Essay Example on Wind Power Plants: Establishing Clean Energy Projects

Introduction

The establishment of wind energy projects is often in the form of wind farms or wind power stations. They are usually big turbines of wind that are structured in groups at a similar location to yield electric power. The sizes of wind power plants reveal by the number of turbines, as well as the extensive areas of land that they cover. The wind parks can either have an offshore or onshore situation. Wind power plants tend to affect the environment in much less and little ways as compared to other forms of power generating stations. The onshore-situated wind parks are also under criticism for their visual and landscape effects. The reason being is that they typically need large tracks of land to set up. They also prioritize building these stations in rural and wild areas, a fact that contributes to the countryside's industrialization, loss of habitat, and decrease of tourism activities (Alberto & Stephania, 2020). The criticism of the wind power stations is also pegged with the issues of adversity of its effects on health, for instance, in the wind turbine syndrome (Thompson et al., 2018). The wind power plants are also in accusation of causing interferences related to the radio, radar, and the reception of television. The paper, therefore, discusses the background, technology adopted, the displaced fossil fuels, impacts on carbon emission to the environment, and the overall environmental impacts of wind power plants in the United States of America. The main wind plant focused on is the Alta Wind Energy Center in California, United States of America.

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The Background of Alta Wind Energy Center

The Alta Wind Energy Center, abbreviated as AWEC, is the world's third-largest onshore project of wind energy (de Boer et al., 2018). It is also the Mojave Wind Farm. It is the largest station of wind energy in the entire United States of America (Kumar et al., 2016). It is in the Tehachapi Mountains' Pass, in the County of Kern, California. It has a combined capacity installation of 2, 080,000 hp (1,550 MW) (Alberto & Stephania, 2020). Its installation commenced from the 1970s and ended in the 1980s (de Boer et al., 2018). It powerfully illustrates the advancement in the scope and size of the upcoming modern projects of wind energy. Before its development and commissioning in 2010, the original Mojave Wind Energy Project comprised of up to 320 turbines of wind and occupied an area of 36 square kilometers, which was approximately 9,000 acres (Thompson et al., 2018). It produced a power capacity of 1,100,000 hp, which translated to about 800MW (Alberto & Stephania, 2020). The original station was developed under the Terra-Gen's contract, by the energy systems of Oak Creek (Kumar et al., 2016). It was later remitted entirely to the Terra-Gen, after which it became the first development under the body of Alta Wind Energy Center.

The general location of the Mojave Wind Energy Project is at the southern part of the Oak Creek Road, beginning with a couple of miles on the western side of the 14th state route located in Mojave (de Boer et al., 2018). It assumes a westward continuity along the road of Oak Creek to the Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road's western side. Concerning the reports relayed by the Wind Energy Association of America, the two first projects of Alta were in completion towards the end of 2010 (Thompson et al., 2018). The Alta I, which is a 150 MW project, was completed using 100 generators of 1.5 MW power each, and Alta II, which is 200,000 hp (150 MW), was completed using 50 generators of 4,000 (3MW) power each (Kumar et al., 2016). The three Alta projects that followed subsequently were, Alta III which is 150MW, Alta IV, which is 137,000 hp (102 MW), and Alta V, which is 168 MW. Their completion incorporated the use of 50, 34, and 56 Vestas of power 3 MW with V-90 turbines of wind, and happened in the 2nd quarter of 2011. The completion of projects Alta VI and Alta VIII, which comprise of 400,000 hp (300 MW), happened towards the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012. They were, however, renamed as Mustang Hills and Brookfield Tehachapi 2, respectively. The completion of projects of Alta IX and Alta VII, which comprises of 400,000 hp (300MW), happened in the December of 2012. They are now the Pinyon Pines Wind II, and Pinyon Pines Wind I. Their completion brought the total power of the Alta Projects to 1,770,000 hp (1,320 MW). The Alta X, which is 185,000 hp (138 MW) and Alta XI which is 120,000 hp (90 MW). They completed towards the end of 2013. Alpha XIII, which is 240,000 hp (180 MW), was in the schedule for completion in 2019 (de Boer et al., 2018).Technology Used in the Alta Wind Energy Center.

The technology incorporated in the Alpha Wind Energy Center consists of many different projects. It utilizes for more than 20 years, the same wind that powers thousands of turbines (de Boer et al., 2018). The Alpha Wind Energy Center executes a power contract of 1,550 MW to sell and market renewable, clean wind energy to the Edison of Southern California, as from 2006 (Alberto & Stephania, 2020). The station also secures the access of priority to the newly completed transmission line-the transmission line completed towards the end of 2009 (de Boer et al., 2018). The two technological advancements factors that make the station unique and different from other development projects of renewable energy are the availability of its wind power market as well as its access to transmission. Its technology is in use in the generation of wind energy that is renewable and clean, to provide power for about 275,000 California residents (Kumar et al., 2016). It represents 10% of purchases of renewable energy that is necessary for the regulated utilities in California (de Boer et al., 2018). The plant reduces air emissions every year by 28 million pounds of Sulphur dioxide, 5.8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, and 13.2 million pounds of nitrogen oxides (Kumar et al., 2016). The reason being is that the farm does not emit harmful gases to the atmosphere since it does not utilize fossil fuels in its operation (de Boer et al., 2018). The Alpha Wind Energy Center is in the representation of the contracts that are approved by the Public Utilities Commission of California, regarding renewable energy by 30% (Thompson et al., 2018). They are inclusive of solar, geothermal, and wind contracts.

