Wind energy

International University of the Caribbean

Faculty of Engineering Technology, Technical and Vocational

Studies

Mel Nathan College Group

Electrical Engineering Technology- Year 4 Semester II

Individual research paper

NAMES: Joel Henry

ID NUMBERS: 1224743

LECTURER: Jovan Ledgister

COURSE CODE AND TITLE: Sustainability in Engineering

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Table of content
Acknowledgment …………………………………………………………………1

History of wind ………………………………………………………………….2-4

Working principle………………………………………………………………..5-6

Benefits of wind energy………………………………………………………….7-8

Industrial use of wind energy……………………………………………………9-10

Wind energy relevance to Jamaica……………………………………………….11-12

Further / future work on wind energy………………………………………………..13

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………14

Reference………………………………………………………………………….15

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Acknowledgment

I would like to first thank the Lord for the health and strength I received during the

time spent doing this research. I would like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt

gratitude to the following persons who have made the completion of this research

possible. Mr. Jovan Ledgister who set the foundation for this research and for his vital

encouragement and support, he guided me even when i thought i could not

accomplish this task. Special thanks to my family and friends for their help and

inspiration in this challenging and project.

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History of wind energy

People used wind energy to propel boats along the Nile River as early as 5,000 BC.

By 200 BC, simple wind-powered water pumps were used in China, and windmills

with woven-reed blades were grinding grain in Persia and the Middle East.

New ways to use wind energy eventually spread around the world. By the 11th

century, people in the Middle East were using wind pumps and windmills extensively

for food production. Merchants and the Crusaders brought wind technology to

Europe. The Dutch developed large wind pumps to drain lakes and marshes in the

Rhine River Delta. Immigrants from Europe eventually took wind energy technology

to the Western Hemisphere.

American colonists used windmills to grind grain, to pump water, and to cut wood at

sawmills. Homesteaders and ranchers installed thousands of wind pumps as they

settled the western United States. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, small wind-

electric generators (wind turbines) were also widely used.

The number of wind pumps and wind turbines declined as rural electrification

programs in the 1930’s extended power lines to most farms and ranches across the

country. However, some ranches still use wind pumps to supply water for livestock.

Small wind turbines are becoming more common again, mainly to supply electricity

in remote and rural areas.

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Tradition dutch windmill

Modern wind turbines

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The oil shortages of the 1970s changed the energy environment for the United States

and the world. The oil shortages created an interest in developing ways to use

alternative energy sources, such as wind energy, to generate electricity. The U.S.

federal government supported research and development of large wind turbines. In the

early 1980s, thousands of wind turbines were installed in California, largely because

of federal and state policies that encouraged the use of renewable energy sources.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the U.S. federal government established incentives to use

renewable energy sources in response to a renewed concern for the environment. The

federal government also provided research and development funding to help reduce

the cost of wind turbines and offered tax and investment incentives for wind power

projects. In addition, state governments enacted new requirements for electricity

generation from renewable sources, and electric power marketers and utilities began

to offer electricity generated from wind and other renewable energy sources

(sometimes called green power) to their customers. These policies and programs

resulted in an increase in the number of wind turbines and in the amount of electricity

generated from wind energy.

The share of U.S. electricity generation from wind grew from less than 1% in 1990 to

about 7.3% in 2019. Incentives in Europe have resulted in a large expansion of wind

energy use there. China has invested heavily in wind energy and is now the world's

largest wind electricity generator. In 1990, 16 countries generated a total of about 3.6

billion kWh of wind electricity. In 2017, 129 countries generated a total of about 1.13

trillion kWh of wind electricity.

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Working principle

The majority of wind turbines consist of three blades mounted to a tower made from

tubular steel. There are less common varieties with two blades, or with concrete or

steel lattice towers. At 100 feet or more above the ground, the tower allows the

turbine to take advantage of faster wind speeds found at higher altitudes.

Turbines catch the wind's energy with their propeller-like blades, which act much like

an airplane wing. When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air forms on one

side of the blade. The low-pressure air pocket then pulls the blade toward it, causing

the rotor to turn. This is called lift. The force of the lift is much stronger than the

wind's force against the front side of the blade, which is called drag. The combination

of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like a propeller.

A series of gears increase the rotation of the rotor from about 18 revolutions a minute

to roughly 1,800 revolutions per minute -- a speed that allows the turbine’s generator

to produce AC electricity.

A streamlined enclosure called a nacelle houses key turbine components -- usually

including the gears, rotor and generator -- are found within a housing called the

nacelle. Sitting atop the turbine tower, some nacelles are large enough for a helicopter

to land on.

Another key component is the turbine’s controller, that keeps the rotor speeds from

exceeding 55 mph to avoid damage by high winds. An anemometer continuously

measures wind speed and transmits the data to the controller. A brake, also housed in

the nacelle, stops the rotor mechanically, electrically or hydraulically in emergencies.

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Explore the interactive graphic above to learn more about the mechanics of wind

turbines.

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Benefits of wind energy

Wind energy is a source of renewable energy. It does not contaminate, it is

inexhaustible and reduces the use of fossil fuels, which are the origin of greenhouse

gasses that cause global warming. In addition, wind energy is a “native” energy,

because it is available practically everywhere on the plant, which contributes to

reducing energy imports and to creating wealth and local employment.

For these reasons, producing electricity through wind energy and its efficient use

contributes to sustainable development.

Wind energy does not emit toxic substances or contaminants into the air, which can

be very damaging to the environment and to human beings. Toxic substances can

acidify land and water ecosystems, and corrode buildings. Air contaminants can

trigger heart disease, cancer and respiratory diseases like asthma.

