Human Energy Needs Would be Met by the Wind

Wind energy.

According to the latest study by Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution For Science, wind power to fulfill the world's energy demand. Where turbines that convert wind into energy can produce more power than land or marine-based generators.

Their research was published in Nature Climate Change, on September 9, 2012 edition. Led by Kate Marvel of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, to get the great power of the wind, the researchers divided the two sources of wind, the surface winds and atmospheric winds. With 2 models, the research team was able to generate power more than 400 terrawatts with surface winds. As for the winds in the atmosphere, researchers can produce more than 1,800 terrawatts.

“Turbines create drag, or resistance, which removes momentum from the winds and tends to slow them. As the number of wind turbines increase, the amount of energy that is extracted increases. But at some point, the winds would be slowed so much that adding more turbines will not generate more electricity. This study focused on finding the point at which energy extraction is highest,” a news release on the study reported.

As quoted from Physorg, researchers used the model to calculate the amount of energy that can be produced from the two wind sources. Surfaces can be generated from wind turbines, which are supported by a tower on land or at sea. To wind in the atmosphere can be converted using a kite.

Today, civilization uses about 18 TW of power. Near-surface winds could provide more than 20 times today's global power demand and wind turbines on kites could potentially capture 100 times the current global power demand.

If all of our energy was provided by wind power, the wind turbines would change surface temperatures by around 0.1 degree Celsius and alter precipitation levels by around 1%. The researchers think that these would not be substantial environmental impacts.

“Looking at the big picture, it is more likely that economic, technological or political factors will determine the growth of wind power around the world, rather than geophysical limitations,” Caldeira said. *** [PHYSORG | SEPTI | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 11102012]

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