Chem321:Wind turbines

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Nikola Telsa once said, “Invention is the most important product of man's creative brain. The ultimate purpose is the complete mastery of mind over the material world, the harnessing of human nature to human needs,” which in the 21st century we have come to realize that to be more true than ever before. We rely on so much on an everyday basis; between our televisions, telephones, computers, video gaming systems, air conditioners, heaters, cars, etc…the human race now more than ever relies on electricity to communicate, for entertainment and in some cases to survive. These items that we use on our daily basis require some form of electricity, without electricity there would be no way for the technology that we use to receive energy to run. Unfortunately our reliance on technology and the conventional form of electricity that comes with it has a negative effect on our environment and atmosphere around us. Fortunately for us there are alternative sources of electricity that can be used, the use of alternative forms of electricity may not only be cheaper for some, but it is healthier for the environment around us. One of these alternative forms of electricity is wind turbines.

Before wind turbines were used for personal use (they’ve been around for over a 100 years, but starting out only for mills or plants) people relied on the conventional form of electricity. There are multiple different forms of conventional energy, which can then be converted into electricity. Two forms of conventional energy are coal and nuclear power.

One of the most used conventional energy sources is coal. Coal is considered a fossil fuel, and contains more than 50% carbonaceous material. There are four different types of coal that are mainly used in the United States, anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous and lignite. Each one of these types has a specific usage that they are needed for. The range of products that coal can be used for can go from heating (commercial or residential), to generating steam electric power. Since coal is a natural resource, more precisely a sedimentary organic rock, it is used throughout the world for energy sources. Since coal is so common throughout the world, one of the positive parts of using coal as an energy source is that it is least expensive compared to some other energy sources (“Renewable, Coal”). Also, coal energy can be extended to help provide a larger range of other hydrocarbon products which are obtained from oil. Positive attributes of coal energy are outweighed greatly by the negative effects. A lot of countries use coal because it is one of the main primary sources that are readily available that can be used in homes, industry and power generation. Even though it is readily available, coal is a leading cause in multiple different environmental catastrophes. Smog, acid rain and toxic substances in the air have increased significantly since coal started being used so much. Even though smog, acid rain and toxic air chemicals are very harmful to the environment, one of the most detrimental damages that coal does is releasing carbon dioxide emissions into the air. On average coal alone generates up to 3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which leads to the main cause of global warming (“Renewable, Coal”).

Another form of conventional energy is nuclear power. Nuclear energy has only been used to produce electricity for the past three decades, and since then it has grown enormously in the United States. Like coal, nuclear power, is formed from a natural resource, uranium. In order for uranium to be used as a power source it must first be chemically processed (“Renewable, Nuclear Power”). The chemical process of turning uranium into a reliable power source is what makes this conventional form of energy severely dangerous to the environment. Not only can small amounts of radioactive by-products be released into the air, but there is no way to dispose of spent fuel, and chemical explosions are a lot more likely and more dangerous in a nuclear plant. Nuclear explosions cause a whole different set of problems- to the environment, the economy and human health; such as there being toxic radioactive nuclear material being released with an explosion. Even though there are major risks involved in nuclear energy plants, there are quite a few positive that go with them as well. Nuclear energy is one of the cleanest forms of conventional energy sources, meaning carbon dioxide emissions that are released are close to none, also a smaller nuclear plant can release enormous amount of power to different sources (“Renewable, Nuclear Power”). A form of alternative energy that relies on natural resources, such as the wind, to convert energy into electricity is wind turbines. Wind turbines are small machines (or sometimes rather large!) that convert kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy; the mechanical energy is then converted into electricity. They come in two main different forms, horizontal-axis and vertical-axis varieties. Wind Turbines can range in size from single smaller ones, which has a wing size between 8 and 25 feet tall and stands roughly 30, that run less than 100 kilowatts of usage, which are mostly used for homes; to extremely large ones, which can have blades that span larger than a football field long and can stand 20 stories high, that can provide many megawatts of usage, which are usually grouped together to give power to an electric grid (up to 1,400 homes can receive electricity from these!). (“Wind Program”)

In order for homes to receive electricity there is a rather simple operating system that the wind turbines must go through, wind power is not the only necessary component! First, wind energy is used to help turn the propellers (typically three or four), so they are turning around in a circular motion on the rotor. Next the rotor, which is connected to the main portion of the wind turbine, spins a generator which creates the electricity. The electricity is then down the tower and either to the home or to an electricity grid so multiple people are able to receive electricity (“Wind Program”).

