Environmental Benefits of Wind Energy – Wind energy is both free and renewable. It works by harvesting the kinetic energy of the wind without interfering with wind currents or wind cycles.
QUESTIONS: Environmental Benefits of Wind Energy – Using wind energy also means an annual savings of billions of gallons of water. While thermal conventional power plants need water to produce electricity or to cool power generators, wind plants do not.
Wind Power and Economic Development – Farmers and ranchers are able to earn an extra stable income from leasing the use of their land. This amounts to over a quarter of a billion dollars in leases annually.
QUESTIONS: Wind Power and Economic Development – Schools in rural areas also benefit from wind farms, since they expand local tax bases. As local school budgets derive from tax revenue, this allows schools to improve their services and facilities.
XXXTITLE 5XXX – Wind power is considered a renewable source of energy because the wind cannot be used up, like coal and oil.
QUESTIONS: Advantages of Wind Energy – Wind energy also has a lot of potential. Across the whole world, multiple independent research teams have determined that it is possible to produce over 400 terawatts of energy from wind alone.
Disadvantages of Wind Energy – Wind power is generated by harnessing the energy of the wind through the use of large windmills called turbines.
QUESTIONS: Disadvantages of Wind Energy – Wind power is said to have a low environmental impact, but birds and bats and other winged wildlife haven't gotten that memo. Studies estimate that hundreds of thousands of birds are killed every year by being struck by a rotating wind turbine blade.
Wind Energy and Birds – About 8% of the electricity produced in the United States is generated from wind power, and that percentage is growing. Wind energy offers definite advantages It is renewable.
QUESTIONS: Wind Energy and Birds – Hundreds of thousands of birds are killed every year when they collide with spinning turbine blades and the towers that support them. These collisions occur most frequently at night, when the wind turbines are invisible in the darkness.
How Wind Energy Works – Though wind energy and solar energy are usually thought of as distinct alternatives to conventional energy sources, wind energy actually also comes from the sun.
QUESTIONS: How Wind Energy Works – Energy from the wind is captured and converted into mechanical power which is used to generate electricity. The devices used to capture this wind energy are called wind turbines.
A Modern History of Wind Energy – Wind power is converted to electricity using large windmills called turbines. Wind turbines have been in use in the United States since the mid-nineteenth century.
QUESTIONS: A Modern History of Wind Energy – Interest in wind power revived somewhat in the 1970s as a result of the oil crisis, which drove the U.S. government to invest in renewable alternatives to fossil fuels.
Early Uses of Wind Power in the U.S. – White wind turbines spinning against a rural or offshore backdrop may strike you as a modern sight, but humans have actually been using wind power for thousands of years.
QUESTIONS: Early Uses of Wind Power in the U.S. – The first windmill in the United States was made by Daniel Halladay in the mid-nineteenth century. Windmills were very successful at pumping water on farms and ranches during the westward expansion.
Wind Energy and Agriculture – Wind energy is an efficient use of space. Since wind turbines can’t be placed too closely together, wind farms can encompass many acres. However, unlike solar panels, which make exclusive use of the land they occupy, wind energy does not disturb natural habitats or human economic activities.
QUESTIONS: Wind Energy and Agriculture – Wind power is generated by harnessing the energy of the wind through the use of large windmills called turbines. Windmills have been used in agricultural settings for over a hundred years, first to pump water and mill grain, and late to produce small amounts of electricity before the United Stated Federal Rural Electrification Administration (REA) brought power lines and thus a more dependable source of electricity to remote rural areas.
Wind Turbine Sound – You have probably seen wind turbines in the distance, peacefully spinning against a backdrop of blue sky. While some people find them aesthetically pleasing, and even meditative to watch, wind turbines are not always welcome additions to residential areas because of the noise they generate.
QUESTIONS: Wind Turbine Sound – Human ability to perceive wind turbine sound is relative to atmospheric conditions (like air flow patterns and turbulence) as well as whether or not other man- sound sources are present.