Why can’t we generate all of our power from the wind? That’s a wonderful question that I frequently hear from folks who are just starting to learn about the environmental difficulties we face. At first look, it may appear simple: we currently produce clean power using wind turbines, therefore we know it works. Why not just construct as many as we need until we have enough electricity to solve the problems caused by filthy power plants?
Unfortunately, as is frequently the case, reality is a little more complicated than that. To address this topic, we must first understand how wind power and electricity grids function. Let’s get started, shall we?
How Does Wind Power Work?
“Because energy is utilized practically immediately after it is created, electricity output and consumption must be balanced across the whole grid. A big failure in one portion of the grid, if not rapidly compensated for, might force current to re-route itself to flow from the remaining generators to consumers across insufficient capacity transmission lines, creating more failures. One disadvantage of a globally linked grid is the risk of cascade failure and widespread power outage.” (source)
This implies that if the wind stops blowing and a wind farm stops providing power, another source of energy must step in to fill the void.
This difficulty can be reduced by having many wind farms scattered throughout a vast geographical region, such that when the wind does not blow someplace, it will most likely blow somewhere else. This is beneficial, but it does not totally fix the problem. Remember that the grid must always balance supply and demand, so if bad luck strikes and there is no or little wind over the majority of your wind farms on the same day, you still have a problem. So, what are we to do?
How Is Wind Converted Into Energy?
Wind pressure rotates the blades or fans of a wind turbine, which are joined to a spinning shaft, which is then connected to a generator. The spinning of the shaft creates energy, which is stored in the generator as electricity. “The present operating fleet of wind capacity in the United States can power the equivalent of more than 15 million ordinary American homes,” according to a 2013 report. The equation for capturing wind power by a turbine is as follows:
P = 16/27 × 1/2 × pv3 A, where 1/2 pv3 is the power density in the wind, A is the swept area, and is the wind turbine efficiency.
Specifically, 16/27 represents the Betz limit, or the maximum amount of power any turbine can draw from the wind.
The Issue With the Weather
If there was always the same quantity of wind in the same areas, there would be less issues with wind energy utilization (other problems include maintenance dangers, upkeep, bird deaths, etc.). Wind is created by the Sun’s energy, which is utilized to heat our world. When certain parts of the earth receive more Sun radiation, their heat rises, resulting in a region with higher air pressure. Air pressure is naturally lower in areas that get less energy. Wind is created as air travels from places of high pressure to areas of low pressure. However, the wind’s intrinsic ability to modify temperature and pressure causes a dilemma.
With the Earth and its climate always changing (whether you believe in global warming or not), wind patterns are always in flux. The key difficulty is that there must be an equal quantity of energy generation from wind turbines that is accessible at all times. Obviously, the cost of maintaining these additional generators or batteries would be prohibitively expensive. “Wind power is considered an intermittent energy source, that is, a source whose output is primarily determined by environmental conditions beyond the control of the generators or system operators.”Wind power’s inflexibility, inconsistency, and relative unpredictability as a source of energy are the most evident challenges to its easy integration and widespread implementation.” As a result of the wind’s unpredictability, a system that is always available to replace all of the electrical output generated by the wind turbine system is required. In other words, it is too costly to have idle wind turbines laying around.
What’s the Future of Wind Power?
But what can we do to help boost the amount of clean, renewable energy produced by the wind across the world?
The first step is to enhance transmission. Many localities have an excess of wind power, which they may sell to other areas that would gladly buy it because the areas aren’t linked. There are other regions where new wind farms may be erected, but they aren’t because transmission connections aren’t available. A more efficient distribution system would make it simpler to compensate for a deficit on one side by drawing from a surplus on the other.
Another method for allowing the power grid to accommodate more wind power is to shape demand (meaning, to influence how much electricity people and industries use). A lot of it can be done with smart grid technologies, such as smart meters that can change the price of electricity in real time (when the price is higher, demand falls, when the price is lower, demand rises) and with power-hungry industries to time some of their operations to make the best use of the power that is available.
Third, expanding the grid’s storage capacity would make a significant impact. Currently, the majority of electricity must be used immediately after it is generated, with just a little portion being saved for later use (this can be done with the water reservoirs of hydropower stations, for example). If we could store more energy, we could use it when the wind was not blowing. The main problem here is to have storage that is reasonably priced. This may necessitate advancements in battery or hypercapacitor technology.
Finally, diversity appears to be the most viable approach. Wind power is now the cheapest type of renewable energy, however it should be paired with others to further offset the intermittent problem. Solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, deep rock geothermal, wave power, hydro power (when done correctly), biomass, and other renewable energy sources We need all of them, as well as a strong push for efficiency and conservation (saving a watt is generally less expensive than producing a new one).
Potential Solutions to Use Wind Energy
One strategy to enhance the wind energy sector is to develop a method of storing excess wind energy for use when there is a shortage of wind. Xcel Energy Inc. is currently developing a sodium-sulfur battery, which might make wind energy more economical and reliable. The batteries, developed by Japan’s NGK Insulators, Ltd., “can store around seven megawatt-hours of power, implying that the 20 batteries are capable of supplying approximately one megawatt of electricity nearly instantly, enough to power 500 normal American households for seven hours.” This method, or one similar to it, might be used to address the wind industry’s major issue: the wind does not always blow when you want it to.
Furthermore, such a battery is not inexpensive. The battery from NGK costs around $3 million per megawatt. That amount may vary as a result of more testing.