Payback period of domestic wind turbine system

Wind energy is often being touted as clean and environmentally friendly form of renewable energy, the one that can help clean our environment and protect us from various environmental issues such as climate change. However, when installing wind turbines people are not only interested in going green but they also want to know more about the total needed investment and how to calculate the payback period for the installation of domestic wind turbine systems.

As the global population continues the demand for energy continues to rise. The main problem with this is, of course, that currently our energy needs are being met through the processing and burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels. There are two main drawback of our dependence on fossil fuels, for one they are present in limited quantities, and eventually will become exhausted and the second reason is that they are hurting our environment, mostly in form of harmful greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change and air pollution.

It is no wonder that many countries in the world tend to change their existing infrastructure in order to make the switch to more renewable power in their energy grid.

The first thing when doing the calculation of payback period is to know how much money you are planning to spend on the purchase and installation of your wind turbine system. The best way to achieve lowest installation costs is to look online and contact some local dealers to learn how much it will cost to buy and install a desired wind turbine system at your home.

There are several different factors you should take into account here –these include size, total energy output and construction and transport costs. You can run this analysis on several different wind turbines in order to determine if one is a better deal than the other. Obtaining the information on the cost and the energy production of a wind turbine is a necessary first step in order to calculate the payback period.

In some cases there are available government incentive programs for installation of wind turbines on your property, so it is worthwhile to check with a local dealer to make sure whether you can obtain certain incentives or not. If there are available rebates or tax incentives, then you are able to subtract whatever money you get back from your initial cost expenditures.

The starting expenses needed for the installation of your wind turbine system minus any incentives you might get is your cost for the first year. To calculate saving for the second and next year you need to know the total output of your wind turbine system. To get a plausible estimate, take somewhere around 70% of that number and then multiply your expected energy output by the cost per kWh from your bill. This will show you how much money you can expect to save.

For most people, their initial investment is recouped in between seven and ten years. Since wind turbines have an average lifespan of 20+ years you can save plenty of money on the long run by installing domestic wind turbine system.

Wind energy – worth the effort or not?

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energy sectors in the world. We are talking about a clean (greenhouse gas emission-free) and renewable source of energy that is receiving plenty of attention worldwide. Today, wind energy is considered as the second fastest growing renewable energy sector, right after solar energy.

With lots of positives that people can achieve from harnessing wind energy, there are millions of homeowners all over the world who choose to install residential wind turbines to supply electricity for their home. However, is wind energy really worth the effort? This can be best answered by looking at the positives and negatives of installing wind turbines.

Wind Energy Positives

1. Wind energy is free and renewable source of energy that is available almost everywhere and you do not have to pay to get wind because nobody owns the wind, and as long as the sun keeps shining, wind will always be there.
2. Installing wind turbines can help you to save money on your electricity bill. Wind turbines can immediately after installation produce electricity for your home (of course, if there is enough available wind energy in your area). By installing wind turbines you can therefore achieve a significant reduction on your electricity bill. In some cases you can even earn some money if your turbines generate more electricity than your household needs by sending the excess back to the grid.
3. Wind turbines do not produce harmful greenhouse gas emissions or any other dangerous pollutants. Unlike fossil fuels and nuclear energy wind energy is clean and has zero emissions.
4. More wind energy helps reduce our carbon footprint – This means that by installing wind turbines we can save thousands of tons of carbon dioxide emission and thus help decrease the ever growing climate change impact.
5. Wind energy is becoming increasingly cost-competitive with fossil fuels - The prices of wind turbines have decreased by more than 50 percent in the last ten years. The constant technological development and high demands are the main factors behind this decline in prices. As the demands for wind turbines keep on increasing, the price of wind energy will continue to further decline in years to come.
6. Many countries have mandatory wind energy targets- Many countries from all over the world have set a goal to supply some percentage of their national electricity needs from wind energy by the year of 2020 or further.
7. Wind energy industry is creating new, well paid jobs – According to some estimates there are one million wind energy jobs in China alone. When turbines are being installed, the installation alone can create hundreds of construction jobs. Once the turbines are installed they usually create tens of operation and maintenance jobs.
8. Overall speaking, wind energy has positive environmental impact, particularly when compared with currently dominant fossil fuels - Many environmentalists still claim that wind turbines are dangerous to wildlife especially birds. However, from thousands of turbines that have been installed all over the world, there is still no concrete proof that would show that wind turbines are presenting the real danger to wildlife and environment.
9. Tax benefits and other favorable incentives are available in many countries of the world. – U.S. and U.K., for instance, are among countries that offer favorable tax incentives for homeowners who install wind turbines.

Wind turbines do not produce harmful greenhouse gas emissions or any other dangerous pollutants (directly).

Wind Energy Negatives

1. Wind energy is not the most reliable source of energy – It is true that wind is available everywhere but it is sadly not available at anytime. Also, the average wind turbine requires at least 10 mph of wind speed to operate normally. What this means is that in areas with low wind speeds we cannot achieve much from this renewable energy in terms of total output and efficiency without the adequate energy storage solution (the intermittency of wind energy).
2. The question of aesthetics - Both commercial and residential wind turbines can slightly reduce aesthetic value of natural landscape, though this question is still a highly debatable one.
3. Wind turbines are sometimes being connected with noise pollution - Wind turbines, especially the large ones, produce noise from blades movement and other moving parts. Some people feel annoyed with the noise levels coming from these turbines. However, the new, recently produced turbines have been designed to work more silently, and as the technology develops further noise pollution issue will likely no longer be connected with wind turbines.
4. The initial investment is still relatively high, even despite the drop in prices – An average residential wind turbine can have costs of up to $5,000. The good side is however that manufacturers offer 20+ years warranty on their wind turbines so $5,000 still looks like a very good deal, particularly on the long run. The additional bonus is that the wind turbines only require low maintenance.

Both commercial and residential wind turbines can slightly reduce aesthetic value of natural landscape.

As concerns about climate change and air quality continue to mount, wind energy can provide residents and businesses with the electricity they need without the harmful emissions associated with conventional electricity generation sources, but wind power is not without controversy.

