Is Wind Energy Worth It?
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2014
- Should we really be investing in wind?
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Further Reading -
Calculating the flowfield in the wake of wind turbines
www.sciencedirect.com/science/...
Survey of modelling methods for wind turbine wakes and wind farms
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10...
Renewable Energy Solutions
www.ge-ip.com/renewable-energy... 
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you should do an episode on water turbines. essentially a wind turbine but underwater. i heard these are more efficient because water currents are more or less in the same spot at all times and only go in a single direction.
And the big plus is the fact that you can modify the amount of energy produced dynamically by letting the water run through the turbines when needed (dams are damn awesome!)
I'd rather see a video on nuclear power. It's still our best option.
Andy Flow
> _big plus is the fact that you can modify the amount of energy produced dynamically_
Not in an tidal plant which might have been what OP was thinking about.
Diana Peña Not really since nuclear materials are radioactive they can go nuclear and explode or go into a meltdown putting tons of radiation into the atmosphere. Not only that nuclear plants create tons of radioactive waste that can't be disposed of it has to be sealed up in massive metal containers filled with water then buried in massive underground cement storage's. And that is bad for the environment because eventually the storage will crack and break and the containers will rust and then that waste will leak out into the ground. Nuclear energy is good because it can produce a ton of clean energy but it's bad because it takes a lot of resources to build a plant and the fact that it creates dangerous waste that we can't get rid of yet.
Offstar1029
No, they can't go nuclear, ever. Nuclear reactor-grade uranium has only 5% U-235, making a nuclear explosion impossible. Weapons-grade uranium has to have at least 90% U-235. Also, the US has been using nuclear power for over 50 years, and we get 20% of our energy from it, and we're still fine.
One "problem" (really just something one should keep in mind) with wind turbines is that we can't properly control their energy output. Of course we can limit their output by shutting some down (and from what I've heard, they actually need to do that because they would simply produce too much at times and could fry the the grid), but we can't just increase their output whenever we want, like with traditional fossil fuels (Oh, it's a a really cold day in winter? Just burn some more gas/oil/wood). The way we solve that is by building storage energy plants, where we literally pump water up a hill just to let it flow down (and power more turbines) a few hours later. You just have to keep those inefficiencies and additional costs in mind when talking about wind energy being the future. That said, I'm a huge supporter of wind energy, and I'm glad for every new one I see being built.
They have brakes.
It's funny that you should say that because that is exactly what Denmark is doing(When they said they went to the country of wind energy I expected them to be in Denmark ;)) . In Denmark we have a lot of wind turbines but very irregular winds so when we have a lot of wind we sell the power produced to Norway who has a lot of reservoirs, they use it to store the power in potential energy in their reservoirs(like you said) and then they sell it back to us later when we need it at a higher price. It's basically a win-win situation because we get to store the energy and Norway get's to use some of all the reservoirs they had built for hydroelectricity.
Jasper Dar The problem is a bit more complicated than that. Building more infrastructure is always very expensive, and doing so makes the price per watt-hour go up (assuming the people/companies that pay the building costs are they same that run the facilities afterwards), and unforunately, many customers love to say that they care about the environment, but would flinch at the prospect of having to pay few percent more on their energy bill
That or build battery buildings to store energy from the turbines. Build the buildings underground in the city's and under neath the farms so they can store energy in city's and build up energy at the farms.
Offstar1029 You aren't aware of how incredibly dangerous that would be, are you? Also, recycling and building actual batteries that large would negate any positive effect the wind energy might have on the environment...
Good for you Munich! I liked the last bit... we should always question our past assumptions.
One way to store wind energy is to use water, There are places where this is done. Excess wind energy during the day is used to pump water up a hill to a reservoir. At night, when the wind dies down, the water flows back down and spins a turbine.
You two are such goobers! I love seeing the passion you guys have for science and how your eyes light up in each video. Thanks for educating while also entertaining me
Phenomenal episode, chaps. Can't get enough of ASAP Thought. Love your work!
0:55 Mitch's skin is glowing so perfectly like yas
"...but be open minded ... and revisit your assumptions every now and then." Words to live by.
Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for this video! It is amazing the work that goes into new technologies and it is refreshing to see that not all humans want to kill each other off.
Thank you guys for the video. "Revisit your assumptions" is something everyone should remember. The only constant is change.
That was freaking awesome. Thanks for posting about your journey and educating us about wind farming.
On top of providing energy I think wind farms are incredibly beautiful. Driving through places like Palm Springs, or visiting Copenhagen, where you see lots of wind farms, I can't help but be inspired by their sleek, minimalistic beauty.
wow I love this, guys. Hope to see more videos like this in the future, you guys do this well!
