This article will tell you about the largest wind power project in Upstate New York. After working on the Maple Ridge Wind Farm near Lowville, in Lewis county, New York for a year, the writer has first hand experience with the size and scope of the project.

There are 195 wind turbines that reach about 400 feet into the sky from the ground up to the tip of the top blade. Each of these 195 wind turbines generates enough power to accommodate about 825 homes.

The output of each turbine is 1.65 megawatts, and the average household uses about 2 killowatts in a 24 hour period. The output of the Maple Ridge Wind Farm feeds high power lines that distribute the power all throughout the Upstate New York power grid.

From a distance, or even close up looking at one of these wind turbines, it is hard to believe the enormity of the size of each one. The steel tubular tower is 262 foot tall, and it has a 269 foot diameter rotor which consists of three blades that are computer controlled to take advantage of the slightest breeze, to being able to cause the turbine to shut down and free wheel in extremely high winds thereby keeping the rotors from being damaged.

On top of the tower is an enclosure called a nacelle which houses the rotor hub, the gear box and the generator. The power runs down the center of the tower to a distribution transformer at the base. From there the power goes to a central site power distribution house, and then out to the grid.

There is a ladder that goes all the way up to the nacelle inside the tower and that is how workers get up to work on the various components. The blades are a high-tech combination of fiber-glass, resins and balsa wood, and a worker can actually crawl right inside the blades to work on them if need be.

The safety program is intense for all of the workers that have to maintain these beasts and to the best of my knowledge there has never been an accident where anyone ever fell off these turbines.

As energy needs keep increasing in New York state and with the wicked prices that are charged for foreign oil and gas, these wind turbines are a much needed addition to New York’s natural water power generating plants, and help to lessen the load on the coal and oil fired generating systems.

You can find out more about these fabulous energy makers, and see some nice photographs of this project, on WayToGoGreen.org

As modern society searches around for alternative energy sources, wind farms are getting mention. There are, however, limitations regarding wind farms as major energy alternatives.

Wind power is an enticing energy platform compared to fossil fuels. The process works by using the inherent energy in wind as a method for producing electricity. The actual methodology is much like hydropower, but with wind used in place of water. Wind turbines catch the wind, which turns their blades. This turning motion cranks a generator that produces electricity. The electricity is stored in batteries or fed into the electrical grid of a utility. Walla, you have power!

Using wind power for localized needs has been around for a long time. The Persians are believed to be the first to use it with the purpose being to turn grain grinding stones. In modern times, the sole purpose is to generate electricity. On a large scale, this means wind farms.

Wind farms are simply large collections of wind turbines in a defined area. If you have ever driven east out of San Francisco, you have seen the wind farm along the freeway. While it is both intoxicating and a pollution free source of electricity, a wind farm has definite limitations.

The biggest limitation of wind farms is the electricity produced. Simply put, they do not produce massive amounts, certainly not on the scale needed in most cities in industrialized nations. Obviously, each location is different, but wind is simply not a constant occurrence in most places. Even when it is, the number of turbines required to produce enough energy for a city is mind boggling. This, of course, leads to a second limitation.

Wind farms need to cover a lot of physical space to produce large amounts of electricity. In many industrialized countries, space is at a premium. As a result, the sheer cost of purchasing land for wind farms is prohibitive. This issue, however, is losing some of its grit as offshore wind farms are becoming more prevalent.

To some, one of the limitations of wind farms is they are eyesores. Personally, I think they are mesmerizing and have an artistic appearance. Others, however, definitely do not agree. The Cape Wind offshore wind farm project has met with massive resistance for just this reason.

The limitations of wind farms are fairly significant at this point in time. As technology and new approaches, such as offshore wind farms, come to the forefront, these problems may fall the wayside.

When people think of states using alternative energy, New York probable does not come to mind. In fact, the state is proactive in the area. Here is a guide to wind energy in New York.

Wind Energy – New York

One of the places in the United States with the highest amount of energy consumption is New York. With the country’s largest city, New York City, being located here, and a large population of households – New York is constantly trying to find new and more economical ways to provide energy to the residents of the state. One new way that the state is trying to satisfy these energy needs is through wind energy, New York’s fastest growing way of producing electricity.

