Wind Power: Energy System Analysis, Environmental and Economic Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of wind power as an energy system. It begins with an introduction that defines wind power generation and its classification. The report then delves into the scope and range of wind turbines, discussing their components (rotor, nacelle, tower, and foundation) and the cost structure associated with wind energy production, including the economic benefits such as job creation. The report further analyzes the environmental impacts of wind power, including land usage, wildlife concerns (bird and bat collisions), and public health issues (noise and visual impact). It also addresses the use of water and other key issues like power purchase agreements and infrastructure. The conclusion suggests alternative solutions to the challenges posed by wind energy. The report highlights both the advantages and disadvantages of wind power, providing a balanced perspective on its role in sustainable energy generation.

Wind power - energy system

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Scope and Range..............................................................................................................................1
Costs and Scope of applications......................................................................................................2
Environmental impacts....................................................................................................................3
Usage of the Land.......................................................................................................................4
Wildlife.......................................................................................................................................4
Public health concerns.................................................................................................................4
Use of water................................................................................................................................5
Issues...........................................................................................................................................5
Impact on wildlife.......................................................................................................................5
Other factors................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
Alternative solutions........................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
A power generation plant can be considered as a station that is situated at some industrial
location which helps in maintaining the generation of electric power first, and then its proper
distribution. The electric power is usually sent at the rate of 1000 Watt (Wu and et.al, 2011). The
power generation plants are usually located in the sub urban regions or several miles or
kilometres away from the city or crowded areas. These are planned to set up so far because of the
requirements of a huge demand of water and land. The actual reason behind these power
generation plants is not only the maintenance of generation but along with that, the fact that the
sufficient amount of power is being transmitted.
There is a huge amount of renewable resources available such as wind, heat etc., through
which electricity and power can be generated by various means. The power generation plants can
be classified in various types such as hydro electric, solar, wind, marine etc. A hydroelectric
power plants generates electricity means of water, which means it converts the hydro power in
hydro electricity (Heier, 2014). In solar power plants, the mechanism of transmission of solar
energy into electric power is being achieved. In case of wind, it is being done with the help of
wind turbines which convert the wind energy into electricity without causing any pollution. All
these power plants have their own advantages but along with them, there are various challenges
and issues related it with as well. The research is about the involvement of wind energy and it
usually involves the energy that is available from the wind turbines. Therefore, it will involve the
scope and applications of the wind turbines, issues that have been caused by using them and its
impact on the environment.
Scope and Range
There are various components of a wind turbine which are essential for the physical
processes to be done. These involve rotor and rotor blades, nacelle and tower and foundation.
The rotor is considered as an essential component of the turbines which is having some sort of
support from the blades. It is responsible for the conversion of kinetic energy in wind energy.
The blades of rotor are made up of carbon and glass fibre reinforced plastics. Then, another
essential component is the nacelle which helps in holding the centre of the turbine. There are
various components inserted in it such as the gear box, coupling, brakes and the electronic
equipments as well. It is being connected by the help of bearing so that it rotates in that direction
only in which the wind is flowing. For maintaining the stability of the turbine on the ground, a
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foundation is necessary to keep it balanced. It is that capable that it supports the power of wind,
it can be low but sometimes can be as high as possible as well. The working of turbine can be
compared with that of a fan. A fan generate electricity for the production of wind and a turbine
make use of the wind to produce power and output (Zhou and et.al, 2010).
The process of wind power can be considered as an effective one because it is one of
the low price methods that can be used for the production of electricity. The cost structure that is
being used in the wind turbines system costs in 2 – 6 cents per kilowatt hour. The cost of energy
produced is dependent on the resource of the wind and the rate at which it is breezing. In contrast
to it, even the process is cost enough but the development of the technology is this much costly
and needs a higher investment. However, it can be evaluated that although the process is very
effective for generation of the electricity but in implementing the set up, it needs a good amount
of budget. But, with the development of wind turbines, the field provided a huge number of jobs
to the unemployed people.
