Hello, and welcome to our website! Our goal is to provide a wealth of information and sources that discuss the issues concerning wind energy. We chose the St. Lawrence and Cape Vincent Wind Farms as models for our discussion. The St. Lawrence and Cape Vincent Wind Farms are located (as the name suggests) in Cape Vincent, Jefferson County, New York. We settled on this choice because we believe the St. Lawrence and Cape Vincent Wind Farm provides a clear example of current wind energy developments. Furthermore, it is an issue that is local to the North Country community.
To say a little about us, we are a student group from SUNY Potsdam. Our names are Mark Connelly, Megan O'Keefe, and Kevin Ohol II. We are all Environmental Studies Majors. Our work within our Majors has made us familiar with the growing wind energy industry and the variety of related issues. For more information, feel free to visit our About Us page on the left hand side of the page.
To assess the wind energy debate, we present summaries of research on five main topics: energy produced, permits required, bat and avian species, health and safety, and property values. We present objective summaries of strong research in order to condense the information provided in published articles, documents, and journals. We stress that it is not our goal to persuade any opinions by presenting these summaries. We merely intend to present the published material in a concise, yet comprehensible manner.
We encourage visitors to explore our website and the material we present. Furthermore, we encourage persons interested in wind energy in general to not limit their research to the scope of our website. Rather, we hope our website will provide a stepping stone for those interested to begin, or continue, their research concerning wind energy.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Disclaimer
The information provided in this website is collected from a variety of sources. The summaries we provide borrow upon this information and is presented in the most concise, comprehensible, and objective manner possible. We do not claim any of this work as ours, but instead give credit to the respective authors. At the bottom of each summary you will find a citation of the document being summarized. A complete list of references can be found on the left hand site of the page.
We encourage all visitors to both read our summaries as well explore the original sources. Examining both would provide the best approach to informing one's self of wind energy topics. We acknowledge that our website does not cover the entire spectrum of wind energy topics. Therefore, we encourage visitors to visit our "Topics Not Discussed" page on the left hand side to find a list of topics not included in our website.
In conclusion, we wish to reiterate that we do not wish to persuade, but instead wish to educate the public. We only wish to encourage debate, and not steer it in one direction or another. Feel free to use the comment sections at the bottom of each post to express questions and/or comments. We hope that the discussions that might occur in these comment sections will remain constructive.
We encourage all visitors to both read our summaries as well explore the original sources. Examining both would provide the best approach to informing one's self of wind energy topics. We acknowledge that our website does not cover the entire spectrum of wind energy topics. Therefore, we encourage visitors to visit our "Topics Not Discussed" page on the left hand side to find a list of topics not included in our website.
In conclusion, we wish to reiterate that we do not wish to persuade, but instead wish to educate the public. We only wish to encourage debate, and not steer it in one direction or another. Feel free to use the comment sections at the bottom of each post to express questions and/or comments. We hope that the discussions that might occur in these comment sections will remain constructive.
--- Energy Output ---
Energy produced from wind turbines is sustainable, clean and varying depending upon size of the wind turbine, geographic location of the turbine and other factors like height from the ground. When considering energy produced from wind farms some important questions should be addressed like how many homes can wind energy support? How much energy will wind turbines replace that would have otherwise come from fossil fuels? How much will green house gas emissions reduce after more wind farms are built? Are the average wind speeds in the area enough to support a full-scale wind farm? Where does the energy go when the turbine generates it? These questions do not have simple answers and take some research to grasp an understanding of them. When talking about energy produced by wind turbines the units used to describe the amount of energy produced is measured in megawatts, which is equal to one million watts. The energy section of the blog is divided into and will cover research provided from three main website sources used. The sources are used to better explain these four main topics. 1. Current Energy Sources and Uses. 2. Average Wind Speed and Energy Production Potential. 3.Average amount of energy produced and greenhouse gas emissions replacement. and 4. Net Metering Laws. Due to the nature of some of the sources not all of the topics will be covered in all of the sources but all topics will be addressed. The links provided will hopefully help with solve questions about energy are does not reflect the opinions or research of the authors of the wind-farm blog.