Ugh I just love German people and Germany, they are so forward thinking and want to help the environment (of course this is a stereotype and can not be said for everyone), there is also the plus that their accents are so adorable!
I admire your willingness to do actual research on the subject, rather than jumping on a bandwagon of opinion. I learned something too. I've never heard of feathering out a turbine up stream to allow the one downstream to have less turbulent air. It's nice to know, that there is real thought in the layout of turbine farms, based on getting the most out of the wind no matter which direction or how hard it blows.
Make a video on nuclear power!
no
@@rxpotq3915 I know right, zero greenhouse gas, crazy us.
@@ionhunter Plus ultra consistent and long lasting
I need to do a report on this, you could not have uploaded this in a better time.
I love you.
The plain and simple truth about energy is this:
You guys are my favourite RUclips channel!
These guys are adorable; I wish I could meet them in real life :3
Wow, you guys. That was awesome. Wind energy is REALLY worth it but people don't know enough about it.
In the US market, it's very difficult to build a profitable wind farm and nearly impossible without subsidies. Wind farms generate lots of power, but the initial setup cost are tremendous as well. It's easy to forget about maintenance costs as well, there are fairly extreme forces torqueing on them whenever they're generating power. People need to go through an entire wind turbine and every single bolt and weld to make sure there's no cracking or elastication, that's not even the moving parts. The whole turbine is checked at fairly regular intervals (weeks or months) and is an all day procedure. And turbines break or need maintenance replacements fairly often as well. Extensive pre-planning, calculations and measurements are done to ensure that a wind farm will be profitable, time lines to break even are usually around 20 years.
Of course many energy sources are subsidized so it's difficult to compare the actual market viability, it's apparent wind farms are usually not viable unless wind conditions are optimal (the wind blows) consistently all the time, and it's near the customers (great for data farms since most people don't want to live where the wind blows ALL the time.
While solar is currently much less viable, it has significantly more potential, and even in overcast areas there are benefits to having personal arrays (power outages). At the current rate of progress we'll have viable solar technology in a few decades at the most.
Do you think solar panels are better to use even though they generate less electricity?
Both are shit. They produce less than 2% of the energy. Wait until we have water power stations, liquid salt reactors and fusion energy, then we'll be able to move full away from fossil fuels. Or will have to when they run out :)
James Oldfield I agree that we should focus on LFTRs for now but I would not say that either wind or solar are shit.
IizUname I would strongly disagree with you. Solar panels are synthesised using chemicals with toxic waste products and solar power's far more polluting than coal or gas power. Wind turbines cause visual and auditory pollution and the light flickering causes suicidal depression and bipolar disorder. So only LFTRs should ever be used, ever.
Thomas Pemberton Optimal wind farm sites are generally not near the source that will use them, a significant amount of the power is lost due to resistance in the power lines, further away the higher the loss. Solar panels can go on anyones roof. The argument about overcast skies is somewhat uninformed as its not so simple. Most of the light filters through the clouds, its just diffuse. Solar panel operate better when cooler, depending on the climates being compared the power loss from cloud cover is compensated for by being in a cooler climate. You can get tables/maps on line that give you a correction factor for the estimated power loss from optimum for your area.
Solar panels are not yet efficient enough to operate unsubsidized on the market. They are made in China with extremely low environmental standards. However solar panels exist, we have enough data to project when solar panels WILL be viable in the market and as truly green energy sources. There isn't really a realistic alternative to generating power at home. Most homeowners have an option to put panels with a good enough angle to the sun and area to put enough panels on their home to cover their average power usage. Most states offer tax incentives that make it cost effective. (I'm not in favor of tax incentives, but there are worse things our government spends tax dollars on.) Increased demand for solar panels will increase research will eventually fix the problems with solar panels. If your pessimistic about that, study some of the innovation in history.
The fact that environmental activists depopularized nuclear to the point that its almost non-existent in the US, and are NOW trying to shut down carbon usage causes me the utmost frustration at our society. Had we quality modern nuclear reactors (which were almost ready in the 60s) we wouldn't have such a problem with CO2. These so called "environmentalists" are nothing more than fear mongerers that need something to make themselves feel important. If they ACTUALLY wanted to help the environment they would start with themselves, and spread functional environmentalism through their friends and family like sane people instead of clowning around with signs then climbing in their SUV and texting and driving on their China made cellphone. Yes I'm stereotyping a bunch of that, but Al Gore flying around in a private jet, charging a hundred thousand dollars to give his "presentation", doesn't CARE about the environment.
