Wind

Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space. Winds are commonly classified by their spatial scale, their speed, the types of forces that cause them, the regions in which they occur, and their effect. The strongest observed winds on a planet in our solar system occur on Neptune and Saturn. In meteorology, winds are often referred to according to their strength, and the direction from which the wind is blowing. Short bursts of high speed wind are termed gusts. Strong winds of intermediate duration (around one minute) are termed squalls. Long-duration winds have various names associated with their average strength, such as breeze, gale, storm, hurricane, and typhoon. Wind occurs on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hours, to global winds resulting from the difference in absorption of solar energy between the climate zones on Earth. The two main causes of large-scale atmospheric circulation are the differential heating between the equator and the poles, and the rotation of the planet (Coriolis effect). Within the tropics, thermal low circulations over terrain and high plateaus can drive monsoon circulations. In coastal areas the sea breeze/land breeze cycle can define local winds; in areas that have variable terrain, mountain and valley breezes can dominate local winds. In human civilization, wind has inspired mythology, influenced the events of history, expanded the range of transport and warfare, and provided a power source for mechanical work, electricity and recreation. Wind powers the voyages of sailing ships across Earth's oceans. Hot air balloons use the wind to take short trips, and powered flight uses it to increase lift and reduce fuel consumption. Areas of wind shear caused by various weather phenomena can lead to dangerous situations for aircraft. When winds become strong, trees and man-made structures are damaged or destroyed. Winds can shape landforms, via a variety of aeolian processes such as the formation of fertile soils, such as loess, and by erosion. Dust from large deserts can be moved great distances from its source region by the prevailing winds; winds that are accelerated by rough topography and associated with dust outbreaks have been assigned regional names in various parts of the world because of their significant effects on those regions. Wind affects the spread of wildfires. Winds disperse seeds from various plants, enabling the survival and dispersal of those plant species, as well as flying insect populations. When combined with cold temperatures, wind has a negative impact on livestock. Wind affects animals' food stores, as well as their hunting and defensive strategies

Wind power

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Wind power: worldwide installed capacity [1]

Wind power: worldwide installed capacity forecast [1][2]

Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm, at the entrance to the River Mersey in North West England

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.

The total amount of economically extractable power available from the wind is considerably more than present human power use from all sources.[3] At the end of 2010, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 197 gigawatts (GW).[4] Wind power now has the capacity to generate 430 TWh annually, which is about 2.5% of worldwide electricity usage.[4][5] Over the past five years the average annual growth in new installations has been 27.6 percent. Wind power market penetration is expected to reach 3.35 percent by 2013 and 8 percent by 2018.[6][7] Several countries have already achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 21% of stationary electricity production in Denmark,[4] 18% in Portugal,[4] 16% in Spain,[4] 14% in Ireland[8] and 9% in Germany in 2010.[4][9] As of 2011, 83 countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.[9] A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines which are connected to the electric power transmission network. Offshore wind power can harness the better wind speeds that are available offshore compared to on land, so offshore wind powers contribution in terms of electricity supplied is higher.[10] Small onshore wind facilities are used to provide electricity to isolated locations and utility companies increasingly buy back surplus electricity produced by small domestic wind turbines. Although a variable source of power, the intermittency of wind seldom creates problems when using wind power to supply up to 20% of total electricity demand, but as the proportion rises, increased costs, a need to use storage such as pumped-storage hydroelectricity, upgrade the grid, or a lowered ability to supplant conventional production may occur.[11][12][13] Power management techniques such as excess capacity, storage, dispatchable backing supply (usually natural gas), exporting and importing power to neighboring areas or reducing demand when wind production is low, can mitigate these problems. Wind power, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation, and uses little land. In operation, the overall cost per unit of energy produced is similar to the cost for new coal and natural gas installations.[14] The construction of wind farms is not universally welcomed, but any effects on the environment from wind power are generally much less problematic than those of any other power source.[15]

Watch Out For Wind Turbine Power Ratings: The power ratings usually given by the manufacturers for wind turbines are nearly useless, in that they are determined at wind speeds much higher that you will normally see. A good rough formula to keep in mind in evaluating different wind turbines is:

Annual Output (KWH/year) = 0.01328 (D^2) (V^3)

source...

Where D^2 is the blade diameter in feet squared, and V^3 is the wind velocity cubed in mph -- this is the year round average wind speed -- see wind maps below. So, a 10 ft diameter wind turbine in 12 mph average winds might produce about (0.01328) (10^2)(12^3) = 2300 KWH/year Note that the energy produced is proportional to the cube of wind speed -- having enough average wind speed is everything in wind turbines. Use the wind maps discussed below and a wind survey of your site to determine if a wind turbine will actually payoff. The graph is of the wind energy equation shown above for various wind speeds and turbine blade diameters. ----------------------------------------------> See also: Solar and WIND water pumping ...