An Average Wind Turbine Could Take A Tesla To The Sun In 3 Years
June 8th, 2019 by Michael Barnard
In 2018, the average wind turbine installed in the USA was 2.6 MW in capacity. Assuming that it had what is now a middling capacity factor of 40%, it could generate 9.1 GWh of electricity in a year. But what does that mean?
If we put all of that electricity into a Tesla Model S P100D, which takes about 30 kWh to travel 100 miles, we could drive approximately 30 million miles. That’s a third of the way to the sun, so it would be a three-year trip.
If we used the electricity for average US homes, which consumed an average of 10,766 kWh per year in 2016, you could provide all of the electricity for 846 homes.
If we wanted to keep outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pools in Sacramento at 84 degrees Fahrenheit, we could heat 28 of them for a year.
If we powered a giant crane to lift the Empire State building, which weighs 365,000 tons, we could lift it about half a mile into the air.
If we used the equivalent energy of jet fuel, we could fly a loaded Boeing 747 around the world twice. (Just picture that one yourself.)
References
- Electric cars: range and efficiency comparison
- How much electricity does an American home use?
- Empire State Building Fact Sheet Empire State Building Fact Sheet
- How much fuel does an international plane use for a trip?
- Measurements for an Olympic Size Swimming Pool
- Power – How Fast is Your Energy Being Converted?
- Energy Density Of Aviation Fuel
- Swimming Pool Energy and Temperature Calculator
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About the Author
Michael Barnard is Chief Strategist with TFIE Strategy Inc and co-founder of two current startups. He works with startups, existing businesses and investors to identify opportunities for significant bottom line growth and cost takeout in our rapidly transforming world. He is editor of The Future is Electric and designing for health. He regularly publishes analyses of low-carbon technology and policy in sites including Newsweek, Slate, Forbes, Huffington Post, Quartz, CleanTechnica and RenewEconomy, and his work is regularly included in textbooks. Third-party articles on his analyses and interviews have been published in dozens of news sites globally and have reached #1 on Reddit Science. He's available for consulting engagements, speaking engagements and Board positions.
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