Latest research on environmental impact of wind turbines

Offshore wind farms and noise pollution issue

Although majority wind turbines are built on land there are also many suitable offshore locations where offshore wind turbines can be built. Offshore wind energy projects have lately become very popular in some countries of the world, most notably United Kingdom and offshore wind energy is set to play major role in global clean energy market in years to come. Offshore wind energy projects can provide better efficiency compared to the wind energy projects on land because of powerful winds that are also more stable and frequent as compared to those that blow on land. The major drawback is however construction costs, being significantly higher for offshore wind energy projects since they need to be constructed to withstand extreme weather conditions.

Growth in offshore wind generation is expected to play a major role in fight against climate change issue by meeting carbon reduction targets around the world, however the environmental impact that offshore wind turbines have on marine life hasn't been much researched as is also the case with the impact of construction noise on marine species. There could available be a lot more information about this matter because the scientists from the United Kingdom and the United States have recently managed to develop a method to assess the potential impacts of offshore wind farm construction on marine mammal populations, with the special emphasis on the noise made while driving piles into the seabed which occurs while installing wind turbine foundations.

The researchers report that pile driving during the construction of offshore wind farms produces a staggering amount of noise which is potentially harmful to marine species. This is particularly hazardous for already endangered marine species, such as protected populations of seals, dolphins and whales.

The researchers studied ongoing construction in and around the North Sea, where many proposed wind farm sites are on submerged offshore sandbanks. These sandbanks provide important habitats for many different marine mammals and seabirds. Several previous researches focused their attention on the potential impacts to birds, while this latest comprehensive research tries to assess the potential long-term impact of construction on protected marine mammal populations, particularly harbor seals. In United States where offshore wind power development is set to grow rapidly in years to come, this type of assessment could be applied to wind turbine construction that may impact a number of endangered species, including three whale species: the North Atlantic right whale, the humpback whale, and fin whale.

This study aims to present takes a worst case assessment of the short term impacts of noise pollution coming from installation of offshore wind turbines and how these negative effects of excessive noise may influence longer term population change. The information gathered from this study should provide information that would allow regulators to balance their efforts to meet both climate change targets and existing environmental legislation thus paving the way for sustainable offshore wind energy development.

It has been reported that harbor seals can be impacted by the noise pollution in several different ways. Particularly damaging loud construction activities can cause traumatic hearing injury or even death at the close range while little bit less loud noise pollution levels could lead seals to avoid the area and lose favorite feeding grounds, potentially causing greater competition in other areas thus leading to problems with finding food which could negatively result in lower reproduction or survival rates. Also, the changes in hearing sensitivity could make seals more vulnerable to predation, thus further reducing their numbers and putting their future survival in question.

Bat deaths from wind turbines – Exaggeration or not?

Several different studies were studying the impact that wind turbines have on bat population. There hasn't been a general opinion on this matter with some studies reporting minimal bat dearth rates while other reporting alarming bat death rates.

A brand new estimate of bat deaths caused by wind turbines concludes that more than 600,000 of bats have probably died in 2012 in the United States. This latest estimate is published in an article in Bioscience and has caused plenty of controversies. The researchers   used sophisticated statistical techniques to predict the probable number of bat deaths at wind energy facilities from the number of dead bats found at 21 locations, correcting the statistics for the installed power capacity of the facilities.

Many people care very little about bats, but nonetheless they play an important role in the ecosystem because of their role as insect-eaters, not to mention that they also pollinate some plants.

How are bats killed by wind turbines? It is not only by collisions with moving turbine blades, but in some cases also by the trauma resulting from sudden changes in air pressure that occur near a fast-moving blade, particularly in large wind turbines.

Mark Hayes of the University of Colorado says that 600,000, although a big number is still a conservative estimate with the possible actual figure 50 percent higher. The data that Hayes analyzed also leads to conclusion that some areas of the United States might experience much higher bat fatality rates at wind energy facilities than others and it has been reported that the Appalachian Mountains have the highest estimated fatality rates in entire United States.

The consequences of deaths at wind farms for bat populations are hard to assess ad give exact numbers primarily because there are no high quality estimates of the population sizes of most North American bat species. Wind farms are just another negative factor in the line for bat populations because these mammals are already under stress because of climate change and disease, in particular white-nose syndrome.

Conclusion

One can not say that using wind energy is perfect from environmental point of view because every source of energy, renewable or not, has some negative environmental effects. In any case, using wind energy is definitely better for environment than staying with fossil fuels. Of course, future technological development must go hand in hand with the protection of species such as whales and bats, and thus we need to make future wind farms, offshore and onshore, as environmentally friendly as possible because this is the only way to ensure sustainable wind energy development.

The overall effect of wind turbines still remains more positive than negative, particularly in comparison to environmental damage done by currently dominant fossil fuels (climate change, different forms of pollution). There is still plenty of room to improvement and wind project developers need to apply different technological innovations in order to minimize the damage done by installation and operation of large wind turbines. Hopefully, future research will provide new environmentally friendly technological solutions for wind turbines. Some positive examples already exist such as for instance equipping turbines with radars to protect birds from colliding with its blades.

Wind energy development, effects and outlook

Wind energy industry is together with solar energy the fastest developing renewable energy sector with the fairly competitive prices in comparison to currently dominant fossil fuels but this doesn't mean that wind energy can be regarded as the perfect energy source because there are several things wind energy industry will need to improve in years to come in order to become one of the dominant energy source.

To start with, wind energy industry despite being one of the most cost-competitive energy sources is still unable to maintain its current tremendous growth without the adequate incentives and favorable policies, the proof of which is clearly seen from the current situation in United States (wind energy tax credit and the controversies about its prolongation). What this means is that wind turbines will have to significantly drop in prices and will also have to become more effective. Achieving both cost-competitiveness and satisfying efficiency can only be achieved with the help of science. In this sense, the global wind energy industry requires the continuation of technological development as one of the key components that will determine the future of wind power industry.

