Author: hemarks

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Wind Energy in Denmark

Stanley Reed. (2016). A Danish Wind Turbine Maker Harnesses Data in a Push to Stay Ahead. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/business/energy-environment/ denmark-vestas-wind-renewable-energy.html on March 5, 2017.

Denmark is planning on installing hundreds of new wind turbines in the Fosen Peninsula, employing the company Vestas Wind Systems. In the past, Vestas has gone through many ups and downs of their company, struggling when there was a large decrease in turbine orders, forcing them to sell almost two thirds of its factories. However, Vestas is still up and running today, with the goal of making wind energy not just a secondary source of energy, but rather a primary one.

This article relates to environmental science because the company, Vestas, wants to shift from nonrenewable energy over to wind energy, which is renewable. Although previously it was thought that it was impossible to install wind turbines on the Fosen Peninsula, Vestas persevered, making many data and math calculations to determine the exact type of turbine needed. I think that it is great that this company has pushed through their troubles and is continuing to promote wind energy.

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Wind Energy in Scotland

Anmar Frangoul. (2016). Scottish wind turbines produced enough energy to power country for an entire day. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/11/scottish-wind-turbines- produced-enough-energy-to-power-country-for-an-entire-day.html on March 5, 2017.

On an especially windy day this year, Scotland produced enough energy from its wind turbines alone to power the entire country for that day. Scotland has the goal of having half of its energy be renewable by 2030, and needs political support for that to happen. The country has invested 2.6 billion euros to build an offshore an offshore wind farm, which would largely increase their amount of renewable energy.

This article focused on switching from nonrenewable resources over to renewable ones, primarily wind energy. This has to do with environmental science because wind is renewable, whereas coal, oil, and others are not. Switching over to solely renewable resources can help lower Scotland’s carbon footprint, therefore having less of a negative impact on the Earth and atmosphere.

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Wind Energy in Brazil

Chugh, N. (2016, December 23). In 2017, Watch Out For These 5 Nations Pushing To The Forefront In Renewable Energy. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishthachugh/2016/12/22/in-2017-watch-out-for-these-5-new-renewable-energy-champions/2/#27ca01a835cd

Since 2009, Brazil has had over 360 wind projects, and is currently working on another 175. Brazil is close to an output of 10 GW from all of the wind farms. All of this energy has gotten rid of 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, and that number is still rising as Brazil continues to invest in both wind and solar power.
This article relates to environmental science because Brazil seems well on its way to becoming an entirely green country, run almost completely off of renewable resources. I think that this is the future of the world, and that eventually all countries will follow a path like Brazil’s. While it takes lots of time and money to get there, it will be worth it in the end by saving the environment and having an unlimited energy supply.

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Wind Energy in Egypt

Tsanova, T. (2017, March 21). Elsewedy-Marubeni ink MoU for 500 MW of wind in Egypt. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from https://renewablesnow.com/news/elsewedy-marubeni-ink-mou-for-500-mw-of-wind-in-egypt-562227/

The Elsewedy Electric Co and Marubeni Corp recently signed an agreement with Egypt, for a wind project that will be able to generate up to 500 MW. The project will have two phases, and should be completed by 2020. Currently, Egypt has wind power of about 810 MW, so this will be a large increase for the country.

This relates to environmental science because Egypt, along with other countries, are slowly switching from fossil fuels to wind and other renewable energies, which are much better for the environment. It is an ongoing process, but I think it is definitely worth it. Hopefully, Egypt will continue funding wind and solar projects such as this in the future.

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Wind Energy Conference in India

Windergy. (n.d.). Windergy 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://www.windergy.in/

India will be hosting the largest annual conference on wind energy this year. India has risen in the past years to #4 in the world for cumulative wind capacity. They have a current capacity of 28,000 MW. At the conference, wind companies will be able to showcase their technology, and make deals with countries to install it to create affordable, renewable energy across the world.

This article relates to environmental science because India is holding a gathering to promote wind energy, a renewable energy that is much better than fossil fuels. I think it is great that this conference is held every year, and can be helpful to countries that do not currently have lots of wind power. It is very good that India is a leader in wind energy, as that can help motivate other countries to do the same.

