1. Coal and Wind Power

2. Coal Energy Wind EnergyCoal is a widespread source of energy, it is Wind Energy is used all over the world, the topfound on all continents. The largest areas countries which use Wind Power as an energywhich have Coal are Russia, USA, and China.source are China, US, and Germany. Wind energy is a renewable energy source, it isCoal is a non-renewable fossil fuel. It is the process in which wind is generated intocreated from dead and decayed matter whichhas been formed millions of years ago. electricity with the use of wind turbines.When coal goes through the process ofIt is a reliable, efficient, and clean source ofcombustion, that heat released can be energy producing no emissions. Wind farmstransformed into electricity, which occurs in aPower Plant. There are different forms of coalscannot be built anywhere, they need a placeavailable, with some more useful than others.with wind. The wind farm of Waubra is located inWhile Coal is the major energy resource forVictoria, 35km north-west of Ballarat. WindAustralia, it is the type of energy source thatfarms contribute little to the enhanced greencontributes greatly to the Green House Effect. effect but pose quite a few impacts on the society and the environment around windVictorias Hazelwood Power Plant mines farms.Brown Coal (This isnt the most efficient coal).Coal is cheap but using it as an energyresource creates a great threat to theenvironment as well. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/fil 3. Coal Energy Coal is a combustible type of rock made out of carbon and hydrocarbons. It is a non renewable energy source as it takes millions of years to create. Dead and decaying matter mainly plant, after years and years the decaying matter slowly became buried under water and dirt. This trapped the energy of the dead and decaying matter. Heat and pressure from all the weight above (soil and water) formed the remains into coal. Electricity (TheCombustion (Burningturbine is connectedMechanical EnergyChemical Energyin a Boiler, whichto a generator which (Steam then rotates a(Coal)created very hotchanges the turbine) steam) Mechanical energyinto electricity) ) The efficiency of Coal as a energy source is 25%-30% efficient. 1) Coal is first mined (Open cut mines are common in Victoria and Australia) and then taken to a Power Plant, such as the Hazelwood Power station, located in Lab Trobe Valley. 2) The coal then goes through the process of combustion which takes place in a boiler. Coal burns in a boiler, the water in the boiler pipes create high pressured and hot steam. 3) The high pressured, hot steam then moves through pipes and ends up in a turbine. 4) The steam moves the blades of the turbine. 5) The turning blades of the turbine, turn a shaft which is connected to the generator. 6) The generator has big magnets which spin the coils of wire. 7) Electricity is produced through the wires. 8) This electricity is then transferred to a power grid, then through transformers which reach our homes, buildings etc Img: http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/02/21/1226009/610975- hazelwood-power-station.jpg 4. Wind EnergyWind is generated into electricity with the use of wind turbines. It is the process of: Electricity Mechanical Energy (Generator Kinetic Energy(Runs through a transformation of(Wind) Turbine mechanical energyinto electricity)This conversion of energy is around 35-45 % efficient.1) Wind Power plants, such as Waubra Wind Farm use large spinning blades. Air pushes against these blades, in which these blades rotate. Some of the air from this rotation is captured as Kinetic Energy.2) Kinetic Energy from wind which then goes through the process of Mechanical energy from turbine.3) It is then is transferred into a generator which converts the Mechanical Energy into electricity.4) It runs through an electricity grid, which makes the power available to households.http://www.flickriver.com/places/Australia/Victoria/Waubra/ 5. Hazelwood Power Station Wind Farm of WaubraAustralia has around 38 Coal Power Plants intotal, of which 9t mines. Hazelwood Power Victoria has around 7 sites of Wind Farms.Station is located in La Trobe Valley, 150kmWaubra Wind Farm is located 35km north-westeast of Melbourne. It is owned by of Ballarat. It is owned by Acciona Power, andInternational Power and was completed inwas created in 2009. The wind farm consists of1971. are located in Victoria. They are all 128 wind turbines in which each turbine has 1.5open cu MW and provides a total capacity of 192 MW.The power generated by Waubra Wind Farmprovides enough energy for 143,000It provides 25% of Victorias energy needshouseholds.and 5.4% of Australias energy needs.Hazelwood has also aimed to improveefficiency with their energy production, thishas resulted into a decrease in HazelwoodsC02 intensity. Google mapsGoogle maps via 6. Environmental Impacts of CoalMajor contributor to the enhanced Green House Effect: Coal is mainly used to produce electricity, as coal goes through the process of combustion, the generators release Carbon, including Carbon Dioxide - which is the largest contributor to the Enhanced Green House Effect. As generators release carbon, all the carbon trapped within the coal millions of years ago is now released back into the atmosphere again.Hazelwood Power Station is not the Power Station that produces the most carbon Dioxide. This Power Station is releasing around 16million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide a year (Second largest out of the La Trobe Vallery stations), this is 3% of Australias, and 13% of Victorias emissions. Hazelwood has been aiming to improve their efficiency, and has reduced its the strength of green house released by 10% since 1996.Dangers to miners: Workers mining coal are faced with the dangers of suffocation ( from Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides), gas poisoning, roof collaspes, and gas explosions.The illnesses of Pleural and Peritoneal Mesothelioma (form of cancer) were found to be seven times higher with people who worked in the power industry than Australias national average. In the past, miners working in La Trobe Valley were exposed to asbestos as it was used widely in their construction. An estimated number of 146,000 employees of 1921-1980 of the Hazelwood Power station were exposed to the Absestos.Disturbance of Land and wildlife:Open cut mines (Hazel Wood Power Station) change the land (destroys the quality, sometimes making it useless for other purposes) as the mining operations remove the soil and rock above all the coal. Mining operations also cause disturbance to all the wildlife that live in the area.Pollutants: Coal Power Stations release mercury - a toxic heavy metal into the atmosphere.