While
ascertaining where wind energy comes
from, one should not forget that wind energy is
also a form of solar energy. It is a renewable energy,
too. As a matter of fact, all renewable energies save
and except geothermal and tidal power, including fossil
fuels come from the good old sun. However, out of the
174,423,000,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy radiated by
the sun to the earth hourly, only 1 or 2 percent of the
Sun’s energy reaching the earth can be utilized as wind
energy. But even at that infinitesimal rate, it is much
more (50 to 100 times) than the energy that can be
converted to biomass by plants on the earth. So you can
well imagine the power and the tremendous potential that
this form of energy has.
As
earlier said, wind energy is formed out of solar heat
that beat down upon all earthly objects during the
daylight hours, heating up the air floating over them
that include mountains, valleys, plain lands, rivers and
oceans. Now, the air over the land will obviously behave
in a different fashion as compared to the same covering
the ocean. As the hot air over the land gets lighter and
goes up to the sky, thus creating a void, colder air
from above the ocean rushes in to take its place. This
gives birth to wind energy which was used by the ancient
mariners to sail their ships in high seas. Also, the
topography of the earth includes mountains, valleys,
plain lands, rivers and oceans, each of which act
differently, and thus the way they react to the heating
effect of the sun is also different. This causes
turbulence which also produces wind energy in some form
or another.
But
that is not the only place the wind energy comes
from. There’s more. Another form of wind energy
comes from the earth’s diurnal rotation upon its own
axis. This happens when the enveloping air streams clash
with each other thus causing stormy conditions. Change
of seasons is often related to wind energy too. As the
sun enters the winter solstice, the prevailing hot air
starts clashing with the newly formed colder air, giving
rise to tempests that fuel wind energy of a different
kind.
In
order to study these phenomenon from a scientific point
of view, most US state Universities and departments of
Natural Resources’ Energy Centers coordinate public
forums, presented by video conferences in order to
enable interested people to learn about the state’s wind
energy resources as also to make them acquainted with
the type of measures they can take for utilizing the
energy to their best satisfaction. And with wind energy
becoming more popular with each passing day not only in
the United States but all over the world, these forums
and interest groups are seen today more than ever
before. This is a natural development given the fact
that wind power as a source of energy is being utilized
more today.
The
video conferences on wind energy usually include live
presentations and panel discussions among participants
from all corners of the state while the forums are held
via video conference so that people can access them
through their personal computers with broadband internet
connection when unable to attend
personally.
The
forums cover various issues that often include
Opportunities for and barriers to wind resource
development; Utility operations and transmission needs;
Eco-developmental potential; Environmental and aesthetic
considerations related to wind energy utilization and
Means to best use the state’s wind energy potential.
Those who attend these programs share their knowledge on
wind energy and try to learn from others. Not only do
they discuss about where does wind energy comes from,
but also about the technologies progresses made in this
area, the potential and the future applications of wind
energy that will change the world.
Unfortunately,
such facilities are not available elsewhere and the only
way to gather more information on the topic is to use
search engines for opening up relevant pages. Needless
to say, such efforts often prove ineffective and
misleading when personal resource seeking seems to be
the only alternative.
