How Does Wind Power Work?

The way that wind turbines function and create energy may seem self explanatory. To start, large turbines are built and placed in areas that are often windy, such as on top of hills or along the sides of highways. When the wind blows in these areas, it turns the large blades on the windmills. This in turn spins a shaft that is connected to a generator, which then produces electricity. While most people have an image of a traditional windmill in their heads, there is actually a second type that is also in use. The traditional windmill is called a horizontal axis type, and the second variety is called vertical axis.

Pros and Cons of Wind Power

As with all available energy sources, there are both positives and negatives that come from using wind as a way to produce electricity. As for wind’s benefits, they mainly stem from its renewability. First off, wind power will never run out so there is no worry about using it up. Second, wind is completely green so it is eco friendly and will not cause any pollution. Additionally, it is very low cost to maintain windmills after they have been built. To add to this, the price of wind power has decreased dramatically in the past few centuries.

Despite these benefits, there are also many challenges that need to be faced when dealing with wind power. The main issue is that wind is an inconsistent power source, so the amount of energy generated is based upon the weather at the time. Another large problem with wind power is that, although they are cheap to maintain, the cost to build and install windmills is extremely high. Furthermore, windmills sometime cause an issue with wildlife running into them and getting injured, such as birds and bats. A last negative caused by windmills is that people in the vicinity often complain that they are too loud, and also that they are not aesthetically pleasing.

Wind Power in the USA vs Germany

The United States is currently the world’s top producer of wind power in the whole world. Even while being on top, wind is still a fast growing industry. There are many investments from the US Energy Department in wind power to help advance the outreach and efficiency of wind energy across the states. The current number of houses that could be powered by the amount of wind power produced from the installed windmills in the US as of the end of 2017 is about 25 million. Wind is even able to supply some states with over 20% of their yearly energy from wind power, with the state Iowa reaching over 31% in 2015. Wind’s growth can also be contributed to the fact that about 90% of voters across the political spectrum believe that expanding wind energy in the US will benefit the country.

US Wind Energy Outputs

Wind power is also a very important and fast growing industry as Germany as well. Wind is the largest renewable energy source utilized in Germany, plus Germany is currently Europe’s leader in onshore wind power production. The only possible issue with wind power in Germany is its distribution. The majority of windmills in Germany are in the north due to its favorable weather conditions, which leaves south and central Germany with less of an industry. Uneven weather patterns also causes the majority of wind power to be produced for Germany during the winter. Despite these two potential slight issues, the graph below clearly shows that wind power is an extremely strong source of energy for Germany. This is due largely in part to the “Energiewende” that was discussed in my solar power blog, which is Germany’s plan to completely phase out fossil fuels and use only renewable resources.

Germany’s Renewable Energy Outputs

In conclusion, the United States and Germany both have similar viewpoints on wind power. Both nations definitely seem to share analogous goals for their futures in renewable energy, and both also seem to be keen on improving their wind energy specifically. I believe that this is due to the fact that the majority of countries across the world are now understanding that there needs to be action taken to improve the eco-friendliness of the energy sources being utilized, and it seems that wind power is a very efficient way of doing so. Hopefully both countries will achieve their goals and keep expanding their wind industries to contribute to a healthier earth.

For anyone reading this blog for the first time, here’s a quick overview. In this blog I will be exploring different types of energy sources, how they work, and the differences in their utilization in the United States vs Germany. Today’s energy source will be nuclear!

How Does Nuclear Power Work?

Nuclear energy is produced in a similar way to many other energy sources: it produces energy by boiling water, which produces steam, which then turns turbines on generators to produce electricity. They cause the boiling of this water through the process of fission. Fission occurs when Uranium atoms split inside of a nuclear reactor. This is a self sustaining chain reaction which continues until all of the Uranium has reacted. The process of fission is used in both “Boiling Water Reactors” and “Pressurized Water Reactors,” which utilize slightly different methods to create steam and power their generator.

Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power

Nuclear Power brings both many positives and negatives in its process of energy production. A main benefit of nuclear power is its lack of air pollution that it causes. Nuclear power plants to not cause any greenhouse gas emissions, which leads it do be much better for the air than any fossil fuels. Plus, even though nuclear energy is a nonrenewable resource, it is estimated that there is still enough Uranium available for about 70-80 more years of usage. It is also more reliable than other more environmentally friendly options, such as wind and solar, whose outputs may be affected by the weather and time of day.

Despite these benefits, nuclear power also has many drawbacks. First of all, even though nuclear power plants do not cause greenhouse gas emissions, they still have many environmental drawbacks. The first environmental issue with nuclear is the fact that mining for uranium is not an environmentally friendly process. There is also the issue of all of the radioactive waste caused by nuclear power plants, around 2,000 metric tons a year, which cannot easily be disposed of due to the harm that the radioactivity could cause to organisms. There is also a large concern for the safety surrounding power plants due to the possibility of nuclear accidents, such as the ones which occurred in Chernobyl and Fukushima.

Nuclear Power in the United States vs Germany

As of right now, the United States creates about one third of the world’s nuclear energy, making it the planet’s largest producer. There are currently 99 power plants in the United States, with 2 more on the way, which produced 805 billion Kilowatt Hours (kWh) in 2016- almost one fifth of the United States’ total energy output. These power plants are located across 30 states, and their popularity is likely due to their rising efficiency and decreasing cost. Another large contributing factor to the high percentage of America’s energy from nuclear is also the encouragement that it receives from US policies and funding, in addition to the increasingly positive view of nuclear power that has been adapted by the US public in the past 30 years.

Germany, however, has a very different approach to nuclear power. Germany currently has eight nuclear reactors which account for about 14% of the country’s total energy, which is in contrast to 2011 when Germany had 17 reactors that produced about 25% of the country’s energy. This is due to the phase-out of nuclear power which is happening in Germany right now. This phase-out of nuclear energy in Germany outlines a plan to remove all power plants by the year 2022, which is already seen in action with the shutdown of 9 plants since 2011. This phase-out is due largely to an extremely negative view of nuclear power by the German public, whose speaking out and protests have led to these governmental actions to reduce the use of nuclear energy. Germany’s dislike of nuclear began in the 1970’s with an anti-nuclear movement, due to the German population’s distrust of nuclear power because of its possible dangers. This movement was strengthened after the Three Mile Island accident in the United States, and caused even more protests in Germany. Finally, Angela Merkel put policy into place to begin the nuclear phase-out plan.

Overall, it is clear to see that the United States and Germany have entirely opposite goals and plans when it comes to nuclear power. The US continues to grow their nuclear industry and build more plants, while Germany is attempting to remove nuclear from their available energy sources completely. Both of these countries’ attitudes and actions are highly driven by public policy and public opinion, and both lead to a future of improved energy usage based on each nation’s values.

Exploring different energy sources and their uses across the globe.

USA vs Germany Energy Sources

Monthly Archives: February 2018

Wind Power