The benefits of using wind energy

Wind energy is together with solar energy the most popular and most talked about renewable energy source. It is also one of the fastest growing renewable energy industries in the world. There are many benefits of using wind energy and by this I do not mean only environmental benefits.

Using wind energy has many environmental benefits. If world would to make a switch from fossil fuels to wind energy then this would first of all mean fewer greenhouse gas emissions (greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming and climate change). Wind energy also doesn't contribute to air and water pollution and has overall very low environmental impact.

Since wind power is a renewable source of energy it cannot be depleted. Wind energy can therefore provide future energy security once fossil fuels become exhausted.

Wind energy has excellent global potential. The global wind energy potential is more than five times more than the world's current energy demand.

More wind energy (instead of sticking with fossil fuels) also means reduced need for foreign fuel import. By developing domestic wind energy sector instead of relying on expensive foreign oil we can give big boost to our economy in form of new jobs, and most of all our money stays inside our borders.

Wind energy can be developed on land as well as offshore, meaning that each country can choose wind energy option that best suits its needs.

Wind power is currently the most cost-competitive renewable energy source. In some areas of the world wind power has already achieved cost-parity with fossil fuels. Wind turbines are also becoming bigger, more efficient and more technologically sophisticated.

The global wind power capacity continues to grow rapidly. There's no doubt whatsoever that wind energy will be a key part of our clean energy future.

Wake turbulence behind individual wind turbines can be seen in the fog in this aerial photo of the Horns Rev wind farm off the Western coast of Denmark.

Environmental effects of wind energy – Not everything is positive

The positive environmental effects of wind energy were already briefly mentioned above, and now we'll say a bit more about this interesting topic.

Using wind energy is lot more environmentally friendly that continuing our dependence on fossil fuels such as coal and oil. This however doesn't mean that using wind turbines is always positive for environment and through this article I will mention certain environmental issues connected with harnessing wind energy and using wind turbines.

Wind energy opponents usually start pouring critics about wind turbines with noise by saying that large wind turbines create excessive noise pollution levels which hurt nearby environment. This is somewhat true because large wind turbines with gigantic blades can produce excessive noise levels and despite the technological advancement over the recent years the noise levels connected with large wind turbines pretty much remained the same. The noise pollution therefore remains the biggest environmental issue connected with wind turbines.

Large wind turbines can also hurt wildlife because birds can be caught by their blades. Birds are not the only animals that can be jeopardized by large wind turbines. The animals that live underground can also be jeopardized because large wind turbines require very deep foundations meaning that their habitats might be destroyed in the process.

Wind energy opponents also complain about the visual look of turbines by claiming that they interfere with the aesthetics of perfect natural landscape as they do not fit in the visual appearance of certain area thus degrading the natural beauty of given environment. This is a highly controversial question because aesthetics is really a matter of personal opinion, so I'll not debate about this issue any longer as this is really more about individual opinion so it is difficult to draw general conclusion about it.

As can be clearly seen from above paragraphs wind energy isn't 100% environmentally friendly source of energy and using wind turbines can also lead to negative environmental impact but this harmful effect is definitely not the reason to move away from wind power and continue our dependence on fossil fuels. The currently dominant fossil fuels such as coal and oil create much bigger environmental damage in form of climate change and air pollution so the environmental damage coming from wind turbines is really negligible compared to environmental damage coming from fossil fuel fired power plants.

This means that replacing fossil fuels with wind energy is much more positive to our environment in comparison to staying with fossil fuels. Of course, the role of the science is vital as it should find new solutions to make wind turbines more environmentally friendly by reducing their noise output as well as equipping them with suitable equipment (such as radars) in order to prevent large bird killings.

Conclusion and future outlook

According to the latest study by Pike Research global wind energy market looks set for the steady growth in the next few years. Pike Research’s report, Global Wind Energy Outlook predicts that by 2017 wind power installations will represent $153 billion global industry.

The numbers in this study predict that in a period 2011-2017 global investment in new wind power capacity will reach $820 billion, and total wind power capacity will grow from current 235.8 GW to 562.9 GW in 2017.

Wind turbines are not only becoming cheaper but are also growing in size which until now weren't considered to be either practical or economical. Wind power is already the low-cost option in many regions, especially in the ones with scarce fossil fuel resources.

Wind power industry will likely continue its growth in years to come, and if everything goes as expected wind power should satisfy more than 20% of world's electricity by the end of this century. There are still some issues like efficiency and intermittency which wind power industry will have to resolve in years to come but nonetheless wind power industry should already look forward to a very bright future.

Is wind really the new oil in Texas?

Texas was for many years been primarily characterized with oil production but today things look mighty different compared to what they looked like a few decades ago. Wind power is becoming increasingly popular energy option in Texas, with state's wind power capacity increasing all the time. The state of Texas has really set the national standards for harnessing wind energy by generating around 10400 MW of wind electricity in 2011, which is almost three times more compared to second-ranked Iowa that generates around 4300 MW.

Such huge emphasis on wind energy is not all about environmental benefits, and although wind energy is one of the environmentally most friendliest energy sources there is much more to wind energy than "just" being ecologically acceptable. Wind energy also provides significant economic benefits by providing new jobs as well as other sources of income.

Term "other sources of income" primarily refers to the large number of Texas farmers that lease their farms so the wind power can be generated. The prices are not bad either as farmer can receive up to $60 per acre to generate wind power. The additional benefit in this whole story is that the land is still adequate for producing food.

Texas certainly doesn't plan to stop its tremendous growth in installed wind power capacity because Texas has so far used only small part of its huge wind energy potential. In fact, according to the latest report from The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) currently installed wind capacity in Texas counts less than 9% of nameplate capacity so there's plenty of room for further growth.

The bigger wind power capacity means more well paid green jobs, in fact the latest estimates show that every new megawatt of installed wind capacity creates around 5 new green jobs, both direct (manufacturing, construction, operations) and indirect (advertising, office support, etc.).

Of course, this doesn't mean that there aren't some problems on the way, and currently the biggest problem with wind power in Texas is not enough transmission lines. But Texas is already solving this problem by establishing the $5 billion project to ensure the transmission of electricity generated by West Texas wind farms to customers in the large cities.

