| Florida Wind Energy |
In order to have a discussion of Florida wind power, the individual needs to understand the history and technology of wind power. We will give some background and then try to explain why Florida wind power is falling behind many other states. Currently, Florida stands 47th among U.S. States in the production of commercial electric energy.
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electrical power, by the use of wind turbines. At the close of 2008, worldwide production by wind-powered generators was 120.8 gigawatts.
Wind energy has historically been used directly to power sailboats or converted into mechanical energy for pumping water or crushing grain, but the primary use of wind power today is the generation of electricity. Huge wind farms are usually attached to the local electric power grid, with lower capacity turbines providing power to rural areas. Utility providers increasingly reimburse customer for excess electrical power generated by the lower capacity home size wind generators. Wind generated power as an energy source is favored by many environmentalists as a viable alternative to fossil fuels, as it is everywhere, renewable, globally distributed, non-toxic, and has lower greenhouse gas emissions, even though the building of wind generation farms is not universally welcomed due to their and possible effects on the environment. The inconsistency of wind seldom creates challenges when using wind turbines to supply a low percentage of actual usage. Where wind is to be used for a larger fraction of demand, higher costs for adjustments due to inconsistency are thought to be modest.
In recent years, the United States has added more wind energy to its transmission network than anyone; American wind power capacity grew by 45% to 16.8 gigawatts in 2007 and surpassing Germany's production capacity in 2008. California was one of the innovators of the modern wind power industry, and has been the U.S. leader in installed capacity for quite some time; however, by the end of 2006, Texas became the leading wind power state and continues to build its advantage. By the end of 2008, Texas had 7,116 MW capacity installed, which would have placed it sixth in the world if Texas were a separate country.
Unfortunately, Florida has not kept pace with these gains. The top resources in the industry are in agreement that Florida wind power is not economically feasible due to the state's inconsistent wind conditions. Even the one site that is under construction is being called a political gambit and most experts agree that the best conditions in Florida would not be considered as viable sites in any state that has wind farms. On the positive side, this doesn't mean that homeowners cannot incorporate wind power generation into a system to reduce dependence on commercial electricity.
Note: The total quantity of economically extractable potential energy available from the wind is considerably more than present human energy use from all sources. An estimated 72 terawatts of wind energy on the Earth potentially can be commercially viable, compared to about 15 terawatts typical global energy used from all sources in 2005. These numbers are in spite of the fact that not all the potential energy of the wind flowing past any given point can be extracted.
It should be noted that there are diy guides available that allow almost anyone to build a high quality wind generator with readily available parts for a very reasonable cost. http://diyenergy.newagelinx.com/review.html
The author has been interested in Wind Power and other forms of renewable energy, for quite some time. Being a man who has always had a curiosity about the science involved, he writes on this topic often. Florida Wind Power Technology is a very good resource!
For the Do-it-yourselfer: http://diyenergy.newagelinx.com/review.html
Article Source: UnArchived Articles
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