Gone With the Wind Turbine
We are in the age of alternative energy. The current electrical grid, like most people, is stressed out. The culprit, more people with more electrical demands. Spikes, sags, blackouts, and brownouts can wreak havoc on our lives. I know, I’ve experienced all of the above several times.
Let’s say its 6:30 am and you‘ve just got out of the shower. you start to blow dry your hair and the power goes out. Or you have lights that go dim without explanation, what do you do?
Try to live without electricity for a certain period of time. You can’t. It rules everything in your house from the lighting, appliances, heating, entertainment, and more.
There are several options available to combat this problem all involve alternative energy sources such as wind turbines, solar panels or photovoltaic, and fuel cells. I’ll start by discussing wind turbines.
In an effort to reduce green house gases and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions and reduce the U.S. dependence on foreign oil wind turbines are alternative energy sources that can achieve these goals.
Simply put a wind turbine takes wind energy and converts it to electrical energy. These turbines range in size from approximately 300 feet (100meters) to 120 feet ( 40 meters). The taller they are better. There are wind farms in California, South Dakota, and the Plains States. They range in output from several kilowatts to around five megawatts or five million watts. Most amount of wind speed is at 164 feet ( 50 meters). Wind is most prevalent on the east and west coasts, great lakes and gulf coast and plains. Wind is a good option with several advantages and disadvantages which I’ll talk about later.
