Environmental impact

WHAT IS IT

A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other purposes. A wind farm may also be located offshore.

DESIGN

wind farm may be located offshore to take advantage of strong winds blowing over the surface of an ocean or lake,of onshore. Also they could be floating

As a general rule, economic wind generators require windspeed of 16 km/h or greater. An ideal location would have a near constant flow of non-turbulent wind all the year, with a minimum likelihood of sudden powerful bursts of wind. An important factor of turbine siting is also access to local demand or transmission capacity.

ONSHORE

The world's first wind farm – consisting of 20 wind turbines rated at 30 kilowatts each – was installed on the shoulder of Crotched Mountain in southern New Hampshire in December, 1980.
Onshore turbine installations in hilly or mountainous regions tend to be on ridgelines generally three kilometers or more from the nearest shoreline. This is done to exploit the topographic acceleration as the wind accelerates over a ridge. The additional wind speeds gained in this way can increase the produced energy because more wind goes through the turbines. The exact position of each turbines matters, because a difference of 30m could potentially double output.

OFFSHORE

Europe is the leader in offshore wind energy, with the first offshore wind farm being installed in Denmark in 1991. As of 2010, there are 39 offshore wind farms in waters off Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom

As of February 2012, the Walney Wind Farm in United Kingdom is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 367 MW, followed by Thanet Offshore Wind Project (300 MW), also in the UK. The London Array (630 MW) is the largest project under construction.

Offshore wind turbines are less obtrusive than turbines on land, as their apparent size and noise is mitigated by distance. Because water has less surface roughness than land (especially deeper water), the average wind speed is usually considerably higher over open water. Capacity factors (utilisation rates) are considerably higher than for onshore locations.[30]

A FLOATING WIND TURBINE

A floating wind turbine is an offshore wind turbine mounted on a floating structure that allows the turbine to generate electricity in water depths where bottom-mounted towers are not feasible. Locating wind farms out at sea can reduce visual pollution whilst providing better accommodation for fishing and shipping lanes. In addition, the wind is typically more consistent and stronger over the sea, due to the absence of topographic features that disrupt wind flow.

Floating wind parks are wind farms that site several floating wind turbines closely together to take advantage of common infrastructure such as power transmission facilities.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Compared to the environmental impact of traditional energy sources, the environmental impact of wind power is relatively minor. Unlike fossil fuel power sources wind power consumes no fuel, and emits no air pollution. While a wind farm may cover a large area of land, many land uses such as agriculture are compatible, with only small areas of turbine foundations and infrastructure made unavailable for use.

There are reports of bird and bat mortality at wind turbines as there are around other artificial structures. The scale of the ecological impact may or may not be significant, depending on specific circumstances. Prevention of wildlife fatalities affects the siting and operation of wind turbines.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29