Welcome! Please get your interactive
notebook and read the board!
Harnessing the Wind – we’re #1!
Current largest wind farm: Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center
421 wind turbines 735 megawatts. 47,000 acres of
land in Taylor and Nolan County, Texas.
Texas’ next “cash crop”?
500,000 Texas homes currently, expanding 10 times in next decade
In 2012, wind generated 10,407 megawatts
(1 megawatt = 500 homes)
13% of state’s electricity
Interactive notebook!
Title: Wind PowerDate: May 1
How does it work?
How does it work?
Area swept by blades can be size of 747 plane
Tips of blades can be going 200mph
Height – 240ft (taller than Statue of Liberty)
Nacelle – size of greyhound bus
How does it work?
World’s largest German turbine: (394-feet) behemoth capable of generating 5 MW
Need 8 mi/hr winds to generate electricity; max electrical production at 15-18 mi/hr winds; turbines cut off at 55 mi/hr winds
Yaw motor – nacelle moves to face turbine directly into wind
Applications
Typical wind farm: 100Megawatts (MW)
Coal fired power plant – 500-600 MW
One 1.5MW turbine could power about 350 homes/year
*The Grid connects electric sources to consumers wind grid
So what if you currently have wind electricity? Do your lights go out on still days?
Best wind is in the morning, but peak demand is in the afternoon
Advantages
No air pollution Can use land for
grazing Renewable Domestic Able to use current
electric grid
Disadvantages
Land use – requires space
Bird and bat deaths
Winds peak in morning and March-May
Power up!
www.texaseletricitychoice.com
Research: innovative wind applications – what’s new?