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Rally_October_2010_Hazelwood_power_station.JPG 7. Enhanced Green House Effect ofCoalAs stated on the previous slide, Coal Power releases a great amount of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. It has a 40% contribution to the Enhanced Green House Effect.While Hazelwood Power Station does release Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere, they have been aiming to improve their efficiency in running the station, this has resulted into a 10% drop into the strength of green house being released. (Since 1996)Hazelwood Power station has created a management appointment named, IPR-GDF SUEZ which aims to have a reduction in green house gases. They have agreed on a Green House Reduction Deed with the Victorian State Government. They have also signed a Generator Efficiency Standard Deed in which they will continue to aim for thermal efficiency improvements during the time the power station is running.The Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act of the US is a strategy that aims for industries to reduce the pollution released into the air and water. With Coal Power Plants they have found a way through the use of technology to reduce the Sulfur and nitrogen oxides. They have also found a way to clean coal after its mined, in a way that doesnt harm the environment as much. (Technology that cleans the coal and makes it more energy efficient so less needs to be burned.)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Rally_October_2010_Hazelwood_power_ 8. EnvironmentalImpacts of WindEnvironmental Impacts of WindPowerThere are a few issues that have been brought up with the use of wind farms.http://www.flickriver.com/places/Australia/Vica/Waubra/ Noise: There is a significant amount of noise generated from the use of wind turbines. But like all mechanical systems, they produce some amount of noiseEarlier wind turbines were much more noisier than the ones we have now as there have been improvements made to the overall design of wind turbines tonoise. Wildlife: Wind Turbines cause an affect to the wildlife, this is particularly common with bats and birds as they often fly into the turbines and get killed. Treesalso affected, as they are needed to be cleared for the creation of wind power plants.To help reduce this, Acciona Power (Waubra WInd Farm) has put in certain monitoring programs for vegetation and species such as bats. In 2006 Accionaorganized a Bats and Avifauna management plan to manage and monitor any possible impacts of bats during the wind farms operation. Studies also tookin which they came to the conclusion that the site risk of birds and bats was very low.Every two years a monitoring program is required as part of the wind farm permit.Acciona Power has also conducted a survey on the possibility of Brolgas living in the site. They surveyed the local land owners asking if there were any sigof Brolgas around. The survey and previous surveys have found that it is unlikely for the Waubra Wind Farm site to be an area where they breed. They willcontinue to monitor and manage Brolgas, though. Appearance: Some people find wind turbines unattractive. But some wind farms, actually have areas in which tourists can come and visit. Waubra Wind Faa viewing platform located off Sunraysia Highway in which tourists and view the wind farm. Safety: While wind farms do not produce pollution, they still may cause safety issues with their construction, operation and maintenance.There is a risk when installing wind turbines, workers death are usually caused by falling or being caught in the machinery.If a turbines break is doesnt work. it can continue spinning freely and cause fire. Sometimes it is hard to stop these fires as the turbines are placed very higThese fires can release toxic fumes. There are now designs in which when a turbine catches fire it will extinguish it automatically. 9. Enhanced Green House Effect ofWind PowerWaubra Wind Farms energy production, and Wind Power in general, contributes very little to theenhanced green house effect as it produces no pollution and emission. It does not release carbondioxide, nitrogen dioxide, mercury or any other types of air pollution.) into the air. Wind power does notneed the use of fuel and water, either."In 2010 estimated wind energy generation saved Australia 5,100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. That isequivalent to the removal of 1,133,000 cars from our roads. As an additional environmental benefit, nowater is needed for wind farm operation. "[http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/cec/technologies/wind.html]Wind farms are able to help cut down green house emissions. Waubra Wind Farm offsets around635,000 tonnes of green house gas each year. http://www.flickriver.com/places/Australia/Victo a/Waubra/ 10. Disadvantages & AdvantagesCoal Advantages Wind Power Advantages Cheap to produce compared to Efficient and Clean - contributescreating electricity from renewable very little to the Enhanced Greenenergy sources. (Affordable)House Effect. Does not emit Carbon ReliableDioxide. Does not use water. We have the technology Basically free energy, cost is all in Widespread (Available in manyplaces; each continent has reserves the construction of the Winof coal)Turbines/Farms. It is a renewable energy source, aslong as there is wind. (It will not runCoal Disadvantagesout) Burning coal causes a large amount A number of Wind Farms found inof Carbon Dioxide released into the Victoria.atmosphere contributing to theEnhanced Green House EffectWind Power Disadvantages Burning it also produces pollutants. Wind is not available 24/7 It is not an unlimited suppy. (Non-renewable) Cost is expensive in Building WindFarms. Miners are prone to health risks(pollution and gases on site) Wind Turbines cannot be builtanywhere, they need a to be built Land/Plant/Wild life destructionwith a place with a lot of wind. Coal Power Stations is not limited in Causes death to wildlife, such aswhich areas in can and cant be birds and bats.built. Generates noise, which somepeople do not like. 11. 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