According to the statistics of 2016 as well, wind turbine has been rates as on the top of
the fastest growing platform (Heier, 2014). The maintenance needs people who can control and
manage the processing of the system well so that a good amount of electricity can be produced as
a result. Also, they are necessary to check whether there are any faults in the system. In contrast
to it, various people has been injured on these sites as well as new employed workers are
unaware of the facts and properties of the system of wind turbine, so often they get injured and
various have lost their lives as well because of the miss-happenings at the location. This
happened in the cases where some turbines have been fell off on the workers and they can't resist
it. However, it can be evaluated that while doing any maintenance of the turbines or any of its
components, proper safety measures should be taken so that in the process of generating
electricity for people, it does not cost anyone's life as life is precious.
Costs and Scope of applications
Although, the use of wind turbines have efficiently resulted in generating a good amount
of electricity, various issues have also been concerned and raised by the people which involves
the production of noise, vibrations etc. This is the reason why turbines are set up in the far away
areas so that the general population cannot get disturbed because of it. Still, in the areas where
they are located, a very few population remains there which gets affected by these factors. So,
they have raised various concerns regarding this such as the noise of the turbine, vibrations it
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causes in the land, infra sound etc. These factors act as an area of concern for the people living
there. Although the amount of numbers living there are very few but they are being irritated by
these factors. The cost structure of the application is also quite specific. For different rate of
electricity and energy, there are different costs involved which is represented as under :
Power Output (Maximum) Type of turbine Cost of the project
55 kW Endurance E-3120 £320k
800 kW Enercon E53/48/44 £1.4 million
900 kW EWT DW61 £1.4 million
1.5 kW Ge 1.5 sle £2.7 million
2-3 MW1 Enercon E82 £3.1 million
The scope of the turbines and the electricity being generated by them is a very vast concept. The
flow of wind is sustainable because it is a form of solar energy. When the atmosphere is heated
more by the sun, winds are caused which makes the earth to rotate. There are various places
where a better status of the winds have been observed and there, the climate seems like that only.
In that places, wind turbines can result better. Wind turbines can also be built on the existing
farms and fields where the flow of wind is considered as better than various other places (Li,
Joós and Bélanger, 2010). In that cases, the workers can also work efficiently because a turbine
takes a specific portion of the land, so the other portion can be easily accessed by the workers to
complete their roles.
Environmental impacts
Although the process of generating electricity from these turbines has been considered as
a sustainable method because no pollution is caused by this transmission of energy. Also, it does
not support any global warming issues. Maintenance of the wind turbines is easy as almost all of
its moving parts are located near the surface of the earth., so the person does not have to
consume energy and cost for getting those parts. One can easily access those parts in case of any
fault or issue. The environmental impacts, discussed in brief are described as under :
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Usage of the Land
The wind turbines that are located in plain areas consume more land than that of what is
acquired in the hilly areas. So, the turbines must be spaced at a shorter radius so that it can be
done in the required space only (Brekken and et.al, 2011). No extra land should be involved as it
can lead to the wastage of land. That wasted land can be used for some other purpose.
Wildlife
Often, it has been observed that the birds, bats etc. collide from the turbines, thus
resulting in their deaths. By this way, the turbines have a bad impact on the wildlife and habitat.
Because of the spinning turbines, a great amount of birds collide with the fan which results in
their deaths. With the help of wildlife behaviour and research, various measures have been taken
for this as it has been found that bats stay more active when the speed of the wind is termed as
low., so it has been decided that at lower speed and flow of the wind, the turbines can be kept as
motionless. It can be helpful in maintaining the wildlife habitat and environment. The same case
is with the wind turbines that are located on the off shores. The marine birds are affected by the
wind turbines located there. Already the number of marine birds are going less than compared to
the before statistics and the turbines are making them even less. Along with these nagative
impacts, it has some positive impacts as well. It has been observed that these wind turbines as
acting as artificial reefs are involved in maximizing the population of the fishes. Although the
impacts are distinguishing from one site to another, but they increase the population of fish for
sure.
