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How sustainable is wind power? | OregonLive.com - 0 views

blog.oregonlive.com/...sustainable_is_wind_power.html wind sustainable
shared by carusonepay99 on 08 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • When looking at a wind powered electric generator, many people see a permanent source of renewable electricity. The problem with this image is that wind generators have shorter life spans than the term “sustainable” would imply. Wooden windmills in Holland that used to power industrial machinery before the invention of steam engines were more durable than these picket lines of propellers along our Columbia Gorge. The composite material and rare earth chemicals they require are both perishable and costly to replace. More important, like fossil fuels, our planet has a finite supply of these materials. Wind power is such an inefficient means of generating electricity that a world that seriously relied on it the way we do fossil fuels would run out of the limited resources needed to build and maintain them long before our present trends would exhaust our vast bounty of hydrocarbons.
  • carusonepay99 on 08 Mar 13
     
    "The first hard core environmentalist I ever encountered in life taught my 8th grade energy class at Estacada Junior High, a course that President Carter's brand new Department of Education had mandated upon us a decade before as a symbolic gesture to show he cared about America's energy future. Despite an overall policy of separating church and state, in this class it was the gospel that we would deplete all fossil fuels by the year 2000. Back when "2000" was preceded by "THE YEAR" it seemed so far away didn't it? The only lasting lesson this course taught me was a healthy skepticism of government mandated indoctrination."
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Where does wind energy come from? - Alternative Energy - 0 views

alternative-earth.blogspot.com/...oes-wind-energy-come-from.html wind convert form
shared by hertznerkar00 on 11 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Most of the wind energy produced  for power needs comes from wind farms, great big windmill type contraptions produce electricity because as the wind blows it turns the blades on a shaft, which powers a generator.
  • Wind energy is mechanical energy, the rotating movement of the blades of the windmill produces electricity through a generator. The wind is formed by the heating and cooling effects of the suns rays, the air rotates in high and low pressure which generates wind. Depending  on the type of wind pressure that is generated,whether it is a cool breeze on your face, different capacity of the strength of wind is formed in different parts of the world, this power goes to producing an effective source of untapped energy, for use by us in the form of heating and lighting.
  • Most of the wind energy produced  for power needs comes from wind farms, great big windmill type contraptions produce electricity because as the wind blows it turns the blades on a shaft, which powers a generator.
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  • Most of the wind energy produced  for power needs comes from wind farms, great big windmill type contraptions produce electricity because as the wind blows it turns the blades on a shaft, which powers a generator.
  • Wind Power is usually split into two types, offshore and land based operations.
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World's fist commercial scale tidal energy generator nears completion - 0 views

www.gizmag.com/...9110 tide scale
shared by mchughkon99 on 11 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • April 4, 2008 Bristol based renewable energy company Marine Current Turbines has completed the first installation phase of the 1.2MW SeaGen Tidal System at Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough - a site chosen for its combination of fast tidal current and ability to provide shelter from bad weather which may hinder the construction process.
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Distributed Wind - 0 views

www.awea.org/...index.cfm wind cost
shared by brennantho98 on 11 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • The U.S. leads the world in the production of small wind turbines, which are defined as having rated capacities of 100 kilowatts and less, and the market is expected to continue strong growth through the next decade.
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Solar Energy - 0 views

www.solarenergy.com solar cost
shared by butlerlex99 on 11 Mar 13 - Cached
  • Today's solar product offerings go way beyond what most people think of when they hear the term 'solar power' or 'solar energy' – typically they imagine solar electric panels on a roof converting sunlight into electricity. While these 'photo voltaic' panels do represent a piece of the solar pie, many more solar-powered products and technologies utilizing the sun's energy now exist. One of the biggest is solar hot water, whether for residential or commercial the use of the sun's heat to warm a potable water supply instead of electricity is a very efficient method and truly cost-effective. Solar HVAC systems, battery-backed off-grid systems, solar farms and more are at the forefront of the solar power world innovations, with more to come. Add this site to your Favorites to keep up with all the latest developments.
  • butlerlex99 on 11 Mar 13
     
    solar products 
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Where is tidal power being used to generate electricity - 0 views

wiki.answers.com/...g_used_to_generate_electricity tide power convert electricity
shared by rascoekat00 on 19 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Barrage systems. This system, built like a dam across a river, holds back the water till the tide has gone out, then uses the potential energy of the water to turn turbines in the barrage. This is an expensive system with many disadvantages.
  • Tidal Stream systems. This consists of using turbines, rather like wind turbines, to use the kinetic power of the moving water to generate electricity. This is easier and cheaper to install.
  • There are three Barrage systems operating throughout the world. One large 240 MW plant on the Rance River in France, and two small plants, one in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, and another in Kislaya Guba in Russia.
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Explainer: what are biofuels? | Biofuels | SBS World News - 0 views

www.sbs.com.au/...Explainer-what-are-biofuels biofuel form
shared by dpurdy on 06 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • The biofuel industry takes the chemical energy contained in organic materials and converts this into useful energy sources. However, it is not necessarily a sustainable industry. Daniel Tan explains.
  • dpurdy on 06 Apr 13
     