I can't setup a nuclear reactor. I CAN put solar panels on my house, turn unused lights off, turn off my heater when I'll be out of my house for a while etc. Everybody adding a couple percent effort to reduce their own energy usage is selfish and will significantly reduce usage. Judging everybody else and screaming for technologies that don't exist in production yet is not environmental.
(Sorry, I addressed a lot of the other comments in this reply, most of them weren't directed at you.)
Those be my thoughts. :-D
OMG thank u sooo much this is incredibly helpful for debate this year
The problem with 'killing' hurricanes is that they have a purpose to balance other parts of the earth cooling system. All too often humans look at small/tiny parts of the overall Earth equation and try to fix that without understanding how it fits into the big picture. The same with huge dams, removing mountains to make concrete or mine other materials, etc. All of the 'little' things we do affect the BIG picture and are cumulative with each other.
Didn't think about it in that way! It is true. Things that happen in nature and happen for a reason.
People say global warming will not happen because nature has a way to balance things out. What if global warming IS how nature balance things out.
Hmm! XxKNightROxX Makes sense! Many things are misunderstood by us humans and we freak out and think it's dangerous... When in reality it can be natural and normal! Kinda silly to think humans should know a little better with all the studies done with closely analyzing storms, quakes, ocean floors, rocks and so forth that temperature changes happen.
XxKNightROxX Nature is not one sentient being, it is an accumulation of effects caused by various things. Climate change is an effect caused by green house gases, mostly co2 and mostly from humans. If the green house gases were not being produced and never had been by humans, earth would be cooling, not warming.
no
haha Mitch what is it that you're saying at 0:29? Sounds hilarious, and you look so confused haha. I love you guys!
This has been one of my favorite videos.
this video also teaches you all these people cant talk without their hands
Really cool video guys! Opened a new perspective on how i view the world.
You guys are great humans. You deserve everything you have right now.
Awesome stuff! Not sure how anyone can dislike this
They showed this video in my technology class😊 When they started the video I was like: MIIIIIITTTCCCHHH!!!! GRRRREEEEEGGG!!!! AAAAAHHHH!
Nerd Chic Oh my god I am going to ask my science teacher if they can show one of their videos in class!
Great video! I didn't know about the system in place to maximize the total farm energy output.
Thnx!
thanks guys you really helped me :-) hope you keep it up
Great job, guys!
awesome, im glad i found your channel and imediatly subscribed to it! :)
Good stuff guys!
Very nice video, thanks guys
That was amazing and very informative.. thank you guys thumbs up to that..
I love this channel and the asap science one
This was so informative thank you!
Thanks for the video. I will try to have more research on the matter cos we have s major electricity problem in my country.
You guys are the best, I love your videos!!! Greetings from Brazil!!! 💋
another great video guy's!
Just like Michio Kaku said, we are on the verge of becoming a type 1 civilization, I'm glad I was born at this time and be able to observe it
Really good. Lots of information :3
Good work guys
Thank you for the interesting video!
Awwww... that's just arround the corner from where I live... It would have been so much fun to run into you guys!
The amount of power from a wind turbine is related directly to three things: 1) the velocity of the wind, 2) the radial area of the blades and 3) the "tip velocity" of the blades, that is, how fast the tip of each blade is going.
Based on the above, three major recommendations about wind turbine construction can be made: First, build them were there is a lot of wind (duh!). Second, make sure that the flow of wind is not deflected by structures or by topographical features. Third, make the radial area of the blades as large as possible.
i liked revisiting this subject, iv always found it interesting with the solar/wind over fossil fuels
I love you Greg and Mitch! Sad that some viewers can only post stupid comments when they could be learning so much about SCIENCE!
I live in Wisconsin and wind farms aren't practical because when wind does reach the speed needed to get a lot of power it's for a short amount of time. I prefer Solar because there are plenty of areas with lots of sun and it's more cost effective.
Omg you were in my city without me realising!!! Didn't even know that Munich is such a rolemodel concerning wind energy...
2:20
The coil of wire spinning does NOT induce a magnetic field. It rotates WITHIN a magnetic field causing current to pass through the coil. The coil is then connected to a slip ring to ensure the correct polarity of voltage for each period.
Actually you can spin the wire or the magnet...
James Oldfield I suppose you could spin the magnet, but point is, you can't induce a magnetic field by spinning a coil.
Denny Chen If it's got a magnet in it and one of them is rotating you can generate an electric current.
