Quick Facts

Wind Power

Two types of wind machines are commonly used today, the horizontal-axis with blades like airplane propellers and the vertical-axis, which looks like an eggbeater.
About 95% of all wind machines are horizontal-axis. A typical horizontal wind machine stands as tall as a 20-story building and has three blades that span 200 feet across.
The largest wind machines in the world have blades longer than a football field! Wind machines stand tall and wide to capture more wind.
Vertical-axis wind machines make up just five% of the wind machines used today. The typical vertical wind machine stands 100 feet tall and 50 feet wide.
Wind plants also need a lot of land. One wind machine needs about two acres of land to call its own. A wind power plant takes up hundreds of acres. On the plus side, farmers can grow crops or graze cattle around the machines once they have been installed.
An average wind speed of 14 mph is needed to convert wind energy into electricity economically. The average wind speed in the U.S. is 10 mph.
Scientists use an instrument called an anemometer to measure how fast the wind is blowing. An anemometer looks like a modern-style weather vane. It has three spokes with cups that spin on a revolving wheel when the wind blows. It is hooked up to a meter that tells the wind speed. A weather vane shows the direction of the wind, not the speed.
Wind machines convert 30-40% of the wind's kinetic energy into electricity. A coal-fired power plant converts about 30-35% of the chemical energy in coal into usable electricity.
One wind machine can produce 1.5 to 4.0 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a year. That is enough electricity for 150-400 homes per year.
In this country, wind machines produce 10 billion kWh of energy a year.
Wind energy provides about 0.1% of the nation's electricity.

Coal

Coal is used to generate more than half of all electricity produced in the United States. It's also used as a basic energy source in many industries, including, steel, cement and paper.
The use of western coals (from Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and Utah) can result in up to 85% lower sulfur dioxide emissions than the use of many types of higher sulfur eastern coal.
Almost 91% of the coal used in the United States is used to generate electricity. The amount of electricity generated from coal is about 51% of the total amount of electricity generated in the United States.
Coal plants typically have a 75% capacity rating since they can run day or night, during any season of the year.

Energy Use in the United States

37% Industrial
27% Transportation
16% Commercial
20% Residential

Acid Rain

Scientists have found different ways to reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide released from coal-burning power plants.
One option is to use coal that contains less sulfur.
Another option is to wash the coal to remove some of the sulfur.
The power plant can also install equipment called scrubbers, which remove the sulfur dioxide from gases leaving the smokestack.
Human activities are the main cause of acid rain.
Power plants release the majority of sulfur dioxide and much of the nitrogen oxides when they burn fossil fuels, such as coal, to produce electricity.
The exhaust from cars, trucks, and buses releases nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide into the air. These pollutants cause acid rain.

Acid Rain

Pure water has a pH of 7.0. Normal rain is slightly acidic because carbon dioxide dissolves into it, so it has a pH of about 5.5. As of the year 2000, the most acidic rain falling in the US has a pH of about 4.3.

Air Pollution

State environmental agencies take samples of the air at more than 1,000 places in the United States to see if the air is dirty or clean.
Pollutants are what make the air dirty and cause pollution. Five pollutants are used by the EPA to determine the Air Quality Index (AQI). Two of the pollutants, Ozone and Particulate Matter, make up most of the air pollution in this country.
Particulate matter is mostly dust and soot so small that it floats in the air.

Energy Efficency

Your refrigerator uses the most electricity of all the appliances in your home.
A refrigerator produced in 1990 uses twice the amount of electricity needed to operate an ENERGY STAR^® model.
About 35% of all electricity is used to run homes.
90% of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water.
60% to 80% of the power used by the dishwasher is consumed just to heat the water.
Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) use 66% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer. This means that over the life of one CFL, a consumer can avoid replacing up to nine incandescent bulbs!
Where does your home use energy?
60% - Air conditioning/heat
16% - Water heater
12% - Refrigerator
7% - Lights
5% - Computers, TV, etc.

What Becomes of Fuel?

The 500 million automobiles on earth burn an average of 2 gallons of fuel a day.
Each gallon of fuel releases 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air.
Approximately 5 million tons of oil produced in the world each year ends up in the ocean.
Publication: Mercury in Your Community and the Environment (By Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)
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