Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Using Wind Power For Your Home

Alternative energy such as wind power is a great option for powering your home. There are a few things that you should consider before you purchase a wind generator. Local restrictions - Wind generators need to be relatively tall in order to take best advantage of wind. Many home owner's associations and local governing bodies have restrictions on the height of structures. Check and see before you build Wind power in your area - Some areas are just not beneficial for wind power. The center of the U.S., the dakotas, Missouri, etc. are excellent areas for good wind power. Wildlife - Yes wildlife. Wind generators have a bad rap for harming bird populations. Personally, I know many people that have wind generators that have never had a problem with birds running into them, though its certainly possible. Noise - Larger wind generators do make a little noise. They arent that disruptive to many, but you should actually listen to the unit you are interested in while it is running to get an idea of what kind of noise this unit puts out. Space - Wind generators are relatively small, though their structures can leave a big footprint. The higher your tower goes, the wider the guy wires will need to be for stability. Making sure that you have the needed room before you purchase will save a lot of headaches later. Wind power by itself, may not be enough for your power needs. Today's home wind generators aren't the big cumbersome units of yesterday. Wind generators today can easily be combined with solar units on homes to create free power for the home owner. Using a wind generator by itself or in combination with another form of renewable energy is certain to provide you with clean renewable power for many years. M. Motley is an avid alternative energy fan and runs a website called http://www.solarpower-home.com/ FREE Information This important information is guaranteed to help you understand the alternative energy choices that are available to you for your home. You can get this information quickly sent to you at http://www.solarpower-home.com/ To see how your area is for wind generation, look here Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Motley

Monday, March 3, 2008

WIND POWER TURBINES FOR ENERGY

Wind Power for our future energy needs Wind power has its advantages a wind turbine at Greenpark Reading, England, produced electricity for around one thousand homes. Wind energy benefits from subsidies of various kinds in many jurisdictions, either to increase its attractiveness, or to compensate for subsidies received by other forms of production or which have significant negative externalities. Since energy produced is several times energy consumed in construction, there is a net energy gain. 1 square kilometres of unobstructed land per megawatt of nameplate capacity.Stored energy increases the economic value of wind energy since it can be shifted to displace higher cost generation during peak demand periods. Unlike fossil fuel and nuclear power stations, which circulate or evaporate large amounts of water for cooling, wind turbines do not need water to generate electricity. Wind energy supporters argue that, once external costs and subsidies to other forms of electrical production are accounted for, wind energy is amongst the least costly forms of electrical production. There are many thousands of wind turbines operating, with a total capacity of 73,904 MW of which wind power in Europe accounts for 65% (2006). For example, the estimated cost of new wind power capacity may be lower than that for "new coal" (estimated average costs for new generation capacity) but higher than for "old coal" (marginal cost of production for existing capacity). " Countries such as Canada and Germany also provide incentives for wind turbine construction, such as tax credits or minimum purchase prices for wind generation, with assured grid access (sometimes referred to as feed-in tariffs). There is an estimated 72 TW of wind energy on the Earth that potentially can be commercially viable. Wind power also has its drawbacks, historical experience of noisy and visually intrusive wind turbines may create resistance to the establishment of land-based wind farms. Some wind turbines kill birds, especially birds of prey. It can be noted that climate change poses a much more significant threat to wildlife, and therefore supports wind farms and other forms of renewable energy. However, leaking lubricating oil or hydraulic fluid may run down turbine blades, in some cases contaminating drinking water areas. When ejected pieces of broken blade and ice, are thrown hundreds of meters away,it can pose a dangerous problem. Residents near turbines may complain of "shadow flicker" caused by rotating turbine blades. Sea eagles have been killed by wind turbines, lightning strikes are a common problem, also causing rotor blade damage and fires. In Australia, a proposed wind farm was canceled because of the possibility that a single endangered bird of prey was nesting in the area. For example, in December 2006, a Texas jury denied a noise pollution suit against FPL Energy, after the company demonstrated that noise readings were not excessive. For example, in the UK, where there are several hundred turbines, about one bird is killed per turbine per year; 10 million per year are killed by cars alone. Like other electricity sources, wind energy must be "scheduled". In the United States, turbines kill 70,000 birds per year, compared to 57 million killed by cars and 97. 03 birds per year, or one kill per thirty turbines. Deaths to members of the public include a parachutist colliding with a turbine and small aircraft crashing into support structures. Almost nothing is known about current populations of these species and the impact on bat numbers as a result of mortality at windpower locations.Almost nothing is known about the impact on bat numbers as a result of mortality at windpower locations. Wind power can saved you money,customers may enter into long-term pricing contracts for wind to reduce the risk of future pricing changes, thereby ensuring more stable returns for projects at the development stage. Since the primary cost of producing wind energy is construction and there are no fuel costs, the average cost of wind energy per unit of production is dependent on a few key assumptions, such as the cost of capital and years of assumed service. In the United States, wind power receives a tax credit for each kilowatt-hour produced. In economic terms, the marginal revenue of the wind sector as penetration increases may diminish. In 2004, wind energy cost one-fifth of what it did in the 1980s, and some expected that downward trend to continue as larger multi-megawatt turbines are mass-produced. Individuals purchase these systems to reduce or eliminate their electricity bills, or simply to generate their own clean power.Wind power can also make you some extra money,1811 W Arrowhead Pl Incentives 9 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2006, the credit has a yearly inflationary adjustment.Farmers may receive annual lease payments of two thousand to five thousand dollars per turbine.