wind & solar

• WIND POWER:


  generated by wind turbines which have blades that spin due to the wind.

  • This spinning action turns a generator which produces electricity, which can then be transported to the national grid.

  It convert the kinetic energy from the wind into electrical energy.

  
• Pros of wind power:

  • Clean & Renewable Energy, Generates electricity without producing greenhouse gases or other harmful emissions.
  • Low Operating Costs, wind farms have minimal ongoing costs for fuel.

  Job Creation - The wind energy industry creates jobs in:

  • manufacturing
  • installation
  • maintenance
  • operation

  of wind farms.

  • They get cheaper every year

  
• Cons of wind power:

  • Can be visually disruptive in some landscapes & their rotating blades can generate noise that may disturb nearby communities.

  High Initial Costs:

  • Setting up wind farms requires significant upfront investment for turbines, towers, & infrastructure.

  Impact on Wildlife:

  • Rotating blades pose a risk of collision for birds.

  
• Solar cells (photovoltaic cells) in solar panels convert sunlight directly into electricity.

  
• Pros on solar cells:

  • Low running costs
  • they get cheaper every year
  • Once installed, solar panels require minimal ongoing maintenance, leading to long-term cost savings.

  Clean & Renewable Energy:

  • Solar energy relies on sunlight, a clean resource, generating electricity without harmful emissions.

  
• Cons on solar cells:

  Weather dependence:

  • Solar power production varies depending on weather conditions, affecting overall energy output.

  Limited space:

  • Setting up large-scale solar farms require significant land area, potentially impacting other land uses.

  High Initial Costs - Installing solar panels requires significant upfront investment, including:

  • equipment
  • installation
  • potential grid connection fees

  
• Wind turbines are generally placed in exposed areas like mall or coasts, where there’s lots of strong winds.

  
• The cons of wind power are:

  Unreliable & Intermittent: 

  • Wind speed is variable
  • If the wind doesn’t blow then they don’t generate any electricity.
  • There’s no way to increase supply in terms of peak demand.

  They take up a lot of land space as you need so many of them to produce a serious amount of power.

  
• You're likely to see solar cells in:

  Low energy devices like:

  • On the front of calculators
  • watches

  So we don’t have to replace batteries.

  • Large scale solar farms
  • Roofs

  
• • sun gives out heat & light energy
  • The sun's energy can be used to heat cells directly in solar heating panels.
  • Solar panels then generates electrical energy.
• • Wind has kinetic energy, that can be used to rotate turbines to spin & generate electricity.
• Suggest why wind power wouldn't be able to meet demand:

  • wind power is unreliable, the mean power output that day might have no been enough to meet the demand.
  • wind might have been too light that little power was produced.