Main Websites
2. Source: http://www.eia.gov/
3. Source: http://www.acciona-na.com/
Energy Topics
I. Current Energy Sources and Uses
II. Average Wind Speed and Energy Production Potential
III. Average amount of energy produced and greenhouse gas emissions replacement
IV. Net Metering Laws
US DOE
-Statement From the U.S.Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (U.S.DOE EERE)-
http://www.eere.energy.gov/
http://www.eere.energy.gov/
"Here you'll find information about the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). EERE invests in clean energy technologies that strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and reduce dependence on foreign oil. " (U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 2011)
Source 1 is an office that branches from the United States Department of Energy called the office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Resources. Under their "Renewable Energy" section one can browse to the wind section and search the different areas of that section. There is a lot of information contained in some of the sections of this website but a search bar at the top to search out key words in different sections of the website. As a whole source 1 is a very useful resource because it has information on wind energy but on existing energy use and consumption.
I.Current Energy Sources and Uses
Information about different types of fuels such as fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and other renewable resources at the U.S. Department of Energy home page at http://energy.gov/ but more information about specific renewable energies can be found in the U.S. DOE EERE website. It was difficult
II. Average Wind Speed and Energy Production Potential
It is important to consider the average wind speeds in an area to first analyze weather or no the site would be productive for a wind farm. Finding the right place to put a wind farm really depends on geography, and average wind speeds give testimony to the best locations for wind farms. Height is also another factor where average wind speeds would be greater at 100 meters compared to 80 meters. These factors must be taken into consideration when planning the location of a wind farm. http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_maps.asp is a great source to refer to that has information on average wind speeds throughout the United States. Sine the website is run by the United States Department of Energy it is a credible source of information. For average wind speeds specifically in New York, visit http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_resource_maps.asp?stateab=ny for more information.
Wind farms are showing up all over the United States, and in New York, as a renewable source of energy but what is the amount of energy that the turbines can create? Information about the current installed capacity of wind energy in the United States can be found at http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_installed_capacity.asp. The site shows maps from the late 1990's to now showing the progression of installed wind energy. The numbers shown represent figures of megawatts expected to be produced from wind turbines around the country.
III.Average amount of energy produced and greenhouse gas emissions replacement
The U.S. DOE EERE gives an overview of what it would be like to have a small presonal wind turbine here http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/electricity/index.cfm/mytopic=10880. There are other options of wind energy that does not require a large scale wind farm that feeds into the grid. Searching through the U.S. DOE EERE website an estimate from the on greenhouse emissions reduced by using wind energy was not available to my knowledge. Consult source three for more information concerning the issues in topic three.
IV. Net Metering Laws
Net metering laws is the basic idea that the owner of the property where wind turbines are located as an incentive get a portion of the energy that is created on their property put into whatever energy is taken away from their own personal uses. Some times the energy that is created on peoples property exceeds the amount of energy that land owner uses. More information about net metering about net metering try searching in the search bar “net metering” on the
U.S. DOE EERE's main site or by clicking here http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/netmetering.shtml. Source 1 has even more information about net metering which can be found here http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/electricity/index.cfm/mytopic=10600 along with a good overview of how net metering works with the grid.
US Energy Imperative Administration
-Statement From the U.S. Energy Information Administration-
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (U.S.EIA) has a multitude of studies on topics from carbon emissions, to various energy distribution tables and charts, to studies of sources, prices and many more subjects on their website provided for source two. The U.S. EIA site contains a large amount of studies and has a lot of useful information amongst its pages.
