Wind Power Essay -- Renewable Energy Environment Global Warming

Wind Power: Nature’s Gift Wind power is a clean and renewable energy that, while at times unreliable, has very low upkeep cost and is growing at a rapid rate. While there is currently enough wind power to provide many times our current energy need, it is unfeasible in reality. Wind power utilizes the kinetic energy of air and uses it to power a generator to produce electricity. Even though dependence on wind power is impossible, it still can provide a strong, clean, quantity of power to supplement current energy production. Wind energy is essentially the conversion of the kinetic energy from air molecules in motion to mechanical energy which is generally then converted into electrical energy. People have used wind power since 700 AD in the form of windmills that grind grain or draw water. Currently, wind energy is generally used to produce electricity and provides approximately one percent of the world’s electrical needs, but the theoretical power possible from wind energy would top 70 Terawatts of power; over five times the world’s total energy consumption. However, this upper limit is most likely unfeasible as it involves utilizing all land suited for wind turbine placement; approximately 13% of the world. s) Only areas class 3 or higher are suited to wind turbine construction Another problem with total reliance on wind energy would be the unreliable nature of the wind; a still day could render anyone depending on the turbines powerless. However, a good option is to keep undesirable but more reliable power generation at the ready for when the wind tapers down. A nation such as Denmark who is already producing about 20% of their electric use through wind power could keep coal or gas plants at standby; because the majority ... ...198 Watts. 3452198 watts / 833.33 watts =~ 4143 The one turbine has the ability to power over 4100 houses in the United States and saves about two tons of CO2 emission every hour the wind is blowing at the above speed. " Evaluation of global wind power." Stanford. 29 Jul 2008, 15:35 PST. . " Wind Energy." American Wind Energy Association. 29 Jul 2008, 15:40 UTC. . "Wind power." Energy Kids. 29 Jul 2008, 15:42 UTC. . "Wind Basics." Other Power. 29 Jul 2008, 15:55 UTC. . " Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United States." National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 29 Jul 2008, 16:04 UTC. .