Using the wind to create electricity may be the way to reduce the United States dependence on oil....its a simple concept that farmers have used for years. The wind turns the blades of a windmill, which in turn spins a turbine inside a generator to produce electricity.
Wind farms are built in flat, open areas where the wind blows at least 14 miles per hour. The midwest is a perfect place....Iowa currently has more than 600 wind turbines, producing enough electricity to power 140,000 homes. Minnesota and Wisconsin are also home to wind farms. Wind energy is plentiful, renewable and widely distributed, clean, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions when it displaces fossil-fuel-derived electricity.
The wind turbines are large, some are 240 feet tall with three large blades called rotors – the bigger the wind turbine, the more wind it reaches and the more electricity it produces. As the wind turns the blades, a shaft which is connected to a generator makes electricity. The electricity is then transmitted to a substation then to homes and businesses. (We saw this in action when we drove through Iowa this week. Wind turbines sitting in corn and soybean fields with the crops growing around them)
Recently oil giants Shell and BP announced that they intend to invest heavily in wind energy. Fossel fuel will eventually run out.....wind power is boundless.
Renewable energy:
Biofuels......Geothermal.....Hydro power.....Solar power
Biomass.....Tidal power.....Wave power......Wind power
Renewable energy:
Biofuels......Geothermal.....Hydro power.....Solar power
Biomass.....Tidal power.....Wave power......Wind power
