What is Wind Power or Wind Energy?

Wind power generation is based on the conversion of the wind’s kinetic energy into more useful forms such as electricity. This process creates a pollution-free, infinite source of sustainable energy. More importantly, wind energy doesn’t require fuel; it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases or toxic waste and once your wind power system is set up, it is a completely free source of energy. A great example of wind energy being used in the earlier days would be the windmills that were built for grinding grains.

In modern times, wind power is used for two primary purposes; generating electricity and pumping water. The machines that are used today are called wind turbine generators, wind pumps and wind turbines – which is the more generic name.

The science of Wind Energy

What is wind? Well to put it plainly wind is moving air, and within this moving air is the presence of kinetic energy – the amount of energy can be determined by the speed in which the air is moving at, as well as the density of the air. The density factor is calculated by the temperature of the air, the barometric pressure and the altitude.

Absolutely every wind turbine works the same – as the wind speed increases, there will be a dramatic increase in the power and energy output of the turbine. The windier it is outside, the more power your wind turbine will generate. This presents the conclusion that the most cost-effective wind turbines are the ones located in areas with the most amount of wind.

It is also a known fact that the speed of wind is greatly affected by the terrain and height, which is why it’s normal to see wind turbines placed high up on towers

Wind Energy throughout history

It has been stated that wind power and energy have been used by humans for thousands of years. Before the days of Christ, ancient Persians would harness the power of wind for the purposes of pumping water. Middle Earth was journeyed and discoveries were made using wind powered ships – like Christopher Columbus, and believe it or not, more than one million wind turbines were used to pump electricity to farms in North America as early as the 1920’s. Pretty amazing, right?

It’s no secret that the recent spark in green interests are primarily due to the fact that in 30 to 40 years we will be reaching a shortage of natural gas and oil, therefor we are beginning to look for cleaner, renewable sources of sustainable energy that will be reliable for centuries to come. With the help of modern aerodynamics, we have greatly improved the engineering of modern wind turbines which will provide us with a pollution-free, cost-effective energy solution that we can begin implementing on an individual and national scale.

How much does Wind Energy Cost?

There are three primary factors when determining the cost of wind energy:

• Wind turbine installation expenses
• Any calculated interest on money invested
• The overall amount of energy that is produced

Think about it this way – one can install the same wind turbine in two separate locations, paying the same price for each installation, but if one area is more windy that the other, that site will generate less expensive energy in comparision – even though it cost the same to have both turbines installed. Therefor it’s important to consider the wind activity of a particular location when you are putting together potential costs associated with generating wind energy.

Wind energy is broken down into two categories regarding the cost: large wind and small wind. Large wind systems generate electricity at a wholesale price and are typically used for supply grid electricity, whereas a small wind system will offset electricity supplied by your utility company at retail price. Aside from cost, there are many other significant differences between large and small wind turbine systems such as the technology used and installation requirements.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association provides some great resources that anyone can use as a starting point, regardless of your location. They provide planning tips and help, as well as a Ballpark Cost calculator that will give you a general figure with regards to how much wind energy will cost with your unique situation. Please take some time to visit their website.