There are currently around 40 wind farms in Texas, with the largest being Roscoe Wind Farm. Roscoe Wind Farm with the capacity of 781 MW is not only the largest wind farm in Texas, but also nationwide. Other large wind farms in Texas include: Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, Sherbino Wind Farm and Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm. The state even plans its first offshore wind energy project, a 300 MW offshore wind farm in Galveston.

If wind energy sector continues this impressive growth in years to come then wind could soon become more important than oil in the state of Texas. The growing wind power market should help Texas meet its 2015 renewable energy target of 5,000 new megawatts of power coming from renewable energy sources.

Top five renewable energy sources

Renewable energy has started making headlines with many energy experts looking at various renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, hydro power, and biomass. Renewable energy is very important because it offers alternative to using fossil fuels, not just in terms of reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions but also to replace depleting oil, coal and natural gas. Renewable energy also improves our energy security and our energy independence, and is extremely abundant, practically limitless, meaning that the future will no doubt belong to renewable energy.

SOLAR ENERGY

Solar energy is the most abundant energy source on our planet but the world currently uses a tiny fraction of the totally available solar energy. Solar energy technologies are still connected with high costs, and do not offer satisfactory efficiency, though things are certainly improving very fast.

Solar energy is environmentally friendly renewable source of energy. Harnessing solar energy doesn't result in increase of harmful CO₂ emissions. The other advantage of solar energy is that the Sun is virtually unlimited source of energy that could supply with ease our current as well as the future energy demand, even with the predicted global population growth, as for instance covering just 4% of the world's desert area with solar panels would be enough to supply all of the world's electricity.

The downside of solar energy is that solar panels are still connected with relatively high costs, there are many ongoing solar researchers and hopefully science will soon find solutions to improve economics and efficiency of solar power technologies.

In 2012, solar energy accounted for less than 0.03% of the world's total energy supply, which is way too little, given its enormous potential. Despite this small number solar energy sector is constantly growing, and solar energy industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The largest photovoltaic market in the world is still Germany.

Generally speaking, solar power plants have positive environmental impact. Harnessing solar energy doesn't contribute to climate change, acid rains or any form of pollution. This however doesn't mean there are no downsides to solar power plants, for instance manufacturing solar panels involves some toxic materials and the fact that huge solar power require lot of land for construction, and lot of water for cooling purposes.

Solar power plant.

WIND ENERGY

Wind energy has very long tradition as people were using wind energy for more than 5000 years to propel sailboats and sailing ships. These days wind energy is mostly used to generate electricity by using wind turbines. Wind power is one of the fastest growing renewable energy markets, even despite the stagnation in recent years, after losing its popularity to solar energy. Wind farms are no longer being built only on land but also offshore and offshore wind energy could in years to come become dominant way of harnessing wind energy.

Wind energy is ecologically acceptable renewable energy source that does not contribute to climate change or air pollution. Wind turbine prices are constantly decreasing and wind is certainly becoming cost-competitive on global energy market, as it currently represents one of the few renewable energy sources that could actually compete with fossil fuels in terms of economics.

Wind energy is intermittent energy source, and in times when wind doesn't blow we need another backup energy option to ensure constant energy supply for reliable power delivery. Large wind turbines with huge blades can sometimes lead to bird deaths if not equipped with radars. Sometimes it is difficult to integrate wind turbines into existing environment because they can disrupt visual effect of certain landscape.

Wind farms represent a group of interconnected wind turbines on one location which is used for production of electricity. At this moment, the world's largest wind farm is The Roscoe Wind Farm, with the output of 780 MW, in the US state of Texas.

Wind energy has overall positive environmental impact since there are no emissions involved. Certain environmental drawbacks are still present such as the fact that large, fast rotating blades can kill many birds if not equipped with radar, large wind turbines can also create noise pollution which can have negative effect on wildlife in nearby area.

Wind power plant.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Geothermal energy also has relatively long history of use and refers to power extracted from heat stored in the Earth. This heat comes from the radioactive decay of various elements beneath the Earth's surface, volcanic activity, and also from solar energy that was absorbed at the surface. People were first using geothermal energy for bathing, though today geothermal energy is mostly used to generate electricity, though there also some countries that use geothermal energy for heating purposes in form of geothermal heating.

Geothermal energy is renewable energy source that cannot be depleted since earth is in constant state of producing heat (though there can be a factor of temporary local depletion), and it does not produce harmful carbon emissions nor it contributes to air pollution like fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas do). Geothermal energy is clean, cost effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly source of energy. Unlike solar and wind energy geothermal energy isn't intermittent energy source and is thus very reliable in terms of supply and delivery.

Geothermal power plants are very expensive to be built costing twice as much compared to coal and natural gas fired plants. High construction and drilling costs are the main reason why geothermal energy is being harnessed in only 24 countries of the world, as it is only being economically acceptable in areas with suitable amount of hot rocks at just the right depth for drilling. Once the drilling technologies become more technologically advanced geothermal energy will likely become much more competitive to fossil fuels.

Three basic types of geothermal power plants are: 1.dry steam plants where steam is piped directly from a geothermal reservoir to turn the generator turbines. 2. flash steam plants that takes the high-pressured hot water from deep inside the Earth and convert it to steam to turn the generator turbines. 3. binary cycle power plants that transfer the heat from geothermal hot water to another liquid, and afterwards the second liquid is turned into the steam that turns the generator turbines.

Geothermal energy is overall environmentally friendly source of energy. Existing geothermal electric plants emit an average of 122 kilograms (269 lb) of CO2 per megawatt-hour of electricity, which represents an amount negligible compared to fossil fuel fired plants. Harnessing geothermal energy has minimal land and freshwater requirements which are drawbacks of solar energy. The only potential environmental threat comes from fluids drawn from the deep earth as they carry a mixture of gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methane (CH4) and ammonia which can (if not treated properly) add to global warming, air pollution, and acid rain.

Geothermal power plant.

