Welcome! Please get your interactive

notebook and read the board!

Harnessing the Wind – we’re #1!

Current largest wind farm: Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center

421 wind turbines 735 megawatts. 47,000 acres of

land in Taylor and Nolan County, Texas.

Texas’ next “cash crop”?

500,000 Texas homes currently, expanding 10 times in next decade

In 2012, wind generated 10,407 megawatts

(1 megawatt = 500 homes)

13% of state’s electricity

Interactive notebook!

Title: Wind PowerDate: May 1

How does it work?

How does it work?

Area swept by blades can be size of 747 plane

Tips of blades can be going 200mph

Height – 240ft (taller than Statue of Liberty)

Nacelle – size of greyhound bus

How does it work?

World’s largest German turbine: (394-feet) behemoth capable of generating 5 MW

Need 8 mi/hr winds to generate electricity; max electrical production at 15-18 mi/hr winds; turbines cut off at 55 mi/hr winds

Yaw motor – nacelle moves to face turbine directly into wind

Applications

Typical wind farm: 100Megawatts (MW)

Coal fired power plant – 500-600 MW

One 1.5MW turbine could power about 350 homes/year

*The Grid connects electric sources to consumers wind grid

So what if you currently have wind electricity? Do your lights go out on still days?

Best wind is in the morning, but peak demand is in the afternoon

Advantages

No air pollution Can use land for

grazing Renewable Domestic Able to use current

electric grid

Disadvantages

Land use – requires space

Bird and bat deaths

Winds peak in morning and March-May

Power up!

www.texaseletricitychoice.com

Research: innovative wind applications – what’s new?