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The Benefits of Wind Power
The debate over wind power has raged in statehouses throughout the country and inside the walls of the United States Congress. While the disadvantages of the alternative energy source receive much of the publicity, wind power advocates point to three critical benefits that wind power provides American citizens
Enhances the Environment
Wind power does not release contaminants into the air and water, and wind power does not contribute to the growing threat of global warming. The American Wind Association has released several statistics that demonstrate the healthy affect wind energy has on our ecosystem. Each megawatt of generated electricity causes over 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 7.5 pounds of sulfur oxide. The over 10 million megawatts of electricity generated by wind farms inside of the United States reduces CO2 emissions by 6.7 million tons. Moreover, as opposed to virtually every other type of electricity source, wind power does not consume water.
An Endless Supply of Power
Unlike finite fossil fuels that include oil and coal, wind energy has a limitless supply to power our nation’s homes and infrastructures. Wind does not require extraction from the Earth at an incredible environmental cost. Wind turbines strategically located to leverage the wind provide an inexhaustible supply of real energy. The endless supply of wind can lower our dependency on imported fuels, especially oil that comes from volatile regions such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Economic Sanity
Fossil fuels dramatically change in price due to several factors that include the supply disruptions created by political upheaval in unstable countries. Wind power can strengthen the security of America’s national energy sources. The development of wind farms produce high paying jobs in the construction and engineering fields. Rural landowners receive a decent revenue stream and since the farms take little space, farmers can optimize their land by planting more crops.
Why Wind Energy Doesn’t Make Sense
Although in an idyllic world wind power appears to represent the utopian version of energy, the facts suggest otherwise. Let us look at the disadvantages of using wind power to augment our energy supplies.
Unpredictable Wind
You do not have to a meteorologist to understand that wind is at best, unpredictable. Lack of wind can wreak the same amount of havoc caused by oil supply disruptions. The speed of the blowing wind must fall within a narrowly defined range to ensure the success of harnessing wind’s massive energy potential. Wind farm turbines must rotate at specified speeds, which mean the expensive to operate turbines fail when wind speeds are too fast or slow. Direction of the wind also plays a role in the success of wind farms. Areas of the country that experience wind from multiple directions do not perform well for operating wind farms.
Too Much Input Required to Produce Too Little Output
Wind possesses a low energy density that spreads over wide areas. To harness diffuse winds, the number of turbines used must cover an extremely large area. This causes the cost of developing a wind farm to be prohibitive for most investors. Wind farm turbines do not have the capability to extract one hundred percent of the energy delivered by blowing wind. In fact, wind farm research shows that the average turbine only extracts 59 percent of the energy bottled up in the blowing wind. Wind energy experts do not expect the efficiency rate to improve for wind power.
Developing a wind farm is a costly enterprise and until more energy derives from wind power, the high costs should keep alternative energy developers out of the wind power business.
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