 Wind Power
Special Interest Team
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The wind is one of the oldest power sources to be exploited by mankind, and only became redundant in this respect with the development of coal fired steam engines at the time of the industrial revolution. Now there is renewed interest in wind power because it is everlasting, and other than the cost of building turbines, it is free and does the world little harm. When used in conjunction with water and solar power, it could go some way toward filling the gap left by fossil fuels.
There have been many kinds of wind turbine invented over the years, but most of those in current use resemble a traditional windmill, with a head which can be rotated to face into the wind, and three or four propellor-like blades attached to a central hub. These machines range from the small ones to be found on caravans and canal barges which are less than 1m dia and produce maybe 100 watts, to the 90m giants which generate 3 million watts. The 8 turbines at Knabs Ridge west of Harrogate contribute a total of 16 Megawatts (16,000,000 watts) to the national grid.
The options for those wishing to support wind power range from buying shares in a new or existing wind farm to installing their own turbine. Some supply companies offer customers the possibility of buying electricity generated only from renewable sources, NPower's Juice scheme being an example. Installing your own windmill is only considered to be a good idea in an open area where the flow of the wind is unobstructed by buildings etc. There may be some scope for experimentation with other turbine designs to see if they are better suited to the more turbulent conditions found in built up areas, and this could be an interesting project for practically-minded members of a Special Interest Group
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The number of wind farms in the UK is steadily increasing.
BBC ...
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The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for irrigating crops 4,000 years ago
Energy Resources ...
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Jump in -- join the team -- share your ideas -- let's do this together
info@SURE-energy.org.uk
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