How does the energy production using wind energy compare to other sources? (such as solar, geo thermal, ect.)
Also, i need a diagram or picture to show how the energy is produced using wind energy
How does the energy production using wind energy compare to other sources? (such as solar, geo thermal, ect.)
Also, i need a diagram or picture to show how the energy is produced using wind energy
John W says
A diagram of wind energy would show the sun heating air, air flowing from hot to cold areas and a wind turbine collecting some of the power.
A diagram of coal power would show the sun shining on a forest, the forest dying and being buried, the buried forest being mined as coal and burned at a power plant.
A diagram of hydro power would show the sun shining on a sea, the water evaporating forming clouds which rain over land forming rivers that flow and hydro dams generating power from that flow
A diagram of geothermal power would be a cross section of the Earth showing a hot interior, pipes going down to collect the heat bringing heated water or rather steam up to a generation plant.
Winds blow more at night than during the day so contrary to popular belief, wind power is not available throughout the entire day and since energy demand is the highest during the day, wind power isn’t particularly useful as it’s only available when people don’t need it. Both wind and solar energy are not available on demand so standby power facilities that use natural gas must be available to step in when the wind fades or a cloud passes by so there is a limit of how much of our energy can be solar or wind without adding additional fossil fueled power plants which we hope not to use. With wind and solar, you not only pay for the wind and solar energy generation but also for the fossil fuels energy generation to be held in reserve.
Tyler says
wind energy, in the sence of kwh, is more expensive that coal and natural gas. the same is true for other renewables such as solar too. recent developments have brought the cost much closer but I know as of 5 or so years ago coal was about 2-3 cents per kwh and wind a staggering 8-10 cents.
the source below has some more recent data and i think should answer any other related questions you may have
Shane Green says
I think this is how wind energy compared to solar energy
Solar Energy
Con: some of the materials used in solar panels are procured through strip mining and are pretty caustic.
Con: Batteries needed to store energy at night or when it’s cloudy.
Pro: Less intrusive than big wind turbines.
Wind
Con: Noise
Con: Bird Hazard
Pro: Generates day or night as long as the wind is blowing.
Shafter says
Wind energy is probably more reliable and able to produce more electricty that solar panels. The drawback to solar panels is two-fold. First, they are very expensive. Second, they require a certain amount of sunlight to be able to work, There is a third–solar panels DO NOT produce a tremendous amount of electricity and in order to "match" what the utility company can provide, you would need an elaborate array that would require a lot of space. Such an arrangemtn would cost tens of thousands of dollars. This sort of renewable energy is way beyond the pocketbooks of most people and would take years to recover the cost.
Geothermal energy is not uised to generate electricity so much as it used as a source of heating and cooling. Geothermal can very expesnsive to install, but most of it is buried underground and does not use up a lot of surface space the way solar panels do. In addition, most geothermal systems are pretty much in place permanently with almost nothing that will ever wear out. The cost return on geothermal is consideralby better than solar power.
Wind energy can be used to turn a electrical generator to produce power, which in turn is passed through a rectifying unit (converts alternating current to direct current), which is used to charge storage batteries. A wind generator is less costly than solar panels and doesn’t take up the space that a solar array takes up. Its main drawback is that it does require that some sort of wind current be available in order to operate.