05.07.2009

Electric energy generated through the harnessing of wind. Harnessing the wind is highly dependent upon weather and location. Indeed, wind turbines generate electricity very irregularly, because the wind itself is inconsistent. Therefore wind turbine always need backup power from fossil fuels to keep the electricity grid in balance. Natural gas turbines are probably the best way to do this as they are able to start up quickly, as opposed to coal-fired plants which need to be maintained in a very inefficient standby mode if they are to respond to large fluctuations in power demand, when wind generators stop suddenly. Wind power is thus clearly not reducing the dependence on imported fuels such as natural gas and may even enhance the use of natural gas. The average wind velocity of Earth is around 9 m/sec. The power that could be produced when a wind mill is facing the wind of 16 km/hr is around 50 watts. Germany (installed wind capacity of 21,400 MW in 2007) and Spain (installed capacity of 14,700 MW) are Europe’s leading producers of wind power. One of the main problems with wind power is the space it requires for setting up wind farms. Another problem is the intermittency of wind and its destabilizing effect on the grid that requires stable transmission of energy so that wind power complicates power system balancing >

Gina Cohen
Natural Gas Expert
Phone:
972-54-4203480
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