    Explanation of the form of bio fuels.
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Ocean Wave Energy Power Technology - History - 0 views

clean-future.com/...wave-power
shared by westkea00 on 06 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • Currently, numerous wave power plants (so called wave farms) have been implemented throughout the world. Many different organizations have designed various wave power systems that differ in size, cost, and effectiveness. A wave farm is a collection of wave power systems in order to create mass quantities of power. One example of a wave power plant is the Aguçadoura Wave Farm in Portugal from Pelamis Wave Power Ltd. It is the first wave farm ever established and produces 2.25 megawatts of power. It was completed in 2008. Other wave farms, with other companies involved, have been proposed.
  • In contrast to tidal power, ocean wave energy plants do not make use of the energy difference between high tide and low tide, but generating energy from continuous wave motion. So, wave energy generation is the conversion of the forces from the motion of waves into usable energy.
  • Wave energy is considered a form of hydropower, although it is the wind blowing over the surface of the ocean causing waves. So in many ways, wave energy is also wind energy - with all the pros and cons.
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  • Wave energy is about using the energy of ocean waves for producing electrical current. It is a renewable energy resource and often confused with Tidal Power.
  • Wave power generation has been tested over the past century as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels to create electrical power, sea water desalinization, and reservoir pumping. Unfortunately, despite of all examinations and tests, the price for generating energy from ocean waves is still about twice as high as that of wind energy. Companies involved in wave energy generation hope to be able to cut 50% of the costs within the next couple of years.
  • During the 1970's gasoline crisis, wave power was pushed in order to be a good long term energy solution. Later, the energy crisis was resolved yet the leaps and bounds made in the innovation of wave power remained. Though there were not many wave power plants actually implemented, it has proven to be a benefit to modern resolutions with current power crises. Fuel prices are rising exponentially and the greenhouse effect is having potentially disastrous effects on the environment. There has never been more need for alternatives to fossil generated energy.
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Wave Energy: an Overview (Oxfordshire Climate Exchange) - 1 views

climatex.org/...wave-energy-overview wave potential future how form history
shared by dpurdy on 30 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Waves are generated by winds blowing over the ocean surface.  Wave energy is effectively a stored and concentrated form of solar energy since the winds that produce them are caused by pressure differences in the atmosphere caused by the sun's differential heating of the earth's surface. Waves can efficiently transport energy for thousands of miles and retain their energy long after the winds that first created them have died down, which makes waves one of the most concentrated and consistent sources of renewable energy. 
  • Globally, the potential use of wave power is, unsurprisingly, limited to areas of the world where there are waves. On a global scale, this is dictated by global wind patterns, with the result that waves are more prevalent in the mid-latitudes (40-60(N/S), than nearer the equator where the lack of ocean wind is referred to as the 'doldrums'.  Interestingly, this potential for wave power contrasts with that of solar power, which is more effective in lower latitudes
    • dpurdy
      dpurdy on 30 Oct 12
       
      Location of wave power.
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  • it is widely anticipated that other types of renewable resources, including wave energy, will need to be developed in order to meet more challenging targets beyond 2020. 
  • As with most renewable energy sources, wave devices have no emissions during generation but the energy associated with the construction of the device does have small associated emissions.
    • dpurdy
      dpurdy on 30 Oct 12
       
      What do we need to do in the future to make this work.
  • it is essential that the current demonstration schemes are successful, to reassure future investors. The most important objective is to deploy full-size demonstration schemes in order to gain greater confidence in the most developed technologies (as in the EU's Atlas project). 
  • it will be necessary to significantly improve the network connections to the electricity suppliers.
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Wave Energy - 2 views

ocsenergy.anl.gov/...index.cfm wave location
shared by logansar99 on 22 Oct 12 - Cached
  • northwestern coasts of the United States.
  • Positive or negative impacts on marine habitat (depending on the nature of additional submerged surfaces, above-water platforms, and changes in the seafloor);
  • Toxic releases from leaks or accidental spills of liquids used in those systems with working hydraulic fluids;
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  • Conflict with other sea space users, such as commercial shipping and recreational boating;
  • Visual and noise impacts (device-specific, with considerable variability in visible freeboard height and noise generation above and below the water surface)
  • Wave power varies considerably in different parts of the world, and wave energy can't be harnessed effectively everywhere
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Is Current Wind Growth Sustainable? | Renewable Energy World Magazine Article - 0 views