People believe that there are many advantages to having wind turbines as a renewable energy source, but where there are enthusiasts there are also critics. One criticism that some people have is that when using wind turbines, there is one main thing to keep in mind, wind is one of the most important (if not THE most important) ingredient for a wind turbine. The wind is the main source of energy for the wind turbine, when there is no wind present; energy cannot be converted as easily to electricity. There is some stored energy within the wind turbine, but if the wind does not pick up for a few days the stored energy will get used up and no electricity can be conducted; which means farmers who use electricity on a daily basis could become without electricity. Another negative effect of the wind turbines is that birds can get killed. If there is a wind farm of multiple wind turbines, and a bird is trying to fly through them the likelihood of them dying is very high. A wind turbine farm in Altamont, CA had roughly 10,000 birds get killed in 2008; this is a huge number of the bird population. The death of so many birds not only affects the bird population, but it also affects the rest of the ecosystem, some animals are losing their food; whereas other animals may be overpopulating. (Cohn, 577”). Although the Altamont study does show that thousands of birds are getting killed yearly from wind turbines, currently NextEra Energy Resources, owners of the wind farm, are working on replacing roughly 2,400 wind turbines in the wind farm. The new wind turbines are said to be safer, by being taller and spread further apart, than the 1980 models that are currently established in Altamont (“Zito”). Not only are the old wind turbines being replaced, but 2.5 million dollars will be being put towards habitat restoration areas for the bird populations. Hopefully, by 2015 the wind turbines will be replaced and the negative effects that wind turbines do have on the bird population will decrease (“Zito”). One final negative effect of the wind turbines (although one may argue that there are many more) is the noise. When being close to a wind turbine it is very loud, and can be quite disturbing to those who have to live around them.

Now on to the positive effects of wind turbines, one positive effect is the cost. Wind is free, and since wind is one of the main “ingredients” of a wind turbine the cost is very low to run one of these, even though the initial cost may be a bit costly. All the wind has to do is run the generator so the generator is able to supply the energy for the electricity. Another positive effect is that the land beneath the wind turbines is still able to be used for farm land. With conventional electricity the land gets used right up, which land is being taken away from farmers. With wind turbines crops can be planted up to just a few feet away from the base of the wind turbine, so the threat of losing crops is not taken away from farmers. One final, if not one of the key, positive effects of wind turbines have to deal with greenhouse gases and thermal pollutants (“Cohn, 576”). With the amount of technology and various objects that the human population has invented and have come accustomed to, greenhouse gas emissions and thermal pollutants are at a high. Between the factories, vehicles and poor recycling habits we are slowly, but surely, putting a huge damper on the earth. Wind turbines reduce the amount of thermal pollutant and greenhouse gases by an extreme, since none are emitted. Since wind turbines rely solely on the wind (which is a natural resource) no harsh chemicals or toxins are released into the air, which is extremely helping the ozone layer.

The positive effects of wind turbines not only have a lasting effect on the community surrounding them, but also the whole world’s community. Prior to using wind turbines, the energy sources that we used were not good for the atmosphere, ecosystems or the human health. By using the new technology of wind turbines the amount of toxins released into the air will diminish significantly and no health hazards are a concern. The technology that comes with the wind turbines allows for multiple places, independent homes along with commercial, to receive a sufficient amount of energy, allowing for technology without being a burden to the environment around them. Wind power energy is increasing at a rapid rate, just between the years of 2000-2006 in the United States alone the amount of wind power energy quadrupled. Wind energy is being used highly in Germany, Spain, U.S, India, and Denmark; wind turbines are also starting to grow more rapidly in France and China. (“National Geographic”). Hopefully with the amount of countries that are starting to get on board with wind energy, the amount of conventional energy use will diminish and the toxins that are placed into our atmosphere will diminish with them.


  • Cohn, Jeffrey P. “How Ecofriendly are Wind Farms?” BioScience, Vol 58, No. 7. (July/August 2008), p 576-578.
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