Global Issues: Wind Energy

Wind turbines can be found across the country in a multitude of states. Obtaining energy from wind turbines is environmentally friendly and does not release gases that contribute to global warming. The wind turbines use wind to make electricity or mechanical energy. The turbines turn in the air and power a generator that eventually creates an electric current. Areas that contain a large amount of wind turbines in a specific area are called wind farms. While wind energy is a renewable resource and produces no pollutants or greenhouse gases, there are still a few environmental concerns. There is concern regarding the sound produced by the rotors, and that birds fly into the rotors and die. Wind power is a much larger initial investment than fossil-fueled generators. The initial investment costs around one million dollars per megawatt to install. Around 80% of the initial investment is for the machinery necessary to run the turbines. Once the turbines and the energy source begins to work, electricity powered by wind is one of the cheapest forms of energy to maintain. There have been recent improvements in wind turbines that helps to reduce the costs.

Distributed wind turbines produce electricity on the distribution grid for businesses, homes, schools, etc. The major distribution and movement challenge regarding wind energy is that wind cannot be stored. Wind does not blow exactly when electricity is needed. Most of the good wind sites are located in remote areas that are far from cities where the most electricity is needed. Since these “wind farms” are far away from areas of high population, it becomes difficult to transport the electricity to the places in need. Wind energy is a decentralized system. Wind energy is decentralized because the energy is generated and stored by a variety of small, grid-connected devices. The wind energy is produced close to where it will be used.

The major obstacles to adopting wind energy are that wind turbines are mostly located in remote locations, and turbines are mostly installed on farming land. Cities are the areas that need the most energy, and wind farms are located far away from those cities. Wind turbines are also installed on farming land, which raises concerns that the land should be used for farming because it would be a greater profit and a better use of space. The turbine installation on these farmlands has to compete with alternative uses for the land. The federal government offers tax incentives and grants/loans to curb demand for wind energy. For example, the federal renewable energy Production Tax Credit allows owners of renewable energy facilities to receive tax credits for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by the facility over a ten year period.