I.Current Energy Sources and Uses
In America the energy sources are predominantly non-renewable some of those sources being natural gas, coal and petroleum. It comes as no surprise that there is only a finite amount of fossil fuels in addition fossil fuels produce a lot of excess pollution. An overview on our current energy usage can be found by browsing to the U.S. EIA's page http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/. This page contains a lot of useful charts and graphs that show past and present energy sources and consumption rates.
II. Average Wind Speed and Energy Production Potential
Source 2 does a good job with covering the topic of energy production potential and it was a bit more difficult to wind the section on average wind speed but it does exist here http://www.eia.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/ilands/fig13.html is the source for the average wind speeds similar to source 1's map. The link http://www.eia.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/wind/wind.html gives a good overview on wind energy resources with plenty of information on wind capacity that can be produced.
III.Average amount of energy produced and greenhouse gas emissions replacement
Other than reviewing the section on total energy to look at how much of the energy produced that is renewable the U.S. EIA's website was difficult to find specific information on this topic. More information about topic please refer to source 1 and source 3.
IV. Net Metering Laws
By going to the search bar and typing in “net metering” on the U.S. EIA's main site a number of studies come up many of them are very technical and contain many figures dealing with net metering, understanding the material may be difficult to digest. This website http://www.eia.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/greenprice/green_pricing.html shows net metering prices and an increase in net metering usage. The U.S. EIA also give a good map of the existing grid system here http://www.eia.gov/state/ for more information on the energy grid of New York simply click on the link for New York at underneath the map.
ACCIONA
-Statement From ACCIONA-North America-
"ACCIONA’s group of North American companies are subsidiaries of ACCIONA S.A., a company that ranks among the world’s leading sustainability-focused businesses centered around renewable energy, infrastructure and water treatment. We are committed to pioneering and developing a lasting foundation of sustainability in the U.S. and Canada." (ACCIONA-North America, 2009)
Researching some of the energy aspects from ACCIONA which is a company that oversees and is involved with the making and installment of wind turbines. ACCIONA is a reliable source because they are the creators and installers of the turbines. The companies which make the turbines themselves are experts on the products they make and know a lot more about it than the average person. Although not all wind farm will produce the same amount of energy which mainly varies on turbines used and average wind speed referring to the St. Lawrence Wind Farm as an example to further discussion on wind energy and developing wind farms.
Cape Vincent in New York State is a location where ACCIONA is developing a wind farm adjacent to the St. Lawrence River. Winds area generally higher offshore or near the shore of a body of water. More information about ACCIONA's St. Lawrence Wind Farm can be found on their website by browsing to their “U.S. projects” section and click on the “St. Lawrence Wind Farm” link. Due to requests from ACCIONA the blog will not provide a specific link to any section of their website. The website includes projections on carbon dioxide emission displaced, energy produced, the amount of homes in Upstate New York that would receive the energy from the farm, and much more. . ACCIONA notes that there will be 53 wind turbines in the St. Lawrence Wind Farm.
Check out the website for the St. Lawrence Wind Farm and look especially for the projected number of homes that the turbines will power annually. I will not go through each topic in this section like I have for the other sources as the site is gear specifically for this one wind farm. The site lists an estimate for the amount carbon dioxide emissions that would be save by using the turbines.
--- Permits Required ---
With any large-scale project such as building a wind turbine or wind farm, there are many concerns that must be dealt with. Public health and safety is normally the first issue to be addressed. Needless to say, there are many rules and regulations that need to be adhered to. Each area is different in their proceedings and laws, so it is difficult to give a completed list of all the regulations pertaining to wind turbines. The St. Lawrence Wind Farm is serving as the main example for this blog. Below, a link is provided to the final environmental impact statement for the St. Lawrence Wind Farm, which was taken off of their website. The second link in the introduction is a list of all permits and approvals they were required to have. This is meant to serve as an example of the types of local, state, and federal permits and approvals that are needed before a wind power project can be approved, but by no means includes everything. http://www.stlawrencewind.com/feis.html
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