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Wind Energy vs. Nuclear Energy

Kyodo. (2016). Global wind power capacity tops nuclear energy for first time. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/02/20/national/global-wind-power-capacity-tops-nuclear-energy-for-first-time/#.V82kso-cHIU on September 4, 2016.

At the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016, the power capacity of wind energy has surpassed that of nuclear energy. While use of wind power is continuing to rise, nuclear has plateaued, and slowly spiraling downward. China creates the most energy from wind, followed by the U.S. and then Germany. While both wind and nuclear energy create less greenhouse gas than fossil fuels, wind energy is still cleaner, and also safer.

This relates to environmental science because it demonstrates the change from fossil fuels over to cleaner sources, and also renewable resources. I think that the world will continue to shift from nuclear over to wind and also solar, and that this will help protect the environment and atmosphere.

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Wind Turbine and Solar Panel Combination

American Chemical Society. (2016). Harnessing solar and wind energy in one device could power the ‘Internet of Things’. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/ 2016/05/160525121225.htm on September 4, 2016.

A new device that combines solar panels and wind turbines into one creates large amounts of energy. This device could be used in the future on the roofs of homes, powering the entire house if there are enough devices. This device used in large quantities could create “smart cities”, running only on renewable energy.

This article relates to environmental science because it focuses on moving over to only renewable resources, in this case solar and wind. I think it is a very good idea, and smart to combine them so if the sun or wind is not out one day, the other can still function and provide power. However, I also think it is a bit unpredictable, because there could be times when there is not enough sun or wind to provide sufficient power.

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New Turbine Installment

Stanley Reed. (2016). A Danish Wind Turbine Maker Harnesses Data in a Push to Stay Ahead. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/business/energy-environment/ denmark-vestas-wind-renewable-energy.html on September 3, 2016.

Denmark is planning on installing hundreds of new wind turbines in the Fosen Peninsula, employing the company Vestas Wind Systems. In the past, Vestas has gone through many ups and downs of their company, struggling when there was a large decrease in turbine orders, forcing them to sell almost two thirds of its factories. However, Vestas is still up and running today, with the goal of making wind energy not just a secondary source of energy, but rather a primary one.

This article relates to environmental science because the company, Vestas, wants to shift from nonrenewable energy over to wind energy, which is renewable. Although previously it was thought that it was impossible to install wind turbines on the Fosen Peninsula, Vestas persevered, making many data and math calculations to determine the exact type of turbine needed. I think that it is great that this company has pushed through their troubles and is continuing to promote wind energy.

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Microscopic Wind Energy Device

Emily Conover. (2016). Mini ‘wind farm’ could capture energy from microbes in motion. Retrieved from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/mini-%E2%80%98wind-farm %E2%80%99-could-capture-energy-microbes-motion on September 3, 2016.

A device that is much similar to wind energy, but smaller, has been created for power. Instead of harnessing the wind, miniscule rotors rotate in liquid when bacteria swarms around them. This process makes significantly less power than wind turbines, but is much smaller also, allowing for the possibility of the technology to be used in electronic devices.

This article relates to environmental science because the bacteria in the liquid would be easy to replicate, and the rotors could be continuously used (the process could be done with the same liquid and rotors over and over again). I think this is a very innovative idea, but might be tough to actually use on a large scale, especially since so far this process has only been simulated on a computer.

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Increases in Wind Energy

Anmar Frangoul. (2016). Scottish wind turbines produced enough energy to power country for an entire day. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/11/scottish-wind-turbines- produced-enough-energy-to-power-country-for-an-entire-day.html on September 3, 2016.

On an especially windy day this year, Scotland produced enough energy from its wind turbines alone to power the entire country for that day. Scotland has the goal of having half of its energy be renewable by 2030, and needs political support for that to happen. The country has invested 2.6 billion euros to build an offshore an offshore wind farm, which would largely increase their amount of renewable energy.

This article focused on switching from nonrenewable resources over to renewable ones, primarily wind energy. This has to do with environmental science because wind is renewable, whereas coal, oil, and others are not. Switching over to solely renewable resources can help lower Scotland’s carbon footprint, therefore having less of a negative impact on the Earth and atmosphere.