HYDROPOWER

Hydropower is renewable energy source that has very long history of use, mostly in form of waterwheels and mills. Hydropower is today the most widely spread renewable energy source on global scale supplying around 20% of total global electricity.

Hydropower is renewable energy source that doesn't pollute our planet with harmful greenhouse gas emissions like this is the case with oil, coal and natural gas. Hydropower plants have long lifespan and relatively low maintenance costs since modern technology has enabled that almost everything is automated. Hydropower is very efficient source of energy, and doesn't suffer from intermittency like solar and wind do.

As already mentioned above, hydropower is still the most important renewable energy source on global scale, accounting for approximately 20% of the world's electricity. China currently leads the way in hydroelectricity generation, mostly because of its massive hydropower projects such as Three Gorges Dam.

The largest hydroelectric power plant in the world is Three Gorges Dam in China, with the capacity of 22.5 GW, the second ranked is Itaipu Dam, located between Brazil and Paraguay with the capacity of 14 GW.

The massive hydroelectric power plants can have negative impact on environment if not thoroughly planned and carefully constructed as this was the case with the construction of Three Gorges Dam that led to massive flooding and other negative environmental consequences.

Hydro power plant.

BIOMASS 

Biomass is renewable energy source that refers to biological material deriving from living, or recently living organisms such as wood, waste or biofuels. The five different energy resources from which the biomass derives are wood, waste, garbage, landfill gases, and alcohol fuels.

Biomass is abundant and widely spread source of energy that can be found in almost every corner of the world. Biomass is often said to be carbon neutral energy option, though there are many ongoing studies that still argue whether biomass is really carbon neutral or not. Biomass is also connected with CO2 emissions like fossil fuels are, though it does not contribute to global warming like fossil fuels do because burning of biomass which releases CO2 emissions is said to practically balance the CO2 absorbed by the plants during its growth. Biomass is becoming increasingly popular energy source on global scale, with many countries opening new biomass facilities. Wood is still the most popular form of biomass on global level, though there are many ongoing researches that aim to find the adequate solutions to turn waste and garbage into useful form of energy.

Biomass is said to satisfy today around 4% of US energy needs with more than half of this referring to biomass form using wood. The 2011 US study said that the currently existing biomass power generating industry in the United States has the capacity for around 11,000 MW.

The largest biomass power plant in United States is The New Hope Power Partnership, Florida with the capacity of 140 MW. Biomass power plant size is often driven by biomass availability in close proximity as transport costs of the fuel play a key factor in the plant's economics.

Since wood is the most common form of biomass, unsustainable biomass production could also lead to deforestation which together with the fact that biomass releases CO2 emissions represents environmental drawback of using more biomass.

Biomass power plant.

Quick introduction to energy sources

The energy can take many different forms and this is the main reason why there is a variety of different energy sources. The first thing you need to know about energy sources is the fact that fossil fuels, namely oil, coal and natural gas are still dominant sources of energy, despite the growing popularity of renewable energy sources.

There are two main differences between renewable energy sources and fossil fuels. First of all renewable energy sources are as their name suggests renewable, meaning that they can be constantly replenished unlike fossil fuels that are finite energy resources that will eventually become exhausted. The other difference refers to environmental impact where renewable energy sources do negligible environmental damage when compared with fossil fuels and the fact that the burning of fossil fuels is the main contributor to climate change phenomenon.

The renewable energy sources list includes these energy sources: solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy and biomass. Hydropower is the most widely used form of renewable energy because of its very long history.

Solar and wind energy are the most popular renewable energy sources. Solar energy is the most abundant form of energy available on our planet. The main reason why we don't use more of solar energy is because solar panels and other solar technologies are still connected with significant costs, and people do not want to pay higher energy bills, even if this means helping our environment.

Wind energy has more acceptable costs compared to solar energy though it is still far from being able to challenge the dominance of fossil fuels in terms of electricity generation. Wind energy and solar energy are not suited for all areas because they require plenty of wind/sunshine throughout the year.

Geothermal energy on the other hand is available 24-7 because it refers to heat within the Earth's core. However, considering the current technological level of geothermal drilling, geothermal power plants are economically viable only in areas near the tectonic plate boundaries where drilling demands aren't that great.
Biomass as an energy source has excellent potential because biomass material is available in all corners of the world. However, there have bee fears, that using more land for biomass production (instead of growing food crops) would lead to more hunger of the world so biomass as an energy option is still connected with significant level of controversy.

It is very realistically to accept that fossil fuels will remain dominant energy sources throughout this century. The share of renewable energy sources will no doubt significantly increase over the years but fossil fuels should still have the edge because the transition to renewable energy sources doesn't go as fast as some people have expected.

The downside of this prolonged dependence on fossil fuels is big damage to our environment, and the strengthening of the climate change impact.

Quick introduction into wind farms

Wind energy industry is the second fastest growing renewable energy industry in the world, trailing only solar energy. Thanks to a rapid rise of wind energy industry, wind farms are becoming a pretty common sight in many countries of the world. Wind farm constitutes of group of wind turbines in the same location that are interconnected with a medium voltage power collection system and communications network.

Term "large wind farms" that is lately very often used is not exactly a precise category since it can consist of few dozen to several hundred individual wind turbines connected into one wind farm. Sites on which to build wind farms are usually pre-selected on basis of a wind atlas, and validated with wind measurements (Wind Power Density).

Offshore Wind Turbines near Copenhagen, Denmark.

Many energy experts believe that future of wind farms lies in offshore wind farms, since winds are much more powerful and frequent offshore than onshore. However because of these powerful winds these wind farms need to be very strongly built to withstand rough weather condition, and this significantly increases construction costs.

Wind farms can have negative environmental impact in form of not only noise pollution but can also present danger for birds and bats, and there have been several reports where significant number of birds was killed by wind turbines (some recent studies have suggested that wind farms kill about 7,000 birds a year). However most environmentalists will still agree that positive environmental effect significantly outweigh the negative ones, and that building wins farms is one of the most environmentally friendly methods to harness energy. There have been several ideas how to protect birds and other wildlife from wind farms including an option to install new radar technology to protect migratory birds and wildlife.

