Project introduction
I have chosen to investigate wind power to find out how it is used and harvested to produce energy to people
Investigation
This energy is consisted both inexhaustible and non-renewable because wind it self, the main power source, is inexhaustible, but at the same time the parts of the wind turbine are made from non-renewable substances.
They harvest the energy by placing wind turbines in wind prone areas, then the wind pushes the fan blades to make it turn. After that the generator in the turbine spins to generate electricity. Finally they send the electricity to a company to sell it.
Some of the infrastructure required would be lots of space, big building equipment, constant weather monitoring, access to ecosystems, and SCADA central equipment
Some technologies that would make wind power cleaner and more efficient is if they found a better way to transfer the energy so that we don't loose as much energy when harvesting the power. Also if they come up with ways to have a quick release system for emergencies, like a hurricane or natural disaster. Over the years companies have worked together to make wind power more efficient. 10 years ago you could only harvest 25% of the power, now they can harvest over 50%
https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy5eJVu8yWY
https://inhabitat.com/eddy-gt-wind-turbine-is-sleek-silent-and-designed-for-the-city/
I feel like the most important technological need regarding wind turbines is the efficiency of the energy transfer. Like with every energy transfer some energy is lost, but if we come up with new tech to increase the percent of energy we can harvest wind power would be a even better alternative power source.
I think the thing that most surprised me about my project is the fact that we can only harvest 50% percent of the power it produced. Throughout all the times I researched wind turbines I thought that all the created was able to be harvested.