From breeze to kilowatts

There are a plethora of reasons for you to invest in renewable energy. With that in mind, we took a dive into the morass we call the Web in search of practical, zero-cost, noncommercial, registration-free Web resources that can provide you with some insight about wind power to generate electricity for your plant.

By Russ Kratowicz

PlantServices.com

It’s no wonder businesses all over the globe want to establish a market in China. With more than 13 times the population of the United States, China has the potential to become an awesome economic powerhouse. But energy consumption is a key factor that determines a country’s standard of living. What will happen to global energy prices as the Chinese population finally achieves a standard similar to what we currently enjoy? It’s frightening, for us and for them.

Global warming is another concern. Stationary sources and vehicles are targets of legislation that seeks to limit the amount of fumey nastiness gushing out of smokestacks and exhaust pipes. But, I’ve always been curious about why we never hear mention of the combustion products jet airliners spew 30,000 feet above our heads. Consider that Boeing’s Web site reports the 747-400 uses 53,985 gallons of fuel to go 1,805 nautical miles. Figure out the math yourself.

No doubt, you’ve heard about New Jersey embracing the idea of purchasing electrical power using a reverse auction. Open bidding is supposed to be the best way to establish true market value for a product. The results of that auction process imply that, if nothing else, the electrical power we’ve been buying for so long is somewhat underpriced.

Let me tell you, friends, industry in this country needs enough renewable energy to move petroleum into a museum next to the buggy whips. Using that idea as a launch pad, we took a dive into the morass we call the Web in search of practical, zero-cost, noncommercial, registration-free Web resources that can provide you with some insight about wind power to generate electricity for your plant. Remember, we search the Web so you don't have to.

An organization

You’ve got to love a Web site that tells us “the total amount of electricity that could potentially be generated from wind in the United States has been estimated at 10,777 billion kWh annually -- three times the electricity generated in the U.S. today.” Such is the outlook promoted by the American Wind Energy Association, Washington, D.C., a national trade association representing developers, manufacturers, utilities, consultants, insurers, financiers, researchers and others involved in the wind industry. Blow your mouse over to http://www.awea.org/ [no hyphens] and sniff around for the information you need. For example, you can identify the 20 states that show the greatest potential for viable wind power projects. That doesn’t imply, however, a plant will find it’s a slam dunk to convert a breeze into energetic electrons just because it’s located in state number one. Much of this site is dedicated to maxi-scale wind farms so, perhaps it would be wise to focus on the references to “small” and “industrial.”

Good overview

Energy Saving Now is a site you’ll find at http://energy.saving.nu/. The home page takes a broad view of energy issues by offering coverage of both traditional and alternative energy sources. The relevant material is accessed by scrolling down and clicking on “Wind Energy.” This opens the wind-centric page that has links to several articles. Here is where you’ll find descriptions of the major types of wind turbines. Overall, the site seems to be a bit more focused on small wind energy systems that are suitable for residences and businesses. The work is a production of Hakan Falk, Teddy Rosenthal and the late Engelbrekt Isfelt, who are involved in energy savings in building construction. The site is presented in English but, based on the wording and sentence structure, the content appears to be a literal translation from the author’s native language. The site presents serious information in a charming style. The only drawback is the lack of graphics to illustrate the concepts the site is trying to present.

Technical data

A good repository of information that delves more deeply into the technical aspects of wind energy is brought to you by the good folks at Bergey WindPower Co., Norman, Okla. Although this company is in the business of selling wind turbines, it posts a lot of free information to educate prospective buyers. Waft your way over to http://www.bergey.com/ and check out the links on the left side of the screen. “Example Projects” accesses a few mini-case studies about wind power installations at military and government sites. The “Wind School” link takes you to a series of articles that center around smaller, residential-sized wind systems. “Technical Materials” is where you can get interactive downloadable performance and finance spreadsheets applicable to Bergey’s line of wind turbines as well as installation manuals for the company’s towers. The site also has “wind maps” for each state, which are overlain with a pattern of numbers. These represent the average wind intensity at a particular location during the course of a year. A location with a Class 4 wind has stronger average winds and is likely to have a greater power-generating potential than a location having only a Class 1 wind. The balance of the site seems a bit too commercial for the purposes of this column.

Over there

Since its inception in 1978, the British Wind Energy Association has grown to become the largest renewable energy trade association in the UK. Commensurate with its stature is the quality of the material on the organization’s Web site. Much of it, as you’d expect, refers to conditions and laws on that island. But, wind is wind, and the technical material remains relevant, regardless of location. Float your way to http://www.bwea.com/energy/index.html. Start with the drop-down menu that appears when your mouse hovers at the top of the screen over the phrase “Wind Energy.” The FAQ provides good answers to a variety of the big-picture questions for those first investigating the suitability of wind energy for a plant. While you’re on the FAQ page, click on “Reference” at the right of the screen to access still more information. The “Did you know...?” link at the center of the page serves up 10 interesting pieces of wind power trivia. By the way, what the Brits call a “unit of electricity” is what we call a kilowatt-hour.