Could you imagine living in a world that is extremely hot in one area and extremely cold in another? Without solar energy, which we get from the sun, this is how our world would be. The sun heats the earth's air, land, and oceans at different rates, causing ocean currents and winds to exist. Wind gets its energy from the sun, it is constantly renewable, and it is one of the most environmentally clean resources (Rosenberg 215). Estimates indicate that in the United States wind could supply thirty times our current electricity demand. Wind is more reasonable because wind can be generated twenty four hours a day, whereas solar energy can only be produced during part of the day (Sheahan 67).
Wind has a very strong power relationship; the amount of power that is accessible from wind is directly related to the area that the wind turbine's rotors take up and the cube of the wind's velocity. Stated as:.
Power = C x area x (velocity) ^3.
Where C equals a power coefficient related to the amount of energy that the turbine can convert efficiently. The velocity plays the most important role in this equation: even the slightest increase in the average wind velocity will dramatically increase the amount of power that is available for use (Sheahan 67-68). Another important factor is the location of the wind turbine: it needs to be placed in an area where the amount of wind velocity will maximize the power production. The most productive areas in the United States are the coastal and offshore areas of the Pacific Northwest, portions of the Great Plains, Texas Gulf area, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario regions, northwest through upper New England, mid-Atlantic, and New England offshore areas (Sheahan 68).
The basic components of a wind turbine include the rotor, the transmission, the generator, the structural support, and the control system. The wind pushes the rotors causing them to rotate at a speed of 40 to 100 rotations per minute.