www.renewableenergyworld.com/...the-big-question1 wind sustainable
shared by tuckeremi99 on 22 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • wind farms are not only capital intensive but also have a long gestation period – could prove to be prohibitive for many potential investors.
  • terms of global policy, governments need to boost investments in onshore and offshore wind generation through the right mix of supportive policies and incentives.
  • wind energy will become even more attractive as it serves as an insurance against future increases in fuel and carbon prices, while reducing our dependency on fossil fuels imported from volatile regions.
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  • Both in Europe and in the US, some 40% of all new power generating capacity installed in the past two years was wind energy. If the economic crisis continues, however, the reduction in power demand will start to impact wind energy, simply because of lower demand for new power plants. Nevertheless, the medium and long-term outlook remains very healthy, as political momentum is building towards a low carbon economy, without which humankind will not overcome three of the biggest concerns of our time – climate protection, energy security and the provision of jobs.
  • Wind power’s credentials as a rapidly deployable clean technology have put it at the forefront in the fight against climate change. Neither new nuclear capacity or carbon capture and storage (CCS) will contribute to CO2 reductions within the timeframe that the climate scientists give us. As a no-fuel, no-carbon emissions source of electricity, wind energy will play a big part in reducing carbon emissions before 2020.
  • A key element for policy makers is to dramatically improve competition in power markets, to ensure that investors, rather than consumers, are exposed to
  • The growth in wind power capacity has shown no signs of slowing, even in these tough economic times. For two years running there has been more new wind power capacity installed than any other power generating technology in Europe – including coal, gas and nuclear. In 2009 the European market for wind turbines experienced a 23% growth rate, the same as the average growth rate over the last 15 years.
  • future carbon and fuel price risk.
  • Wind power is a leader now, and will remain so in the future, attracting big investments and creating jobs. There is a boom waiting to happen in offshore wind energy. But, Europe’s ageing electricity grids must be upgraded and extended, and the EU must also pursue a drive to build an offshore grid in the North and Baltic seas that will connect offshore wind farms to the shore, piping vast amounts of CO2-free energy to consumers at affordable prices.
  • cleaner energy
  • he fact that wind is the most cost effective and scalable renewable source of energy.
  • past several years.
  • dynamic growth rate of the
  • Because of the small size of the existing installed base, the offshore wind sector will see higher growth percentages while the number of onshore turbines will continue to outpace those installed offshore.
  • Continued investment in grid infrastructure is critical for growth as well as wind turbine technology investments that improve efficiency and reliability while driving down emissions. Countries with the most efficient and flexible permitting processes will benefit by realizing the installation of the most advanced technology.
  • but renewable sources, and in large part, wind energy, have an extremely important role to play.
  • A fundamental value of wind is that it lowers risk in the overall generation mix by bringing in a fixed electricity cost. You don’t have any fuel risk, so you don’t have these big price spikes that you see when you generate electricity from gas or oil.
  • The wind power market is still intact. Demand for ‘green’ power stations remains unabated and nearly all governments have adopted policies aimed at environmental sustainability.
  • As our industry is still very young, wind power currently contributes only around 1.5% to global electricity supplies.
  • this merely serves to highlight the enormous potential for the future, especially as wind power is not only clean but also inexpensive. This is something that more and more governments and energy companies are realizing.
  • tuckeremi99 on 22 Oct 12
     
    "The growth in wind power capacity has shown no signs of slowing, even in these tough economic times. For two years running there has been more new wind power capacity installed than any other power generating technology in Europe - including coal, gas and nuclear. In 2009 the European market for wind turbines experienced a 23% growth rate, the same as the average growth rate over the last 15 years."Both in Europe and in the US, some 40% of all new power generating capacity installed in the past two years was wind energy. If the economic crisis continues, however, the reduction in power demand will start to impact wind energy, simply because of lower demand for new power plants. Nevertheless, the medium and long-term outlook remains very healthy, as political momentum is building towards a low carbon economy, without which humankind will not overcome three of the biggest concerns of our time - climate protection, energy security and the provision of jobs." "Wind power is a leader now, and will remain so in the future, attracting big investments and creating jobs. There is a boom waiting to happen in offshore wind energy. But, Europe's ageing electricity grids must be upgraded and extended, and the EU must also pursue a drive to build an offshore grid in the North and Baltic seas that will connect offshore wind farms to the shore, piping vast amounts of CO2-free energy to consumers at affordable prices."
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Solar Power Frequently Asked Questions | Solar Energy World | MD, DC, NJ - 0 views

www.solareworld.com/...solar-faqs pollution
shared by lanebri99 on 22 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • lanebri99 on 22 Oct 12
     
