Quiet, clean, and inexhaustible, wind energy is familiar to most Americans in the form of farm wind mills that once stood by the hundreds of thousands on the Great Plains and throughout rural America, greatly assisting life there. Originally designed to pump water or turn other machinery, these machines were vanquished by the introduction of utility lines to most areas of the country. Today, however, wind energy (more…)

Wind PowerMeteorology is nota term to be found inastandard glossary of meteorological terms. However, it is a discipline which has evolved under its own provisions. It can formally be described as applied geophysicaluid dynamics, but a more understandabledenition would rest on a combination of meteorology and applied climatology. Meteorology is atmospheric science in its widest sense. (more…)

~3200 B.C. the ancient Egyptians invented the sail. The way a boat moves is through the wind pushing the sail. Excluding modern times, a wind powered boat has been the primary form of water transportation in all of human history. Some examples of civilizations and countries that used wind powered sails follows. Romans used passive wind power in their extensive fleets. Some ships were large enough (more…)

Using the wind for power is certainly nothing new. As far back as 5,000 years ago, there were wind-powered ships on the Nile River in Egypt. In ancient Persia around the year 1,000 B.C.E., some of the earliest windmills were used to grind grains. These very early windmills resembled large paddlewheels and were not terribly efficient at harnessing the wind. It wasn’t until the end of the twelfth century that windmills with (more…)

CO 2 Abatement Claims are often made that wind turbines take many years to ‘pay back’ the energy used in their manufacture and construction. This has become one of the more preposterous and overblown claims advanced by opponents of wind power. Our report looks at the available evidence on the energy balance of wind turbines, and concludes that the payback period is most likely in the region of 3- 10 months. (more…)

Wind generating capacity increased by 27% in 2006, with similar increases expected in 2007.6 In the United States, more than 11,600 megawatts of wind generating capacity are already installed, which is roughly enough to power 2.9 million homes. Put another way, it would take approximately forty million barrels of oil per year to generate the same volume of electricity. This impressive growth has been made (more…)

With*energy*prices*constantly*increasing,*small*wind*power*systems*represent*the* ideal*solution*for*an*independent,*reliable*power*supply,*and*they*are*equally*well* suited*for*use*in*remote*areas.*This*is*because,*whether*or*not*you*have*access*to* a*public*power*grid,*Conergy*small*wind*power*systems*offer*an*environmentally- friendly ,*cost-saving*form*of*energy*production*using*technology*proven*over*many* (more…)

Windmills have been used for many hundreds of years to pump water, to grind grain and other materials, even to pump crude oil from shallow wells. While the concept of using wind to generate electrical power has been understood for a century or more, wind power has become a significant source of electrical power only in the last decade or so. Texas has several areas suitable for wind power generation. (more…)

FARMINGTON — Farmington’s wastewater treatment plant will be getting some help from the wind — not to dissipate any sewage processing aromas but to generate power. The town has purchased a Skystream 3.7 wind generator that will be installed next week at the plant on Farmington Falls Road along the Sandy River. Skystream’s distributor in Maine is All-Season Home Improvements of Augusta. Roger Lambert, (more…)

Energy storage1 is completely uneconomic for the amounts of energy required. So we must use back-up generation. Constantly, instantly available back-up must be provided by reliable energy sources (to provide power whenever the wind speed drops). Coal, gas, hydro and nuclear power provide reliable power, but not all are suitable as back up generators for wind power. Back-up generation is mostly provided (more…)