WHAT IS WIND ENERGY? Wind is a form of solar energy, caused by the uneven warming of the earth's surface. This is why air masses have different temperatures and pressures, and are constantly moving to find a balance. The higher the difference in pressure, the swifter the air moves and the stronger the wind. People have used wind energy for thousands of years, using it to pump water, grind flour, press olives, and even to explore the world in wind-driven sailing ships. Wind farms use turbines to generate electricity, converting the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy. The wind's force causes the long blades of the turbine to rotate. This rotation starts a generator, which produces low-voltage electric energy.
BENEFITS OF WIND ENERGY: Wind power is a renewable energy source that requires no fuel to operate and does not produce any emissions that are harmful to the environment. Wind turbines are made of plastic and metallic materials, so they don't have any radioactive or chemical impact either. Wind farms take up much less space than conventional power plants, and they also don't produce noise pollution. However, electricity produced from windmills generally costs more than that produced from traditional sources like natural gas and coal. At best, wind farms produce electricity at an efficiency rate of 30 percent, compared to a 70 percent efficiency rate from natural gas and coal. Wind energy is also unreliable. Electricity can't be stored: it must be produced on demand, yet wind is inherently unpredictable. This is what the new forecasts attempt to remedy. Better forecasts will allow electric companies to power down traditional coal- and natural gas-fired plants when sufficient winds are predicted. This allows utilities to increase reliance on alternative energy but be assured of producing sufficient power for their customers.
The American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.-USA contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.