Wind Energy Essentials

Societal, Economic, and Environmental Impacts

Richard P. Walker, Andrew Swift

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781118948422
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Power Resources
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Examines the possible societal impacts of wind energy projects and explains the potential issues faced when siting, constructing, and operating a wind energy project.

This book begins with a history of wind power and the social impacts of both electricity and wind power from a historical perspective, a discussion of basic electrical terms, and a primer on the conversion of power in the wind to electricity. Much of the second half of the book is devoted to comparing wind energy to other forms of electric generation, both renewable and non-renewable sources. In order to have a true understanding of the impact of wind energy on society, one also has to have a thorough understanding of the impacts that other sources of electric generation have, such as fossil-fuelled plants or nuclear power plants. The comparison of electric generation sources includes a review of how such sources are typically utilized within the electric system, as well as the economic factors and environmental considerations that affect which resources utilities or operators of electric grids have to take into account. The authors conclude with a discussion of energy policies in the U.S., individual states, and foreign nations, how these policies influence the use of renewable energy, and what our future may hold in terms of energy supply and demand. Some highlights of this book are:

• Discusses the wind energy impacts on the environment, local economy, electric utilities, individuals and communities
• Provides a visual explanation of wind energy principles through tables, graphs, maps, illustrations and photographs
• Offers a comprehensive overview of the issues associatedwith the creation and use of wind energy
• Models chapters around an existing university curriculum

Spanning the broad range of environmental, financial, policy and other topics that define and determine the relationships between wind energy technology and our energy-dependent society, Wind Energy Essentials is a resource for students, universities, and the entire wind energy industry.

1
IMPACTS OF ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY ON SOCIETY

1.1 WHAT ARE “SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS”?

1.1.1 Interactions and Effects of Technology on Society and the Environment

We begin with two fundamental characteristics of human nature. First, humans develop and use technology, beginning with stone tools, the use of fire and heat, the plow, and agriculture—to modern times where we have developed electric utilities, computers, and cell phones. Second, humans are social beings and live in groups. Since the earliest times, these two elements of human development have been major contributors to modern civilized society. Technological developments used to the benefit of society usually provide a general improvement in the quality of life (QOL), to include security (such as defense against other people or animals; warfare activities; or natural phenomena such as earthquakes, floods, and windstorms). Other developments, such as politics, economics, philosophy, and education have also been key elements in this development, but our focus in this text is on the interactions of technology, society, and the environment with a particular emphasis on the impacts of wind energy development.

In addition to societal impacts, technology development often impacts the natural environment. The process of generating energy has very significant impacts on the natural environment. This began from the earliest cave dwellers harvesting wood to burn for warmth and light through today where modern society depends on fossil fuels to provide the majority of our energy needs. As will be discussed, the environmental impact of the production, distribution, and use of energy has significant impact on the natural environment, especially as the need for energy has grown with an expanding population.

1.1.2 Sustainable Development

Over the last several decades, the impact of rapid technological progress on the global environment, as well as growing populations, has heightened concerns about negative environmental effects and the growing demand for limited natural resources. These concerns have led to the concept of “sustainable development.” The word “sustainability” is derived from the Latin word sustinere (tenere, to hold; sus, up). Dictionaries provide more than 10 meanings for sustain, the main ones being to “maintain,” “support,” or “endure.” However, since the 1980s sustainability has been used more in the sense of human sustainability on Earth and this has resulted in the most widely quoted definition of sustainability and sustainable development—that of the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations on March 20, 1987:

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. [1]

In other words, sustainable development minimizes the impact of resource use so that the needs of the present generation are met without diminishing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

1.1.3 Wind Power, Technology, and Society

Our study will focus on one of the most basic elements of our planetary environment: the wind. This chapter will examine wind technologies developed over many centuries to harness the power of the wind for an improved QOL and how it has impacted society, both in centuries past and today. We will begin with a historical overview of wind power technological accomplishments, such as the age of discovery using sailing ships, the importance of wind power in providing transportation across the developing United States and settling the central Great Plains, to early electricity production using wind power. This will be followed by an overview of wind science and technology with an in-depth focus on modern global utility-scale wind power development for electrical power production.

1.2 EARLY WIND POWER INNOVATION AND DISCOVERY

1.2.1 Age of Sail Power

Using wind to power sailing vessels has had major impacts on society throughout the history of civilization. Sailing vessels have allowed humans greater mobility for thousands of years and have increased the capacity for fishing, trade, commerce, transport, naval defense, and warfare. The earliest image of a ship under sail was painted on a disk found in the Middle East dating to the fifth millennium bc. In the sixth century, development of the Lateen Rig in Arabia, shown in Figure 1.1, allowed vessels to travel in an upwind direction. Sails used previously could only develop a motive force moving with the wind direction (downwind) and required oarsmen to travel in an upwind direction. This was a major innovation since the vessel could now travel in all directions solely with the power of the wind.

Figure 1.1 A Dhow sailing vessel with Lateen rigged sails (a) and one of the most popular recreational sailboats, the Sunfish (b), which use the same ancient sail design. This was the first sail design that allowed sailboats to tack (go back and forth at an angle) allowing travel upwind. Modern wind turbines are driven by similar crosswind (lift) forces. See more about lift forces in Figure 4.5

(Photo Credit—upper photo: Xavier Romero-Frias, http://en.wikip...

Table of contents

• COVER
• TITLE PAGE
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• PREFACE
• FOREWORD
• ABOUT THE AUTHORS
• DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• 1 IMPACTS OF ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY ON SOCIETY
• 2 THE BASICS OF ELECTRICITY
• 3 OVERVIEW OF WIND ENERGY AND OTHER SOURCES OF ELECTRICITY
• 4 CONVERSION OF POWER IN THE WIND TO ELECTRICITY
• 5 THE WIND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
• 6 OVERVIEW OF ISSUES FACED BY WIND ENERGY
• 7 WIND AND WILDLIFE: SITING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
• 8 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF WIND ENERGY ON HUMANS: PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES
• 9 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF WIND ENERGY ON HUMANS: PUBLIC AND WORKFORCE SAFETY ISSUES
• 10 WIND ENERGY'S IMPACT ON AVIATION, RADAR, AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• 11 OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OF WIND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT: AESTHETICS, CULTURAL RESOURCES, LAND USE COMPATIBILITY, WATER RESOURCES, AND SITE RESTORATION
• 12 IMPACT OF WIND ENERGYON THE ELECTRIC GRID
• 13 NON-WIND RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES USED TO MEET ELECTRICITY NEEDS
• 14 NONRENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES USED TO MEET ELECTRICITY NEEDS
• 15 ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION: “LESS IS MORE” AND “DOING WITHOUT”
• 16 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
• 17 SITING AND PERMITTING OF ELECTRIC GENERATION PROJECTS
• 18 ECONOMICS OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION
• 19 ECONOMIC IMPACTS AND BENEFITS OF WIND ENERGY PROJECTS AND OTHER SOURCES OF ELECTRIC GENERATION
• 20 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND ECONOMICS OF OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY
• 21 STATE AND NATIONAL ENERGY POLICIES
• 22 GLOBAL WIND ENERGY POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT
• 23 WIND ENERGY WORKFORCE, EDUCATION, AND JOBS
• 24 THE FUTURE OF ELECTRIC ENERGY
• APPENDIX A
• APPENDIX B
• APPENDIX C
• INDEX
• END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT