Global Warming Today - Wind Powered Energy

Wind Power is the conversion of wind energy into other forms of energy such as electricity using wind turbines, it is also used in windmills to pump water or crush grain. It is still relatively small scale contributing only 1% of the total worlds electricity usage, although at the end of 2007 worldwide capacity of wind powered generators is 94.1 gigawatts. In some countries in Europe wind power is utilized more than in other parts of the world, for instance in Denmark 19% of electricity is produced via wind power, in Spain it is 9%, and in Germany 6%. It has increased 5 fold from the year 2000 – 2007. Wind power is produced in large wind farms connected to electrical grids, it can also be produced in individual turbines and can provide electricity to small areas. Wins energy is another alternative to fossil fuels, as it is renewable, clean and plentiful and can help reduce greenhouse gasses, wins energy is also relatively inexpensive as a source of power.

Wind energy has been utilised for over 4000 years going back to the Babylonians and the Chinese who used wind energy to pump water to irrigate crops, also in Europe in the middle ages wind power was used as wind mills to grind crops. The sun heats our planet but not evenly, less heat is received from the poles, hence some parts of the earth are warmer than others. These warm air patches rise and other air comes in to replace them which causes wind, it is possible to harness this power by building a tall tower with a propeller on top, the winds turns the propeller which can be connected to a generator to produce electricity.

The most ideal places for building wind farms are where ever there is a constant strong breeze such as coastal areas or on high ground an average wind speed of 25km/h is required for it to be worthwhile. There are some other disadvantages such as if the wins is not constant then there can be no electricity, the land where the wind farms are built is expensive and many people think they are ugly, they also can kill local wildlife. But overall they are a good alternative to fossil fuels.