Public health concerns
With the increasing development of the wind turbines, two factors, sound and visual
impact are considered as the concerns associated with it. There are blades on the turbine which
flows when wind touches them, these for sure generates a great amount of noise. It can be a
disturbing factor. The noise of the turbine depends on the speed of the wind and the speed of the
blades as well. The people live near these locations often complaint of various issues such as
sound, vibration etc., but the sound and wind cannot be controlled as well. When the turbine will
rotate using the wind and generate electricity, it is obvious that it will produce the sound at
higher rates as well (Kubiszewski, Cleveland and Endres, 2010). The transmission of wind to
electric energy is not an easy process. It depends on the speed of the wind and the flexibility of
the turbine that makes it to move and generate electricity as well. Some measures have been
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taken such as reduction of the imperfections of the surface of the blade and with the help of the
materials that act sound absorbent. These can be used so that no nearby people have to face any
sort of issue, neither regarding the noise or the vibrations as well.
Use of water
Although there has no concern of water with the wind turbines but a small amount of
water is being used while the production of steel and cement for wind turbines.
Issues
There are various issues that the wind energy and turbines have to face such as
agreements of power purchase, improper infrastructure, complaints of the nearby residents.
Various issues are discussed as under :
Noise : Just like every other mechanical system, the wind turbine also causes a lot of noise at the
time of operating. It is of very high frequency that it seems irritating for a human ear. The noise
can be created at the time when wind is blowing because the fan moves only when wind flows.
Although various changes have been added in order to control the noise such as noise absorbent
materials near the speakers so that most of the sound has been absorbed in it and people who live
nearby does not have to face any further issues. Now, the turbines have become more efficient,
the wind is being converted to the rotational torque which produces less noise as compared to the
simple transformation from the wind energy to the electric energy.
Impact on wildlife
It has been observed that a huge number of birds on the far area as well as on the ocean
areas are dying because they collide with these turbines and as the fan are rotating, so it cause
their death (Heier, 2014). Along with these wind turbines, various other factors such as tall
buildings etc. are also responsible for the death of these birds and bats. Production of electric
energy without causing any pollution is a very efficient way but not at the cost of someone's life.
So, various measures have been taken such as the minimized speed of the turbines somehow
protects the bats and birds as the fan moves slowly, so can save a number of birds.
Other factors
As every generating technology produces some sort of emissions and combustions, the
wind turbines does not produce any air emission, thus protecting the environment from any type
of pollution. Although more components other than the parts of it are not required but a few
amounts of the lubricating oils and other insulating fluids are quite costly. Although, the wind
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turbines produces electricity free of any pollution or emission, but the implementation process of
it is costly enough that a large amount of budget is required for the whole set up. After one time
implementation, then there are some limited costs only such as for the lubricating fluids or for
repairing any part that has been damaged or have lost its grip. So, these measures are to be taken
properly in order to maintain the wind turbine so that it can be able to generate a good amount of
electricity from the wind energy. By this way, more and more electricity can be provided to the
areas where the people face electricity issue and this can be a better option for making their lives
good and better.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the report that out of all the power generation systems, wind
turbines can be considered as a better method for generating the electricity from the wind. It is
simply the process of transforming the wind energy in the electric energy. The scope of wind
turbines is very wide and has various applications. But along with the applications, there are
various challenges as well as there are some factors such as noise or harm for the wildlife which
can act quite challenging for the whole process. Wind turbines seems to be a very beneficial
function for the generation of electricity without causing any pollution or emission but the
nearby residents can face some issues regarding the noise or vibration factors. The after
implementation cost is less than compared to the implementation cost at the starting. In the
production of a wind turbine, various measures have to be taken care of such that the safety of
the workers should be maintained, proper checking of the outputs and also, considering the
reliability of the parts of the turbine. Checks of the parts of it should be done on a regular basis
such that if any issue's comes, it can be resolved as soon as possible because the time taken in the
resolution can be wasted and also make the accuracy of the process lesser.
