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Course: NOVA Labs > Unit 1
Lesson 5: Energy- Growing appetites, limited resources
- Growing appetites, limited resources quiz
- Energy defined
- Energy defined quiz
- Putting energy to use
- Putting energy to use quiz
- Never-ending supply
- Never-ending supply quiz
- Solar power
- Solar power quiz
- Wind power
- Wind power quiz
- Solving the storage problem
- Solving the storage problem quiz
- Toward a smarter grid
- Toward a smarter grid quiz
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Wind power
Unlike the water-pumping windmills that inspired them, modern wind turbines generate electricity. But several engineering puzzles must still be solved to make wind power available in all communities.
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So has there been any advancement toward storing energy? That seems to be the main problem with renewable energy. It lacks the energy on demand abilities of coal and nuclear plants.(3 votes)
There have been advancements, such as the new battery for storing electricity by Elon Musk, but no really really big advancements.(2 votes)
At0:18, the video cites farm windmills grinding grain as an example of wind energy. Are windmills still used on farms today, or have they switched to modern machinery?(2 votes)- Yes, some farms still use windmills to grind grain. I live in Iowa and I don't see that many but there are a few. I have an old mill 30 minutes away from our house where they have fixed up and do tours of that.(2 votes)
Could Another disadvantage be that when the the turbines are spinning, flying animals such as birds could get caught up in the machine which defeats the point of being "eco-friendly"?(3 votes)
They only said that the things didn't emit CO2, not eco-friendly.(1 vote)
where does wind come from?(1 vote)- One way is hot air cooling down in the atmosphere. Being heavier, it falls down.(1 vote)
Where do we store wind energy?(1 vote)
Wind turbines recover the kinetic energy of the moving air by utilizing propeller-like blades, which are turned by wind. The power is transmitted via a shaft to a generator which then converts it into electrical energy. Typically, a group of wind turbines will be installed in the same location known as a 'farm'.(1 vote)
why are the blades so tiny? is it because the wind would need to blow harder to spin a bigger blade?(1 vote)- Was the picture at :09 in the Netherlands?(1 vote)
wouldn't capacitors work, or are they really expensive?(1 vote)- You are correct. Capacitors could solve short term energy storage problems but they are horrifically expensive. There are folks working on this solution but it looks like they are focused on short term (5 to 15 minute) storage. This allows grid operators time to bring additional generating capacity on-line to make up the energy when the wind stops blowing. See:
http://cleantechnica.com/2013/06/18/interview-with-maxwell-technologies-ultracapacitor-based-energy-storage-system/
Regards,
APD(1 vote)
Could you be specific in explaining how a generator functions, i.e. with regards to wind power(0 votes)
0:18