The amount of wind energy New York produces is enough to rank it 15th among the states in the US. New York has the potential to output 7,080 kilowatt (KW) of energy yearly, which is quite a large amount – if you think of the fact that each KW is enough to energy about 300 homes. Currently, New York has commercial wind farms set up in eight areas of the state, with two more wind projects planned for the near future. The state is producing 280 KW per year right now, with 235 KW more being proposed in new projects.

The oldest wind farm in New York is located in Madison County, which is in upstate New York. Opened in 2000, the Madison Wind area produces 11.5 KW of electricity per year, and this electricity is purchased on the open market, which means that consumers are getting some of their energy from this wind farm. This farm is home to seven wind turbines, which is a small amount compared to New York State’s largest wind farm. The largest wind project in the state is known as Maple Ridge Wind Farm, and it’s located in Tug Hill, a town in Lewis County, New York.

The Maple Ridge Wind Farm is run by the companies PPM Atlantic Renewable and Horizon Wind Energy, and it houses 120 wind turbines. The wind farm was built over two years, 2005 and 2006, and it produces 198 MW of energy per year (that’s enough to run over 59,000 households). This wind is also consumed by average consumers in the state, and the Maple Ridge Wind Farm also has additions planned to the area, as well as one addition of 20 wind turbines that were added in 2006.

As the wind energy New York develops grows, so do the number of people that benefit from cheaper, cleaner electricity. New York has also proposed having an off-shore wind farm, which would be unique for the area – and would add a lot of potential wind energy.

Man has been using wind to carry out his work since the time of the Pharaohs.?The Nile River teamed with crocodiles and sailboats harnessing the power of the wind for travel.?About one thousand years later, Middle Eastern societies began using windmills to grind grain. ?During the Crusades, soldiers brought the first windmills home to Europe, where we began to see them in the form we all know as the Dutch windmill.??

While windmills have been around for thousands of years, they are not an old-fashioned source of energy production.?The technology involved in windmills or wind turbines has continued to progress.?There are current 50,000 wind turbines working globally to provide more than 50 billion kilowatt hours annually.?The typical American household uses ten thousand kilowatt hours per year.?That’s enough energy to heat and light five million homes.? ? A wind farm (group of windmills) spread over an area the size of one-tenth of the State of Nevada would supply the entire United States with power, completely replacing fossil fuel sources.? ?

The percent of total power requirement filled by wind energy varies around the world.?Here are a few interesting wind power facts.?By 2020, it is estimated that wind energy will provide six percent of the total power required by the U.S.?The U.K. has a goal of ten percent wind powered by 2010.?Spain currently gets six percent of its power from wind, Germany is consuming eight percent, and Denmark leads the pack with over twenty percent use of wind energy.? ?

How can you take advantage of the benefits of wind energy??You can have a wind turbine on your property.?Technology has advanced enough to allow individuals to access the power of the wind privately, not just through large commercial undertakings like wind farms.?Federal, state, and local governments often reward those who invest in wind energy.?There are several programs available to help you venture into renewable resources.? ?

In some areas, a production credit is available.?If you commercially produce wind energy, you get $01.8 per kilowatt-hour produced for the first ten years of wind farm production.?This type of credit is generally not available to the private producer. ?

You can frequently sell back power to the power company.?Once you have produced enough power for your own use, your meter begins to run backward.?The remaining power can be sold back to the power company at retail prices, not the wholesale prices a power company would negotiate from a commercial wind energy producer. ?

In many states, as a small producer of wind energy, you are given “green” credits for producing renewable energy.?You can trade, buy and sell these “green” credits.?Large traditional energy producing companies are required to earn a certain number of these credits in a year and are willing to buy them from you make their quota. ?

Several tax credits are also available, including tax credits to help with purchase and installation.?Some states will give landowners a tax credit of up to twenty-five percent of the cost of installing an approved alternative energy system.? ?

I hope these wind power facts have given you a glimpse into this ages-old alternative power source and how it might be our solution for the future.?

I agree with the opinion that we, as a nation and even worldwide, must begin to control environmental conditions. It is becoming more and more obvious that our current and continual downslides are just as important to attempt to control. The environmental conditions of our world are just as the continued production of any other industry essential to the survival of human beings, if not more.

