Winds of Change

[Michael]

Powering the world with its simple usage is the wind energy. The wind energy present in the atmosphere is sufficient to light up the whole world. A study reveals that the potential of wind power on land and near-shore to be 72 terrawatts (TW), which is over five times the world's current energy use in all forms.

Wind energy is tapped through wind mills or wind turbines. When the sun heats up the air above the land, it expands and rises, giving its place to the cooler and heavier air above. This makes the wind to blow and over the airfoil shaped blades of the turbine causing them to turn. The blades are connected to a drive shaft that turns an electric generator to produce electricity. Turbines used in wind farms for commercial production of electric power are usually three-bladed and pointed into the wind by computer-controlled motors. These have tip speeds of up to six times the wind speed, high efficiency, and low torque ripple, which contribute to good reliability. New technologies have decreased the cost of producing electricity from wind 80% since 1980.

[geewilickers]

I can't recall when (approx a year ago) or where I saw this, but it was an investor debate on implementing wind energy producing technology (turbine/mills). The reason most investors don't buy into it is because the cost of maintenance and implementation is very high especially in meeting Canada's consumption demand.

Aside from that, I think solar power on its own is more powerful. If every house roof was covered with solar panels we would save a lot on energy.

If we combined solar, wind and water energy technologies I think we would be able to sufficiently handle Canada's population and consumption demands. The problem is that it's an all or nothing idea, everyone has to conform since the energy savings only take effect on a mass level, similar to recycling.