    ". Solar energy reduces the amount of fossil fuel that is burned, thus reducing the pollutants and CO² that get into the atmosphere. "
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Visual Health Effects and Wind Turbines - The Society for Wind Vigilance - 0 views

www.windvigilance.com/...alth-effects-and-wind-turbines wind disadvantages pollution
shared by dpurdy on 22 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • In addition to noise pollution wind turbines also have visual burdens.
  • The health impact of visual burdens cannot be underestimated. An epidemiology study conducted by World Health Organization determined a “bad view out of window” increased the risk for depression by 40%. The same study also demonstrated disturbance by noise and sleep disturbance by noise increased the risk of depression 40%, and 100% respectively.
  • Wind turbines produce noise and visual burdens.
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  • Scientific research confirms visuals impacts can adversely affect human health.
  • Wind turbine shadow flicker has the potential to induce photosensitive epilepsy seizures however the risk is low with large modern models and if proper planning is adhered to.
  • Wind turbine shadow flicker induced adverse human health effects include annoyance and/or stress.
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Biofuels - 0 views

www.voxsolaris.com/biofuels.html cost
shared by pettitmat99 on 22 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Biofuels are basically any fuel that can be burned in air to produce heat that is produced by biological means, normally by plant growth. Currently the most prominant biofuels are ethanol and bio-deisel because these can be burned in existing internal combustion engines and are thus a direct replacement for oil. The most important biofuel historically is wood with oth
  • Biofuels are currently cheaper than oil although this is only because we are seeing very high oil prices at the moment. Under what might be termed more 'normal' market conditions, biofuels lack any meaningful price advantage. Biofuel production is very labor intensive and very land intensive. Production of ethanol from sugar cane was pioneered by the Brazilians in the 1970's as a solution to an oil import bill they could ill afford. It worked for them as they have plenty of land they can convert to growing sugar cane and at the time, plenty of cheap labor with which to harvest it.
  • he simple truth is the world does not have enough land to produce anywhere near the quantity of biofuels we need to make any dent in our oil consumption. They are only in fashion now oil prices are high and it is cost effective to produce them. Sooner or later food prices will rise to such a point that biofuel production will cease to be economic.
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  • In any case the current price of oil is unlikely to be sustained. Much of today's oil prices can be attributed to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and the hording of oil both for security of supply and more recently as a hedge against the falling dollar.
  • e they cheaper than oil? That depends how you calculate the cost!
  • pettitmat99 on 22 Oct 12
     
    "But herein lies the first problem with biofuels. They may be carbon nuetral but they are certainly not as green as they might be. Not if the land to grow sugar is coming from cutting down the Amazon jungle and not if vast quantities o"
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Tidal Wave Energy - Quick Guide to Costs,Investment and How Tidal Generators Produce Ti... - 1 views

www.greenworldinvestor.com/...generators-produce-tidal-power tidal converted
shared by morehousejam98 on 22 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • .In this form of Tidal Power,a Barrage is built near the coast where water is collected during the periods of high tides.During low tide the barrage allows the water from the reservoir to move towards the ocean or sea.The potential energy of the water at a higher level is converted to electricity using Turbines.
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Wave Energy Pros and Cons - Tidal and Ocean Wave Power Still Niche Technologies | Green... - 2 views

www.greenworldinvestor.com/...power-still-niche-technologies pros wave energy
shared by hughesacam99 on 22 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Wave Power is quite immature,costly and unproven in large scale. While some companies have made good progress, the technology remains largely unproven and has only been put to actual test in pilot cases.
  • While Wave Energy has been known since the 1700s the progress has been extremely slow.
  • One of the biggest problems of Renewable Power is that it is intermittent in nature as it generates energy only when there are waves. This problem can be solved with energy storage however this leads to additional costs.
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  • Severe Weather like Storms and Typhoons can be quite devastating on the Wave Power Equipment especially those place on the Sea Floor.
  • This is a disadvantage which is common to all  the 3 types of Water based Energy that is Tidal, Hydro and Waver Energy. Some forms of Energy are just better suited to some places.
  • Wave Power generate power quite far away from the consumption of electricity. Transportation of Wave Energy can be quite cumbersome and expensive. Some Wave Energy Generators are converting power at the bottom of the ocean or far away from the shoreline. Moving that power towards where it is used can be difficult.
  • The sight of wave generators around the shoreline can look quite ugly and cause loss of tourism potential around shorelines. Also local residents can have problems even with wave power equipment which is not far offshore. The Cape Wind Energy project off the shore of Massachusetts has been delayed by over 10 years as it has drawn serious objections from the owners of coastal homes about loss in their property values.
  • A Wave Power Plant can cost around$6-10 million million to be spent in building 1 Megawatt.
  • Waver Energy does not require any fuel like most other sources of energy
  • Wave Energy is powered by the waves of the ocean which are totally free just like Wind and Sunlight.
  • Wave Energy Generators can be installed in various sizes with as little as 1 MW. This is not possible for other energy forms which require a minimum large size such as Coal, Nuclear etc.
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Uses of Wind Energy | eHow.com - 2 views

