Wind Energy

What are the pros and cons of wind turbines/wind energy, compared to other forms of energy, both non-renewable and renewable?
Why have some countries embraced wind energy more than others? (Consider geographical, environmental, economical, and political factors.)
Are there ways that we can improve turbine technology to be more energy efficient in the future?

Standards:

Over time, people’s needs and wants change, as do their demands for new and improved technologies. (4-ESS3-1)
Engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones to increase their benefits, to decrease known risks, and to meet societal demands. (4-ESS3-2)
Changes of energy and matter in a system can be described in terms of energy and matter flows into, out of, and within that system. (HS-PS3-3)
Energy cannot be created or destroyed—only moves between one place and another place, between objects and/or fields, or between systems. (HS-PS3-2)
Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another. 4-PS3-4
Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment MS-ESS3-3.*

Objectives:

Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion.
Over time, people’s needs and wants change, as do their demands for new and improved technologies. )
Engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones. )
Energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
Most scientists and engineers work in teams
Factors that influence wind production.
How to use an anemometer and multimeter.
How to use data and observations to make adjustments to turbine blades.
Criteria for a desirable site for wind farm.
Build an anemometer and calculate wind speed using it, stopwatch and wind speed table. (NEED)
Create a working wind turbine
Modify blades to increase energy output.
Measure turbine output, using a multimeter.
Observe and collect data on wind experiment, and present findings to class.
Set up a wind turbine model