Wind energy does not generate waste or contaminate water—an extremely important

factor given the scarcity of water. Unlike fossil fuels and nuclear power plants, wind

energy has one of the lowest water-consumption footprints, which makes it a key for

conserving hydro-logical resources.

Wind energy benefits

Renewable energy

Inexhaustible

Not pollutant

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Reduces the use of fossil fuels

Reduces energy imports

Creates wealth and local employment

Contributes to sustainable development

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Industrial use of wind energy

Consumption VS. Production:

By comparing current energy consumption to potential energy production you can

calculate the amount of energy that you can expect to produce with a WT100 wind

turbine. You can calculate this measure using annual energy output to calculate the

wind turbine's performance. Energy output is calculated in kilowatt-hours (kWh). An

estimate of the annual energy output from your wind turbine, kWh/year, is the best

way to determine whether a particular wind turbine and tower will produce enough

electricity to meet your needs.

A Renew tech representative can help you estimate the energy production you can

expect. We will use a calculation based on the WT100 wind turbine power curve, the

average annual wind speed at your site, the height of the tower that you plan to use,

and the frequency distribution of the wind–an estimate of the number of hours that the

wind will blow at each speed during an average year.  

Environmental Benefits: Renewable Energy Certificates  (RECs)

When you purchase Renewable Energy Certificates, you are taking ownership of the

environmental benefits associated with the electrons that the wind turbines place onto

the electric grid.  These RECs, can be “bundled” with your electricity usage through a

power contract or they can be purchased separately from your electric bill to balance

(offset) your energy consumption.   

Internal rate of returns (IRR), not payback period, is the best way to assess the

profitability of our customers wind turbine systems as investments. Wind energy

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systems lock in cost of energy for over the 20 year life of the turbine which can

reduce cost/kWh to just pennies.

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Wind energy relevance to Jamaica

Jamaica is a leader in the transition to sustainable energy systems in the Caribbean.

The country’s National Energy Policy (PDF), adopted in 2009, is vaunted as a model

for lawmakers region-wide.

The policy lays out aggressive targets for a 30 percent renewable energy share and a

50 percent reduction in energy intensity by 2030.

Efforts to meet these ambitious targets have benefited from a robust enabling

environment of tax exemptions and incentives. As a result, Jamaica boasts over 72

megawatts (MW) of installed renewable energy capacity from hydro, solar and wind

power plants.

Although these efforts are impressive compared to most of Jamaica’s neighbors, they

only scratch the surface of what is possible in the country. Jamaica’s current matrix of

renewable power plants comprises only 7.8 percent of total installed generation

capacity.

New research (PDF) suggests that, by further developing its diverse renewable

resource endowment of solar, wind, hydro and biomass, the country comfortably can

meet 40 percent of its total anticipated electricity demand by 2027.

Jamaica’s mandate to do so never has been stronger. The country currently sources 95

percent (PDF) of its electricity use from petroleum-based power plants. Because

Jamaica lacks domestic petroleum resources, it depends entirely on imports, resulting

in significant economic and environmental costs for the country.

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Currently, Jamaica spends 9 percent of its GDP (or $1.3 billion annually) on

petroleum imports, which contributes substantially to the country’s

prolonged negative trade balance.

Like many of its Caribbean neighbors, Jamaica relies on the Petrochemical agreement

with Venezuela to secure petroleum for its power system on favorable terms.

Although this agreement has sheltered Jamaica from international oil

market volatility, it also gradually has eroded the country’s financial autonomy.

The International Monetary Fund estimated that, as of 2015, Jamaica’s sole electricity

provider, the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), owed Venezuela $2.4 billion in

debt, an amount equivalent to more than 17 percent (PDF) of Jamaica’s GDP.

The knock-on effects of this debt reflect a grim outlook for fossil fuel-based

generation in Jamaica. Servicing the debt owed for imported fossil fuels means that

fewer resources are left for JPS to invest in grid infrastructure improvements.

As a result, Jamaica’s antiquated grid is plagued by high transmission and distribution

losses that are consistently near 20 percent. Because of this inefficiency, far more

electricity is produced than is consumed in Jamaica, burdening JPS with additional,

unnecessary costs.

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Further future work on wind energy

The Wind Vision Report shows that wind can be a viable source of renewable

electricity in all 50 states by 2050.  Wind has the potential to support over 600,000

jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and supporting services by

2050. Wind energy is affordable renewable energy sources make up 26%

of the world's electricity today, but according to the IEA its share is expected to reach

30% by 2024. Overall  renewable electricity is predicted to grow by 1 200 GW by

2024  the equivalent of the total electricity capacity of the US. Today wind power has

done more than help sail ships it has brought clean energy into hundreds of millions

of homes around the world. Onshore and Offshore wind farms has been advantageous

for the world because it's helped save over 637 millions tons of CO2 emitted into the

atmosphere. India plans to add 60 GW of wind power installed capacity by the

year 2022. Although a relative newcomer to the wind industry as compared to

Denmark or the US, domestic policy support for wind power has enabled India to

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become the fourth largest in the world with an installed capacity of over 34 GW as of

June 2018.

Conclusion

This project shows how wind energy works how important it is towards the future etc.

It also gives details of the impact wind energy has on Jamaica. We then moved on to

tell how important wind energy will be around the world in the future, I have learn’t

alot on this topic I am grateful for this project and the knowledge it brought to me I

hope you had a great time reading.

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Reference

Energy.gov. 2020. Next-Generation Wind Technology. [online] Available at:

<https://www.energy.gov/eere/next-generation-wind-technology> [Accessed 9
September 2020].

Ifc.org. 2020. A Wind Farm Powers Change In Jamaica. [online] Available at:
<https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/news_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site
/news+and+events/news/a-wind-farm-powers-change-in-jamaica> [Accessed 9
September 2020].

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