Operation: Wind Turbine

1. Operation: Wind Turbine Developing Cooler Alternatives Appleton Career Academy Acheh-leke N. Fonkem December 8 2011

2. …And we can be a part of it. “Since fossil fuels are heating up the earth, the race is on to develop cool alternatives”

3. Table of Contents • Summary of problem • Summary of Research • Proposal • Success Stories • Citations

4. Summary of Problem Appleton North High School, like any other high schools, functions on running water, electricity, heating and cooling systems, and a myriad of others. They are currently on a mission to improve sustainability and reduce the cost of electricity in an efficient yet globally friendly way. Wind turbines are the new fresh and clean energy source that will also help to reduce the amounts of fossil fuels used to run the school, therefore less greenhouse gas emissions occur.

5. Summary of Research • Wind turbines are mechanical devices that convert the kinetic energy from the wind to mechanical energy that can be used to produce electricity or drive machinery such as grinding grain or pumping water.

6. Disadvantages • Wind: source of energy • Noise Level • Aesthetics • Greenhouse Emmissions

7. Benefits • Cost = FREE! • Greenhouse Gas Free • Little Areas • Cool • Vast Amount of Energy

8. “Assumes a retail electricity cost of 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, increasing three percent per year, and annual average wind speeds of 15 mph to 17.4 mph at 50 meters above the ground.” Source: Based on data from wind turbine manufacturers and estimates from Thomas A. Wind, Wind Utility Consulting.

9. Proposal • Objectives • Profitability: A well maintained wind turbine can last about thirty years so the profitability is pretty high. So the investment factor is pretty high. But with smaller wind turbines, the cost per unit of electricity generated is higher than that from larger turbines so the payback time would take longer. • Efficiency: The efficiency of a wind turbine is pretty low. This is one of the bigger areas that engineers hope to improve. To even achieve a 50% efficiency is a well-oiled machine so to speak because then it would convert half of the power of the wind to mechanical energy. • Sustainability: Due to the investment factor of the wind turbines, if maintained well and kept in good condition, its sustainability would be high around thirty years or so.

10. Proposal Con’t • Global Effect: Reduction of Greenhouse Gases Reduce climatic impacts from fossil fuels Renewable Source • Overall Effect: Wind energy is currently negligible in comparison to other anthropogenic forces

11. Methods • Various grants • http://www.wisconsinenergy.com/foundation/application.htm • http://www4.uwsp.edu/cnr/weeb/grant-program/categories/category-general.htm Make phone calls and contact Kaukauna High School, Little Chute High School and Wauwega High School and learn their development plans

12. Success Stories • Luther College Q&A • What type of wind turbine does Luther have? Luther purchased a 1.6 megawatt General Electric XLE wind turbine. • How much electricity will it produce? The electricity from the turbine will serve Alliant Energy's customers on the west side of Decorah, including Luther College.  The 5.2 million kilowatt hours of net electricity generated per year are enough to power more than 500 homes in Decorah and represents approximately one third of Luther's annual consumption. • How does the electricity generated by the wind turbine get to campus? To protect the beauty of the natural environment, the transmission line for the project has been installed underground, carrying the wind-generated electricity under Highway 52, along Valley View Drive, under the Upper Iowa River near the Luther radio tower, and then east to the Alliant Energy distribution line that serves the Luther campus. • How much did this project cost? • ~$3.3 million