James Oldfield I'd be interested to see your interpretation of a generator. Could you link me a picture of a generator where the magnet spins and not the wire?
Denny Chen Yes. I don't know if it'd be a photograph or a diagram, though :/
You really should have addressed energy storage... as this is the only technology holding us back from greater renewable energy use.
I have a question that you might want to explore. Which is more energy efficient: a physical paper book or an eBook? How much energy does it take to make (grow/cut down tree to make the paper versus writing the program)? How much energy does it take to use? How long does it last? Etc. Essentially, is it better to use old-fashioned books or take to the future of eBooks?
Very interesting topic, I also ask if its good to invest in wind since there are more people who oppose using wind as source of energy.... great job in explaining...
Wow, great to hear that 1/3 of our energy could CEOs from wind by 2050. I did a project on renewable energy last year, and it saddened me how little it dents into our energy use. Good to hear that is changing.
rachelle2227 are you civil/structural or mechanical?
I have no idea what you mean. If you mean based on my major, it's not my major. The class I did it for was environmental sociology.
rachelle2227 okay thanks, i was wondering which field is involved in wind energy, most say mechanical but i read an article about a civil engineer designed a wind turbine
+Dumb Fuq Its an interdiciplinary field. I am a civil Engineer, but doing my Msc in Renewable Energies in Germany.
+Smart Fuq I would guess civil deals with the overall structure while mechanical optimizes the fluid flow and such like the program in the video and by altering the shape of the arms of the turbine.
"Be open minded and revisit your assumptions every now and then"
That should be on a t-shirt!
Is wind energy worth it? Let's ask the guys who get paid from wind energy. Good reporting.
Unfortunately the conclusion is missing :( Is wind energy now worth it, when taking production of those wind turbines into consideration ? How about the life span, water used to produce and many other factors that have an impact on the question if they are efficient or not.
True
Initial construction, conventional wins. Life cycle, renewable wins. That's because, once commissioned, conventional requires continuous mining, fracking, and extraction of mineral resources throughout it's service life. Wind and solar don't require much,( other than a little maintenance). Once commissioned, a well sited turbine pays back it's environmental costs in less than a year. They don't require any fuel. A coal or gas fired plant continues to cost, multiplying its initial cost many times over, because of the fuel it needs to run.
no
We learned this at physics. You can spin drill counter clockwise and it will produce energy aswell!
I'm seeing a lot of comments on it already, but I'd like to see a video on water energy. Not just from dams and such, but maybe the possibility of a tidal turbine? I've heard talk of trying to build one in the Bay of Fundy, with the highest tides in the world it seems like a reasonable option to me...
The real production of energy might not use Water or create CO2, but you need a lot of wind-turbines to get as much energy as a power plant would produce. That means more building of the turbines, more logistics and so on. So in the end they might break even on a short term study.
In the long term they will sell at some point, though they will need constant maintenance. Mainetance again means CO2 (cars etc) and water ( making of spare parts etc.)
Omg, this is amazing!!!! ='D
And they are so cute together!
Please start vlogging lol xD
Isn't nuclear fission, and eventualy, fusion, much cheaper and effective?
Fission? No. Fusion? No. In the future? Maybe. Liquid salt reactors look promising. So far breaking even with fusion's not looking too good so that might be a way off if it is even possible :/
Fission is producing a lot of waste that cant be disposed of well so it isnt as great as things like wind energy in that sense. When fusion becomes available then the two will go hand in hand and it will be nearly limitless energy for the globe.
Every ounce of science supports our ability to complete fusion, it is just the creation of technology that can withstand these pressures well enough to be cost effective. Once the world's engineers work it out things will get a lot better.
Lasers.
We are still not sure if we are going to be able to make the nuclear fusion produce more than it costs, a lot of money has been invested on it and its future is still very uncertain. So no, it is not cheaper or more effective by far, not even 3 years after your comment. Besides, we still don't know what to do with nuclear waste. Renewable energies are the future, there is a lot of energy in the environment, far more than we need.
Even though nuclear power produces little waste, the waste is dangerous for some time. The more dangerous it is, the less time it lasts. Wind, hydroelectric, and solar theoretically produce less waste that is less dangerous or can be stored easily.
That's so awesome!
Wait, you guys were in Germany and did not come visit me?!? *sadgayacademic*
*sympatheticstraightcommenter*
*indifferentpansexualbuffalo*
I love the videos on this channel you should make more there really funny
OMG ARE YOU GUYS IN MUNICH RIGHT NOW ?! PLEASE DO A MEETUP !!!! WOULD BE SO AWESOME !!!
