What is the utilization situation of wind energy resources?

At present, the main forms of wind energy resource utilization are mainly divided into the following four aspects.

1． Sail to assist navigation

Wind energy has been used for thousands of years. The earliest way of utilization is "sail sailing", which uses wind power to make ships sail on the sea, as shown in Figure 7.10. The ships used by Columbus, Magellan, and China's Zheng He for their ocean voyages were all sailing ships. In modern times, with the development of electronic computers and automation technology, it has become a reality to use computers to automatically control the manipulation of sails and the optimal coordination of sails and power devices, providing strong support for the development of sailboats. In the 1980s, the "New Aide Maru" sail oil tanker built in Japan was the first sailboat in the world to achieve non-manual sailing. Since the ship was put into operation, it has achieved the goal of saving 50% of fuel costs. Our country's development of sailboats in recent years has also achieved preliminary results.

Figure 7.10 Sail to assist navigation

2. Windmills to lift water

Using windmills to lift water can manage sloping farmland in hilly areas and solve drinking water problems for humans and animals. It is both economical and environmentally friendly. There are 1.8 billion acres of cultivated land in my country, and the irrigated area is only about half of the cultivated land. Due to drought and water shortage, 60% of the cultivated land is of medium-low yield. The current situation of medium- and low-yielding fields is that they rely on nature. They are good when the weather is good and rainy, but when there is a continuous drought, the harvest will be greatly reduced or no harvest will be achieved. Utilizing the rich local wind resources, wind-powered water lifting equipment is used to lift water from wells or low-lying areas to fields. It does not use oil or electricity. The government makes a one-time investment and the people benefit for life. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.

3． Wind heating

With the improvement of people's living standards, the demand for thermal energy in household energy consumption is increasing. Especially in high-latitude Europe and North America, heating and boiling water are major energy consumers. In order to meet the needs of households and low-grade industrial heat energy, wind heating has developed greatly.

4． Wind energy power

For nearly a hundred years, rural residents in countries such as the Netherlands, Spain and Greece have used windmills to generate electricity. Figure 7.11 shows wind power generation. However, the use of windmills to generate wind energy is neither stable nor reliable. Therefore, when other effective power resources appeared, the status of windmills was immediately replaced.

Figure 7.11 Wind power generation

In recent years, due to the increase in the price of traditional fuels, people have tried to develop other better ways to utilize wind power. Although wind power is not very stable, it is more convenient than other power resources because the wind direction is free, clean, and does not produce adverse side effects, such as toxic waste, etc.; and the wind is endless and continuously supplied. This is because the sun shines on part of the earth's surface, causing the atmospheric pressure to vary due to the temperature difference on the earth's surface, causing the air to flow due to the pressure difference; so as long as there is sunlight, the wind will continue to blow. Modern wind turbines make it possible to harness wind energy continuously and reliably.

Wind energy has great application potential. Compared with conventional energy sources, wind energy can be collected at a lower density, but from a long-term perspective, wind energy plays an important role in the sustainable development of the global environment, economy, society, and energy.