Free download, click here - Natural Life Network

The History of Wind EnergyWind energy was used as early as 5000 years ago, when it provided the power formechanical tasks such as pumping water for irrigation, grinding grain, and sailingships. The first wind machines had cloth sails, and were fixed in one position to facethe prevailing wind. In the 1300's, a tailpole was attached to the machine so that theoperator could turn the propeller to face winds coming from any direction. This wassoon replaced by a fantail, which allowed the propeller to automatically face into thewind.In the 1800's, wind generators were developed to generate electricity in remoteareas. Installed across the Nullabor Plain in Australia, they provided power for radiocommunication between Eastern and Western states. Many rural homesteads wereprovided with electricity from wind generators also. By the mid 1900's, large windgenerators were linked in with existing el ectricity supply networks to supplementconventional electricity supplies. Today, large wind machines are beingexperimented with in the USA. And in the USA and Europe, "wind farms", madeup of hundreds of wind generators, feed electricity into existing electricity supplynetworks. Remote areas too, are turning away from expensive diesel -poweredgenerators to wind power for their electricity.The largest wind turbine in the world is located in Canada and is rated to produce 4megawatts of electricity an hourthat is enough to provide power for 1,200conventional homes. The wind farm has more seventy five wind turbines most ratedat 750 kilowatt hours. Total generating capacity is estimated at 57 megawatts ofelectricity or approximately 17,000 homes. Canada now produces about 370megawatts using wind power enough to provide power to more than approximately110,000 conventional homes. Just imagine what the industry can do once the annual$2 billion in su bsidies to fossil/nuclear is redirected towards wind and solar. Eachyear we could be purchasing and installing about 1,000 wind turbines adding morethan 1,000 megawatts every year. When combined with conservation measures thatcould easily reach at least 50% saving, and combined with solar systems the futurecould easily looks quite clean and green. Finally, just imagine if the costs ofpollution, clean-up, risk, construction/refurbishment, decommissioning and healthwere factored into fossil/nuclear. Clearly there is a better social and economic path.(Source: http://www.earth.uni.edu/EECP/elem/mod3.html, History of SolarEnergy)37