From Ecopedia

Overview

Wind turbines are wind power generators, useful in generating electricity from the kinetic energy of the wind. Wind turbine generators can be either horizontal axis-generators or vertical-axis generators. Wind turbines rotating on a horizontal axis are most commonly used in power generation.

Wind turbines employ green technologies in electricity generation. By utilizing the wind energy, wind turbines generate clean power without any harmful greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions.

Wind Energy

As a power source, wind energy offers an attractive alternative to non-renewable fossil fuels because wind energy is · renewable · abundantly available · widely distributed, and · extremely clean with no greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions

Wind energy is currently emerging as a highly-promising source of alternative energy replacing many popular and widely used power sources such as coal and natural gas. Coal and natural gas, being fossilized fuels, pose serious environmental threats leading to global warming and climate change among many others.

Wind Farms

Turbines are used in wind farms, both onshore as well as offshore, to generate larger amounts of electric power for commercial consumption.

Commercial wind turbines, fitted with computer-controlled motors are generally three-bladed pointing towards the wind. The very first commercial wind turbine connected with a utility grid became operational in the UK’s Orkney Islands, in 1954.

Presently, over 2% of the total global energy production is achieved using wind turbines along with other wind-powered generators such as wind mills and wind pumps. Around eighty countries across the world are currently using wind power for various commercial purposes.

Environmental Information

As wind turbines rely on the eco-friendly wind energy for power generation, no fuel is required for consumption, which therefore implies zero-emissions and no air pollution.

According to a study conducted by an Irish national grid, electricity generation from wind drastically reduces consumption of fossil fuels, leading to emission savings. The study noted that carbon dioxide (CO2) emission levels declined from 0.33 tonnes to 0.59 tonnes per MWh, when wind turbines are used for power generation.

With regard to energy consumption, wind turbines offer a most attractive option as the energy consumption levels of the turbines are negligible compared to others. Any initial energy consumed at the time of installing wind turbines could also be easily “paid back” during operational phase.

In comparison to fossil fuel production sites and nuclear power stations, which require large amounts of water for circulation and evaporation, wind turbines do not require water for electricity generation. On extremely rare occasions, however, water contamination in surrounding areas might occur due to leakage of lubricant oils or hydraulic fluids down the turbine blades.

Danger to either birds or bats from wind turbines is a rare occurrence. Birds or bat population deaths caused by the wind turbines is quite negligible and insignificant compared to deaths due to anthropogenic activities including, electric power transmission, traffic and high-rise buildings. Moreover, most offshore wind sites are located at more than 10 km from the sea shore, thus assuring minimal interaction with bat or bird populations.

Disadvantages

Most common criticism leveled against the use of wind turbines is noise pollution. Similar to any mechanical system, wind turbines lead to noise production while in operation.

In order to tackle the issue, several design engineers in recent times attempted developing noise-free turbine models, where rotational torque, proper sitting and insulation techniques are employed in designing.

Additional concerns regarding the use of wind turbines include:

-visual impact of the turbines, a minor issue raised by aesthetics

-potential interference with telecomm and radar facilities and

-creation of magnetic and electric fields

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine http://windeis.anl.gov/guide/concern/index.cfm http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/are-wind-farms-a-health-risk-us-scientist-identifies-wind-turbine-syndrome-1766254.html http://www.clean-energy-ideas.com/articles/wind_turbines_impact.html http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/W/AE_wind_energy_environmental_impact.html http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/wind-power/wind-turbines/