Disadvantages of offshore wind farms compared to onshore wind farms are high construction costs, and complex and costly maintenance, and advantages compared to onshore farms are stronger and more stable winds, and the fact that wind turbines can be built much larger than on land which significantly improves the efficiency.

Wind Farm in Xinjiang, China.

The Gansu Wind Farm in China has over 5,000 MW installed with a goal of 20,000 MW by 2020. To get this into perspective, average nuclear power plant has capacity of around 900 MW, meaning that when Gansu Wind Farm will be finished it will have potential to generate same amount of power as 22 average nuclear power plants.

Small wind farms are usually not economically viable energy projects because of the relatively high costs so in most cases high costs outweigh the efficiency of small wind farms. Improvements in wind speed forecasting are making wind farms more efficient.

Things solar and wind need to improve

Solar and wind energy are very popular these days. Not only are these two renewable energy sources environmentally friendly and can help against climate change, they also have excellent potential and can lead to creation of many new jobs for many people all over the world.

However, there are still many things that need to be improved prior to replacing fossil fuels fired power plants with solar panels and wind turbines. This however, should not come as a surprise because fossil fuels have long tradition and history of use behind them while solar and wind power technologies have only started their development few decades ago, and are yet to mature from the technological point of view.

First of all, wind and solar power technologies need to become cheaper. Even despite their surge in popularity wind turbines and solar panels still present a rather costly energy option for many homeowners, many of which are still not willing to pay higher price, even despite the positive environmental impact in form of less greenhouse gas emissions.

Solar panels and wind turbines also need to become lot more efficient because lot of energy gets wasted in the process of their conversion to electricity. The average solar panels reach efficiency levels of 15-18% and the situation is not much better with wind turbines either. The science is working hard to create more efficient solar panels and wind turbines but there is sadly still not a commercially viable solution that would solve this efficiency issue.

Contrary to conventional scientific wisdom, the key to solar cell efficiency is not absorbing more photons but emitting more photons. (Image courtesy of DOE NREL).

Since solar and wind are not available all day long (sun does not shine all day long and wind does not blow all the time) they belong to so called „intermittent“ energy sources, meaning they require extra energy storage solution in order to reliably deliver power 24-7. The science is still looking for cheap and highly efficient energy storage solutions for these two sources, and though there have been many proposed solutions none of them has reached the commercial level that could provide cost-competitiveness on global scale.

Solar power plants require lot of water for cooling purposes and this is also something that future solar power technologies will have to find better solution for, especially because water could soon become very scarce resource in many parts of the world.

Wind turbines can kill birds if not equipped with adequate radars and can also create noise pollution in nearby area.

As you can see from the facts stated above wind and solar are far from being the perfect energy sources, at least at the current stage of their technological development. Still, they are definitely wiser option when compared to currently dominant fossil fuels, because many environmental issues (such as climate change) that present big threat to the future of humanity are directly connected with fossil fuels burning.

California expands its renewable energy market

In the last ten years or so the state of California has been recognized on nation-wide level as the leader in renewable energy development. Judging by the latest plans the state looks likely to keep this lead for many years to come, especially after California's Governor Jerry Brown signed the renewable energy bill, which requires that 33 percent of the state’s electricity comes from renewable energy sources by 2020. This is a kind of renewable energy portfolio standard that clean energy investors like, and California will likely attract the lion's share of total nationwide renewable energy investment in years to come.

In order to achieve this target California has already announced plans to increase its renewable energy capacity by adding approximately another 9,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy by 2020, with the main emphasis on solar panels, wind turbines and geothermal power plants.

Why is California planning yet another big renewable energy expansion? For starters, California wants to further enhance its leadership position in nationwide renewable energy development, and second California is well aware that strong renewable energy development attracts new investments which create new renewable energy jobs as well as other benefits that will move state's economy forward. California is also having trouble with air pollution in many of its urban areas (Los Angeles), and more renewable energy sources such as solar and wind would no doubt reduce the impact of air pollution in many of its cities, particularly when combined with initiative for more hybrid and electric cars.


The stimulating renewable energy legislation is the key to develop a stable renewable energy business and create friendly environment for new investments. Renewable energy investors want long-term safety before making their business moves, and California is providing them exactly that.

If we look at California's renewable energy legislation more closely we can see that California needs to meet a 20-percent of electricity target from renewable energy sources by December 31, 2013, a 25-percent by the end of 2016, before achieving the final target of 33-percent of renewable electricity by the end of 2020.

This rapid renewable energy development in California is good for the entire United States because California is yet again showing the path other U.S. states could follow. If U.S. wants to be competitive with China in clean energy race these types of renewable energy mandatory targets will have to become the rule, and not just the exception.

California is currently the nation's leader in installed solar and geothermal power capacity. Wind power development isn’t looking bad either. All prerequisites are there, and California can already start looking forward to a clean energy future.

Energy history facts

From ancient times people use various energy sources. Geothermal energy were used for springs and heating, hydro and wind energy were used for mills, sailing, water pumps and other mechanical devices, solar energy was used for heating, biomass and coal were used for heating, illumination, cooking, and so on.  For example, nearly 2000 years ago the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into flour.

Steam engines were first serious “modern” power source in the world. Steam engines were mostly powered by biomass and coal. The first commercial steam-powered engine device was a water pump, developed in 1698 by Thomas Savery. It used a vacuum to raise water from below, then used steam pressure to raise it higher.

Edwin Drake's 1859 well near Titusville, Pennsylvania, is popularly considered the first modern crude oil well. In the 1840s, the process to distill kerosene from crude oil was invented by James Young in Scotland and the first refinery was built by Ignacy Łukasiewicz, providing a cheaper alternative to whale oil.

The world's first power plant consisted of 24 dynamo electric generators which were driven by a steam engine. It was built by Sigmund Schuckert in the Bavarian town of Ettal (Germany) and went into operation in 1878. Power plant is industrial facility for the generation of electric power.

The first commercial power plant in the United States using three-phase alternating current was at the Mill Creek No. 1 Hydroelectric Plant near Redlands, California, in 1893 designed by Almirian Decker.

