ARTICLE | Hydro & Wind Energy
Innovations to make renewable energy more efficient, sustainable, ecological
The world is working to replace petroleum-based power sources with renewable energy after realising that the ‘ ‘world’s gluttonous appetite for energy is the cause behind climate change and global warming. However, even renewable energy sources do not come without challenges and places to improve upon to make electricity generation sustainable and eco-friendly
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h The world economy is living through a phase of continuous change. We often fail to notice, but the natural sources of power are all around us, continuously shaping the energy sector, our lives and our future. The transition of the economy to renewable energy has already started, and its evolution is coinciding with a much more visible revolution in the form of digitalisation.
Wind Energy
Wind energy has the potential to serve the global demand for low-cost, clean energy. Research even suggests that wind could provide about half of the world’s electricity by 2050. According to a report released by Power-technology.com in 2019, India
has the second-highest wind capacity in Asia, with a total capacity of 35 gigawatts (GW). Apart from China, India was the only Asian country to make it to the list. The country has the third- and fourth-largest onshore wind farms in the world - the 1500 megawatt (MW)Muppandal wind farm in Tamil Nadu and the 1064 MW Jaisalmer Wind Park in Rajasthan.
Innovations In Wind Energy
Stationary Energy Storage: For all its virtues, wind at some point, even in the windiest parts of the planet, stops blowing. A stationary battery, which uses chemical interactions between materials to store electricity at a set location for later use, is undergoing revitalisation to deal with this issue. These batteries make it possible to
Wind turbines have a detrimental effect on the bird population due to migration patterns and birds being caught and injured or even killed by the towering high-speed blade. To fix this issue, the wind lens shroud around the blade helps protect birds from entering the blade’s path, and a mesh has been added to either end to prevent birds from being pulled into its blades
38 March 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
store the electricity generated when the wind is at its peak to be made available to the grid when there is a supply-demand gap. Airborne Wind Turbines: One of the two kinds of airborne wind turbines can access stronger and more consistent wind at altitudes near 1000 feet. This turbine, named Makani Airborne Wind Turbine, could also be deployed in deep offshore waters, leading to access to a renewable energy resource four times greater than America’s current electrical generation capacity. The other kind of turbine, Altaeros Airborne Wind Turbine, uses a heliumfilled, inflatable shell to ascend to high altitudes, giving it access to stronger and more consistent winds than towermounted turbines, and the generated power is sent to the ground via tethers. Windstalk: It consists of carbon
