Renewable Energy Wind Farms Are A Growth Industry

Wind farms are a valuable source of renewable energy which are becoming increasingly popular around the world. They are made up of a group of wind turbines connected to a power grid, designed to convert kinetic energy to electrical power which one day may generate a large portion of the world’s electricity.

The first wind turbine was invented by Charles Brush in 1887. It was 18m tall, had a seventeen meter diameter and weighed 40 000 kilograms. Brush had it connected to batteries in his basement which, over time, was able to power three hundred and fifty lamps, three electric motors and two arc lights. It lasted twelve years and produced twelve kilowatts of power (Ostrander, 2005).

As technology has vastly improved in over one hundred years, so too has the design of the wind turbines. They now appear to be tall, slender poles with three blades on the top which maintain a steady rotation. The turbines are more than they appear, having an aerodynamic design and being made up of intricate arrangements of lightweight materials and computer controlled electronics. Improvements and upgrades are constantly being developed through the use of engineering. Today’s designs are one hundred times more powerful than that of fifteen years ago (Greenpeace, 2006).

Wind power is being used in fifty countries around the world. Australia currently has fifty four wind farms which produce enough energy to power more than 700,000 homes (The Queensland Times, 2011). Analysis from the NSW and Victorian Governments shows that in 2009, Australia’s wind farms reduced carbon emissions by 4 million tonnes which is the equivalent to taking almost one million cars off the road (The Queensland Times, 2011). Wind farms also produce business and employment opportunities as well as benefiting each country’s local economy. The operation of three wind farms in New Zealand injects eight to eleven million dollars a year into their economy (The New Zealand Herald, 2011).

Wind farms must be positioned in locations where the wind is usually at or above five meters/second in order to be successful (Energy Matters, 2010). For this reason built up areas aren’t usually as appropriate as the country, farms or the coast. Some residents believe that living near wind farms can cause you to suffer from health effects such as headaches and pain around the ears and eyes from the constant low frequency noise, blade glint and shadow flicker however The National Health and Medical Research Council found no evidence to prove this (ABC News, 2010).

Some objections have been made about wind farms on aesthetic grounds. A solution is to position more of the turbines off shore however civil engineering problems such as attachment of them to the ground has become an issue (Byrne and Houlsby, 2003).

As technology advances and industry grows the price to manufacture turbines will drop making them more accessible. Several countries produce ten percent of their electricity using wind and it is expected to generate ten percent of the world’s electricity by 2020 (Blakers, 2005).

By: Kristin Reeves

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Kristin is attending the university of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. You are welcome to visit a website of interest at Buildings For Sale, Portable Buildings For Sale and Commercial Buildings For Sale.