In 1878 the world's first hydroelectric power scheme was developed at Cragside in Northumberland, England by William George Armstrong. It was used to power a single arc lamp in his art gallery.

The first major hydro-electric power plants were built by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse in 1895 on Niagara Falls (USA). These Power Plants practically started the electrification of the world.

In 1911 the world's first commercial geothermal power plant was built in Larderello, Italy. Experimental generators were built in Beppu, Japan and the Geysers, California, in the 1920s, but Italy was the world's only industrial producer of geothermal electricity until 1958.

Photoelectric effect was first observed 1839 by Edmond Becquerel, a physicist from France. In year 1876 Adams and Day observed the photovoltaic effect in solid selenium.  Modern solar cell was discovered in 1954. The first 1 MWP solar park was built by Arco Solar at Lugo near Hesperia, California at the end of 1982, followed in 1984 by a 5.6 MWP installation in Carrizo Plain.

On June 27, 1954, the USSR's Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant became the world's first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for a power grid, and produced around 5 megawatts of electric power. Obninsk is in today’s Russia.

About 500 B.C. the Chinese discovered the potential of natural gas. Finding places where gas was seeping to the surface, the Chinese formed crude pipelines out of bamboo shoots to transport the gas, where it was used to boil sea water, separating the salt and making it drinkable. Britain was the first country to commercialize the use of natural gas. Around 1785, natural gas produced from coal was used to light houses, as well as streetlights.

Opened on the 26th November 1966, the Rance Tidal Power Station is the world's first tidal power station and also the world's second biggest tidal power station. The facility is located on the estuary of the Rance River, in Brittany, France.

An early application of wave power was a device constructed around 1910 by Bochaux-Praceique to light and power his house at Royan, near Bordeaux in France. In 2008, the first experimental wave farm was opened in Portugal, at the Aguçadoura Wave Park.

Italy - One of renewable energy leaders

Current situation with renewable energy in EU is looking exceptionally good, and Italy is no exception, in fact the Apennine peninsula country has in the last couple of years become one of the European clean energy leaders. According to the official government figures Italy is well on the track to meet its EU target of generating 26 percent of energy from renewable energy sources by 2020 since currently renewable energy satisfies more than 20% of Italy's energy demand.

The country's renewable energy capacity increased significantly in 2011 to the total amount of 41,352MW at the end of the year. Hydroelectricity is still the most important renewable energy source though the wind power is looking better than ever, and wind power is currently the second largest renewable energy source in the country (in 2009 alone Italy's wind energy capacity has increased by nearly 40 percent). At the end of 2009 Italy's total wind power capacity was around 4,850 MW. Most new wind farms were installed in Sicily, Puglia and Calabria.

According to the Italian Wind Energy Association (ANEV) around 6TWh of electricity were produced by wind energy in 2009. At the end of 2011, the country passed 6000 MW mark in installed wind power capacity, and is currently sixth largest wind energy producer in the world. Though wind power development is looking exceptionally good there are still some things that need to be improved, for instance Italy still suffers from inadequate grid infrastructure because the current capacity of grid is too low, and Italy's old-fashioned 150kV lines are incapable to dispatch all the power produced by the wind farms which has lead to some wind farms operating at 30% less than their normal capacity.

Solar power is also looking good, and this is mostly the result of generous incentives for solar power that have attracted many solar companies in Italy. Thanks to these favorable incentives Italy has now become a world's second largest photovoltaic market, behind the Germany. At current pace Italy is adding around 150 MW of solar capacity per month, around three times more than US, and Italy has even managed to surpass the US in total installed solar capacity in the first quarter of this year. California, the leading US state in installed solar power capacity, is currently adding around 20 MW of solar capacity per month, and for comparison Italy is three-fourths the size of California. By the end of 2010 Italy's total solar power capacity accounted for more than 2500 MW while at the end of 2011, total installed solar power capacity in Italy was 12,750 MW, which is quite an accomplishment, and Italy has certainly become one of the global solar energy leaders and of the largest photovoltaic markets in the world.

Italy also has volcanically active areas, like Larderello in Tuscany in central Italy. Those places are perfect for geothermal power production. Geothermal power accounts for about 1.7% of the total electric energy production in Italy and is about 7% of the total renewable energy produced in 2010. The total energy from geothermal sources was 5,376 GWh in 2010. Italy is the fifth country by geothermal installed capacity.

As said before, renewable energy is not only looking really good in Italy but also in entire EU, and vast majority of EU states are on track to meet their renewable energy targets, which should in the end result in 20 percent of European energy coming from renewable energy by 2020.

Renewable electricity accounted for the 24.5% of all electric energy produced in Italy in 2011. Italy is today one of the most significant renewable energy markets in the world, even despite the recession that is still taking heavy toll in the country.

Solar and wind – Current status facts

Solar energy is almost limitless source of renewable energy in our planet. The scientists have calculated that the total amount of solar energy absorbed by our planet is approximately 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) per year. What this means is that solar energy really has enormous potential, and that covering only 4% of the world's deserts with solar panels would be enough to satisfy all of the world's electricity demand.

Solar power, despite having this enormous potential is still far behind fossil fuels in terms of energy consumption. This is mostly because solar energy is still connected with relatively high costs, even despite the recent decline in prices of solar power technologies. For instance, solar energy (at the beginning of the 2010) had the average price of 18 cents per kilowatt hour, approximately three times more expensive than the price of coal and natural gas.

Together with decreasing the costs solar power technologies will also have to improve efficiency because an average photovoltaic cell has an efficiency of only 15%. Best modern solar cells on the market have efficiency of only about 24%. This means that plenty of available sunlight absorbed by solar panels gets wasted in the process (reflection, heat).

Wind and solar power put together is clean and sustainable energy solution.

Despite these significant disadvantages the global solar energy demand has grown at about 30% per year over the past 15 years and photovoltaic production has been growing by more than 20 percent each year since 2002. On global level, solar energy industry is currently the fastest growing energy industry in the world. The world's largest photovoltaic markets are at this moment United States and Germany, though China is also rapidly adding more solar power capacity to its grid.

