Positive & Negative Facts About Wind Energy

by Mike Williams
    Wind turbines produce electricity in areas as different as rural farms, cities and the sea.


    Wind is a form of solar energy created by interactions between atmospheric heating, irregularities in the earth's surface and the earth's rotation. Wind is a clean energy source that is endlessly renewable and remarkably reliable. It does not pollute the air or cause acid rain like fossil fuels. (See References 1) Advances in wind turbine technology and an abundance of regions with winds suitable for producing power have made wind power the fastest-growing source of energy in the world. (See References 1, 2)

    Zero Greenhouse Gases

    Some carbon dioxide is released during manufacture and maintenance of wind turbines, but wind turbines themselves emit no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases while they are producing electricity. That means users of wind energy have smaller carbon footprints. (See References 2)

    Free Fuel

    Building and maintaining wind turbines costs money but no one pays for the wind itself. Since wind is a free fuel, wind power prices do not go through the kind of price fluctuations consumers experience with fossil fuels.(See References 2) Wind power prices in the United States averaged 4 to 6 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2010, making it one of the cheapest renewable energy technologies on the market, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. (See References 1)


    The towers and turbines that turn wind into electricity come in different sizes to meet different needs. The biggest wind turbines use rotors spanning more than 100 yards mounted on towers higher than 20-story buildings. One of those monsters can generate enough power to support 1,400 homes. A unit designed to make electricity for a single house might have blades with a diameter as small as 8 feet atop a 30-foot tower. (See References 3)


    Wind turbines have to be installed on towers higher than nearby trees and buildings to make the most efficient use of the wind. That high profile sometimes leads to complaints that they detract from the aesthetic appearance of a skyline or a neighborhood. (See References 2) Their blades can also churn out noise that irritates neighbors. "We're 2,400 feet away and it's really unbearable. It shakes the house and goes through our bones and bodies," David Wylie, who lives near three wind turbines in Maine, told the "Portland Press Herald." (See References 4)

    Killer Blades


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