Alternative Energy Wind

  

Eolic energy is becoming more and more popular. Wind farms do not hurt the environment and they reduce America’s dependence on oil coming from unstable areas of the globe. Increasing numbers of investors are paying attention to this resource for renewable energy and have been looking for the best investment.

Alternative energy analysts who monitor the latest energy trends agree that eolic power is one of the most exciting new growth industries. During the past seven years, the installed energy capacity around the world has grown from 14,604 MW in 2000 to 84,934 MW in 2007. That’s a total growth of 482%, or a compounded annual growth rate of 28.6%.

What about projections for the future? By 2012, total installed capacity is expected to reach 267,837 MW. That’s an impressive expected growth of 25.8% per year and thanks to Barack Obama’s alternative energy initiative, the wind industry could grow even faster than projected.

How can you as an individual investor participate in this boom and find the best wind power investment?

All you have to do is identify and analyze the companies that generate some or all of their revenue from eolic activities. That includes energy installers like Western Wind (TSX.V: WND), energy infrastructure companies such as ABB (NYSE: ABB), and turbine manufactures like Nordex (FRANKFURT: NDX1).

This investment list would not be complete without GE Energy (NYSE: GE) and Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), two of the largest wind turbine manufacturers. However, even though these companies are giants among other companies in this industry, they obtain only a relatively small part of their revenue from eolic activities. That could change as overall investment in this renewable energy source continues to grow over the coming years and decades. For more articles like this bookmark www.AlternativeEnergyWind.info

Author: Max Appleton

Alternative energy wind sources have actually been in use for quite some time, in fact, we have been using wind power for over 900 years!  As we continue to drive for more and more alternative energy sources, we will see incredible development in wind power helping to drive our economy and create jobs.

There is a general push in recent years to research and develop alternative energy sources. Two of the main options are solar and wind power. Both are effective as renewable energy sources. This article focuses on wind power and gives 10 quick facts about wind-generated electricity.

1. The utilization of wind power has been around for over 900 years. Ruins of vertical wind tower bases were found in France that dated back to 1150.

2. Large wind turbines can generate enough electricity to supply around 600 homes. These types of windmills are usually placed in areas of high wind activity usually tens but sometimes hundreds at a time.

3. A small windmill can generate enough electricity to supply a single home or small business. The amount of power generated depends on wind activity and the length of the blades, but at the very least a windmill can help to reduce power costs.

4. Vertical windmills generate 50% more electricity than horizontal windmills. This is because vertical wind turbines are able to catch wind in any direction, not just in the one that the windmill is pointed at.

5. A complaint about windmills is that the blades kill birds and other flying animals, but more animals die from running into cars, power lines, and high-rise buildings than from getting caught in a wind turbine.

6. From 2000 to 2006, the number windmills has quadrupled across the world. Globally, countries had the capacity to generate more than 70,000 megawatts last year. To put this into perspective, a single megawatt is enough to power approximately 250 homes.

7. Germany is the most wind-powered country. Following Germany, is Spain, the US, India, and Denmark.

8. California generates the most wind power in the United States. America as a hole generates around 17 billion kilowatts of electricity every year.

9. Generating enough wind power for your home can make you money. A typical residential home uses around 10,000 kilowatts every year. If your windmill generates excess electricity, the power company will buy that electricity from you. This only works if your windmill is tied to your main power line.

10. Wind power is actually a type of solar power. Wind is generated as the atmosphere of the earth is heated and cooled. As these hot and cold regions meet, it causes air to move.

Wind power is mainstay in terms of renewable energy alternatives. As more research is done and it becomes cheaper to install a windmill, it will become imperative for residences and businesses to implement this technology to become more environmentally friendly, but also economically more sound.

Author: Dean L.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dean_L.

To explore floating, offshore wind power stations and continue to develop alternative energy wind power sources sounds exciting and a possibility for an area like Southern California where land can be at a serious premium, or even in short supply in many areas due to sprawl. 

Alexandra Beck Gjorv of the Norwegian-based energy concern Statoil told reporters this weekend that the new floating wind power station, known as the Hywind, “should help move offshore wind farms out of sight”.

If it proves successful, explained Gjorv, it could spur an industry-wide shift to relocate wind farms to locations several miles offshore where they would no longer cause disruptions on land.

Moving windfarms with thousands of giant turbines from their current locations on land into the northern Atlantic could potentially benefit military radar operations, the shipping industry, fisheries, bird life and tourism, Gjorv explained.

But there are also benefits for the energy industry itself.

“Taking wind turbines to sea presents new opportunities,” said Ms Gjorv.  “The wind is stronger and more consistent [and] areas are large.”

Statoil says that the floating turbines will be connected to mainland power grids by cables stretched across the ocean floor.  The use of long, high-voltage cables places practical limits on just how far offshore the company can place its turbines. Because the durable, high-capacity cables are so expensive, the distance from land is not unlimited, explained Ms Gjorv.

The Hywind turbine was designed and built by German engineering conglomerate Siemens AG, combining the newest wind power technologies with those from the oil and gas industry. The 2.3 megawatt floating power generator is set for a two year trial run off the coast of Norway before Statoil will make a decision on large-scale commercial viability
of the devices.

In addition to the 65-meter-tall above ground portion of the turbine, the Hywind is also equipped with a flotation element that stretches 100 meters beneath the surface of the sea.  The submerged segment, known as a draft, will be anchored to the sea bed by three cables that can be up to 700 meters in length. Thus, the turbine can potentially be moored in waters nearly a kilometer deep.

Particularly in their early phases, offshore wind farms will cost significantly more than the more common terrestrial-based ones. In the long-run, however, Ms Gjorv maintains that there is no reason why the floating wind farms should cost more than static ones.

She added that Statoil intends to initially push their product in markets where there is both
the ability to pay as well as a rapidly growing demand for energy.

Gjorv
insists that the floating turbines could eventually be installed off both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America as well as off the coasts of Spain, Portugal, Norway and the United Kingdom.

Floating wind farms could prove a practical and beneficial energy source for countries with little available land or who have very little wind, Ms Gjorv added.

“The global market for such turbines is potentially enormous, depending on how low we can press costs,” she said, though she was unable to offer specifics on when or at what cost
the turbines would be commercially available.
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