Wind energy is becoming more important every day in the world. Over time, this renewable energy has become an economical and competitive option.
It also allows isolated places that have difficult access to the electrical network to have very good quality installations through this energy.
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What is wind energy?
Wind energy is an alternative way of obtaining fully renewable electrical energy.
Wind energy consists of harnessing the kinetic energy produced by the wind.
Some of the most important characteristics of this energy is that in addition to being renewable, it is completely clean and does not pollute at any time.
As we mentioned previously, this way of producing energy has become quite important in recent years.
In European countries such as Spain, about 20% of the country’s energy is generated using wind farms, that is, taking advantage of wind energy.
How does this renewable energy work?
To be able to produce electrical energy taking advantage of the wind, a wind turbine is mainly needed.
The wind turbine begins to move when the wind moves the blades of the large turbines.
This wind turbine system is quite complete, and contains the following:
- a tower
- a generator
- a regulation system for the electricity generated
- and various mechanical elements that help with the movement of the blades
As the blades move, the movement affects the generator and electricity is produced by means of magnets.
This electricity is what will then be regulated in order to be distributed and used by final consumers.
We already know a little more about how wind energy works and also what wind energy is and how it is used. Now let us know part of its history.
History
Wind energy has been used for a very long time, for example, sailing ships have already used this to navigate (only it was not converted into electrical energy).
Also the old mills worked in this way.
Speaking of electricity generators, the first to invent one using wind power was Charles Brush in the year 1887.
The history of wind energy tells us that it was not until 1957 when it would be possible to convert that current produced into alternating current and the one who could achieve it was Johannes Juul.
The question who created wind energy cannot be answered.
Since there have been many who, over the years, helped so that this energy could become a reality.
Despite the great advances made by Brush and Juul, this energy takes on real importance in the 1980s when the world goes through a major oil crisis.
Characteristic
Previously we already talked a little about some of the characteristics of wind energy, let’s learn a little more about them:
It is one of the most advanced renewable energies in the world, its progress could only be compared with an energy as widely used in installations worldwide as solar energy.
The definition of wind energy places it as one of the most important sources of energy since its source is inexhaustible (the wind).
During the generation of this, no type of contamination is produced.
It is said that potentially the whole world could be supplied with this type of energy in a few years, as long as technological advances in it are sufficient.
Are there different types of this energy?
We cannot speak as such of types of wind energy, we can simply say that there are different ways of taking advantage of the result of this process.
There is also a variety of equipment (wind turbines) to convert wind energy into electricity that can be used in homes, companies, businesses, organizations and much more.
As for wind turbines, we can find those that use horizontal axes, also those with vertical axes and those that have appeared in recent years: offshore wind turbines and those that do not have blades.
Advantages and disadvantages of wind energy
Advantages
The source of energy is inexhaustible
Clearly this is one of the most important advantages of this type of energy, the wind does not end and can be used in a great way in almost the whole world.
It doesn’t take much space
Another great advantage is that wind turbines do not need a lot of space to be able to work and generate enough energy. Another advantage is that this type of installation does not damage the soil or the land where it is located.
It is not polluting
A great advantage of this type of energy is that it does not generate any type of pollution while it is being produced.
Used wind turbines last quite a long time before they have to be scrapped.
Los aerogeneradores utilizados tienen una duración bastante grande antes de tener que ser desechados.
The cost is not that high
The importance of wind energy throughout the world grows a lot because it does not have a high cost and neither the turbines nor the maintenance is so expensive.
Disadvantages
There may be some problems with the wind
One of the biggest drawbacks of wind energy is that the wind can be a bit unpredictable, therefore some generation problems can occur (in small installations mainly).
cannot be stored
Wind power has another drawback, as it cannot be stored for use at a later time.
The blades can kill some birds
Unfortunately, wind energy has social benefits and disadvantages and one of the biggest is that birds can collide with the blades and this causes their death.
You already have a brief summary about wind energy, a form of energy that has many more advantages than disadvantages and that is expected to take on even greater importance throughout the world over time.
If you want to know more about renewable energies, we invite you to take a tour of other articles that we have for you.