The Advantages and Challenges of Wind Energy

Wind power is one of the most dominant form of renewable energy in the world today. The process works on wind farms, and the turbines are quite expensive to erect. The enormous structures (onshore and offshore wind turbines) then convert the kinetic energy of the wind into usable and clean energy for homes, businesses and public units.

Wind energy is a great commodity with many advantages today that will make this renewable energy source a major power source of the future. However, like any other source of power, the energy produced by wind also comes with some challenges. Throughout this article, we will outline the advantages and challenges of wind energy.

Advantages of Wind Energy

Cost-Effective

Once wind farms are erected, they can generate and sell blocks of energy for more than two decades because wind turbines work with minimal service at least 20 years. This is a cost-effective way of producing clean electricity because the renewable resource used is free and endless.

Wind power is considered today a much better alternative (in term of costs involved) to nuclear power as an energy source, because nuclear constantly costs money and consumes of large volume of natural resources like water.

Creates Job Opportunities

Unemployment is a consistent issue in today’s society, no matter where you live in the world. Thanks to the expansion of the wind energy sector, there should be a staggering 600,000 jobs created by the year 2050. There are plenty of jobs in the sector, so you can easily find one that suits you well, even if we talk about the production process, installation, maintenance, or support.

If it sounds like something you would be interested in, you can learn more about wind turbine operations here.

Provides Competition and Growth

Before renewable energy came along, the energy industry relied mainly on fossil fuels and a small percentage of the energy demand was covered by nuclear power.

However, today, the energy industry has become more complex and provides a long term source of clean and free energy for the future generations. As fossil fuels are less and less used today, the wind energy industry has now a great opportunity to grow.

Sustainable

Essentially, as long as the sun is shining, there will be wind on the plant that can be harvested. The wind is created by the heat changes in the atmosphere produced by the sun and the rotation of our planet.

We can utilize solar energy as well as wind power to combat the use of fossil fuels. When the sun stops shining, solar panels are no longer producing energy, but wind turbines can continue to work if there is wind.

No Special Environments

Wind turbines don’t require any special environments to operate, however, they do require an open area with no major obstacles both natural (hills, mountains, large trees, etc.) or man-made (tall buildings). For this reason, wind farms are usually built out at sea or on existing rural lands without affecting the crop production.

This is a huge benefit for farmers because they can work their land while receiving a certain amount of money because they allowed the installation of the wind turbine on their land. Benefits are double here and come from agriculture and hosting a renewable energy production facility that helps the environment.

Little To No Global Warming Emissions

Once installed, a wind turbine starts producing clean energy if the wind blows with enough speed. While spinning and generating clean electricity, the turbine itself does not release greenhouse gas emissions, because there is no burning of fossil fuels involved in the process.

The turbine spins due to the action of the wind, and this way, clean electricity is produced by a large generator.

This way, the wind turbine does not pollute the air, which means that even if a few bats and birds are hit by spinning blades of the turbines every year, air pollution is not produced on the planet and this benefits us all.

Is Inexhaustible And Resilient

The wind is produced by the Sun, which is also the source of solar power on our planet. As long as the Sun has enough fuel (hydrogen), we will have a continuous source of clean and free power available on the planet, represented by both solar power and wind energy.

Challenges of Wind Energy

Here we must outline some of the challenges of wind power:

Can Produce Noise and Visual Pollution

Wind turbines are great for the environment. However, some complain about the noise and visual impact felt by them.

There Are Cheaper Ways to Generate Electricity

Wind energy is struggling to compete with cheaper methods of generating electricity.

Wind Power Distribution Is Not Cheap

Once erected, a wind turbine will start producing energy for free and will require only a minimal maintenance service. However, the power distribution cost when transporting energy from wind farms to urban areas can be quite expensive.

This way, even if wind power is produced at a very low price at the source, the final consumer can pay a pretty hefty price.

Can Affect Wildlife

There can be a negative impact on wildlife. There have been reports of birds and bats being killed by the spinning blades of the turbines if the birds and bats fly too close to them.

This can be a serious issue if we talk about endangered species. In the past, the American Bald Eagle was affected by wind turbines installed in the United States, but due to a strong comeback of the species, they are no longer considered endangered today.

We Should Build Mainly Offshore Wind Turbines

Unfortunately, wind turbines are not very welcome on land (some people are affected by their presence) or close to the shore.

For this reason, wind turbines should be built mainly offshore, and away from the shores.

Conclusion

Wind energy is a sustainable and cheap source of clean electricity for mankind. However, the infrastructure is extremely expensive, can affect wildlife, and is considered a visual anomaly. This being said, wind energy has a much smaller impact on the environment compared to fossil fuels and nuclear energy.