Audience: Middle and High School Students
The average wind turbine is taller than the Statue of Liberty. Photo by Rabih Shasha from Unsplash.
You gaze out the window of your car, taking in the patchwork of blended blues, grays, and purples that goes on for miles. Golden grass sways in the air as far as the eye can see. This picturesque scene is interrupted by the tall metal giants that rise high into the air, swinging scythes that cut the air with dizzying speed. These are wind turbines. It’s hard to believe that such simple-looking structures can produce electricity, but in reality, they’re powerful sources of clean energy.
The mechanics of wind turbines are fairly simple. Turbines have blades known as rotors that catch the wind. As the wind flows over them, aerodynamic forces called lift and drag are created by the difference in air pressure between the two sides of the blade. Lift pushes the rotors, causing the turbine’s distinctive spinning motion. The rotors are either directly connected to a generator or turn through a series of gears. A magnet in the generator spins inside a magnetic field and generates an electrical current through the wiring. The electricity is the end result of the process.
There are two types of energy sources, renewable and nonrenewable. Nonrenewable sources such as coal and oil are finite in quantity and will eventually run out. They are also harmful to the environment. On the contrary, renewable sources like wind energy will never run out and do not contribute to pollution and global warming. Wind turbines are incredibly important in a world that’s trying to pull away from nonrenewable sources of energy.
As the leading renewable source of energy in the United States, wind turbines supply 10.3% of all energy produced and produce 12% of energy worldwide. In fact, they actually help the world avoid 1.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. A key advantage of wind turbines is that they don’t require the use of water, a valuable resource. That makes them very well-suited to dry environments or locations that are struggling with water shortages and droughts.
Renewable sources of energy produce the second highest amount of energy in the United States. Data from US Energy Information Administration. Infographic created by Nithya Karambakkam.
Compared to other renewable sources of energy in the United States, wind turbines are the most widely used by far. 21.3% of all energy produced in the United States is renewable energy, and 48.4% of that is wind energy, a shocking statistic. Likewise, wind energy is widely used in the rest of the world, making up 12% of global energy produced.
Despite accounting for a huge fraction of renewable energy, wind turbines have their downsides and there is a lot of room for improvement. Wind is very fickle and its path cannot be controlled on such a large scale. At any given moment, an entire wind farm can shut down, just because the wind has changed its path. In contrast, hydropower and solar are less variable, since the movement of the sun and bodies of water are much more predictable.
Another disadvantage of wind energy is that the ideal locations for wind turbines are often remote. Electricity is needed the most in urban areas, yet it is mostly produced in distant locations, requiring wires to be laid to transport the electricity at a high voltage. In contrast, solar power is generated right in the heart of urban areas.
Thanks to emerging technological advancements that address some of these shortcomings, the spread of wind turbines is set to accelerate even more in the future. Scientists are looking into ways to increase efficiency of turbines and make them viable in more locations. One such improvement is to install longer blades, which will allow them to generate more power.
A second proposed improvement is to increase the rotor size relative to the generator size, which will produce more power. A third improvement is to make the towers taller and let the blades operate at higher altitudes, where wind speeds are greater. A fourth improvement, which is mundane but important, is lowering the production cost. Reducing the costs of manufacturing and transportation will help encourage usage. Production costs can be decreased by using 3D printing to enable on-site turbine creation and by using new types of cranes to install and repair turbine parts. Transportation costs can be reduced by segmenting blades in order to transport them easily. All of these enhancements help improve the capacity and efficiency of wind turbines. The areas of the country with the most potential for new installation are the Gulf Coast, Southeast, and parts of the East Coast. These locations have favorable landscape conditions, moderate wind speeds, and are close to electrical demand centers.
As we become more aware of climate change and the negative impact of fossil fuels and nonrenewable energy sources on our planet, we further appreciate the value of clean, renewable energy sources. The next time you drive past the countryside and catch a glimpse of a turbine, you’ll know the role they play in fighting climate change. Without them, we ‘d have a billion more tons of carbon dioxide annually. Although they may look like mysterious little toothpick structures from afar, wind turbines are actually simple but ingenious machines that harness the power of the wind to generate electricity: machines of beauty that make the world a better place.
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