Wind energy is currently the second fastest growing renewable energy industry in the world, behind solar. The total energy potential of wind power on land and near-shore is estimated to be at around 72 TW. So much available wind is more than enough to satisfy for over five times the current worldwide energy consumption.

Worldwide wind energy production at the end of 2010 was 430 TWh, which is about 2.5% of the worldwide electricity usage. In 2010 global wind power sector experienced a growth rate of 23.6 %, the lowest growth rate since 2004, mostly because of the major decrease in new wind farm installations in United States. The U.S. wind energy sector is still experiencing this stagnation because of uncertainties whether the wind energy tax credit that is set to expire at the end of 2012, will be prolonged or not.

The main driving force that pushes wind energy forward is China. China is currently the world's largest wind energy producer, and in 2010 China accounted for more than 50 % of the world market for new wind turbines. The largest wind market in Europe is Germany followed by Spain.

On global level, wind energy industry currently employs more than 700,000 people. Many energy experts believe that global wind energy industry will soon shift its focus on offshore wind energy projects because of the great potential and more frequent strong winds. U.K. currently leads the way in offshore wind energy race with the only real competition coming from China as Chinese are seriously considering plans for major offshore wind energy expansion, similar to what they have achieved with wind projects on land.

How to build wind turbine blades at home?

Large wind farms are being installed in many parts of the world but the popularity of small wind turbines among homeowners and commercial businesses is also rapidly growing as small wind turbines are now being increasingly used to supplement energy consumption and also serve as an alternative mean to help our environment from pollution caused by fossil fuels.

If we look at the current numbers and expert predictions we can see that 2008 revenue of $165 million in small wind turbines industry should grow approximately 2,5 times to $412 million by 2013 if estimates from Pike's Small Wind Power report are correct.

But why are small wind turbines becoming so popular? The main reason of their popularity is the fact that on a cost-per-watt basis many are finding small wind turbines to be less expensive than solar panels, so they are economically the most acceptable way to go for clean energy.

If you decide to give small wind turbine a chance then you also need to know that you can save some money by building wind turbine blades at home. This isn't as difficult as many people think it is.

You can build you homemade wind generator blades from different materials but the most commonly used materials are PVC and wood. When it comes to choosing between these two materials then I would suggest you go with the PVC because PVC represents better value for your money compared to wood. It is much easier to balance wind turbine blades made from PVC compared to the ones made of wood which will in the end result in less time needed to build them. Also, wood is less water protective, and once wood starts absorbing moisture you can forget about balanced blades because instead of balance you will see lot of wobbles, and once your blades start wobbling they'll be far less efficient. So the PVC is definitely the recommended option.

So now that we have decided to go with the PVC we need to determine the size of blades. It is vital that you measure everything perfectly because only by ensuring perfect measures you will ensure the maximum efficiency in harnessing wind energy. If your blades are no more than 30" in length the 4" diameter PVC should be sufficient, and if you plan to build blades over 30" in length then you should definitely consider using the stronger 6" PVC pipe.

Balancing the blades can often seem like a very difficult task. But there is a rather simple solution to overcome this problem. You should put numbers 1, 2, 3 on each of your blades, and then give your blades a decent spin. After a couple of spins you will see which blade ends up most often at the bottom, and then you simply trim a little bit of the end of that blade off, and then give it another spin. This shouldn't take much of your time.

To conclude, with just the basic technical skills you can build your own wind turbine blades in couple of hours’ time. It's as easy as that. Good luck.

Wind energy industry - current trend facts

Wind energy industry has been rapidly developing in the last few decades. One of the main reasons for this is that wind energy has many advantages such as no pollution, no carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), relatively low upfront costs and long history of use. Wind turbines have been used for more than a century, and the real breakthrough in wind power technologies occurred in the 1940s with the development of three blades structure for wind turbine and the discovery of AC generator.

Even despite these two major breakthroughs wind energy needed few decades to be considered as one of the major energy sources. The second half of the 1970s, characterized by the huge oil crisis switched attention to new energy sources, and wind energy sector was then widely being researched in an attempt to ensure better future energy security.

1970s were period when first wind modern wind turbines were developed, and U.S. wasn't the only country involved in research with countries such as Denmark, Spain and Germany also entering the global wind energy map and further developing wind power technologies.

The Horns Rev offshore wind farm west of Denmark. Offshore installations are getting more and more popular because of steady and powerful winds.

In period between the 1990 to 2010 wind energy sector was the fastest growing renewable energy sector in the world, only to be recently overtaken by solar energy, a renewable energy source that is currently setting the tempo for all other renewable energy sources.

Major energy analysts such as Pike Research believe that global wind energy market is well set for the steady growth in the next ten years. They also believe that China will continue to lead the way as the world's largest wind energy producer, followed by United States.

The latest predictions about the future wind energy output estimate that wind power could account for more than 10% of the world's electrical supply by 2020. This positive outlook is based on three main factors: 1) constant decline in prices of wind turbines, 2) the efficiency of wind power technologies is constantly improving, 3) the climate change impact continues to grow and wind power is considered as one of the main clean energy sources that could reduce our heavy dependence on fossil fuels.

The latest trends in global wind energy industry include building larger wind turbines and moving wind farms offshore (because of more frequent and powerful winds).

China and India are currently two of the world's fastest growing wind energy markets, with China adding more than 16.500 MW of new wind power capacity in 2010 and 2011. The wind energy industry is also looking increasingly good in new energy markets, for instance Latin America energy market where Brazil and Mexico have been rapidly improving their wind power capacity.

The situation in U.S. wind energy market is currently very complex - there is plenty of uncertainty in the air because Congress is yet to prolong the tax credit for wind energy, which is set to expire at the end of this year. There are fears within the U.S. wind energy industry that the failure to prolong wind energy tax credit may lead to serious stagnation and plenty of people losing jobs. These are of course still just speculations, and we'll have to wait for few months more before giving more certain outlook for the future of U.S. wind energy industry.