The Pros

Wind energy (WE) has been developed in the past several years so that it is now cost competitive to other fuel sources (like natural gas) and it is the least expensive of all renewable energy sources. Because the fuel in the form of blowing wind is free, wind energy can provide a stable long-term cost for energy production. So is it surprising that wind energy is the fastest developing energy generation industry around the world?

We can help to meet the growing global energy demand, and commitments from governments globally to international agreements including the Kyoto Protocol (UNFCCC 1997) to eliminate the emission of greenhouse gases, as well as individual country commitments to mandatory renewable power goals.

Due to the right support it has been claimed that it can provide up to 28% of EU electricity by 2030. WE is also advantageous over conventional methods of creating energy, in the sense that it is getting cheaper and cheaper to produce this kind of energy as the technology develops, and mass production of the blades becomes routine. Wind may soon be the cheapest technique to produce energy on the large scale, after all, it has come so far already in such a short time, and there should be a lot more methods to optimize its efficiency not even dreamt of yet.

Wind energy is very abundant in many parts of America. Blowing wind sources tend to be characterized by wind-power density classes , ranging from class 1 (the lowest) to class 7 (the highest). It is clean energy. Unlike coal or natural gas, every kilowatt-hour of this kind of energy is free of charge of toxic emissions that contaminate our atmosphere and water.

In contrast to coal or natural gas, every kilowatt-hour is free of toxic emissions that contaminate our air and water. Wind farms create no atmosphere or water pollution because no fuel is burned. It is in reality just a form of solar energy.

Using windmills is an extremely ancient ability, which may have even been developed in China before 1 AD, but the earliest written documentation comes from 1219. Cretans were reported to be using literally hundreds of sail-rotor windmills to pump water for crops and livestock. WE does not sterilize land from production. Farmers and ranchers can continue to work the land because the generators use only tiny a fraction of the land area.

Wind energy plant owners make rent payments to the farmer or rancher for the use of the land, which supports the economy remote areas and provides job opportunities for local people. Farmers who own land that is ideal for wind farming could also take advantage of their location simply by installing their own wind generator or by renting wind rights to a wind energy company.

Then methods we use today to harness the blowing wind are still developing. This is not a great technology, but it holds powerful potential to diversify energy generation all over the world.

The Cons

Wind energy is not easily stored, and not all air currents can be harnessed to meet the timing of electricity demands. Good wind sites tend to be located in remote locations far from areas of electric power demand such as urban centers. This means that huge investment will be required in brand new energy distributions systems that will add to the cost greatly, and mean a lot more unsightly energy lines marching across the land.

So, wind energy is not necessarily the cure all it is offered to be. Due to the intermittent nature, industrial scale WE can produce about 10-21 % of the set up capacity (wind advocates claim 30%), requiring back up generation of 80-90%, which is usually going to have to be natural gas or coal.

Wind energy is not a linear function of the speed of the blowing wind. For instance, an increase in wind speed from 5 m/s to 6 m/s leads to an increase in the yield of a turbine of not 20% but usually of 45%! But, once the wind rises too much no power at all is generated as the wind generator blades are furled for their own protection.

However, this particular energy source method could be built on the small scale easily. Models can be found which range from small size residential wind turbines creating about 10 kilowatt of energy to experimental behemoths that are over 500 feet tall and produce 3 MW of energy, wind harnessing technology has many forms and purposes.

Terribly positioned wind energy facilities have the potential to create major problems for wildlife, especially for bird life. Turbines mounted on buildings which were not designed as a turbine foundation commonly shake apart over time. Additionally, the vibrations produce sound and may be unbearably noisy for those in the residences nearby. These are the major advantages and disadvantages of wind energy. If you know of any more, please do add them, for consideration, simply by commenting on this article.