A utopian design that is becoming increasingly popular worldwide are wind turbines, and for good reasons. Using wind turbines as an electricity source has many benefits. Among the most important for society include the facts that wind turbines don’t require fresh water (unlike irrigation and thermal electric generation which account for approximately 77% of the U.S. fresh water use according to the U.S. Department of Energy). Second, wind energy is inexhaustible and infinitely renewable. Third, wind energy is a clean energy that produces no emissions. Next, because the fuel (wind) is free, the gas demand is reduced and gas price hikes are therefore limited. Furthermore, they take up less land than solar panels or other energy plants do. Finally it can be used in a variety of applications to power homes, businesses, farms, and ranches.
Information above from http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy05osti/37602.pdf
When a technology is as innovative as wind turbines, it is no wonder why new designs are always emerging, which is exactly what occurred late in the summer of 2010. Last August, a British Consortium unveiled “the Nova vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) and the Aerogenerator X,” “two radical V-shaped wind turbine designs that are lighter, more stable, easier to maintain and generate more power than current generations.” According to the article in The Irish Times, “V-shaped turbines operate at a lower height and do not encounter the same problems as the current generation- known as horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs)- because of their size and height, especially in gale force winds.” “Designed for offshore deployment, VAWTs are also able to harness the wind from any direction and do not require mechanisms that ensure they’re always facing the wind.”
Information above and image below from http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/innovation/2010/0827/1224277358316.html
This design is not without problems and it will likely be several years before full scale prototypes are ready to be mass produced, but the interest in creativity by the designers, and the interest in the project by the people is encouraging.
Such designs do nothing but strive to improve society. The universal use of wind energy would reduce the consequences of society’s dependence on energy. No longer would we have to worry about energy plants polluting our air and water, or running out of fuel, or driving prices for fuels and electricity higher and higher.
It is clear the future is in wind.
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