Please quit hating in comments. These guys are smart and making me smarter. Thanks asap
Wonderful! I honestly do want to see advances in wind energy technologies. =D
Try to remember any pictures you have ever seen of an old clipper sailing ship. Did they have small sails, or "blades"? NO, they had a large number of HUGE sails. You cannot produce the torque necessary to generate electricity with three small blades, or sails. No matter how fast the thing turns, it will never be a realistic generator of electricity. Speed does NOT equal torque. You must have maximum square footage of windmill sails in order to generate electricity effectively. Modern three blade windmills are a con-job.
The problem is, that when a storm apear they have to shut down the wind mills, so that they not become damaged, which means importing some non energy power is necessary to avoid blackout
Loved the video!!! ^_^
very interesting! I'm participating with a European Union project with many other people (we all teenagers) from all over Europe and we're gonna try to convince the European Union people to use wind energy to improve climate etc globally. Really cool to see this :)
hope you didn't make it, wind energy is all about getting fundings, paid by civilians. it isn't sustainable without it.
wind turbines generate low frequency sounds while spinning. this low frequency sounds can affect your health. Heart problems, balance issues, insomnia, etc. This side effect is not known by many and should also be taken into account while installing wind farms.
Cool video :) . would like to hear more about this topics.
Wow, I wished I knew earlier that you guys come to Germany, there might be some viewers who would love to meet you :) And thanks for all the nice words, I wished we all would be so smart here as you said :D I study electrical engineering here in Germany, and I can say, that it is really exciting, but also quite hard :)
You guys are so cool I can't even ^^ I need to quit my job and work in one of those cool places to work with intelligent people, for a change ! Also, the day they make wind turbines completely silent, I'll get one for myself in my yard ^^ takes less room than solar pannels for the same amount of energy.
What a convenient time to go to Munich... ;)
Always loved your voice. Now I love your face!
Great video. Did they mention how long it takes to power the 1000 homes per turbine? Is it a per day basis, a per lifetime, or something else?
We have a massive amount of windmills in Iowa. I drive past them every day on my way to work. They always seem to have a crane out working on them. Massive maintenance costs. In the end they are also not actually clean in the end if you are driving around for the sake of doing this maintenance on them. Also what happens when they get old and REALLY start to break down? On top of that the wind does not always blow. All for the sake of having clean energy. When will we think about practical energy sources? Because they really don't seem to be.
I love these two :D
Makes me wonder what 20 years from now, we would have deemed impossible if asked about it today.
One thing they didn't mention was about how to store that energy. The energy generated on wind farms has to be used on the spot, since you can not store that in other way than in baterries... Other fuels like water, coil, nuclear material, etc can be store, unlike the wind.
In Norway we have 99% waterenergy. I dont know if thats how they say it in english, but we use waterfalls and stuff to generate power.
Hydroelectric
Thank you thank you thank you for mentioning the plight of flying creatures and what the scientific community has planned on that front as they progress forward.
When you said you were going to a country on the forefront of wind power, I was so expecting it to be Denmark.....
'Revist your assumptions'
The most important thing to take away from this video about all of science!
Things change quickly :)...although the quicker they change the less patient for change it seems we are.
Amazing! Also that is a veeeery expensive laptop right there
Ge 90 engine blade in the background lol I love the ge 90
Why are the videos so short? You guys do awesome job with these videos, they could easily be twice as long.
I love you guys!
It's worth it in locations where the wind is reliable enough and consistant enough. Not everywhere, but in many places.
I worked for a company that creates the filters for the hydraulic. The filter was roughly 6 inches tall.
2017 and V164 @ 8 MW baby, turbines are now being build without subsidization.
I'd love to visit the GE global headquarters. I'm not a scientist by any means but everything that company creates and innovates moves the world forward. Although in our current economy driven by fuels I don't see this taking a strong foothold but the future this is one of the most effective ways I see powering our future. Thank you for the video and keep it up.
You guy's never answered the question. You said to be open minded and that in the future we will have a sustaining source of wind energy. I am sorry but that is a cop-out answer. What about right now? What I got from this video is that wind power is still in development and still needs 25 years or so. What about wind vs other sources of energy? You said that wind energy can compete in today's market. What does that mean? How many turbines do you need to equal one coal nuclear or hydroelectric plant? PLEASE do a follow up video. this is a very interesting topic but I don't think you guys went into much detail.
You're right, but wind and solar are largely perfected now. What we need to be working on is efficient, cost effective grid scale electrical energy storage, to solve the problem of intermittent output.
This is a very good video I like it 🏭😀