Blowing in the wind

WITH over six billion people on our planet, resource stocks are already being depleted faster than nature can regenerate them.

As the world population increases to an expected nine billion by 2050, demands on resources will only get higher.

Saving the Earth's resources so that they are available for others to use for a long time into the future is therefore critical.

In order to do this we must change the ways in which energy is generated by using renewable energy sources, developing new technologies for cleaner and safer use and making laws so resources are used and managed better.

Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, bio and geothermal come from supplies that should never run out.

In harnessing them to generate energy little or no damage is done to the environment.

How the wind can work

Wind has long served as a power source to humans – boats use sails to capture the wind and windmills are used to grind grains and pump water.

Wind energy is a renewable resource – a source of clean, non-polluting, electricity – that can serve as an alternative to fossil fuel (non-renewable) generated electricity.

It involves producing electricity from the naturally occurring power of the wind.

Turbines capture wind energy with their three propeller like blades.

The spinning blades, mounted on high towers, turn a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity.

Farming the wind

Wind farms create wind energy by placing multiple wind turbines in the same location for the purpose of generating large amounts of electrical power for export to the grid.

Some drawbacks of wind turbines are the high installation costs, a change in wind speed limits production of energy, they’re not suitable for all areas, they create noise, can interfere with some radar systems and can cause death to creatures that fly.