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Disclaimer—This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University
of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is based on publicly
available information and may not provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used for any purpose other
than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University
of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or her own risk.
WIND TURBINES: THE RIGHT TRANSITION
Ryan Ronczka ([email protected])
THE NEGATIVE EFFECT OF FOSSIL
FUELS
Have you ever wondered how a steam powered train
travels from coast to coast? This innocent sounding machine
actually creates its steam using coal. Although fossil fuels
have been fueling our activities for years, natural resources
like these play a detrimental role to our environment.
According to National Geographic, “When fossil fuels
are combusted (heated), they release carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere.” As carbon dioxide is released into the
atmosphere, it forms a protective layer that traps heat inside
the earth, attributing to global warming. This is known as the
“greenhouse effect” [1]. In addition to harming the
environment, non-renewable resources can also be dangerous
to extract from the earth. Wind powered energy is a healthy
solution to many of these problems. Wind turbines are an
effective source of clean, harmless power that can fuel the
world, which makes it favorable over fossil fuels. There has
been criticism of wind turbines, such as its cost, inefficiency,
and danger towards birds and bats. However, its benefits
greatly outweigh the negative values, and many of these
problems are currently being fixed. The Wildcat Wind Farm
of Elwood, Indiana took precautions to protect the endangered
bat population in its region [2]. All in all, we take for granted
what the earth has provided for our needy population, and
wind turbines are arguably the best example of clean energy
providers.
PREVIOUS DISASTERS
There are multiple ways non-renewable resources have
a negative effect on the world in which we live in. For
example, coal, a tightly-packed carbonized rock that holds an
abundance of energy, causes numerous problems. The
burning of coal releasing toxic gases into the environment
which attributes to the greenhouse effect. Coal miners also
face one of the most dangerous jobs in the world,
experiencing the dangers of cave-ins, explosions, and
respiratory issues from the toxic breathing environment while
at work. According to a 2004 study reported by Livestrong,
“The pollution from coal-powered plants shortened nearly
24,000 lives a year in the U.S” [1].
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
Submission Date 11.01.2016
Petroleum is another dangerous resource that affects our
environment. Also known as oil, or its by product gasoline,
it is one of the most widely used fossil fuels in the world. Like
coal, petroleum is hazardous in that it releases chemicals into
the air we breathe, but it also poses the chance of oil spills,
which have been known to be some of the worst
environmental disasters in the modern era. The infamous
2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was
the largest aquatic oil spill in history. The explosion, in part
by oil company BP, killed 11 workers and injured 17 more. In
addition to this, an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil were
released into the Gulf, and land pollution ranged all the way
from the coast of Louisiana to Florida. Its financial impact left
8,000 to 12,000 unemployed due to the temporary halt of
offshore drilling. This recent national disaster is just one
example of how dangerous petroleum drilling can be [3].
Finally, natural gas is a relatively new fossil fuel being
used to power cars and convert itself to electricity. Many
argue natural gas is a safe alternative to petroleum, however
this is far from true. Although natural gases do not release any
toxic chemicals to the environment, they still burn off carbon
dioxide, which contributes to the greenhouse effect [4]. If a
complete switch from petroleum to natural gas was made, the
environment would still face the similar danger of global
warming. Each non-renewable energy has its own unique risk
by obtaining its product.
BENEFITS OF WIND TURBINES
In the past century, we have discovered of entire new
world of energy. Sustainable, clean fuel is derived completely
from this earth and can power our future forward. Renewable
resources are the only way to slow down, and even stop the
damage we have caused to our environment. Sources of clean
fuel include solar, wind, and hydropower energy. Each form
of energy has its own positive and negative value to it, but
what they all have in common is the ability to produce energy
without harming the environment. Arguably the most
beneficial source of renewable energy is wind turbines.
The benefits of wind turbines are easy to be seen. They
produce little to no global warming emissions. According to
the International Panel on Climate Change, coal produces
almost 180 times the amount of carbon dioxide emissions than
wind turbines. The U.S. Department of Energy's National
Ryan Ronczka
Renewable Energy Laboratory found the beneficial impacts
of converting to renewable energy over future decades. If
renewable resources produced 80% of the nation’s energy by
the year 2050, global warming emissions could be reduced by
81%. One positive effect of making the transition is improved
environmental quality and better public health. Decreasing air
and water pollution can result in a nationwide decrease in
breathing problems, heart attacks, brain damage, and even
cancer. Because of this, experts believe this will decrease
medical costs. Rizk Machol of Environmental International
states the economic impacts of improved air quality.
According to Machol, “the aggregate national economic
impact associated with these health impacts of fossil fuels is
between $361.7 and $886.5 billion”. A decrease in healthrelated problems would actually negate the cost of producing
such wind turbines, while improving the health of millions of
people who encounter air pollution on a daily basis [6].
Wind power has seen many positive effects on the usage
of energy, however many people argue against the negative
impacts of wind turbines. Financially, wind turbines have
long been known to cost plenty to build, while producing little
output relative to non-renewable resources. Although wind
turbines are relatively expensive to manufacture, with a lower
output of energy than coal or petroleum plants, they are
favored in the long run. What people often fail to understand
is the financial investment required to make clean energy have
an lasting effect on the world. Not only do there need to be
more wind turbines then there currently are, but the positive
impact on the environment will also take years to develop.
