Wind Energy - UNSOLVED PRACTICE SET
Chapter: Sources of Energy | Topic: Wind Energy
WIND ENERGY - UNSOLVED PRACTICE SET
Topic: Wind Energy
Multiple Choice Questions
Q1. Wind energy is fundamentally a form of:
- Nuclear energy
- Solar energy, since wind is caused by uneven heating of the Earth's surface by the Sun
- Geothermal energy
- Tidal energy
Q2. A wind turbine converts:
- Electrical energy into kinetic energy of wind
- Kinetic energy of wind into mechanical energy (rotation), which then drives a generator to produce electrical energy
- Solar energy directly into electrical energy without any moving parts
- Chemical energy into wind energy
Q3. A 'wind farm' refers to:
- A single very large wind turbine
- A farm that grows crops using wind power tools
- A cluster of many wind turbines installed together in a region with consistently strong winds
- An indoor facility for testing turbine blades
Q4. Which of the following factors makes a location suitable for a wind farm?
- Consistently low wind speeds throughout the year
- Consistently high and steady wind speeds, often found in coastal areas or open plains
- Heavy cloud cover
- Proximity to coal mines
Q5. A disadvantage of wind energy is that:
- It produces large amounts of CO₂ during operation
- It depends on wind availability, which is variable and unpredictable, requiring backup or storage systems
- It can never be used to generate electricity
- Wind turbines require fossil fuels to spin
Q6. Wind energy is classified as a:
- Non-renewable source of energy
- Renewable source of energy
- Nuclear source of energy
- Fossil fuel
Short Answer Questions
Q7. Explain, step by step, how a wind turbine converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy.
Q8. Why is wind energy sometimes described as an 'indirect' form of solar energy?
Q9. What geographical and climatic conditions make a location ideal for setting up a wind farm? Name one Indian state known for wind energy generation.
Q10. List two advantages and two disadvantages of wind energy as a source of electricity.
Q11. Why can wind energy NOT be the sole source of electricity for a region, even in areas with strong winds? What additional systems are typically needed?
Q12. Some people raise concerns about the visual impact, noise, and effect on bird populations of large wind farms. How might these concerns be balanced against the benefits of clean energy?
Long Answer Questions
Q13. Describe the working of a wind turbine and a wind farm in detail. Your answer must cover:
(a) how wind causes the blades of the turbine to rotate,
(b) how this rotation is transferred to a generator (recall the generator principle),
(c) why turbines are mounted on tall towers,
(d) why multiple turbines are grouped together into 'wind farms' rather than installed individually, and
(e) how the electricity generated is collected and fed into the electrical grid.
Q14. The Muppandal Wind Farm in Tamil Nadu is one of India's largest wind energy installations.
(a) What factors likely made this location suitable for a large wind farm (think about geography near the coast/Western Ghats)?
(b) Explain how wind energy contributes to reducing India's dependence on fossil fuels for electricity.
(c) Discuss one major limitation: what happens to electricity supply from this wind farm on a day with very little wind? How does the broader electrical grid cope with this variability?
(d) Why might wind energy be combined with other renewable sources (like solar) in a 'hybrid' renewable energy park, rather than relying on wind alone?
Q15. Compare wind energy with hydropower as renewable energy sources.
(a) Both ultimately rely on a 'natural force' (wind vs falling water) to turn a turbine — describe this similarity.
(b) Hydropower requires large dam construction; wind turbines can be installed more quickly with less land submergence — discuss this difference in terms of environmental and social impact.
(c) Both face the challenge of 'variability' (water levels can vary seasonally; wind varies daily) — compare how predictable each source is.
(d) Considering setup time, environmental impact, and reliability, discuss which source might be more suitable for a region wanting to add renewable capacity quickly versus a region planning decades ahead.
Numerical / Application-Based Problems
Q16. A single wind turbine has a rated power output of 2 MW (megawatts) under ideal wind conditions. However, due to variable wind speeds, it operates at this full rated power for only about 30% of the time over a year (this is called the 'capacity factor').
(a) Calculate the theoretical maximum energy this turbine could produce in one year if it ran at 2 MW continuously (1 year = 8760 hours).
(b) Calculate the ACTUAL energy produced in one year, given the 30% capacity factor.
(c) If an average Indian household consumes about 3000 kWh per year, how many households could this single turbine's actual annual output supply?
Q17. A wind farm consists of 50 turbines, each with a rated power of 1.5 MW and a capacity factor of 25%.
(a) Calculate the combined rated power of the wind farm (in MW).
(b) Calculate the actual average power output of the wind farm, accounting for the capacity factor.
(c) Convert this actual average power to energy produced in one day (in MWh).
(d) If a nearby thermal power plant has a rated capacity of 500 MW and operates at 80% capacity factor, compare its daily energy output (in MWh) to the wind farm's daily output from part
(c). What does this comparison suggest about the SCALE of wind farms needed to match conventional plants?
Q18. A coastal Indian village wants to install 5 small wind turbines, each rated at 10 kW, to supplement their electricity supply. The village's total daily electricity requirement is 600 kWh.
(a) Calculate the combined rated power of the 5 turbines (in kW).
(b) If these turbines operate at full rated power for an average of 6 hours per day (and produce negligible power the rest of the time, for simplicity), calculate the total daily energy produced (in kWh).
(c) What percentage of the village's daily requirement (600 kWh) can be met by these turbines?
(d) Suggest what the village should do to meet the remaining energy requirement.