Wind-Powered Electricity Generation

• Is it for the Pontiac?• Different forms of energy production

Activity

• Compare Energy Production techniques

by completing the handout

• Create a wind-powered generator

• Answer the question – Is wind-powered electric generation good for the Pontiac? And explain your reasons.

Traditional Energy Production

•Fossil Fuels - Oil/Coal/Natural Gas Energy•Nuclear Energy•Hydro-electric Energy

Coal Power Plant

Ohio River, Ohio

By: Picture_taking_fool

http://www.flickr.com/photos/picture_taking__fool/97440787/

South Bay Power Plant San Diego, CABy: thelatentimage

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelatentimage/2775850258/

Fossil Fuel Energy• Source – the ground – oil, natural gas,

coal, oil tar sands

• How used: Heat water to drive turbine.

• Good points:– Inexpensive– Job creation– Filters used

• Bad points– Creates pollution – air, water, land– Creates Greenhouse gases, Acid Rain

New York City Power PlantBy: futureatlas.comhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/87913776@N00/460375668/

John E. Amos Coal Power Plant West Virginia

By: Wigwam Jones

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wigwam/2631192698/

Flying over a Nuclear Power PlantBy: brewbookshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/538000723/

It’s pronounced Nucular• Source: Uranium in the ground

• Uranium radiation heats water for a steam turbine to generate electricity.

• Good Points– We have Uranium– No gases produced– Creates lots of energy

• Bad Points– Waste storage leaks– Radiation causes cancer

Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Wiscasset Maine

1972-1997

Conowingo Hydroelectric Power Plant Located on the Susquehanna River in Maryland

By: No_clever_names_left http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael07/750899079/

Hydroelectric Energy – energy from rivers

+ Renewable+ No pollution, because

nothing gets burned+ We can store the water up

high, and then whenever we need the energy we can let the water out

The water flowing in a river has kinetic energy. We can turn this into electrical energy to use in our homes. We usually need to build a dam, and let the water flow through it gradually.

– Costs a lot of money to build a dam

– The dam can ruin the local environment, because it changes where the water naturally flows. Some animals and plants may die.

Hydroelectric Power Plant By: s,B - Michael Brenton-King of The Wachoo Wachoo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smallcommabig/2699631008/

Alternate Energy

– Geo-Thermal Energy– Wave Energy– Tidal Energy– Solar Energy– Bio-Mass Energy – Wind Energy

By: arnitr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arnitr/324731289/

Geothermal Power Plant located over an active volcanic ridge in Iceland.

Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant

Geothermal Energy – energy from the Earth

1. Cold water is pumped below the ground.2. Hot rocks heat the water, turning it into

steam.3. The steam is used to generate

electricity.+ Renewable+ No pollution, because

nothing gets burned+ Doesn’t damage the

environment– Very few places in the

world where you can do this

– Costs a lot of money to drill deep into the ground

Deep underground, the Earth’s rocks are naturally very hot. We can turn their heat energy into electrical energy to use in our homes – we call this ‘geothermal energy’.

Wave Energy – energy from sea waves

+ Renewable+ No pollution, because

nothing gets burned

The sea’s waves have kinetic energy. Using machines that bob up and down in the waves, this energy can be turned into electrical energy which we can use in our homes.

– Need lots of machines to get a reasonable amount of energy

– The machines costs a lot of money

– The machines can look ugly

– The machines can be damaged by storms

wave energy machines bobbing up and down in the waves

Tidal Energy – energy from sea tides

1. At high tide, we trap the water behind a dam.

2. At low tide, the water is released, and its energy is used to generate electricity.

+ Renewable+ No pollution, because

nothing gets burned+ Reliable, because there are

always two tides every day+ Cheap to run, once it’s built– Costs a lot to build the dam– The dam may cause local

flooding

If you’ve ever been to the coast, you may have noticed that the sea level goes up and down, because of tides. When the tide is high, the water has lots of gravitational potential energy, which we can turn into electrical energy to use in our homes.

Solar Panels along side a home in Canada

By: Canadian Veggiehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/canadianveggie/340485324/

Solar Energy – energy from the Sun

+ Renewable+ No pollution, because

nothing gets burned– Solar cells and solar

panels are expensive– Only works if it’s

sunny!

The Earth gets heat and light energy from the sun all the time. Can we use it – yes we can! The Sun’s energy can either be:

1. changed into electrical energy to use in homes, using solar cells;

2. or used to heat water for homes, using solar panels.

Installing Solar Panels

By: richardmasonerhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/540944183/

Biomass Energy – energy from plants

1. Trees absorb the sun’s energy. The trees change this energy into chemical energy, which they store inside themselves.

2. When we burn wood, we turn this energy into heat, which is useful for cooking and heating.

+ Renewable – as long as we keep planting trees to replace the ones we cut down

+ Doesn’t need any special equipment, so it can be used very easily, even in poor countries

+ Doesn’t add to the greenhouse effect

– Large areas of land are needed to grow enough trees

The chemical potential energy stored in things that were once alive (e.g. trees) can be turned into heat energy by burning them. (We can also turn it into electrical energy to use in our homes.)

Biomass Sources

Wind Turbines

Mars Hill Maine

By: Extra Ketchup

http://www.flickr.com/photos/extraketchup/672336669/in/set-72157600300070348/

Wind Energy – energy from the wind

+ Renewable+ No pollution, because

nothing gets burned+ Turbines are quite cheap and

easy to build, so they can be used even in poor countries

– Turbines can be ugly and noisy

– Only works if it’s quite windy! If the wind stops, you get no energy.

Using wind turbines, we can turn the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy which we can use in our homes. This is ‘wind energy’.

Wind Power Mars Hill Maine

Compare the

size of the turbines to the trees.

By: Extra Ketchup

http://www.flickr.com/photos/extraketchup/673194644/

ActivityDefinitions:

Kinetic Energy – energy due to motion

Potential Energy – energy due to position

Chemical Potential Energy – energy found in molecular bonds

Nuclear Energy – energy released when mass is converted to energy

Electric Energy – energy due to motion of electrons

Yeah! Now answer the following questions:

Q. 15-17, 20-23, 27-8, 30-32 on pp. 247-8.