Denham Wind Farm, about 1000 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia, uses some of the most advanced wind technology in the world, and it harness a higher percentage of wind energy than previous wind farms. A variable speed machine connects the turbines to the power grid through an inverter. The system is able to dump excess power to protect the consumers from surges and other problems.
Wind power is still largely experimental, and not as efficient as conventional oil- or coal- or gas-fired plants, but new technologies advancing, with higher efficiency and increased ability to dump excess power. Developments also are occurring in computerised controls and programmes to reduce power consumption within plant itself.
Construction costs are moderate, viable without subsidies. Wind power plants need only spaces exposed to strong, reliable winds (7+ km/hr),; land can be used simultaneously for other purposes. In current examples, turbines are spaced about 300 m apart. There is room for easy expansion provided wind conditions are good, whether at same site or elsewhere. The few workers required can be based off-site.
The cost of wind power generation is lower than diesel, so it is ideal for remote communities which use diesel. The fuel is renewable, free, and needs no transportation, technology updates are relatively simple, and land rehabilitation after the plant's 20 year lifetime is relatively simple. Like solar power plants, the life of current wind power generation plants is still less than conventional power plants.
Like any man-made construction, wind power plants can have an impact on the environment. For example, at California's Altamont Pass, east of San Francisco, 7000 wind turbines cover 80 square miles of hills. They produce a million MW-hr of power a year, equivalent to San Francisco's household demand. But a few hundred birds die each year when they fly into blades and towers. Kentech/Windpower, Altamont's largest operator, launched a $2 million research programme to solve the problem. Their research included sending homing pigeons through area to see how turbines affect birds' flight patterns, painting blades, and causing turbines to emit sound to see if they would deter birds from coming too near. Western Power, Western Australia's state electric company, worked with the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) and the Department of Environmental Protection, and used computer technology to ensure minimum impact of their wind generator design and construction, and reintroduction of native species into area. To avoid disturbing native species, and spreading dieback (a fungus that kills trees) and other diseases through human traffic, paths were laid to restrict human movement through the tracts of native bushland.
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