More and more one hears of the environmental issues that have risen as well as the ways in which to help improve the environment. Many people are coming to appreciate the fact that we are destroying our world, and that we must take steps to improve the environment and environmental threats that surround us.

Wind turbines collect energy from natural air flow. When this happens, due to the function of wind turbines, the air slows down and then spreads, diverting it around the wind turbine device or devices.

Here is a condensed idea of how the wind turbine works:

1. The Betz Limit

o Betz Law or, the Betz Limit determined that the use of a wind turbine can generate almost fifty-nine percent of the energy that would flow straight through the cross section in the construction of a turbine.

o No matter what kind of wind turbine or wind turbines one has, regardless of design, the Betz Limit applies.

o Albert Betz, a physicist from Germany, discovered this fact: that a wind turbine works (almost universally) as an incredibly effective kind of energy net for wind power.

o Albert Betz made this discovery in the year 1919.

2. The Unpredictability of Windy Weather

o Because windiness varies no matter where you live, it is impossible to predict exactly how much wind can be generated over a significant period of time such as the yield per year.

o In addition, different places have different probabilities of amounts of wind distribution.

o The most frequently used piece of equipment used to determine the wind speed distribution is a two – parameter Weibull distribution monitor.

o This piece of equipment is used to determine what have been termed “distribution shapes” from Gaussian to exponential.

For example: The Rayleigh model

This is a specific form of the Weilbull distribution function. In such a case, the distribution shape should be a parameter that equals two. Imitating or mirroring the distribution shapes, the Rayleigh model of the exact hourly wind speeds and patterns of a particular area.

3. Higher Wind Speed

o Because in certain places there is so much wind power to draw from, a lot of the wind in such places comes in gusts or short bursts.

o Here’s a good example:

When comparing the size of fueled power plants to the potential power of wind turbine farms, one will find that 10000 kW of wind turbine power is theoretically enough to produce as much power and energy as approximately one half of that, in power generation that is coal — fired.

o Despite unpredictability, the annual reports of wind turbine energy output usually vary by only a few points from year to year.

4. Turbine Sitting – when location is key:

o The general rule is that when a location has an average wind speed of ten miles per hour it is a perfect location for wind generators.

o Meteorology plays a very important part in the determination of exactly where to set up a wind farm or any other kind of wind turbine generator.

o Ideally, one wants a location with a constant stream of wind as opposed to turbulent, gusty high mph winds.

o The wind will virtually always blow faster at higher altitudes because of reduced drag from the sea or land, as well as the subsequently lower amounts of viscosity in the wind current.

o Very flat lands with smooth average speed winds are great locations for wind turbines as well.

5. Wind Parks and / or wind Farms of have many wind power turbines installed.

o Utility-scale wind turbine generators have to have limits for the operating minimum.

o This can prevent the application of a wind power generation system in especially cold areas

o There are, however, many experiments in the making. There are internal heaters, heating lubricants, and minimum temperature monitors to consider in the installation and use of wind turbines.

More and more one hears of the environmental issues that have risen as well as the ways in which to help improve the environment. Many people are coming to appreciate the fact that we are destroying our world, and that we must take steps to improve the environment and environmental threats that surround us.

Professionals have estimated that 1% to 3% of the Sun’s energy, the energy that hits the earth, transforms into wind energy. To give you an idea of how much energy this is, in simple terms: it is about fifty to one-hundred times the amount of energy that is produced by plant life and biomass over the entire earth.

Is it possible to build a wind machine inside of a farm silo? Why you ask – well we could study Tornadoes, Hurricanes and perhaps we can make energy too. Using a Mini-Hurricane or Tornado model and maybe a little Geo-Thermal heat we might be able to power up a Wind Turbine of considerable size. After all some geo-thermal units work in a similar way already, we just want to give it some extra power.

Today we have CAD CAM virtual airflow simulators allowing for Hurricane criteria, wingtip vortices and even Tornado modeling. What can we learn by building an internal wind machine based on a Hurricane Model? Well maybe we can learn how to make Hurricanes and thus learn how to stop them too. Stopping a Hurricane would indeed be of supreme value for life and property. We could also help the environment as well.

