Clean Green Renewable Energy

Posted by in Renewable Energy on September 22, 2011

By Brendan Mckenna

Electric wind farm turbines at Yambuck and Codrington in South West Victoria Australia.

My daughter, my wife, and I attended the an open day to Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the “Pacific Hydro’s” Codrington wind farm. We had no idea what to expect, but were in for a pleasant surprise. My Nine year old daughter “Erin” bypassed the usual kids stuff and quickly ushered us onto the bus for the 2 hour wind farm tour at nearby Yambuck /Codrington.The tour departed from Port Fairy at 10am, it was a pleasant trip to and from the Yambuck wind farm, and our local guide briefed us with some interesting facts.

What we learnt along the way:

The exact location of each tower is carefully calculated along with wind measurements of the area recorded by dedicated wind test towers.There is no chance of the towers falling over as the base foundation is made up of a massive concrete and steel reinforced pad.The turbines are constantly adjusting the direction and pitch of the blades to maximise efficiency. They automatically shut down if the wind becomes too strong (Greater than 50 Knot wind)

Acoustics:

Standing next to the base of the wind turbine you can clearly hear the swish of the rotating blades; I noted that the sound was well within my comfort zone. To give you some idea, the ongoing swish, swish, is similar (possibly less) than that of cars whizzing past at about 40 kilometers. The sound of the turbine generator can be heard if you put your ear against the base of the steel tower, otherwise the turbine itself is practically inaudible.

Power:

Pacific Hydro estimates that all of their operating projects combined produce enough clean electricity to power 600,000 homes each year. The Codrington Wind Farm produces enough power for about 10,000 homes each year

Carbon Friendly:

Pacific Hydro has calculated a rough saving of 7 million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution since its project began operating and are aiming at avoiding a further 4 million tonnes every year with new projects coming online around the world.

Wildlife and bird Strikes:

I expected to see the odd dead bird, around the base of the mast, not so, If there is a problem with bird strikes then there was no evidence of it on our visit, the official feedback on this alleged phenomenon it is very rare if it happens at all. We noted that a handful of cows were grazing randomly around the base (as close as 5 meters) of the turbine towers. The cows were clearly indifferent to the turbines and spinning blades, they slowly wandered away to another paddock when we arrived.

Alternative Land uses:

It took me a full minute after arrival at the wind farm before I totally dismissed the idea of building a house on this magnificent land (Truly beautiful landscape overlooking the Southern Coast of Victoria.) The wind at the base of the towers was exceptionally strong, and a great place to visit., be sure to take a wind jacket.

Aesthetics:

I am told that a range of colours were considered for the turbines and masts. The white grey colour was chosen specifically as it best blends in with the surrounding cloud line. Most people I have spoken to including my daughter and wife find the wind towers an interesting addition to the beautiful coastal landscape. My daughter is always the first to point them out when we are driving down that way.

Environment:

“Erin” also discovered Pacific Hydro latest “Green Innovation.” The small handout sheet was impregnated with plant seeds so that you can plant the info sheet in the garden and with a little water and time a number of small plants will grow. Erin also noticed that the environmentally friendly paper was printed using vegetable based inks.

The Future:

Upcoming wind farm installations in the United Kingdom and Europe are aiming at a 5 megawatts power capacity per tower per year. Just twenty such towers would produce around 100 mega watts capacity a year, a vast improvement on those built 10 years ago.

I believe that the new age turbines could be swapped over when an older turbine becomes superseded or problematic. According to Pacific Hydro Wind Farm production costs have fallen more than 75 percent over the last 25 Years, there is no reason why this trend should not continue.

Pros:

Clean green renewable energy, very much pollution free. Turbine and Mast Technology is always getting better. Today 5 megawatt offshore wind turbines are being installed in the UK and Europe

Cons:

Cost, On today’s market you need approx 2000, 5 megawatt wind turbines to equal the capacity of one large modern,” 2011 Post Fukushima Japan Nuclear Power Plant.”

Conclusion:

Pacific Hydro’s 10th Anniversary celebrations of the Codrington Wind farm and tour were a great success. There is clearly a big future for this type of clean and green technology particularly in remote areas. Australia has the land, with affordability being the key factor to the future.