After wind turbines are built, they do not require constant
physical labor, unlike coal or petroleum producing facilities,
which demand constant precaution by their employees to
ensure no accidents occur. Most wind turbines run 24/7, just
as normal energy plants do, but physically by themselves.
Another common critique of wind turbines is their
inability to produce energy efficiently. Wind turbines do in
fact produce less output than their counterparts. This also
revisits the argument of having a strong current investment in
such products. Because wind turbines require little to no
maintenance, production cost is about th only financial
impacts it has. One thing is for sure; The efficiency of wind
power systems is greater than ever. Since 1980, wind energy
prices have decreased by 80%, and are only expected to keep
doing so [7].
WIND TURBINES: HOW THEY WORK
Wind turbines are relatively easy to assemble, as they
have few parts. The tower is the long stem that connects the
rest of the machine to the ground. The rotor is connected to
the top end of the tower, which is attached to metal propellerlike blades. The rotor is connected to the generator, which
stores the holds the power it produces. There are different
styles of turbines, but the most iconic “vertical-axis design”,
which acts like a windmill acts like an egg beater, the blades
circling as fast as they can to spin the rotor. First, wind blows
the set of blades (usually three) around in a circular motion.
These blades are all connected to the rotor, which then spins
the generator that generates electricity (see Figure 1 below).
Kinetic energy-the energy of motion of the wind, is converted
to potential energy-stored energy that can later be used for
multiple purposes. This generator is simply connected to the
desired output that requires its energy [5].
“BLOWING” AWAY THE STANDARDS
AT WIND FARMS
Friends at Wildcat Wind Farm are revolutionizing the
power of wind turbines, while solving the few problems that
come from it. Wildcat Wind Farms is a 125-turbine farm in
Madison and Tipton counties of Indiana. Recently, they have
been faced with an extreme bat endangerment of the Indiana
and Northern Long-eared species. Especially during
migration season, bats such as these face extreme danger of
the high velocity turbines across the country. According to the
academic journal Bioscience “Between 600,000 and 900,000
bats are killed in the United State each year by wind turbines.”
Because turbines run throughout the night as well as during
the day, they still harm flying bats. Wildcat Wind Farm
recently slowed its wind turbines during dark hours to
decrease bat fatalities. Another farm, Fowler Ridge Wind
Farm of Benton county, Indiana, controls 355 turbines.
Working alongside the Fish and Wildlife Service, the farm
has devised a plan to completely shut down its turbines
between sunset and sunrise. These two farms are facing
prominent issues, both the endangerment of bats and the crisis
of non-renewable energy.
Figure 1 [5]
Vertical-axis style wind turbine
A HOPEFUL FUTURE FOR WIND POWER
BACKLASH AGAINST WIND TURBINES
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Ryan Ronczka
Non-renewable resources are the main source of energy
we use today. Fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural
gas are efficient, but extremely harmful to us and the
environment we live in. Wind turbines, despite initially
having a large financial impact on investors, are an asset in
the future. They require little to no maintenance, are easy to
extract energy from, and most importantly replace harmful
energy sources that are non-renewable. If we continued using
energy at the currently projected rate, the average surface
temperature is estimated to increase by up to four degrees
Celsius by the year 2100 [8]. This issue is a unique one. It
does not affect the poor, the greedy, or the ignorant, rather it
epitomizes the entire world’s inability to come together and
confront the matter of climate change. The future of energy is
cleaner and clearer than ever, but it is important to make the
switch to clean energy like wind power as soon as possible.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to say thank you to the University of
Pittsburgh Writing Center and Liberty Ferda for helping to
revise my paper and organize my thoughts. I would also like
to thank my dad, who specializes in environmental science,
for giving his opinion on the pros and cons of wind turbines.
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Ryan Ronczka
SOURCES
[1] “What Are the Effects of Non-Renewable Resources on
Living Organisms?” Livestrong. 10.07.2015. Accessed
10.28.2016
http://www.livestrong.com/article/157263-what-are-theeffects-of-non-renewable-resources-on-living-organisms/
[2] C. Stephens. “Wind Turbines Moving Slower to Protect
Bats.” The Batesville Herald Tribune. 10.19.2016. Accessed
10.29.2016
http://www.batesvilleheraldtribune.com/news/local_news/wi
nd-turbines-moving-slower-to-protectbats/article_162e9270-1bc5-5b25-8420-14ca33cb1abc.html
[3] R. Pallardy. “Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010.”
Encyclopædia Britannica. 05.09.2016. Accessed 10.29.2016
https://www.britannica.com/event/Deepwater-Horizon-oilspill-of-2010
[4] “Non-renewable Energy.” National Geographic. 2016.
Accessed 10.26.2016
http://nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/non-renewableenergy/
[5] “How do Wind Turbines Work?” U.S Office of Energy
Efficiency & Renewable Energy. 2016. Accessed 10.29.2016
http://energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work
[6] “Benefits of Renewable Energy Use.” Union of
Concerned Scientists. 04.08.2013. Accessed 10.28.2016
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/renewableenergy/public-benefits-of-renewable-power#references
[7] M Maehlum. “Wind Energy Pros and Cons.” Energy
Informative. 03.23.2015. Accessed 10.29.2016
http://energyinformative.org/wind-energy-pros-and-cons/
[8] “Projections of Future Changes in Climate.”
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2007. Accessed
10.29.2016
https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/spms
spm-projections-of.html
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Ryan Ronczka
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