Breaking Wind... down into usable energy

by Phil Skipper | May 12, 2008 at 08:36 pm | 308 views | 4 comments

USA to increase number of wind power plants

I'm glad we're finally moving in the right direction when it comes to harnessing clean energy. I remember learning about all the different types of energy (solar, wind, tidal, etc) back in elementary school -- my only question is, what's taken so long?

WASHINGTON - Two decades from now Americans could get as much electricity from windmills as from nuclear power plants, according to a government report that lays out a possible plan for wind energy growth.

The report, a collaboration between the Energy Department research labs and industry, concludes wind energy could generate 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030, about the same share now produced by nuclear reactors.

Such growth would pose a number of major challenges, but is achievable without the need of major new technological breakthroughs, said the report released Monday.

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SOLARLIFE

at 01:56 on May 13th, 2008

good stuff:

Phil Skipper, I like this story. Good wind for electrolyzing Hydrogen for cars during low demand, anyway the US should think to change for a 230 VAC smart power grid.

WIND 20% USA

Nuclear energy still has drawbacks ..
what to do with the waste for X# centuries
and it still produces HEAT, overheating
rivers and changing air streams up to 7 mls.

dcols

at 02:47 on May 13th, 2008

Taken on The South Of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. by Dorian Cols.

The Aeolian energy is the energy produced by the wind. The first use of the power capacity of the wind constitutes navigation to candle. In her, the wind force is used to impel a boat. Boats with candles appeared already in the older Egyptian engravings (3000 a.C.). The Egyptians, the Phoenicians and later the Romans had to also use the oars to resist an essential characteristic of the Aeolian energy, their discontinuity. Indeed, the wind changes of intensity and direction of unpredictable way, reason why it was necessary to use the oars in the periods of calm or when it did not blow in the wished direction. Today, in the Aeolian parks, the storage cells are used to produce electricity during a time, when the wind does not blow.

Another characteristic of the energy produced by the wind is its infinite availability in linear function to the surface exposed to its incidence. In the boats, to greater vélica surface greater speed. In the Aeolian parks, whatever more mills have, more power in tips of the power station. In the sailboats, the increase of vélica surface has mechanical limitations (the mast is broken or upsets the boat). In the Aeolian parks the only limitations to the increase of the number of mills are the city-planning ones.

dcols has contributed a photo to this story.