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CRASH COURSE IN WIND ENERGY:

The purpose of wind energy is to create wind power to power various buildings such as homes, schools, and office buildings. To gather wind energy is not vary complicated but can be costly. Wind Farms in NC can be built it is all about where, why, and how much. I will answer these questions throughout my PowerPoint. At the end of the PowerPoint you will know where would be the best location to build a Wind Farm in North Carolina and why. Lets get started…

WIND FARMS… WHY

I picked wind farms for my project because I like wind. Yes, I know it’s a little weird but I love wind. I also picked this because we need wind farms in North Carolina to have to produce energy to cut costs of non renewable resources.

WIND FARM TYPES:

There are several types of wind farm types. These are the ones we will be using the most during the rest of this project:

RESIDENTIAL - SCALE ONSITE ENERGY USE (<10KW)

Residential - Scale Onsite Energy Use (<10kW)

Small Turbines - As much energy as a home would require

Generally installed on Small Turbine

Many states provide incentives for the Residential Turbine

http://energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources/renewable-energy/wind

SMALL COMMERCIAL - SCALE ONSITE ENERGY USE (10-50 KW)

Produces more power than the average house would need

Well suited for: Farms; Ranches; Schools; Office Buildings; Public Load such as a Hospital.

Higher level of machine sophistication, increased need of maintenance

Setup of this would cost about as much as a house

http://energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources/renewable-energy/wind

WIND FARM LOCATIONS

Lets look at our possible locations for where to put a wind farm in North Carolina. We have two places.

- Hickory, North Carolina (KHKY)

- Cape Hatteras, North Carolina (KHSE)

WILD WEATHER - HICKORY, NORTH CAROLINA

Extreme Weather:

Hail:

3 accounts of 1.01 – 1.50 Hail Fallen: 3

16 accounts of 1.51 – 2.00 Hail Fallen: 16

Tornados:

F0: 1

F1: 1

F2: 2

WILD WEATHER - HICKORY, NORTH CAROLINA

Hurricane Events:

Tropical Storms: 5

Max. Sustained Winds: 63 mph

Winter Weather:

Snow – Heavy Snow: 84

Sleet: 30

Freezing Rain: 50

Wind: 5

Winter Weather Source: http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climate/winter_wx/database.php

WILD WEATHER – HATTERAS, NORTH CAROLINA

Extreme Weather:

Hail:

No accounts were observed, it is possible though so it would be listed as a hazard.

Tornados:

F0: 3

F1: 1

Others were not reported but are still a hazard.

WILD WEATHER – HATTERAS, NORTH CAROLINA

Hurricane Events:

Tropical Storm: 28

C1: 13

C2: 6

C3: 4

Winter Weather

Snow: 30

Sleet: 8

Freezing Rain: 10

Wind: 2

WIND FARM IN HICKORY…

Wind Farm Type:

Residential Type

Numbers:

Energy: As much as one home would require.

Number of farms in location: about 5

Would be built on a need by need basis; When a family decides to power their home with wind power, one turbine will be built.

Wind Rose – SCO – Wind Rose

WIND FARM AT HATTERAS…

Wind Farm Type:

Small Commercial – Offshore

Numbers:

Energy:

Public Loads; Hospitals; Farms, etc.

Number in location: about 10, More at this location because it is a better spot for wind because of the wind coming off of the sea; Would provide local area with energy and some energy might be sold to provide a profit to the local area.

CONCLUSION:

North Carolina has the potential to build up a full wind farm in the state. If North Carolina wanted the most energy it’s best choice would be to build off shore due to the wind coming off of the sea and the protection from Hatteras Island. I hope you have enjoyed my presentation as you learned about wind farms and wind, and about how North Carolina would be a great place for wind power!

CITATIONS:

Wind Energy Photo. Windeis. Web. 6 Feb. 2013.

<http://windeis.anl.gov/guide/photos/photo5.html>.

State Climate Office:

- Wind Rose

- CRONOS Data Base

- Winter Weather Database

- Hurricanes Data Base