Do The Pluses Of Wind Power Outweigh The Negative Impacts? By: Thomas Bowen, Alfonso Merelo, Lyndsey Shay & Michaela Spaid

Transcription

1 Do The Pluses Of Wind Power Outweigh The Negative Impacts? By: Thomas Bowen, Alfonso Merelo, Lyndsey Shay & Michaela Spaid

2 Introduction Wind Power Wind Turbine "Wind Energy" or "Wind Power"

3 How Does Wind Energy Work?

4 Major Types Horizontal-axis Turbines Vertical-axis Turbines Ducted Wind Turbines Onshore or Offshore

5 Horizontal-axis Turbines

6 Vertical-axis Turbines

7 Ducted Wind Turbines

8 Onshore Offshore

9 Clean Energy Source Fueled by the wind = no cost No pollution into the air like burning fossil fuels No carbon emissions being released in the air Relies on the renewable power of wind

10 Economic Maintenance Capital Investment Land/Farms Capital assets or fixed assets Manufacturing the plants Machinery needed Dominated by the turbine itself Auxiliary Costs Foundation and Grid connection

11 Economic Continued... Average Turbine Costs Home or Farm Scale Wind Turbines Commercial Wind Turbines

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13 Economic Benefits Boost local economy Year- round jobs New tourism opportunities New eco-tourism destination Example: Palm Springs, CA: Wind Farm has nearly 10,000 visitors per year

14 Job Creation The industry currently supports more than 50,000 jobs in services such as manufacturing, installation, and maintenance in almost every state Major job creator America s veterans play an important role in creating the highly-skilled wind power workforce

15 Political Sustainability of Wind Energy Remote Locations Positive Impacts of Wind Energy Cost - Effective Renewable, Clean Fuel Source Creation of Jobs

16 Social Visual Impact Cumulative Visual Impact Obstruction of views Not visually appealing Result of: Number of wind farms and distance between each farm Turbine models and farm design Developing Worlds Sign of progress and novelty

17 Social Continued Noise Impact Mechanical and Aerodynamic Varies depending on: Layout of wind farm Model of turbines Topography Speed and direction of wind Background noise Individual Noise Tolerance

18 Environmental Impact Loss of habitat for birds/aquatic animals Change of tidal currents Potentially harming endangered species living in ocean/on land Electrical service platforms holding 30,000 gallons of transformer oil could potentially cause oil spill Disrupt recreational and and commercial fishing No guarantee of sustained winds

19 Threat To Wildlife Birds and Bats National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) Deaths from collisions with the wind turbine propellers Different changes in the air pressure Due to the constant spinning of the turbines Causes less than 0.01 percent of all human-related bird deaths in the United States Marine Life Injury Above and below water

20 Threat to Humans Wind-Turbine Syndrome or Wind Farm Syndrome Effects Headaches Sleep Problems Night terrors Learning disabilities in children Ringing in the ears Mood Problems Concentration and memory problems Issues with equilibrium Dizziness Nausea

21 Is Wind Energy Reliable?

22 Pros Cons Clean energy source Renewable Creates jobs Energy produced can be used to send power to other towns Unlike power plants or greenhouse gasses, energy harnessed isn t harmful to its atmosphere Natural fuel, does not have to be artificially manufactured Threat to wildlife Noise Impact Wind turbine syndrome Visual impact Reliability of wind Shuts down when winds reach 55 mph Cost

23 Do we think the pluses of wind power outweigh the negative? Too many negative impacts all across the board that can be very detrimental to the environment Natural source of wind is a good idea but are poorly executed with turbines

24 Works Cited Advantages and Challenges of Wind Energy. Advantages and Challenges of Wind Energy Department of Energy. Web. 16 April Environmental Impacts of Wind Power. Union of Concerned Scientists. Web. 16 April European Wind Energy, Association. Wind Energy - the Facts : A Guide to the Technology, Economics and Future of Wind Power. Routledge, EBSCOhost, Web. 16 April McNerney, Gerald and Martin Cheek. Clean Energy Nation : Freeing America from the Tyranny of Fossil Fuels. AMACOM, EBSCOhost. Web. 16 April 2017 Rap, Keenan W. ADDRESSING THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT. International Finance Corporation. Web. 16 April Walker, R. P., & Swift, A. (2015). Wind energy essentials: societal, economic, and environmental impacts. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Ebook. 16 April Wind Turbine Syndrome and Vibroacoustic Disease. Wind Wise - Massachusetts. 13 Oct Web. 16 April 2017.