Clean energy is the future, be it solar power, biomass or wind power. Each of these alternatives come from the sun interacting with our planet’s physical makeup and each provides a set of distinct advantages. Efficiency, duration and return on investment are the real drivers for how we choose to harvest alternative energy. That said, what are the benefits of switching to wind power and are there any downsides? This article is designed to help identify the trade offs and advantages that wind power offers as a clean energy source.
According to an article on greenlivingideas.com, the number one benefit of wind power is that it is the least expensive of all other alternative energy sources. Many authoritative sources agree with this viewpoint. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) for example, claims that in the past 20 years, the average cost of building utility-scale wind systems has dropped by nearly 80%. Since 1980 the cost has gone from 30 cents/kWh to 5 cents/kWh. Note, this a general outline given the variability of wind consistency by location.
You may be wondering why wind power is more or less efficient based on location… According to AWEA, you have to take into account 3 important factors when considering the costs of wind power and those factors include:
- The size of the wind farm
- Wind speed at the site
- Cost of installing wind turbines
Basically, the larger the wind farm, the lower the cost of energy generated there. The higher the wind speed, the more energy is produced per unit. The less expensive the construction costs are, the higher the return on investment. These are all standard business concepts including economies of scale, cost of labor and raw materials. The one wild card in this situation is the wind itself, which may be classified as a raw material input, and may even be expected to evolve to higher or lower levels over decades of climate change. Just below is a map of the average annual wind power available across the United States (darker means more wind), visit Wikipedia for more information on current wind power usage and and available transmission lines.
Production costs aside, wind power produces zero carbon dioxide emissions once the site is complete, compared to other sources of energy such as coal. According to an article by MGE on wind power, an MGE wind farm reduces the production of CO2 emissions by 18,880 tons.
One other harmful emission that wind (and most other clean technologies) help us avoid is sulfur dioxide (SO2). SO2 is a byproduct created through the burning fossil fuels. When it mixes with other chemicals in the atmosphere, it can create acidic compounds. An average wind farm cuts SO2 emissions by 119 tons per year, significantly reducing acid rain.
While it does take a lot of energy to create a wind turbine initially, that energy is recovered in a matter of months. MGE states that “much of the energy used to manufacture turbines is contained in the rotor and nacelle. One-third of the total energy is consumed in making the concrete foundation and tower.” Compared to many other clean energy sources, wind farms require less energy to create. Aside from production, costs are accrued through land purchase and regulations. Still, wind power continues to be the most affordable form of clean energy. Once installed, less than 5% of a wind farm site is dedicated to the turbines themselves which means farming and grazing in those areas can continue unabated. By comparison, photovoltaic solar panels take up more space and would not allow for plant growth directly under or above, reducing the usability of agricultural space. One argument here would be that deserts could house large solar arrays, but the transmission of electricity over long distances significantly decreases output and thus overall efficiency. By harvesting energy closer to the locations where it will actually be used a gain in overall efficiency is achieved.
According to a study released by The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), the power grid for Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming could accommodate 30% wind power and 5% solar power without creating new infrastructure. This exemplifies the different ways that alternative energy sources can compliment each other. During the day, solar helps offset peak demand and during the night, as wind picks up, it overlaps where PV solar drops off potentially charging vehicles and other electronics connected to smart grids.
While it is clear that there are many benefits to the adoption and use of wind power, there are also several challenges worth stating here. One NREL study states that “wind is packed with kinetic energy–molecules in motion that can be used to make other molecules move such as commonly seen windmill water pumps, or used to compress gas and convert it into electricity.” However, the wind needs to blow in order to create electricity. When the wind is calm, there is no energy being created. In the United states, large coal, natural gas, and nuclear plants are still needed to provide backup power in case the wind ceases to blow. Dr. Debra Lew, product manager for the NREL study, stated, “If key changes can be made to standard operating procedures, our research shows that large amounts of wind and solar can be incorporated onto the grid without a lot of backup generation.” This research is ongoing but the addition of new wind farms in Wyoming and other states help to create new models and baselines for comparison in other states, leading to expansion of wind power adoption nation wide. The point is, adding wind power potential doesn’t allow us to cut out as much dirty “backup” power generation as we’d like because the wind is unreliable whereas coal is not (at this point in time).
As mentioned earlier, it is possible to configure a power grid that runs on 30% wind power and 5% solar power. However, NREL writes that in order to accomplish this, “utilities will have to substantially increase their coordination of operations over wider geographic areas and schedule generation deliveries, or sales, on a more frequent basis.” This is all part of the smart grid and smarter government organizations. At the time being, traditional fossil fuel energy creators only provide scheduling for one to two hours at best. Improvements in scheduling would allow generators to adjust the amount of power based on changes in system conditions such as increases or decreases in wind or solar generation.
This sort of coordination and progress is an essential piece of the future smart grid that will connect reliable dirty energy sources to inconsistent clean ones along with battery storage dispersed across the grid. Smart devices will charge up during the night hours using wind energy and then share their charge when the grid gets overwhelmed during the daytime hours. This sort of coordination will allow coal plants to lower their capacity and slowly phase out dirty energy. For these reasons, battery technology is a hot area of focus right now and includes more than the traditional Lithium and Lead Acid solutions of years past.
Wind power is proven and expanding but it’s not the only solution. Based on the raw inputs of steal required to build traditional wind turbines we could not meet current world power consumption levels. Future turbine designs incorporating carbon nanotechnology in combination with a smart grid and storage technology will help us reach the true energy potential that wind could provide. As new smart devices are designed to consume less phantom energy and operate more efficiently overall, demand for electricity may level or even decrease. Each of these factors will play a significant role to improve the ways we harness wind energy in the future. As it stands, wind power is leading the pack in terms of pricing and efficiency… in the locations best suitable for its use.
