Spirit Lake

    Alternative Energy | Spirit Lake Wind Energy Curriculum | Wind Energy Glossary | Wind Power Theory, Components | How the Power Distribution Grid Works
    Wind Generation:
    An Education Tool -- An Impact on Environment -- An Economic Advantage
  1. What are the present sources of Iowa's energy?
  2. Why would wind be considered a "renewable" energy source?
  3. What are the advantages of moving to the use of renewable energy sources?
  4. What are the disadvantages of continuing to use fossil fuels?
  5. What new terms are introduced in this reading?

    6. Spirit Lake Project
  6. What type of research was conducted for the Spirit Lake Project?
  7. What was the estimated payback on investment?
  8. How many wind generators were proposed and where were they to be used?
  9. How many wind generators were funded by the grant? How was the rest of the cost financed?
  10. How large is the wind generator and where is it located?
  11. How much power will the wind generator generate in a year?
  12. How much coal and oil would be needed to generate this much electricity?
  13. How do trees enter into the coal- or oil-burning equation?
  14. How are the problems of "peak demands" and "low winds" handled? What kind of storage is used for some wind turbine systems?
  15. How fast does the generator armature turn? How much wind is required to turn the generator at this speed?
  16. What will determine if additional generators are built?

    17. Farming the Wind 11/16/98)
  17. In sixty-four months, one wind generator produced 1,570,000 kilowatt hours of electrical power worth $124,900. This would be equivalent to how much electrical power for homes? How much value from savings on the purchase of electrical energy is being realized each year?
  18. If this power had been generated by burning coal or oil, how much pollution would have been generated?

    19. Second Turbine

  19. How big will the second turbine be?
  20. What will the second turbine cost?
  21. What is the anticipated payback time for the second turbine?
  22. How much fossil fuel would be required to generate an equivalent amount of electrical power?
  23. How much pollution will be avoided by building the second turbine?
  24. Operation of the first turbine began in July, 1993. It is expected that both turbines will be paid for by 2005. What has been the total investment for equipment during the 12-year period? About how much has been saved on the purchase of electrical energy during the same period? About how much income will be generated each year for the school district from use of the turbines?

    25. Wind Generator Data
  25. What was the highest amount of electrical power generated during one month? Which month and year?
  26. What was the lowest amount of electrical power generated during one month? Which month and year?
  27. Construct a spreadsheet which has 16 columns (A through P) and 9 rows (4 through 12) (ask teacher for instructions).

    1. Put in a title in cell A-2. Put in the headings in row 4. Put in the entries for column A.
    2. Copy the data for years 1994 through 1999 into the spreadsheet.
      3. Insert a sum formula in cell N-5. Drag the formul downward to cell N-10.
    3. Insert an average formula in cell O-5. Drag the formula downward to cell O-10.
    4. Insert an average formula in cell B-10. Drag the formula to the right to cell O-10.
    5. Read the average kilowatt hours for each month in row 10. In row 11, rank each month from 1 to 12, using 1 for the highest kilowatt hours generated and 12 for the lowest.
    6. Read the average kilowatt hours for each year in column O. In column P, rank each year from 1 to 6, using 1 for the highest kilowatt hours generated and 6 for the lowest.

    Spirit Lake Wind Energy and Environment
    Environmental Impact
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Posted October 20, 2000