Melted remains of an old car tire. Heavily burned trees. A charred stump of an abandoned utility pole.
Environment
Sep 27, 2023
0
34
Wind energy is a major component of the U.S. clean-energy goals. Already one of the fastest growing and lowest-cost sources of electricity in the country, it is poised for even more rapid growth, according to the U.S. Department ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 25, 2023
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6
Each year, millions of birds fly into power lines, wind turbines and the other man-made structures that litter the open air space. These collisions frequently result in the death of birds and, if power systems go down, disrupt ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 25, 2023
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1
Significant hurdles lie ahead of the G20's renewable energy target agreed in New Delhi last weekend, but the ambitious goal is feasible, experts say.
Environment
Sep 15, 2023
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1
Utility companies are generally well-equipped to handle routine blackouts, but often struggle with extreme weather events like hurricanes.
Earth Sciences
Sep 7, 2023
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14
The diminishing conventional energy resources based on fossil fuels and their related environmental consequences have drawn attention around the world toward the development of renewable energy resources. These renewable ...
Maui County is suing Hawaiian Electric, claiming the utility was negligent for not shutting off power as strong winds hit the island in the hours before the city of Lahaina burned. While the cause of the devastating Aug. ...
Environment
Aug 28, 2023
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27
Hydropower, traditionally one of Africa's most important sources of electricity, will rapidly fade in importance and cede its position to solar power. The attractiveness of new hydropower is decreasing fast, both due to the ...
Environment
Aug 24, 2023
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20
A powerful storm pounded the northern Philippines on Wednesday, killing at least one person, toppling trees and knocking out power as thousands sheltered with neighbors or in emergency evacuation centers.
Environment
Jul 26, 2023
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1
The world is unprepared for the next big storm from outer space, an overwhelming majority of scientists agree.
Astronomy
Jul 25, 2023
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35
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2008, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 121.2 gigawatts (GW). Wind power produces about 1.5% of worldwide electricity use, and is growing rapidly, having doubled in the three years between 2005 and 2008. Several countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 19% of stationary electricity production in Denmark, 11% in Spain and Portugal, and 7% in Germany and the Republic of Ireland in 2008. As of May 2009, eighty countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.
Large-scale wind farms are connected to the electric power transmission network. Smaller turbines are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines. Wind energy as a power source is attractive as an alternative to fossil fuels, because it is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions; however, the construction of wind farms (as with other forms of power generation) is not universally welcomed due to their visual impact and other effects on the environment.
Wind power is non-dispatchable, meaning that for economic operation all of the available output must be taken when it is available, and other resources, such as hydropower, and standard load management techniques must be used to match supply with demand. The intermittency of wind seldom creates problems when using wind power to supply a low proportion of total demand. Where wind is to be used for a moderate fraction of demand, additional costs for compensation of intermittency are considered to be modest.
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