Wind power, possibilities

Approximately 10% of U.S. electrical energy is produced by hydroelectric dams.6 Although there are few economic and environmentally acceptable dam sites remaining, in some places it is possible to use wind power, or perhaps even the ocean tides, to generate electricity. Here the opportunity for chemists and chemical engineers is the invention and production of modern materials that can make such approaches possible. 

Wind power has been slowed by public opposition. In 2002, a citizen s group in Prince Edward County, Ontario, vetoed a small windfarm project on the coast of Lake Ontario near Hillier. They proposed that the 22 proposed wind turbines would be noisy, kill birds and harm the neighborhood by being too visible. These are common complaints about wind-farms, but at a distance of about 200 meters, the sound of a windfarm is faint. At closer distances the noise is similar to the sound of an airplane s engine from inside the cabin. Even under the spinning blades it is possible to converse in a normal voice. One Dutch study showed that a small wind-farm is less harmful to birds than 1-kilometer of road or powerlines. 

Figure 5.78. Off-shore areas set aside for wind power production by Danish planning legislation. For each area, the legend gives an estimate of the total annual production possible from wind parks in that area. Considerations of minimum spacing between turbines and optimal configuration enter these estimates (based on Danish Power Utilities, 1997 Sorensen et al. 2001).

Wind Power Research the use of wind as a source of electrical power. Explain the possible benefits, disadvantages, and Hmitations of its use. 

Unfortunately, exploiting the salinity gradient for power production is not so easy as waterfalls. The present technology advancement is still far from any commercial application. Demonstration of the most studied and experimented technologies is just at a laboratory scale, prototypes of few kilowatt capacity. Nevertheless, the technology has extremely attractive characteristics related to a wide geographic distribution of the source and the possibility of continuous operation in opposition to random availability of sun and wind power. 

Given that an abundant source of energy can make almost anything possible in an industrial ecosystem, in what respects do vast reserves of coal, wind power, and solar energy fall short of being ideal energy sources ... 

An interesting possibility for increasing the amount of hydrocarbon fuel that can be obtained from biomass is to use H2 and O2 produced by the electrolysis of water with electricity generated by wind power... 

Say we wish to convert a fossil-fuel, nuclear, or solar energy source into net electrical power. To accompftsh this task, we can use a Rankine cycle. The Rankine cycle is an idealized vapor power system that contains the major components foimd in more detailed, practical steam power plants. While hydroelectric and wind are possible alternative sources, the steam power plant is presently the dominant producer of electrical power. 

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