Many believe we should not mess with Mother Nature, as once you change one thing, you will change something else, that could take us well into a problem well in the future. Life is a lot like a Hurricane, as it is born, grows and then dies out – in the process, it makes mistakes, does damage and it also does some good, by bringing much needed rainfall to vegetation and that helps maintain other life. Just like, we can improve our own lives thru the choices we make, we can improve things by understanding how it works and how hurricanes work too.

Simulated Hurricane or Tornado energy generation in an enclosed environment is a clean energy, which uses all natural physics of all that is available. Why should we put R and D money into such a scheme? Well because although we know so much about the destructive capabilities of these extreme weather events, we know so little as to how to harness this intense energy. We should be thinking here. Sincerely, Lance.

When people think of wind power as a renewable energy, they tend to envision images of a couple of wind turbines twirling in the wind. The Tehachapi Wind Farm is an example of wind power on a large scale.

The Tehachapi wind farm is located in Kern County in California. It is one of the largest wind farms in the world. When I say large, I mean large. It has over 4,600 wind turbines. The turbines are built to turn into the wind to maximize energy production and even maintain braking mechanisms if the wind becomes to powerful. Three different styles of turbines are used including two and three blade traditional horizontal turbines as well as egg beater turbines, although the beaters are being phased out.

Collectively, the turbines generate over 1.4 billion kilowatts of electricity per year. Online since 1979, this one wind farm produces more electricity than Japan or Germany, two of the leading wind power countries in the world. In more practical terms, the farm produces generates over 120 million dollars in revenues by selling the electricity it produces each year. Much of the energy is sold in California with the California Edison utility recently reaching an agreement to purchase a large chunk to power much of the greater Los Angeles area.

When discussing renewable energy, there is a general consensus that arises. First, most people think it is a good idea for a couple of reasons. First, we can limit our fossil fuel addition and avoid the mess in the Mideast. Second, the use of renewable energy is popular because it is demonstratively better for our environment when compared to fossil fuels such as oil and cold.

Unfortunately, there is also a “look to the future” feel for renewable energy. Simply put, most think it is something that will not replace fossil fuels in this lifetime, to wit, it is a future concept. In fact, massive renewable energy alternatives are already coming online. The most famous is in Brazil where the country has converted away from oil to ethanol fuels. Brazil, however, is a long way away. The Tehachapi Wind Farm is a concrete example of the advancements in this country of renewable energy, something proving it does not have to be a future concept.

Wind power is proportional to the cube of the wind’s speed, so relatively minor increases in speed result in large changes in potential output. Individual turbines vary in size and power output from a few hundred watts to two or three megawatts (as a guide, a typical domestic system would be 2.5 – 6 kilowatts, depending on the location and size of the home).

Uses range from very small turbines supplying energy for battery charging systems (e.g. on boats or in homes), to turbines grouped on wind farms supplying electricity to the grid.

In Saddleworth, near Greater Manchester, an eco-war about wind turbines is waging. United Utilities want to build seven 350 foot wind turbines.

These will generate enough power to supply the average electricity needs of 8,500 homes in the local area. This wind farm is not situated out to sea but in the picturesque hills of the Saddleworth Moors and would be visible for miles around. Government targets state that 10% of the UK’s energy should be supplied by renewable resources by 2010 and developments like the Saddleworth Moor turbines would contribute towards that total. Leading environmentalists from across the country have previously convened in Saddleworth for the first ever National Forum opposing the creation of wind farms on rural beauty spots.

World renowned TV botanist, Professor David Bellamy, joined former Downing Street press secretary, Sir Bernard Ingham and hundreds of activists at the National Wind Farm Group Conference. There were a total of representatives from over 50 environmental groups from across the country attending this event. It aimed to raise awareness about the perceived dangers of wind farms and bring environmental groups closer together in their fight against the government.

The Saddleworth Moors Action Group says the turbines would have a negative impact on a unique landscape. The group also insist their campaign is not prompted by “not in my backyard” sentiments, but through a genuine desire to preserve the character of the local area.