Alternative solutions
When there seems some increasing number of issues, there are two options available,
either modifying the current one or choosing some other alternate that can help in producing
better outcomes. Other than wind power generator, thermal power stations can be used as well. A
thermal power plant is also considered as a coal fired power plant and one of the most
conventional methods of generating electricity by using coal. The coal is termed as a primary
fuel for this process. The coal helps in boiling the water that super heats the steam. This method
can also be used as a better alternative from the wind turbines because the cost of coal is cheaper
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and usage of a huge amount of coal can help in producing a great amount of electricity as well.
The implementation cost of a wind turbine is considered as higher whereas the implementation
cost of the thermal power plant is very less when compared with the wind turbines. The space
occupied in case of a wind turbine or any hydro electric system is much enough that it can
restrict any other working in that area, but in case of thermal power plants, it acquires quite less
space. Along with these advantages, some limitations are also which are important to be
considered (Brekken and et.al, 2011). As in case of wind turbines, no pollution comes out as an
outcome but in case of the thermal power plants, smoke and fumes comes out of the plant as an
outcome of generating electricity and power, so some measures should be taken and are
necessary for controlling the amount of pollution.
Another method which can act as an alternative for the wind turbines can be solar power
plants in which the energy is being converted from the heat and energy that is produced by the
Sun. Some very common examples of it can be solar heaters, solar geysers etc. In this power is
being converted from the heat that is being produced by the sun. It has also been very beneficial
for various people such as it is being used in an area where there are a huge number of people. In
various places, people cannot afford to use geysers etc., so for those, solar geysers and other
solar devices are much beneficial. Solar devices such as geysers etc. can stay beneficial for the
people that have no access to the outputs by any other means. In this, energy is converted as from
the sun to the solar cells or in a concentrating solar plant and this is done by making the focus of
the light for running the heat engine. The conversion takes place by the photoelectric effect. Due
to this effect, the whole process of conversion of the solar energy in the electrical energy or
power takes place.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Brekken, T.K. And et.al., 2011. Optimal energy storage sizing and control for wind power
applications. IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy. 2(1). pp.69-77.
Díaz-González, F. and et.al., 2012. A review of energy storage technologies for wind power
applications. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews. 16(4). pp.2154-2171.
Heier, S., 2014. Grid integration of wind energy: onshore and offshore conversion systems. John
Wiley & Sons.
Holttinen, H. and et.al., , 2011. Impacts of large amounts of wind power on design and operation
of power systems, results of IEA collaboration. Wind Energy. 14(2). pp.179-192.
Kubiszewski, I., Cleveland, C. J. and Endres, P. K., 2010. Meta-analysis of net energy return for
wind power systems. Renewable energy. 35(1). pp.218-225.
Li, W., Joós, G. and Bélanger, J., 2010. Real-time simulation of a wind turbine generator coupled
with a battery supercapacitor energy storage system. IEEE Transactions on Industrial
Electronics. 57(4). pp.1137-1145.
Teodorescu, R., Liserre, M. and Rodriguez, P., 2011. Grid converters for photovoltaic and wind
power systems (Vol. 29). John Wiley & Sons.
Wu, B. and et.al., 2011. Power conversion and control of wind energy systems. John Wiley &
Sons.
Zhao, H., Wu, Q., Hu, S., Xu, H. and Rasmussen, C.N., 2015. Review of energy storage system
for wind power integration support. Applied Energy. 137. pp.545-553.
Zhou, W. and et.al., 2010. Current status of research on optimum sizing of stand-alone hybrid
solar–wind power generation systems. Applied Energy. 87(2). pp.380-389.
Online
Environmental impacts of wind power. 2013. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/renewable-energy/environmental-impacts-wind-
power#.Wf2DxE5fg8o>.
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