WIND ENERGY

Wind power is the kinetic energy of wind, harnessed and redirected to

perform a task mechanically or to generate electrical power.
Sailing and similar activities are among the simplest, oldest and most direct
applications of wind power. Mechanical uses of wind power go back to
ancient Greece. The first wind wheels, for example, relied upon gearing and
shafts to power machinery. Windmills drive a millstone to grind grains,
among other purposes. Wind has also long been used to power mechanical
pumps to draw water for use and to drain land for agricultural purposes.
The basic wind turbine design consists of a bladed rotor that drives a shaft to
a generator. The generator uses electromagnetic induction to produce a
voltage. Wind power was used to enable electrolysis, the separation of water
into hydrogen and oxygen, to make it possible to store energy as early as the
1890s.
Today, small-scale wind turbines for individual use generally have a
maximum output of 400-1600 watts. In contrast, the largest industrial
turbines might generate as much as 7.5 megawatts. Groupings of turbines
are known as wind farms or wind parks.
Although windmills are still in use, wind turbines have become more common
as the interest in renewable energy increases.
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/wind-power
Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the
atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and rotation of the earth.
Wind flow patterns are modified by the earth's terrain, bodies of water, and vegetative
cover. This wind flow, or motion energy, when "harvested" by modern wind turbines, can
be used to generate electricity.

http://windeis.anl.gov/guide/basics/
The wind resource how fast it blows, how often, and when plays a significant
role in its power generation cost. The power output from a wind turbine rises as a
cube of wind speed. In other words, if wind speed doubles, the power output
increases eight times. Therefore, higher-speed winds are more easily and
inexpensively captured.
Wind speeds are divided into seven classes with class one being the lowest and
class seven being the highest. A wind resource assessment evaluates the average
wind speeds above a section of land (e.g. 50 meters high), and assigns that area a
wind class. Wind turbines operate over a limited range of wind speeds. If the wind is
too slow, they won't be able to turn, and if too fast, they shut down to avoid being
damaged. Wind speeds in classes three (6.7 7.4 meters per second (m/s)) and

above are typically needed to economically generate power. Ideally, a wind turbine
should be matched to the speed and frequency of the resource to maximize power
production.
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/howwind-energy-works.html#bf-toc-1
The Mechanics of Wind Turbines
Modern electric wind turbines come in a few different styles and many different
sizes, depending on their use. The most common style, large or small, is the
"horizontal axis design" (with the axis of the blades horizontal to the ground). On
this turbine, two or three blades spin upwind of the tower that it sits on.
Small wind turbines are generally used for providing power off the grid, ranging
from very small, 250-watt turbines designed for charging up batteries on a sailboat,
to 50-kilowatt turbines that power dairy farms and remote villages. Like old farm
windmills, these small wind turbines often have tail fans that keep them oriented
into the wind.
Large wind turbines, most often used by utilities to provide power to a grid, range
from 250 kilowatts up to the enormous 3.5 to 5 MW machines that are being used
offshore. In 2009, the average land-based wind turbines had a capacity of 1.75 MW
[12]. Utility-scale turbines are usually placed in groups or rows to take advantage of
prime windy spots. Wind "farms" like these can consist of a few or hundreds of
turbines, providing enough power for tens of thousands of homes.
From the outside, horizontal axis wind turbines consist of three big parts: the tower,
the blades, and a box behind the blades, called the nacelle. Inside the nacelle is
where most of the action takes place, where motion is turned into electricity. Large
turbines don't have tail fans; instead they have hydraulic controls that orient the
blades into the wind.
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/howwind-energy-works.html#bf-toc-1

Wind power in the Philippines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wind power in the Philippines makes up a small percentage of the total energy output of
the Philippines. The country wind energy sector has significant potential and could provide up to
76GW of power. Two of the largest developments are the Bangui Wind Farm in Bangui, Ilocos
Norte.,[1] and the Wind Energy Power System (WEPS) in Puerto Galera, Mindoro Oriental.[2]
Bangui Wind Farm is a wind farm in Bangui, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. The wind farm uses 20 units
of 70-metre (230 ft) high Vestas V82 1.65 MW wind turbines, arranged on a single row stretching
along a nine-kilometer shoreline off Bangui Bay, facing the West Philippine Sea.

