Wind farm: Difference between revisions

A wind farm is a collection of wind turbines all in the same location and used for the generation of electricity.

Wind farms can be positioned on land or offshore. In Europe, offshore farms are more common, while they are just starting to be implemented in the United States.

Wind farms in the United States

Numerous small and fast turning wind turbines at Altamont Pass

The U.S. has several of the largest wind farms in the world. The three largest, Altamont Pass, San Gorgonio Pass and Tehachapi Pass, are located in California. However, they are actually collections of dozens of individual wind farms. The farms have many different owners, turbine types and have been constructed, retrofitted and occasionally dismantled over several decades. As of 2005 all three of these areas are seeing renewed growth. Primarily, the old, small wind turbines are being replaced with much larger, more efficient wind turbines. Some of the workhorses of the past were only 90 kilowatts (kW), though some were several hundred kW in size. Today, the smallest utility-scale wind turbines are about 700 kW, with some models approaching 5,000 kW (5 MW). Secondarily, non-functional turbines are also being returned to service.

The Altamont Pass in Northern California is one of the earliest large wind farms. This is composed of large numbers of relatively small wind turbines of various types. They were installed after the 1970s energy crisis in response to favorable tax policies for investors. It has been said that their primary product is not electricity but rather tax write-offs. However, this is inaccurate, although the types of incentives the government uses has led to an unhealthy cycle of booms and busts for the wind energy industry. The problems were not so much with the wind turbines themselves. Only a few of the turbine designs were fatally flawed and almost all of the others were able to be rehabilitated into excellent machines. Still, these numerous small turbines are being gradually replaced with much larger and more cost-effective units. An advantage of the Altamont Pass site is that under hot inland (Central Valley) conditions, a thermal low is developed that brings in cool coastal marine air, driving the turbines at a time of maximum need. However, this phenomenon is not always reliable and with an inland high pressure condition the entire region can be both hot and windless. At this time additional power must be provided by natural gas-powered gas turbine peaker plants. The turbines are dangerous to various raptors that hunt ground squirrels in the area.

The Tehachapi Pass and San Gorgonio Pass sites have not had the same problems as Altamont Pass has had. The winds at these sites are more consistent. Also, endangered bird kills have not been an issue.

Even though California has the largest wind farms in the U.S., it is does not have very many commercially viable wind farm sites, at least not onshore. Much of the Southwest is not much better, although there are some significant exceptions. However, the Midwest has an abundance of suitable sites for wind energy development and yet the region's potential has gone largely untapped. As of 2005, several sites have been constructed or are in development in the Midwest. The Pacific Northwest and the Northeast both have many excellent sites as well. In contrast, the Southeast has a very poor wind energy resource, though the Appalachian Mountains do provide a few good areas.

In Massachusetts, two proposed wind farms have been treated very differently by residents. The Cape Wind project, a proposal to construct 130 offshore wind turbines in the Nantucket Sound, is the subject of heavy debate in the affluent communities of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. In contrast, the Hoosac Wind project, which will build 20 turbines on two ridgelines in the rural towns of Florida and Monroe, was initially the subject of little official controversy. Several other projects have been proposed for the area.

Wind farms in Europe

A modern wind farm near Copenhagen.

The development of wind farms in Europe enjoys greater public acceptance and creates a larger share of energy, though the goal of reducing the emissions from the use of other sources remains elusive and opposition to their spread grows steadily.

Governmental policy is generally in favour of increasing the use of renewable energy sources, however — the United Kingdom government, for example, has a target for 10% of domestic energy consumption to be generated for renewable sources by the year 2010 and is planning on- and off-shore wind farms at the moment, including having recently opened an onshore farm at Cefn Croes in West Wales's Cambrian Mountains. [1]

Wind farms in Japan

Wakamatsu wind farm, Kitakyushu, Japan

There is no particular controversy about the sightliness or otherwise of the Wakamatsu ward windfarm in Kitakyushu, as there is in some other countries. It is far from the scenic areas of Wakamatsu, and on windy reclaimed land. Asahi Shimbun reported on May 18, 2005, that many utilities have put limits on the amount of wind power they will allow, because of the problems caused by its unpredictable variability.

Wind farms in Canada

The total capacity of all wind farms in Canada is approximately 444 MW. Roughly sixty percent of this capacity is from wind farms in the province of Alberta, and an additional quarter is contributed from wind farms in Quebec. The three largest wind farms in Canada are:

1. McBride Lake (near Fort Macleod, Alberta), 75MW
2. Summerview, (near Pincher Creek, Alberta), 68MW
3. Le Nordais Phase 1 (near Cap Chat, Quebec), 57MW

See also

• List of wind farms in Canada.