An Energy Management or Efficiency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Energy Management or Efficiency - Essay Example In today’s world, thanks to the great technological strides; wind turbines have been developed to wring electricity from the breeze. Thus as more and more people resort to wind energy over the past decade: wind turbine use has increased at more than twenty five percent a year-though only still proving a fraction of the world’s energy. Undoubtedly, most wind energy comes from turbines that can be as tall as a twenty story building and have three 200- foot- long (60-meter-long) blades. These contraptions look like giant airplane propellers on a massive stick. The wind spins the blades, which turns a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity. Other turbines work on the same principle, but the turbine rests on a vertical axis (Burton, 2011, 57). Interestingly, the biggest wind turbines generate enough electricity to supply about 600 United States homes. Furthermore wind farms can contain tens and sometimes hundreds of these turbines lined up together in particular windy spots, for example along a ridge where the wind is blowing strong. However smaller turbines erected in a back-yard can produce electricity enough to power a single home or meet power needs of a small business. Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution. Interestingly since the wind is free, there are minimal if not, nearly zero operational costs once a turbine is erected. Mass production coupled with technology advances are making turbines cheaper, and many governments are offering tax incentives to spur wind-energy development. Even so, not all people look at wind energy favorably. Some think that the turbines look ugly and complain about the noise generated by the machine. The slowly rotating blades can also kill birds and bats. But this cannot be compared to road carnage, destruction by power lines, and high-rise buildings. The wind is also variable in