Wind Power

Wind has been harnessed to produce energy for hundreds of years. The use of windmills to catch air currents and translate that force into mechanical energy dates back to medieval Europe, and perhaps beyond. Today wind power is the fastest growing energy source in the world and “one of the most mature technologies for generating energy from renewable sources.”¹

This expansion is largely the result of technological innovations that have reduced the costs of constructing wind turbines by 80 percent since the 1980s.² Global wind energy capacity has tripled since 2000, with most of the gains coming in European countries where wind power is subsidized by the government. The top five global producers of wind energy in 2009 were Germany,  the United States, India, Spain, and the United Kingdom. These days, wind power is predominantly used to produce electricity using turbines. Most of these turbines are oriented on a horizontal axis and are shaped like the propeller on an airplane.

But an increasing number are built around a vertical axis and look like an “egg-beater.”³ Employing vertical-axis turbines raises the capacity of wind harvesting from 25-40 percent to 43-45 percent. While this might not initially seem like a significant increase, it makes wind power much more economical and allows turbines to harvest more high-speed winds. This is important because “each doubling of wind speed results in an eightfold increase in available energy.”⁴

Wind power generation facilities are generally land-based, though the number of offshore facilities has been rising in recent years, especially in Europe. Locating wind turbines offshore is more expensive, but it also allows for the construction of larger facilities and increases their capacity to generate power. The fact that many of the best land locations are already occupied has further spurred the development of offshore sites.

In May 2009 the first off-shore wind farm was approved by the state of Massachusetts.  “Cape Wind” has been a controversial topic in communities around Cape Cod and the Nantucket Sound for almost ten years. .The wind farm seems to have high public approval, so there is optimism that “Cape Wind” will expand the possibility for more offshore wind farms.⁵  “Cape Wind” received federal approval in 2010, and at least 11 other U.S. offshore wind projects are in development in Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas.⁶

Cost and Efficiency Management

Despite its benefits, expanding wind power also has costs. Some argue the industrial materials and processes needed to build wind farms require so much conventional energy that the net energy gains yielded by wind power are too small to be significant. Others argue that production costs for a turbine are recovered within six months of the start of operations.

There is also the problem of intermittency and storage. Wind energy is only as reliable as the wind itself. Because of this and because it often experiences a more variable demand than traditional coal- or gas-based power plants due to its more localized distribution, wind farms require sophisticated methods of managing and storing energy. This can often decrease the efficiency and raise the cost of wind power. It is likely that better ways of managing these energy flows will be discovered as the technology continues to mature.⁷

Aesthetics and Ecological Impact

More serious concerns about wind power center on its aesthetics and environmental/ecological impact. Some people find the sight of wind turbines attractive but many do not, considering them a form of “visual pollution”. The fact that turbines are often located in more remote and sometimes scenic areas can make their appearance more objectionable to local residents.

For example, inhabitants of England’s northwest Lake District region, a large area made up of national parks of striking natural beauty, have been particularly vocal in objecting to wind farms in their backyards, even though the District’s many hills would provide ideal sites for an extensive development. The plan was eventually thrown out.⁸

Perhaps even more pressing than aesthetics, however, are environmental and ecological concerns. Because significant distances must be placed between each turbine in order for wind harvesting to be efficient, turbines are considered to have a large “footprint” on the ground. Translated into practical terms, this means that, wind farms require far more territory than conventional power plants to produce the same amount of energy.⁹ Especially in more remote areas, this footprint can interfere with the local ecology, disrupting the habitats of both plants and animals.

In addition, the action of the blades on a turbine poses serious safety risks to birds, especially during the night. Defenders of the environment feel it is their duty to protect these creatures from harm, because “the seagulls don’t vote.”¹⁰

A Landscape for Development

Wind power is an excellent example of how renewable energy technologies that are generally environmentally-friendly can also create new environmental problems of their own. The benefits of clean energy production must be carefully weighed against the environmental impact and effects on local quality of life.

According to Stephen Tindale, Executive Director of Greenpeace UK, “It’s a major psychological and cultural challenge for the environmental and conservation movement…What we need to combat climate change is a complete transformation of our energy system, and that requires a lot of new stuff to be built and installed, some of it in places that are relatively untouched.” In other words: “The biggest hurdle is creating a landscape for development.”¹¹ This is both the challenge and the opportunity presented by many forms of renewable energy.

1 Cooper, “Alternative Energy,” 181; Harvey, “Tide Is Turning”
2 American Wind Energy Association “Wind Energy Teacher’s Guide” 4
3 American Wind Energy Association “Wind Web Tutorial.”
4 “Turning Wind Power On Its Side”
5 “Governor Patrick Hails Cape Wind Permit Approvals.”
6 “Offshore wind farm near Cape Cod, first in U.S., gets federal approval.”
7 Harvey, “Tide Is Turning”
8 “Vast Wind Farm in Lake District;” “Giant Wind Farm Plan Thrown Out”
9 “Wind Farm Area Calculator”
10 “Blowing Strong;” Parfit 22
11 Timmons

Wind Generation Picture Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/wind.html
Picture Horizontal Wind Turbine, Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/wind.html