WORLD WIND ENERGY NET

PRINT PAGE “New York has an estimated on and off shore wind capacity of 10,000 megawatts. If fully developed, wind could meet the electrical needs of over 3 million households.”

Wind is a free and renewable form of energy which throughout history has been used to grind grain, power ships, and pump water. Wind is created when the sun unevenly heats the earth’s surface. Thus, wind energy is a form of solar energy. The cost of using wind to generate electricity has been significantly reduced over the past decades due to technical improvements and mass production. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has funded significant development of wind power across New York State. Also, New York has a Renewal Portfolio Standard which requires that 25% of our electricity be produced from renewable sources by 2013 (up from 19% in 2005). Now most of New York’s renewable energy is hydro. Much of the anticipated new renewable capacity will be wind.

HOW DOES WIND ENERGY WORK?
Wind turbine blades capture wind energy, a form of mechanical energy, and put it to work turning a drive shaft, gearbox, and generator to produce electrical energy. Many factors affect wind turbine efficiency including turbine blade aerodynamics. Large utility-scale wind turbines can now generate more than a megawatt (1,000,000 watts) of electrical power each and deliver electricity directly into the electric grid. These turbines are over 200 feet high at the rotor hub and have blades which are 220 feet or more in diameter. Thus, the blades of a single turbine may sweep an area 80% of the size of a football field. Utility scale turbines are generally grouped together in “wind farms.” The turbines themselves take up little space, just the area of their bases and access roads, so they are compatible with other land uses including farming. Turbines may also be installed off-shore over water where there is higher and more consistent wind speed. Each wind turbine is controlled by computer and in large projects is connected to a central computer where the turbines can be monitored. Wind turbines are designed with cut-in wind speeds and cut-out speeds (i.e. the wind speeds when the turbines start turning or shut off to prevent drive train damage). Typically, maximum electric generation occurs at speeds of 30-35mph. Over the course of one year, well-sited wind power plants operate at an average of 30-35% of their rated capacity.

CONTROVERSIES “BLOWING IN THE WIND”
Wind farms tend to be spread out so turbines do not block each other’s wind. They also tend to be the largest objects on the landscape. No wonder these installations raise issues of aesthetics, view, and historic preservation. Visual impact is in the eye of the beholder. Some people like the sight of giant turbines because they signify clean energy and look like giant kinetic sculptures. Other people dislike their appearance and think they industrialize the landscape. Critics charge that wind turbines are noisy but in fact they are now nearly as quiet as the wind which turns them. While studies have shown that impacts on birds can be minimal, siting decisions should be based on a comprehensive environmental analysis which considers bird migratory routes and predicted avian mortality.

Steel Winds 20 Megawatt wind farm on the shore of Lake Erie (on the old Bethlehem Steel site)
Lackawanna, NY

REGIONAL WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL
Buffalo may have one of the first urban wind farms with wind turbines installed within sight of downtown Buffalo. Potential wind sites in Buffalo include the Outer Harbor, breakwaters, Buffalo offshore, Stony Point, the Bethlehem Steel property, and Bethlehem offshore. A study conducted by UB students supervised by Professor Ernest Sternberg of the University at Buffalo’s Urban Planning Department concluded that the total installed capacity of these sites is 214 megawatts, capable of producing over 500 million kWh of electricity per year. Other benefits include the reclamation of brownfields, the creation of jobs, increased property taxes, and positive publicity and image building for the city.