What is the best geographic location for wind turbines?

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asked Apr 23, 2022 in Conservation by k89act88w (1,140 points)
What is the best geographic location for wind turbines?

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answered Apr 24, 2022 by berterney (3,750 points)
The best geographic location for wind turbines is in areas with lots of wind.

When a place gets a lot of wind they can spin the wind turbines more often and generate electricity which makes the wind turbines more profitable.

However wind turbines are also good in areas that get some wind but they won't operate as often as wind turbines in windier locations.

An example of a good place for wind turbines is Kansas because Kansas gets a lot of wind especially during March and April.

Favorable sites for wind turbines include the tops of smooth, rounded hills; open plains and water; and mountain gaps that funnel and intensify wind.

Wind resources are generally more favorable for electricity generation at higher elevations above the earth's surface.

China is the country that is the world leader in wind energy.

China is currently the largest producer of wind power in the world, generating as much as 236,402 megawatts in 2019, about 36.3% of total capacity produced.

The United States is the second-largest producer of wind power generating 105,466 megawatts in 2019.

Every year it's estimated that as many as 681,000 birds are killed by wind turbines.

It could be possible in the near future to go 100 percent renewable with electricity.

But we still need other non renewable energy sources such as gasoline, oil, natural gas etc.

No country is 100 percent renewable energy although some countries use 100 percent energy to produce electricity but still use some other non renewable energies such as coal, natural gas etc.

The countries that have not run completely on renewable energy but do run on 100 percent renewable electricity include the countries such as Albania, Costa Rica, Iceland and Paraguay all run on 100% renewable electricity but not 100 percent renewable energy.

It is possible for a city to be run on 100% renewable energy.

Without enough solar panels, wind generators etc a city could be entirely run on renew energy 100 percent.

Burlington hit the historic milestone running 100% on renewable energy five years ago, and now at least four other cities have hit that milestone too.

Those cities are Aspen, Colorado; Greensburg, Kansas; Kodiak, Alaska; and Rock Port, Missouri.

Nuclear is the cleanest energy alongside wind power and solar panel power.

Nuclear is a zero-emission clean energy source.

That's because nuclear power plants generate power through fission, which is the process of splitting uranium atoms to produce energy.

The heat released by fission is used to create steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity without the harmful byproducts emitted by fossil fuels.

The best energy source of the future other than the current wind energy and solar panels is carbon capture and sequestration.

Other best energy sources of the future include.

NextGen nuclear power.
Nuclear fusion.
Offshore wind.
Geothermal.
Space technologies.
Solar fuels.

Between 12 percent to 18 percent of Americas energy is clean energy.

The rest comes from coal, natural gas, nuclear etc.

The country that uses the most green energy is Germany followed by the UK, Sweden and Spain.

The country that uses solar energy the most is China then the USA, Japan, Germany and India.

The country that produces the most clean energy is Norway.

Norway is the largest clean energy producer, as 98.4% of its energy production comes from renewable sources.

Iceland also produces a lot of clean energy as well.

Iceland generates the most clean electricity per person in the world.

Nearly 100% of Iceland's energy comes from renewable sources, mainly from hydro power (72%) and geothermal (28%) energy.

Nicaragua has pledged to generate at least 90% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

The US can run on clean energy and a lot of the US does run on clean energy as of now through wind power, solar panels etc.

However we still do need regular power plants to keep up with the electricity demand when the sun is not shining or when the wind is not blowing.

We may eventually get to near 100 percent clean energy in the future but it may not be until 15 to 20 years from now until we reach that point.

The US could eventually become 100% renewable when it comes to energy production although it may take another 15 to 20 years to get to that point.

This tipping point may vary region by region and going past this tipping point may result in blackouts.

So, 100% renewable power is not feasible today, but the country wants renewables to utilize abundant solar and wind energy and to reduce pollution which otherwise fossil fuel-based power plants would create.

To run a house off of solar panels you would need between 20 to 24 solar panels.

However smaller houses with less electricity usage may get by with around 10 to 15 solar panels but it's always good to have more solar panels than needed to provide you with plenty of electricity.

Solar and wind power can power at least 85 percent of Americas energy needs.

However there's not enough solar or wind power available to provide all of America with electricity so we still need some coal, natural gas, nuclear power plants etc to provide some of the electricity that we use.

The amount of solar panels it would take to power the entire united states is at least 7.85 billion solar panels and those solar panels would need to provide at least 350 watts each per hour.

Solar's abundance and potential throughout the United States is staggering: PV panels on just 22,000 square miles of the nation's total land area about the size of Lake Michigan could supply enough electricity to power the entire United States.

The amount of solar panels that would be needed to power the world is at least 51.4 billion 350 W solar panels.

With countries racing to end their reliance on the fossil fuels that cause climate change, it's a boom time for renewable energy.

Now, an international team of researchers has determined that if every available rooftop was equipped with solar panels, they could generate enough electricity to power the world.

Solar panels do work some when the weather is cloudy although the solar panels charge slower when it's cloudy out.

Solar Panels work best when the sun is shining really bright.

In the hot summer sun the solar panels produce the most power.

You can even power window air conditioners with solar panels if you have enough solar power and a big enough inverter and battery bank setup.

Solar Panels do work still when it's cloudy out.

Although when it's cloudy outside and the sun is not shining enough the solar panels may charge the batteries a bit slower than the would if it were sunny out.

Solar Panels work best when it's sunny outside and you get more power and charge from sunny days than you do on cloudy days.

But even when it's cloudy outside your solar panels will work to charge your solar panel batteries and provide you with some power.

Solar Panels will work with either direct or indirect sunlight to generate power.

Solar Panels are most effective when you have direct sunlight but they also are still pretty effective when the light is reflected or partially blocked by clouds.

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