Phase I of the NorthWind power project in Bangui Bay consists of 15 wind turbines, each capable of
producing electricity up to a maximum capacity of 1.65 MW, for a total of 24.75 MW. The 15 on-shore
turbines are spaced 326 metres (1,070 ft) apart, each 70 metres (230 ft) high, with 41 metres (135 ft)
long blades, with a rotor diameter of 82 metres (269 ft) and a wind swept area of 5,281 square
metres (56,840 sq ft).
Phase II, was completed on August 2008, and added 5 more wind turbines with the same capacity,
and brought the total capacity to 33 MW. All 20 turbines describes a graceful arc reflecting the
shoreline of Bangui Bay, facing the West Philippine Sea.
The Wind Energy Power System (WEPS) is a wind farm project located nearPuerto Galera, in the
Philippine province of Mindoro Oriental. Once completed the project will be the largest in the country
generating an estimated 48MW of electricity.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_the_Philippines
How do winds form? (Check out the lesson on winds here)
This can be explained in simple terms by the daily wind cycle.

The earth's surface has both land and water. When the sun comes up, the air over the
land heats up quicker than that over water. The heated air is lighter and it rises. The
cooler air is denser and it falls and replaced the air over the land. In the night the
reverse happens. Air over the water is warmer and rises, and is replaced by cooler air
from land.
The moving air (wind) has huge amounts of kinetic energy, and this can be transferred
into electrical energy using wind turbines. The wind turns the blades, which spin a
shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity. The electricity is sent
through transmission and distribution lines to a substation, then on to homes, business
and schools.
Wind turbines cannot work if there is no wind,
or if the wind speed is so high it would damage them.

Wind turbines are usually sited on high hills and mountain ridges to take advantage of
the prevailing winds.
Just like a windmill, wind energy turbines have been around for over 1000 years. From
old Holland to farms in the United States, windmills have been used for pumping water
or grinding grain.

http://www.eschooltoday.com/energy/renewable-energy/wind-energy.html

Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind-Generated Electricity

A Renewable Non-Polluting Resource
Wind energy is a free, renewable resource, so no matter how much is used today, there
will still be the same supply in the future. Wind energy is also a source of clean, nonpolluting, electricity. Unlike conventional power plants, wind plants emit no air pollutants
or greenhouse gases. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in 1990, California's wind
power plants offset the emission of more than 2.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, and 15
million pounds of other pollutants that would have otherwise been produced. It would take a
forest of 90 million to 175 million trees to provide the same air quality.
Cost Issues
Even though the cost of wind power has decreased dramatically in the past 10 years, the
technology requires a higher initial investment than fossil-fueled generators. Roughly
80% of the cost is the machinery, with the balance being site preparation and installation. If
wind generating systems are compared with fossil-fueled systems on a "life-cycle" cost basis
(counting fuel and operating expenses for the life of the generator), however, wind costs are
much more competitive with other generating technologies because there is no fuel to
purchase and minimal operating expenses.
Environmental Concerns
Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to
fossil fuel power plants, there is some concern over the noise produced by the rotor
blades, aesthetic (visual) impacts, and birds and bats having been killed (avian/bat
mortality) by flying into the rotors. Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly
reduced through technological development or by properly siting wind plants.

Supply and Transport Issues

The major challenge to using wind as a source of power is that it is intermittent and does
not always blow when electricity is needed. Wind cannot be stored (although windgenerated electricity can be stored, if batteries are used), and not all winds can be
harnessed to meet the timing of electricity demands. Further, good wind sites are often
located in remote locations far from areas of electric power demand (such as cities).
Finally, wind resource development may compete with other uses for the land, and
those alternative uses may be more highly valued than electricity generation. However,
wind turbines can be located on land that is also used for grazing or even farming.

http://windeis.anl.gov/guide/basics/