Marcien Legeżyński The History and Future of Wind Power

Using alternative sources of energyalternative sources of energy [alternative source of energy]alternative sources of energy is important, because fossil fuelsfossil fuels [fossil fuel]fossil fuels all over the world will start running out in the future. Also, they contribute to the pollutionpollutionpollution of air and water around us. RenewablerenewableRenewable energy is cleaner and can be cheaper than fossil fuels. It will not run out because it comes from unlimited natural sources, like sunlight and sun heat, wind, sea waves, river currents, or geothermal heatgeothermal heatgeothermal heat.

Wind energy in the past

Wind is a great source of energy, because in most areas of the world it occurs all the time. For example, civilizations have for many thousands of years made use of wind energy for sailing. In the past, sailing ships were used to transport passengers and goods between different parts of the world. Wind energy was also used to power water pumps that got water from underground wellsunderground wells [underground well]underground wells and moved it to overground water tanksoverground water tanks [overground water tank]overground water tanks. They were built in many households in the U.S.A. American colonists used wind to grind grain in their windmillswindmills [windmill]windmills, or even cut wood in sawmills, too. Small wind turbineswind turbines [wind turbine]wind turbines were also built near homes to produce electricity in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They weren’t, however, very efficient and when the electrical power gridelectrical power gridelectrical power grid developed in the 20th century, their use became less and less popular. Throughout the 20th century, most of the world started burning fossil fuels to produce electrical current in big power stationspower stations [power station]power stations and they have been the main source of energy until now. Other uses of the wind, like sailing, became more of a sport rather than a main means of transportation.

How we use the wind nowadays

Currently, green energy sources are becoming important because of the worldwide problems like global warmingglobal warmingglobal warming, the greenhouse effectgreenhouse effectgreenhouse effect, and the pollution of the environment. People are trying to use the energy of the wind in more and more ways. The largest installations that use wind to produce electricity are sea wind farmssea wind farms [sea wind farm]sea wind farms. These are groups of wind turbines on tall towers built in shallow sea waters. The wind speed is higher offshoreoffshoreoffshore than on land, so such farms generate more electricity. These farms can even help to protect marine ecosystemsmarine ecosystems [marine ecosystem]marine ecosystems by restricting access to some waters. On the other hand, they are much more expensive than wind turbines built on land, because they require strong foundationsfoundations [foundation]foundations placed underwater and very long electrical wires connecting them with land. OnshoreonshoreOnshore wind turbines are cheaper to build and you can see many of them in most of the places in the world. They can also produce a lot of power when the wind is strong, but will slow down when the wind is quiet. Also, they may have a negative effect on wildlife. Wind turbines are thought to be the cause of quite a few bird and bat deaths. Birds most often crash into wind turbines, while bats die because of the changes in air pressureair pressureair pressure caused by turbines. Also, many residents complain about the fact that wind turbines don’t always look good in the natural landscapenatural landscapenatural landscape. They say that some turbines are very noisy and disturb people living nearby.

Still, more and more electricity we use comes from wind power. Many people try to make other uses of wind energy, for example in transportation. Some modern shipping companies have decided to use wind energy once again. They have large kites installed on their cargo ships. These are said to significantly reduce fuel consumptionfuel consumptionfuel consumption on long journeys. Shipping companies, which spend large amounts of money on fuel and try to reduce their carbon footprintcarbon footprintcarbon footprint, are very interested in this. Using wind in sports has also been very popular. In addition to sailing and windsurfing, wind powers kites that people use in kite surfing.

There are probably more uses of wind that people will develop in the future, but even now, wind is one of the cleanest and most popular sources of renewable energy available.

1 Źródło: Marcien Legeżyński, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.