The Fossil Fuels Displaced by the Alta Wind Energy Center

The Alta reduces the gaseous emissions of fossil fuel products yearly. The project reduces the atmospheric emission of gaseous end products of fossil fuels by 28 million pounds of Sulphur dioxide, 5.8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, and 13.2 million pounds of nitrogen oxides (de Boer et al., 2018). It, therefore, displaces the consumption of fossil fuels that are dangerous to the atmosphere and the environment by producing clean, renewable energy. The plant being an input source of renewable energy provides a clean power that does not tamper with the well-being of the environment by releasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Thompson et al., 2018). The farm minimizes and diminishes other alternative methods of generating energy. As an input wind plant, it reduces the needs of different methods of energy production that are more hazardous to the environment. The farm subsidizes the production of other alternative energy sources that are expensive yet dangerous, like fossil fuels. The power that sourced from winds needs fewer subsidies as compared to other energy means. Alta Wind Energy Center displaces the consumption of different energy from fossil fuels in its operation. The powering of the wind turbines does not need the use of fuel, thus efficiency in reducing the general consumption of fossil energy.

Amount of the Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Emission Saved

The Alta Wind Energy Center is a clean power source; it opposes the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere just like other gaseous end products from fossil fuels. It sources its power from wind energy; therefore, it plays a crucial role in reducing the atmospheric emission of carbon dioxide by a certain degree or percentage magnitude. The plant being an input source of renewable energy provides a clean power that does not tamper with the well- being of the environment by releasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Alta Wind Energy Center reduces the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere on an annual basis by providing clean, renewable energy sourced from the wind. The farm reduces the atmospheric emission of carbon dioxide by 5.8 billion pounds per year (Alberto & Stephania, 2020).

The Environmental Impacts of the Alta Wind Energy Center, in California

The Alta Wind Energy Center has involved wasteful use of vast tracks of land. Setting up the project has consumed large areas of land that can be of other fruitful utilization. Alta is the 3rd largest energy plan in the world, and the largest of its kind in the United States of America must have consumed a massive space in California. The project set up in a large area, which is approximately 9,000 acres in size or 36 square kilometers in the area (Kumar et al., 2016). Being an onshore wind farm, it must have snatched or denied many animal species their natural habitat. It has, therefore, affected tourism.

The Alta Wind Energy Center has contributed to the emergence of aesthetic issues. These are inclusive of visual problems as well as sound pollution (de Boer et al., 2018). The project incorporated the installation of many wind turbines to yield such a large amount of power. The rotation of these turbines affects the directions of wind movement, a fact that contributes to the presence of excess dust in the atmosphere. There is, therefore, the interference of a clear vision. The continuous rotation of the turbines results in a lot of noise to the nearby residents, thus noise pollution.

Setting up the project of Alta Wind Energy has triggered the migratory disturbances of birds and other flying mammals (Thompson et al., 2018). The rotation of the turbines also poses significant threats to various types of bird species since their rotating blades are dangerous weapons to them when they fly. The birds are chopped by the turbine blades, leading to the death of many birds. The factor imbalances the environmental ecosystem due to the migration of the birds to some new location. The birds may also be extinct due to their continued death resulting from the turbine rotation. Consequently, the sector of tourism is also affected in an equal measure, due to death and migration of such animal species.

The wind energy project also affects the environment by unpredictably changing the weather of the areas of residents that borders it (Thompson et al., 2018). The reason being is that the rotation of the many turbines, which is often at a faster speed influences the directions of winds. The factor, therefore, contributes to the occasional changing of weather unpredictably and inappropriately. Consequently, it leads to drought as the winds that facilitate the occurrence of rain are diverted and misdirected by the rotation turbines.

The Alto Wind Energy affects the temperatures around its suburbs. The residents around staying around the plant experience sudden changes in temperature. The phenomenon is unnatural since the abrupt and unpredictable temperature changes just triggered by the blades of the turbines that rotate at high speeds, leading to high wind velocity, thus low temperatures.

Conclusion

Generally, energy-generating projects often pose impacts on the natural world in a vast number of ways; therefore, no much difference expected in the case of projects that use wind energy to generate power. Wind plants have both negative and positive effects on the global...