Mention any four limitations in harnessing wind energy on a large scale.

In areas where the ground is heated faster, the air rises as temperatures go up. The majority of wind power is transferred into energy by the use of turbine blades.


Wind energy is the energy harnessed from wind. The kinetic energy of wind is converted into mechanical energy. If this energy is used directly by a machine (such as grinding stone or a water pump), it is called a windmill.


If the mechanical energy is first converted into electricity, then the machine is called a wind turbine.


Limitations of Wind energy:


a) No electricity when there is any wind


The limitation of wind power is that no electricity is produced when the wind is not blowing. Thus, it cannot be used as a dependable source of base load power. Utilities and merchant generators will not invest huge sums of money into a technology that does not work when the wind is not blowing. It can be used only at those places where wind blows for the greater part of the year.


b) Wind Turbines Killing Migrating Birds


The process of turning wind into electricity is causing the death of many predatory birds whose annual migration route includes the pass. Past attempts to reduce bird kills have included painting the tips of turbine blades to try to make them more visible to birds and installing screens around generators. Still, these measures have failed to substantially lower the number of bird deaths.


c) Wind speed should be higher than 15 km/h to rotate the turbine at the required speed. This is the minimum threshold speed for wind, so that the windmills can be effective for energy production.


d) Need of a back up facility when there is no wind, as no one can control the amount and speed of wind.


e) Requires large area for setting up wind energy farms. (i.e. 1MW requires about 2 hectares of land)


f) Tower and blades require a high level of maintenance. The blades are constantly exposed to vagaries of nature like rain, sun, storm, that is why they need to be maintained for proper functioning.


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