The wind turbine at Greenpark

Can wind power save the world?

In today’s world with the ever worrying problem of climate change and non-renewable fuels such as coal and gas running out, the planet is crying out for a greener source of energy. Wind power is an exciting option that is being developed more every day to suit the needs of a society that requires electricity to survive. Can wind power save the world? In this article and throughout my research I will find out if this is true.

About the Greenpark Wind Turbines

The wind turbine at Greenpark is situated just off junction 11 on the M4. The wind turbine towers above everything and is the first thing that you see when driving past the city of Reading. It could be described as a wonderful landmark that is trying to save energy, money and our future. Some could say that it is unattractive and should be situated in a more remote area. The true is that the turbine is making a statement saying that there is another way of creating energy. With just a single wind turbine, the Greenpark turbine supplies 100% of the electricity for 1063 homes and some businesses in the area. It was erected in November 2005, the hub measures in at 85 meters and the rotator diameter is 70 meters. This fascinating piece of technology saves 3,018 tones of Carbon Dioxide, 35 tones of Sulphur dioxide and a further 11 tones of Nitrogen oxide. All of which help save the planets atmosphere and ozone layer.

Drawbacks to Wind Power

As it stands wind power does have its draw backs. Wind power evidently depends on the weather and how windy it is at a given time. The more wind the more power available, for example, on a windy day the more electicity generated.

Ecotricity

Ecotricity run the wind turbine and is responsible for running another twelve wind farms, for which some are single turbine’s and some are multiple turbines. Ecotricity is currently building another three farms and in the process of planning to build another seven areas, meaning a total of twenty-two wind farms.

Why Wind Power is Relevant to Me

Finding a new source of renewable energy does not only affect me, but every one who lives on this planet at the moment. I rely on electricity for most of my day to day activities including leisure activities such as watching television and using my personal computer. I feel that if a new energy source is not found then the planet and its atmosphere will change for the worse. It may not affect this generation or even the next, but it will some day and we will be the generation that ruined our planet.
I am interested to know how the Greenpark wind turbine is controlled and what type of telecommunications the wind turbine uses to monitor the turbines activities. I am also fascinated in how the turbine’s electricity is harvested and relayed onto the homes and businesses that use the turbine for power.

Plan of Inquiry

In this unit I plan to find out the amount of people in Reading who are aware of the facts to do with wind turbines and the prospects that wind power holds. To do this I will hold a survey for the people who live nearby the Greenpark wind turbine to see their views about living by the wind turbine and to see if they feel that other projects like the Greenpark turbine could be implemented in other societies such as cities and towns. I also plan to conduct a survey to find out if fellow students outside of the engineering department know the problems that the future holds if another energy source is found. I will do this because my fellow students are the future in the working world, and if they are made aware of the problems then changes may be made in the future. I plan to use the following secondary source websites to aid me and back up my claims:

• http://www.greenpark.co.uk/whymovetogreenpark/windturbine.shtml
• http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/projects/plan_greenpark.html
• http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/micro/wind/

I plan to visit the turbine so I can find out about the telecommunication technologies that are used to monitor and control the turbine from an offsite location. I will do this by asking the people who work at the wind turbine to explain how the turbine works and how the telecommunication systems work. I will also ask about their plan for the future such as has the Greenpark wind turbine got the capability to power more than the 1500 homes.

Conclusion

There are many options available at the moment that create energy in a greener way and according to Ecotricity burning fossil fuels are responsible for 30% of our CO2 emissions, so it is vital a new technology is developed soon. Other technologies that are being developed include solar power and tidal power and both use the Earths natural sources to create and harvest energy. Personally I don’t care which technology is implemented, as long as one of the options is used on a larger scale. I am not just discussing about Britain, but globally. In answer to the question “Can wind power save the world?” I believe it can save the world, but not quite yet because there are too many drawbacks to the idea and the design of the turbines are still being developed. So to generate the most electricity possible for the most homes and businesses. Hopefully, the day will come where a greener electricity source will be used; until that day comes we have to rely on what is available to us.