No Comments

Renewable Energy Sources – Wind Power

Posted by in Renewable Energy on September 22, 2011

By John Wickley

There are a number of renewable energy sources. Wind power, however, is one of the most practical renewable energy sources available to the average person. You don’t need a great deal of space to house a windmill or wind turbine, and many locations receive enough wind to convert into electricity by way of a wind turbine each month to power their homes indefinitely.

In this article I’m going to talk about renewable energy sources – wind power.

Wind turbines work using kinetic energy. The wind powers and moves the turbine which generates kinetic energy which is transformed into actual usable electricity which is every bit as good as that which ye receive from the power company.

In the past, of all of the practical renewable energy sources wind was one of the most expensive to harness as turbines were expensive to have built and installed professionally. While it still expensive to have these tools professionally built and installed, costing you anywhere from $5,000-$10,000 to have a professional grade wind turbine installed, nowadays anyone can build their own wind turbines on a budget using everyday household materials.

Through building your own wind turbine, you can generate more than enough electricity to power your home in full each and every month. Many people generate more than it takes to power their homes every month and for every bit of electricity which you generate but don’t consume, you can actually make money on it because the power company pays you back for that energy as it gets dispersed through other homes in your area.

The government actually subsidizes power companies to do this every day because power generated at home by everyday people is just as good as that which you receive from the power company, but it saves the government and power company a lot of money overall because less artificial energy is needed to be produced.

Many people generate a supplemental four or five figure income each year by generating wind power alone. The great thing about harnessing wind energy is that it’s completely no maintenance income. Once the wind turbine is set up and in place, you’re generating that electricity automatically and receiving the income which it generates for you for life.

People who live in especially windier environments such as along the coast or in the Midwest generate even more electricity and make even more money for themselves.

No Comments

Role of Forestry Equipments

Posted by in Illegal Logging on September 22, 2011

By Karl Real

Nature plays a very important role in the lives of human beings. It is the primary source of natural resources. It is the area where we get our foods and even clothing. Nature provides human beings the necessary things for them to survive. There are lots of things that nature has offered to the people. However nature as well has a limitation. Nature does not have the abilities to supplement the needs of the people for a long period of time without any forms of reinforcement.

During the early centuries, the entire world was covered with wide forests. Forests are areas or portions of the earth that generally contains plants and natural growing organisms. In general the type of soil will determine the quality of the trees and other organic plants that can be found in forest. However this portion of the earth is not only composed of trees and other plants. It also serves as the shelter of different breeds of animals. It is the main sanctuary for birds and other wild animals.

Industrialization is the main reason why there are only few forests left on the other regions of the earth. People utilized the natural resources by cultivating and destroying some of the forests. As time has passed by, large forests were replaced with buildings and factories that are all made by human. Most of the time the trees from forests are used by the people to satisfy their needs.

Logging is the process of cutting and transporting trees to a certain factory. Logging involves a large production of trees that are being cut-off from the forest. It is a well-planned harvest of trees. It requires the use of tractors and other moving equipments for transportation purposes. Meanwhile illegal logging is another type of harvesting trees from the forest. People who engaged in this activity are those who are selfish and careless when it comes to nature. Moreover this type of activity is not approved or supported by the government. It is because there are negative implications of abusing the natural resources.

It is not good to abuse nature and its entities. It would be very difficult for humans to continue life without the presence or help from nature. In order to preserve nature several concerned citizens created a committee or an organization that aims to protect the remaining forests of the world.

Forestry is the management of forest lands in order to ensure the growth and development of several types of forest. It also includes the guidelines in the proper way of propagating and cultivating trees for the betterment of the environment. It also includes the guidelines when it comes to logging and other forms of harvesting trees from the forest.

Forestry equipments are also used in specific instances to maintain the natural habitat of the animals. Forestry equipments were also created in order to help those who engage in this type of activity. Logging becomes easy and fast with the use of forestry equipments. In general forestry equipments are somewhat similar to those of the construction sites.

No Comments