 birds, but
fossil-fueled stations killed 14.5 million and nuclear 327,000. link
March 2011: Wind turbines effects on bats. While more than a million bats have died due to a fungal disease called White-Nose
Syndrome since 2006, at the same time, several migratory tree-dwelling species
are being killed in unprecedented numbers by wind turbines. It is unknown how many bats have
died due to wind turbines, but scientists estimate by 2020, wind turbines will
have killed 33,000 to 111,000 annually in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands alone.
This hurts the economy because bats' diet of pest insects reduces the damage
the insects cause to crops and decreases the need for pesticides. Why migratory tree-dwelling
species are drawn to the turbines remains a mystery. link
Wind turbines and bats. Radar beams that irritate bats could be used to prevent the animals from being diced by
the spinning blades of wind turbines, according to a study of how the animals
react to radar signals. link
Wind
farms currently kill far fewer birds than the estimated 100 million
than fly into glass buildings, or up to 500 million killed yearly
by cats. Power lines kill an estimated 10 million, and nearly 11 million
are hit by automobiles, according to studies. link
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Why are windmills always white, and why do they have three blades?
Some answers.
Purple shown to be best color for wildlife in studies - link
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Mitigating wildlife dangers - link
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