Purdue University has made recent strides towards advancing the efficiency of wind energy capture. These efforts were made in large part by Douglas E. Adams, the prior Kenninger Professor of Renewable Energy and Power Systems at Purdue University, along with two computer science professors, Jan Vitek, Ananth Grama and Suresh Jagannathan. Adams along with other Purdue colleagues received a $1.6 million three-year grant from the National Science Foundation’s Division of Computer and Network Systems to perform wind projects with purpose to improve the performance of “smart” wind turbines and wind farms (Purdue Engineering Impact Magazine). The primary aim of the smart wind turbine is to reduce to unharnessed energy that results from the wake
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Adams pointed out that finding solutions to these issues would substantially increase the value and effectiveness of wind energy (Crawford). According to Adams, there are is an insufficient number of locations on the power grid to connect wind turbines, and the longer distance that the harnessed energy has to travel, the more energy that is simply lost in transmission. The Department of Energy estimates that this unutilized electricity results in an annual cost of roughly $25 billion at the expense of consumers (Purdue Engineering Impact Magazine). The U.S. power grids were designed over a century ago, and the outdated technology and reach of the electric grid needs to be improved for the success of wind energy technologies. Maryam Saeedifard, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has taken a closer look at the electricity lost in transmission. Saeedifard’s primary focus is at the High Voltage Direct Current transmission technology, and she believes that improving the efficiency of these HVDC substation platforms would greatly benefit the net gain of energy from the wind turbines to consumers in the United States (Purdue Engineering Impact …show more content…
This country is in desperate need for alternative energy sources, and Purdue should take on the responsibility to continuing its contributions to wind energy technology. Due to Purdue’s well-established researching facilities in the wind energy field, many experts should be willing to take on the lead role on Purdue’s campus and hopefully revamp the wind projects in West Lafayette. Purdue has the ability to promote wind energy to the state that could possibly combat the energy crisis in our country thus not pushing towards wind energy advancements would be a detrimental mistake by the
Adams pointed out that finding solutions to these issues would substantially increase the value and effectiveness of wind energy (Crawford). According to Adams, there are is an insufficient number of locations on the power grid to connect wind turbines, and the longer distance that the harnessed energy has to travel, the more energy that is simply lost in transmission. The Department of Energy estimates that this unutilized electricity results in an annual cost of roughly $25 billion at the expense of consumers (Purdue Engineering Impact Magazine). The U.S. power grids were designed over a century ago, and the outdated technology and reach of the electric grid needs to be improved for the success of wind energy technologies. Maryam Saeedifard, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has taken a closer look at the electricity lost in transmission. Saeedifard’s primary focus is at the High Voltage Direct Current transmission technology, and she believes that improving the efficiency of these HVDC substation platforms would greatly benefit the net gain of energy from the wind turbines to consumers in the United States (Purdue Engineering Impact …show more content…
This country is in desperate need for alternative energy sources, and Purdue should take on the responsibility to continuing its contributions to wind energy technology. Due to Purdue’s well-established researching facilities in the wind energy field, many experts should be willing to take on the lead role on Purdue’s campus and hopefully revamp the wind projects in West Lafayette. Purdue has the ability to promote wind energy to the state that could possibly combat the energy crisis in our country thus not pushing towards wind energy advancements would be a detrimental mistake by the