Science of Wind – Video

Transcript:

[Dr. Scott W. Tinker] Wind turbines are just a generator and some blades on top of a long pole. When the wind blows it turns the generator and makes electricity. It’s simple and fast to build. There’s no fuel to burn so there are no emissions. It’s one of the most affordable renewables. In the U.S. we have perhaps the greatest onshore wind resource in the world, but there are very few wind farms in just a fraction of this area. Why is that? Let’s take a look at a state that has developed its wind resource. Texas sits at the base of the wind corridor so it has good wind, but it took more than that. Wind turbines are enormous industrial machines so it takes neighbors willing to live near them. Farmers in West Texas were happy to have a new source of income, especially since the farmland beneath the turbines is still usable. There are minor issues related to light and noise but the primary environmental concern is bird kill. These windy areas are not near major cities, but Sweetwater is a lot closer to Houston than North Dakota is to San Francisco. To move the power to users requires long-distance transmission lines. There aren’t a lot in the wind corridor, but Texas already had some related to oil and gas fields that allowed the wind industry to get started. But the wind farms soon overloaded the existing lines, so we needed new ones. Unlike in most states power lines in Texas are paid for by the consumer on their electric bill. This allowed new lines to be built. Lastly, wind farms produce electricity according to when and how the wind is blowing. Unfortunately, that doesn’t usually match the way we use electricity, so we need something to power this when this isn’t turning. The best sources for this are hydro or natural gas since they can start and stop fast as the wind changes. Texas doesn’t have a lot of water, but it has a lot of natural gas power plans to balance the wind. Because Texas has all the items on this list, it’s become the U.S. leader in wind. The same is true elsewhere; those who have succeeded have some combination of these. If we could get more of these advantages into the U.S. wind corridor, we’d see more wind power generated there.