WIND POWER: HARNESSING NATURE Introduction
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Table of Contents WIND POWER: HARNESSING NATURE Introduction . 43 The Answer’s in the Wind . .44 More Energy, New Sources . 45 International Precedents . 49 The Canadian 10 X 10 Plan . 51 A Local Approach . 53 Discussion, Research, and Essay Questions . 55 WIND POWER: HARNESSING NATURE Introduction In one of the most memorable scenes in emissions—a significant byproduct of fossil Miguel de Cervantes 17th-century novel Don fuel use—and health concerns over increas- Quixote, the Don, his mind addled by a life ing amounts of smog have kept interest high spent reading romances, rides his horse in discovering new sources of pollution-free across the Spanish plain and encounters a energy. These sources are needed to generate group of 30 to 40 windmills. In his confused both the energy the industrialized countries condition, he mistakes these for giants, and have come to depend on, and the energy drives his lance into the sail of the nearest developing countries require to improve their one. Both the knight and his steed are lifted standard of living. into the air and thrown to the ground, much Wind power is seen as a major player in injured by the power of the wind. renewable energy development because its Were the Don to encounter a modern wind technology has improved dramatically over a turbine he would certainly recognize it as a short period of time and has proven itself to giant. Picture, for example, the windmill be safe, clean and reliable. Countries such as installed at the nuclear generating station in Spain, Germany and Denmark have made it Pickering, Ontario. This giant consists of a the cornerstone of their new energy pro- 78-metre steel tower topped by a generating grams. As well, the United States, especially unit about the size of a bus, with three rotat- in California, has developed significant wind ing blades each 39 metres long. A giant, but farms to supplement its energy supply from not a monster: the blades rotate a sedate 15.7 fossil fuel sources. revolutions per minute, and the turbine Until recently, Canada has had few actual produces 1.8 megawatts of electricity. It is wind power installations. However, major the largest and most powerful wind turbine new installations in Quebec and Alberta, installed in North America. The Don, whose both publicly and privately owned, have “impossible dream” is the attainment of lofty shown promise that wind power could be an goals and ideals, might not recognize the important part of Canada’s total energy windmill, but he would understand the production system. Other provinces, includ- concept it represented: a constant, reliable, ing Ontario, Newfoundland, and Prince natural source of energy being exploited in Edward Island, have begun (or are studying) the service of human beings. demonstration projects. New methods, such Wind power has assumed a prominent role as wind co-operatives, are being initiated to in many countries over the last 30 years. The help bring more projects online. Many rising cost of fossil fuels like oil and natural experts, including those at Pacific Gas & gas, combined with concerns about their Electric and the Electric Power Research availability, led to renewed interest in renew- Institute, have predicted that wind will able sources of energy in the 1970s, and also ultimately become the least expensive elec- led to the first modern use of wind power to tricity source. The rapid decline in the cost of generate significant amounts of electricity. wind-generated electricity indicates that they Worldwide concern about greenhouse gas may well be correct. News in Review — 43 — October 2001 WIND POWER: HARNESSING NATURE The Answer’s in the Wind Until very recently, Canada’s electrical capacity has been generated by traditional sources of energy: those that easily generated large quantities of energy at low cost to consumers. While these still remain the norm, the negative environmental effects of using primarily fossil fuel energy sources has led to increased interest by both private and public sectors in discovering or developing new, clean forms of energy. Wind power, actually one of the oldest forms of energy used in small-scale applications, is one of the most promising of the new large-scale alternatives. Wind Power in Context Before viewing this News in Review report, discuss in small groups your understanding of the following terms, and arrive at a group definition. Brainstorm appropriate examples for each. • energy resources • alternate energy resources • renewable energy resources • fossil fuels • greenhouse gases • smog • windmill Now, as you watch the video, make point-form notes that help you answer the following questions: 1. What factors—environmental and international—have made it important for Canada to find new ways to generate electricity? 2. What was the commitment Canada made when it signed the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gases? By how much will Canada actually have to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 in order to meet its commitment? 3. Why has large-scale wind power become one of the most promising new forms of energy? 4. Why has Canada been slower than much of the rest of the industrialized world in embracing wind power as a new source of energy? 5. How do the current costs of generating electricity using the wind compare with costs in 10 or fewer years? Post-Viewing Activity 1. In your original groups, review your definitions and decide if, after watching the video, you should modify or expand them. 2. In the video Marni Kagan says that, when it comes to wind power, “What Canada needs to compete with the other countries is government support.” What forms might that support take? If the cost of wind power drops, will government support continue to be necessary to promote a Canadian wind power industry? October 2001 — 44 — News in Review WIND POWER: HARNESSING NATURE More Energy, New Sources Wind power is now the fastest-growing source of electricity both in Canada and in the world. Worldwide, wind power has a growth rate of approximately 30 per cent, and currently pro- vides enough power for over 20 million people. It is important to remember that wind-powered ships made a global shipping industry possible for thousands of years. And windmills have commonly been used to do work such as grinding grain and pumping water. We know that the Persians used a horizontal windmill in the 10th century, and may even have developed it three centuries earlier. By the end of the 12th century those windmills we usually think of as being “Dutch”—with huge sails to catch the wind— were being used throughout all of northern Europe. By the 14th century they had reached Spain and southern Europe; ultimately they came with settlers to almost all parts of North America. In North America, windmills remained a common part of the rural landscape—at one point there were about 150 windmill manufacturers in the United States—until after the Second World War, when rural electrification really took hold in both Canada and the United States. Wind Power Rediscovered The oil supply crises in 1973 and 1979 led to renewed interest in wind power, and a first commercial market for electricity generated by windmills appeared in California during the first half of the 1980s. Almost 15 000 wind turbines generating from 55 kilowatts (kW) to 100 kW were installed during this period. An increase in the supply of oil and a decrease in its price led to the collapse of the California wind power market and a shift in leadership in wind power technology to Europe. In particu- lar, the Danes modified their standard three-bladed upwind design and by 1990 had produced a machine with an output of 250 kW. This not only produced more power, but also made the turbines more cost-effective. Since 1990, wind turbines have become dramatically larger and more powerful. Medium-size machines, the most commonly used in Canada, each generate about 600 kW. The giant demonstration turbine installed by Ontario Power Generation at its Pickering nuclear plant is a Danish-built model with a capacity of 1.8 megawatts (MW). This is, for now, the largest wind turbine in North America, capable of supplying enough power to serve 600 households a year. In the last 10 years, wind turbines have also proven themselves to be especially reliable and low-maintenance sources of electric power. As windmills have increased in size, the cost of the electricity produced by them, measured in kilowatt hours (kWh), has declined. The cost in many parts of the world—especially in those countries that encourage the use of alternate (i.e. renewable, non-fossil fuel) energy sources— is now competitive with traditional sources of power. As Bruce Bailey, the president of AWS Scientific (an engineering and meteorological consult- ing firm in the U.S.) stated, “Wind has no energy costs, and no energy cost risks. Essentially News in Review — 45 — October 2001 all the costs are up-front with the installation.” In other words, people relying on energy from wind power need not worry about fluctuating (usually rising) costs in the fossil fuel market. The fuel itself is free. And Bailey adds, “There are no emissions, either, no contributions to global warming, no acid rain. Those all have intrinsic values.” A Need for Renewable Energy Sources In countries like Canada (which currently obtains over 36 per cent of its electricity from nuclear energy or fossil fuels) and the United States (which obtains about half of its electricity from coal-fired plants and another 20 per cent from nuclear energy) any possibility of reduc- ing emissions that cause smog and greenhouse gases is of great interest.