One could argue that the government is not bothered about the environment then they are continually financing the construction of coal fired power stations in the third world and building more airports and more motorways in Britain? As tensions are mounting in Iran and Nigeria leading to increased oil prices, is now not the ideal time to exploit wind power both on land and at sea via grants to companies? With labour slipping up at the local elections in 05/06 and the Conservatives pushing the eco argument, is not in Labours interest to follow the Conservatives lead and not to pay lip service to wind farms as they currently do?

OR

Will the people that have to live near wind farms and see the things every day change their minds and believe that wind farms form a concerted effort to save the environment or just another commercial money making scheme for the companies involved?

See renewable energy companies in GuideMeGreen’s green directory

In 2007, the European Union pledged to significantly reduce carbon emissions by 2020. To further this goal, European countries have agreed to produce 20% of their energy from renewable sources such as wind farms and solar energy. Sweden has the most ambitious clean energy target in the European Union. It seeks to produce 50% of its energy from renewable sources, including Europe’s largest wind farm, within the next ten years.

There are currently six operational wind farms in Sweden and more in the development phase. The largest proposed project is a series of wind farms to be built in a secluded 175 square mile area in Markbygden in Northern Sweden. The region has excellent wind conditions. The turbines would be built near three existing power lines which can be utilized to distribute the generated electricity. The Markgygden wind farm would include over 1000 wind turbines and is expected to generate 10 terawatt (10 trillion watts) hours per year. It will cost $6.9 billion dollars to build and could be completed within 12-15 years. The wind farm is expected to be the largest on-shore source of wind energy in Europe.

In 2009, the Norrbotten county administrative board in Sweden recommended that the government grant a permit to the Swedish company Markbygden Vind AB to build the wind farm. According to an April 6, 2009, press release issued by regional authorities, the permit will only be issued if the farm does not impact defense interests, and fauna and forest reindeer will be adequately protected. The government will not make a decision until 2010 and, to date, no construction contract has been signed.

Seventy-five percent of Markbygden Vind AB is owned by Svevind Holding which has extensive experience in wind farm technology and has already received permits to construct other facilities in Sweden. The other twenty-five percent of the company is owned by the German company Enercon which is one of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers.

Clean energy solutions are among the items to be addressed by organizations promoting the dot eco initiative. Dot Eco LLC, with support from Al Gore, the Alliance for Climate Protection, Sierra Club and Surfrider have applied to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for an “.eco” top level domain. ICANN restricts the number of top level domains (such as .com or .org) but is currently reviewing applications for additional domains. The Dot eco initiative consists of a team of internet technicians, scientists, and media experts who plan to use the domain name to connect environmentally-minded people across the globe. A portion of the registration fees generated by those registering “.eco” sites will be donated to green causes. It represents a further development in the world’s progress towards clean, sustainable energy.

Wind power system suitable for providing electricity or mechanical power for rural homes or farms is commercially available. A small scale system generally includes a propeller and dc generator rated in the range from about 50 to 6,000 watts, a tail vane to keep the propeller rotation plane perpendicular to the wind direction, a steel tower 10 to 100 feet high, a set of 20 or more lead acid storage batteries charged by the generator to provide electric power when there is little or no wind, and an inverter that converts dc to ac. Such a system is considered practical in areas where wind speeds average 8 miles per hour or more.

A 6 kilowatt wind generator has an output of 325 kwh per month in an area where the average wind speed is 10 miles per hour. It can supply enough power to meet all the electrical needs of a modern household except for cooking and heating, which can be done with gas. Such an installation requires about 75 storage batteries to provide electricity during windless times.

In the early 1970’s in the United States, the complete installation cost for a 2 kilowatt system was about $1,400 per kilowatt or capacity. The cost of wind generated electrical energy is in the range from 10 to 25 cents per kwh, depending on wind condition, cost of equipment, and interest rates. This range includes the cost of batteries for energy storage and an inverter. Where an ac generator is used to provide power directly, such as to water pumping equipment for irrigation, the cost can decrease to about 5 cents per kwh. For comparison, an electric power station generator costs about $150 per kilowatt of capacity, and the electricity to the user costs 3 to 8 cents per kwh.