Ashley Sampson

Dr. Langley
4/15/2015
Wind Turbines

Windmills were once solely used to pump water and/or mill grain. America adapted the
idea from the Dutch who first used to the windmill to extract water alone. Later they began using
the windmill to mill flour, produce oil, and many other purposes. However, the first recorded
windmill was in fact a toy owned by the Hero of Alexander in A.D. 60. It was not until the 7th
century that Persia created the first recorded, full scale windmill used for wind power. Unlike
what we see today, the Persians windmills were horizontal instead of vertical. The English did
not pick up on the windmill trend until the 12th century.
When the English decided that windmills would be more efficient on a vertical axis, the
concept spread quickly all over the European continent. Even then, there was much trial and
error, like any new invention or large scale tool. Engineers of these windmills had much trouble
with the sizes of sails. If they were too large and began to spin too rapidly, theyd lose control.
Maintaining control of the speed was also one of their struggles. The first American patent did
not occur until the late 1700s. Daniel Hallady is the man who invented the self-governing
windmill in 1854. In 1950, America used the windmill as an inexpensive tool to raise water from
the ground in arid climates such as out west. Just when the idea of wind power started rocking
and rolling, the steam engine swooped in and took over the role. The steam engine was could
carry heavier loads than the windmill. The steam engine was also more reliable than the windmill
because the inventors still had not quite worked out the kinks yet.
One of the latest versions of windmills is called hybrids. Hybrids are wind powered but
they possess an electric back-up generator that contains a submersible, centrifugal pump. Of
course like any new idea, there are many advantages and disadvantages that come along with it.
Hybrids are very circumstantial. They are being introduced to farmers and their first questions
are always about maintenance and how well worth they are compared to an all-mechanical wind

turbine. There are many disadvantages, including higher overall cost and the need for a high
wind seed to begin pumping water. The need for a high wind speed to extract water is a major
concern for someone in the livestock business. Relying on a windy day for water for your
animals can be detrimental. A livestock operator would have to be ready with a generator and
other means of storing that water to maintain their animals nutrition for the time being. Those
two key factors are advantages of the hybrid windmill because it contains a back-up generator
and room for storage in those times of need. Some may see those as advantages or disadvantages,
but any time a farmer could extract energy from the wind and not a generator, they should. I will
agree that it may not be the most cost efficient, but if farmers are encouraged to take into account
that they are helping the environment and bettering future life in the industry and life as a whole,
they may just realize that putting in a little extra cost wise would be beneficial in the grand
scheme of things. There is one more solution to the problems of days with lighter wind, and that
is making the tower of the windmill higher. The purpose of the higher tower is to catch more
wind. The more elevation that the windmill has, the more likely it will gain speed to begin
pumping water even days that arent so windy. However, with that solution comes more
disadvantages. Higher elevated towers results in higher winds, but also in colder temperatures.
The blades cant with stand too cold of temperatures and may begin to freeze over, which will
decrease their rotating speed. Another disadvantage that comes with changing the height of a
windmill is that the fluctuation of high wind and little to no wind will result in your windmill
turning on and off.
While wind turbines not necessarily being the most cost efficient, they are most
significantly impacting the lives of those who do not have the resources to maintain electricity.
Many large scaled projects have been going the past few years by universities to better rural

communities in other nations that do not have the means. Virginia Tech put in several small
windmills that cost a little under a thousand dollars each to accommodate and improve life in
rural parts of India. The city of Morocco is another that does not facilitate the resources such as
oil in order to have electricity. The French aerospace and technologies program have moved in
on projects like this one in many other places. Construction on the city of Moroccos wind
turbine farm took place on a hill near a town called Tangier, and there were 84 turbines placed
there.
According to an anonymous author from Agricultural ProQuest Journals, the largest wind
turbine was built in 1996 in Germany. Generating more than double the amount of energy that
any other, this turbine produced 1500 kilowatts. This is another project by the French and this
time theyve covered an entirely new ground on efficiency with this wind turbine. The three
blades are 105 metric tons, but they are made out of carbon fire which compensates for the
strength needed. Rotating at 200 to 300 times around per minute, these new wind turbines are in
fact considered to be slower. A slower moving wind turbine can essentially lower the initial cost
of energy generated by wind.
In closing, wind energy is an amazing, God given resource. With todays struggles of
limited resources such as oil, man would be ignorant not to take advantage of this free resource.
The cost to build turbine farms may not seem worth it, and to a farmer, the Hybrids may sound
like a down right joke because of the cost to build even a smaller version of a wind turbine is still
quite high, but in the grand scheme of things, wind turbines will most likely take over as one of
our main sources of extracting energy. It already has in most places that already lack oil
resources, so why not jump on the band wagon and savor any energy the can be, or at least turn
to Hybrids where minimal mechanical energy would be generated, and only when necessary.

Work Cited
Aerial technology - power from wind: A history of windmill. (1994). Science, 264(5160), 855.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213556723?accountid=7078
Saffell, C. L. (2007). A guide to united states patents for windmills and wind engines, 17931950. Agricultural History, 81(2), 258. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/198068659?accountid=7078
Newport, A. (2000). The new windmills. Wallaces Farmer, 125(12), 4. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/219294223?accountid=7078
Virginia tech; virginia tech, india center to launch solar, windmill research project. (2012).
Journal of India, , 6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1095570476?
accountid=7078
Windmills make comeback. (1997). The Futurist, 31(4), 13. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/218557032?accountid=