There's been alot of talk lately about Alternative Energy Sources. There are a few to choose from such as Wind Energy, Hydrogen, Solar, etc., but today let's take a look at Wind Energy. This is not a new idea. In fact it's a very old one. The first known Windmills were in Persia (Iran). They resembled large Paddlewheels.
The Egyptians used wind to sail ships up the Nile River about 5000 years ago.
American colonists used windmills to pump water and to grind corn and wheat. They also used them to cut wood at sawmills. As late as the 1920s, Americans used small windmills to generate electricity in rural areas without electric service. You can still see some rural areas of the Western United States with working windmills to provide electricity and pump water.
There is an organization called the Wind Energy Association, awea.org Their website is a great resource for information on different types of wind turbines as well as other important news and events of the industry.
An industry which is creating jobs in a time when some industries are cutting jobs and in some cases even closing their doors permanently.
How long will we be able to use wind as an energy source? As long as the sun is shining. Here's why:
The sun heats up the earth's surface at different rates. The air over land heats up faster than the air above water. The warmer air over the land rises and expands and the air above the water moves to take the place of the air over land. So you see wind is just the movement of air and this is why it moves. This process is reversed at night because the air above land cools faster than the air above water.
The US Government is also now taking a closer look at wind energy and a good website for information on this is www1.eere.energy.gov
Which type of wind energy producer (windmill, turbine or both) would be right for me? How much will it cost? How long will this equipment last? What are the advantages of wind energy? Why is one of the nations richest men, an Oil Man, now pushing and investing heavily in the Wind Energy
movement? What are the short term benefits both personally and as a nation, of using wind energy?
What are the long term benefits? These seven things to consider are a good place to start when looking into wind energy.
Hopefully I've been able to provide you with enough information, along with the data on these two websites that I have provided the url for (url is a term which means website address) to enable you to determine for yourself if wind energy would be the right choice for you. If not just enter the words Wind Energy in a search engine and you'll be able to find much much more.
Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments (Spam-free, of course). You can email me at: bthlight1@yahoo.com Best Wishes, T.J. Duggins
