This week I'm writing about the article that covers wind energy. More specifically, how offshore wind farms work in Europe and the benefits they present to our impending energy Armageddon. According to one company, a single turn of the blades can power a European home for a day, so the output from these farms is no joke. Around 230,000 households will have all their electricity come solely from wind energy. With 12% of all wind farms now offshore and over $15 billion invested in the field, its clear that many people see this method of generation to be the future. The major problem that prevents this boom from becoming our main source is the fact that the energy storage industry can't keep up fast enough. Companies shave nowhere to put the excess energy they receive. Once the governments of Europe work together to establish a new grid system, renewable energy can continue to expand and Europe will be one step closer to complete use of renewable energy.
This relates to our project in class. Our group is learning about hydroelectric power, and its many drawbacks. The problem with using wind and hydroelectric power is the fact that water doesn't always gush and the wind doesn't always blow super hard. On those days, what are we supposed to do about electricity. Without nuclear or solar energy infrastructure, there could be serious problems with that plan of Europe.
A question I have is about wind farms. How much would it cost Houston to set up a bunch of these farms in Galveston to power the entire city? It would be a great example for the world considering our size. I can see some of the oil companies not letting that happen though.
No comments:
Post a Comment