www.ehow.com/_4911458_uses-wind-energy.html use
shared by bannonmel99 on 22 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • For hundreds of years mankind has been making use of the energy and power generated by wind. Whether it has been to travel the world, manufacture products, or in the modern age to generate electricity, wind has provided the means. And while there have been dozens of different methods over the years, new technology is still being invented to make even further use of this ancient power source.
  • Windmills were one of the second most widespread uses of wind energy. The variety of uses that windmills were put to included grinding grain, as well as pumping water, up until the industrial revolution where the windmill was mostly replaced by the steam engine.
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Wind - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

en.wikipedia.org/Wind
shared by dynesbri97 on 13 Mar 12 - Cached
  • Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space. Winds are commonly classified by their spatial scale, their speed, the types of forces that cause them, the regions in which they occur, and their effect. The strongest observed winds on a planet in our solar system occur on Neptune and Saturn.
  • Winds can shape landforms, via a variety of aeolian processes such as the formation of fertile soils, such as loess, and by erosion. Dust from large deserts can be moved great distances from its source region by the prevailing winds; winds that are accelerated by rough topography and associated with dust outbreaks have been assigned regional names in various parts of the world because of their significant effects on those regions. Wind affects the spread of wildfires. Winds disperse seeds from various plants, enabling the survival and dispersal of those plant species, as well as flying insect populations. When combined with cold temperatures, wind has a negative impact on livestock. Wind affects animals' food stores, as well as their hunting and defensive strategies.
  • Wind is caused by differences in pressure. When a difference in pressure exists, the air is accelerated from higher to lower pressure. On a rotating planet, the air will be deflected by the Coriolis effect, except exactly on the equator. Globally, the two major driving factors of large-scale winds (the atmospheric circulation) are the differential heating between the equator and the poles (difference in absorption of solar energy leading to buoyancy forces) and the rotation of the planet. Outside the tropics and aloft from frictional effects of the surface, the large-scale winds tend to approach geostrophic balance. Near the Earth's surface, friction causes the wind to be slower than it would be otherwise. Surface friction also causes winds to blow more inward into low pressure areas.
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  • [hide]General wind classifications Tropical cyclone classifications (all winds are 10-minute averages) Beaufort scale[17] 10-minute sustained winds (knots) General term[20] N Indian Ocean IMD SW Indian Ocean MF Australian region South Pacific BoM, BMKG, FMS, MSNZ NW Pacific JMA NW Pacific JTWC NE Pacific & N Atlantic NHC & CPHC 0 <1 Calm Low Pressure Area Tropical disturbance Tropical low Tropical Depression Tropical depression Tropical depression Tropical depression 1 1–3 Light air 2 4–6 Light breeze 3 7–10 Gentle breeze 4 11–16 Moderate breeze 5 17–21 Fresh breeze Depression 6 22–27 Strong breeze 7 28–29 Moderate gale Deep depression Tropical depression 30–33 8 34–40 Fresh gale Cyclonic storm Moderate tropical storm Tropical cyclone (1) Tropical storm Tropical storm Tropical storm 9 41–47 Strong gale 10 48–55 Whole gale Severe cyclonic storm Severe tropical storm Tropical cyclone (2) Severe tropical storm 11 56–63 Storm 12 64–72 Hurricane Very severe cyclonic storm Tropical cyclone Severe tropical cyclone (3) Typhoon Typhoon Hurricane (1) 13 73–85 Hurricane (2) 14 86–89 Severe tropical cyclone (4) Major hurricane (3) 15 90–99 Intense tropical cyclone 16 100–106 Major hurricane (4) 17 107–114 Severe tropical cyclone (5) 115–119 Very intense tropical cyclone Super typhoon >120 Super cyclonic storm Major hurricane (5)
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