Wind

Energy
Basics

The Kidwind Project

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What is
Electricity?
Electricity is energy
transported by
the motion of electrons
**We do not make electricity, we
CONVERT other energy sources into
electrical energy**
Conversion is the name of the game
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Faraday Effect

FaradayEffect

BasicConcepts
Voltage V Potential to Move Charge (volts)
Current I Charge Movement (amperes or amps)
Resistance R V = IxR (R in =ohms)
Power P = IxV = I2xR (watts)
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How Does a Generator Work?

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Electricity!
More efficient light bulbs are great, but
what is the BEST way to conserve
electricity and reduce our consumption
of fossil fuels???

How much would it cost to run

this 100 Watt bulb for a full day
(24 hrs)?
100 Watts x 24 hours = 2400
Watt Hours (2400 Watt Hours =
2.4 Kilowatt Hours)
2.4 kWh x $0.08/kWh =

$0.19

What about this 25 Watt CFL

light bulb, which produces the
same amount of light?
25 Watts x 24 hours = 600
Watt Hours (600 Watt Hours =
0.6 Kilowatt Hours)
0.6 kWh x $0.08/kWh =

$0.05
TURN IT OFF!!!

Where do we get our

electricity?

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What is a Fossil Fuel???

What is Renewable
Energy?

KidWind Project |
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Types of Electricity Generating Windmills

Small (10 kW)
Homes
Farms
Remote
Applications
(e.g. water
pumping, telecom
sites, icemaking)

Intermediate
(10-250 kW)
Village Power
Hybrid Systems
Distributed
Power

Large (250 kW 2+MW)

Central Station Wind
Farms
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Distributed Power

Parts of a Wind Turbine

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Wind Turbine Perspective

Workers

Blade
112 long

Nacelle
56 tons

Tower
3 sections

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Large Wind Turbines

450 base to blade

Each blade 112
Span greater than 747
163+ tons total
Foundation 20+ feet
deep
Rated at 1.5 5
megawatt
Supply at least 350
homes

Yawing Facing the

Wind
Active Yaw (all medium
& large turbines
produced today, &
some small turbines
from Europe)

Anemometer on nacelle
tells controller which way
to point rotor into the
wind
Yaw drive turns gears to
point rotor into wind

Passive Yaw (Most small

turbines)

Wind forces alone direct

rotor

Tail vanes

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KidWind Project |
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Importance of Wind Speed

No other factor is more
important to the amount
of power available in the
wind than the speed of
the wind
Power is a cubic
function of wind speed
VXVXV
20% increase in wind
speed means 73% more
power
Doubling wind speed
means 8 times more
power
KidWind Project |
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Calculation of Wind Power

the= wind
Power
Power
in thein
Wind
AV3
Effect of air density,
Effect of swept area, A
Effect of wind speed, V
R

Swept Area: A = R2
Area of the circle swept
by the rotor (m2).

Carnage
!

Jobs in the Wind Industry

Construction

Public Relations/Organizing
Support

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Operation
s/Mainten
ance

Maintenance

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Engineerin
g/Design

Environmental Impact
Assessment

Wind Power is Fun!

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Questions???

The KidWind Project

www.kidwind.org