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The Advantages
of Wind Energy


As more wind farms are built, the
United States is beginning to get
closer to the goal set by the Department
of Energy of obtaining 20 percent of the
country’s energy supply from wind by the year
2030. It is clear that the benefi ts of wind power will touch
many areas of life.
One obvious benefi t is the environmental impact of not
relying as much on fossil fuels. If wind power produced 20
percent of U.S. electricity by the year 2030, carbon dioxide
emissions would be cut by 25 percent. The reduction in
emissions of gases linked to global warming would be equal
to removing 71 million cars from the roads or planting 104
million acres (42 million hectares) of trees. There would also
be an impact on water. Generating electricity using fossil fuels
takes a great deal of water, while making electricity with wind
power does not. An increase in wind-powered electricity would
decrease the amount of water required for the production of
electricity by 4 trillion gallons (15 trillion liters).
Cleaning up the environment is not the only benefi t to
choosing alternative energy sources such as wind power.
Coal, oil, and natural gas are being used up. New sources of
energy must be found. Together with other renewable sources,
such as solar energy, wind power can help provide energy for

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Less Foreign Oil
Increasing the amount
of power from wind
energy would also lead
to less use of foreign oil,
which has important
political effects. Right
now, the United
States—and much of
the world—relies on
just a few countries for
its supply of fossil fuels,
especially oil. Some
of those countries are
Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, and Iraq. This gives these Middle
Eastern countries a great deal of power in world politics.
In 1960, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) was formed by some of the world’s main producers
of oil. In 1973, members of OPEC worked together to raise oil
prices. They also placed an embargo on shipments of oil to
the United States and a number of other nations. (They were
protesting support for Israel on the part of the United States
and the other nations during a war Israel was fighting with
Egypt and Syria.) The price of gas jumped, and there was a

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A Different Kind of Green
There are also important economic reasons to embrace wind
technology. Wind power can provide income for U.S. farmers
by letting them
lease land to wind
farm developers.
(Most wind
developers are
private companies
that then sell
the electricity to
power companies.)
The small towns
that lease land to
developers will also
benefit. There
will be jobs for
people who build
and maintain

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the turbines. Also, local
businesses will have more
customers as people from
the development company
come to town to work on
the project.
Most wind farms in the
United States are located
on land that is already
being used for agriculture.
Although maintenance roads
leading to the turbines are
needed, the rest of the land
surrounding the structures
is not disturbed. Livestock
can—and do—graze right up
to the base of the turbines,
and crops can grow next
to them.
Typically, a farmer
leases his or her land to a
commercial wind developer.
The developer owns, builds,
installs, and maintains
the turbines. The farmer
does not own any of the
equipment and is not
responsible for any of it. The
developer pays the farmer
a fee for use of the land. If

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wind capacity in the United
States is increased to 20
percent by the year 2030, the
increase in revenue for local
communities could be more
than $1.5 billion per year.
Creating New Jobs
This rapidly developing
industry will also create
thousands of new jobs. In
order to meet the DOE’s
wind power goal for
2030, the manufacturing,
construction, and installation
of wind turbines and related
equipment will have to be increased. In addition, although the
turbines run without any human action, wind technicians are
always needed to perform maintenance and any repairs—up
to and including changing a light bulb at the top of a 300-foot
(91-meter) tower! All of this will translate into 150,000 brand
new jobs. Perhaps 500,000 more jobs will be created in related
fi elds—those that support the wind industry but are not directly
part of it—such as trucking and shipping.
Increasing the Availability
There was a time when electricity from wind-powered sources
cost more than from traditional sources. That is no longer true.
In 1981, electricity from wind cost about 25¢ per kilowatthour.
This has dropped to between 4¢ and 6¢ per kilowatt-

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hour in recent years.
This is similar to
the average rate
paid by consumers
for electricity from
coal-fi red plants.
According to the
DOE, the price
for wind-powered
electricity should
continue to fall as
technology improves.
Nevertheless, not

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Possible
Problems with
Wind Energy



Despite all the positive aspects of wind
energy, some people are not in favor of
it. Arguments against wind power include
both economic and environmental complaints.
An Unpredictable Source of Energy
One key problem with wind energy is that it is unpredictable.
The wind is renewable, but it is not constant. Turbines produce
electricity only when they are spinning. If it is not windy, no
electricity is produced, even if people need it. This problem
does not affect traditional coal-fi red plants, for example,
because the plants always have fossil fuels ready to be burned
to produce electricity when it is needed.
People who depend on wind power to generate electricity
for their home or business need to have a back-up power
source. The problem is not critical for power plants since windgenerated
electricity generally makes up only a portion of the
overall power they provide to their customers.
There are also different problems with transmission. Many
of the best sites for wind farms—such as on the open plains of
the Midwest—are located far from the more densely populated
urban areas that consume the most energy. Can large amounts
of electricity be transported over long distances, so that the
large numbers of energy users can get the power they need?
Developers need to either tie into existing lines or install new

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high-voltage wires. Installing
new wires will likely cost
thousands of dollars per mile.
Too Pricey?
Some people also complain
that wind turbines are
expensive to build and install.
It is expensive to build a wind
farm. Construction of the
London Array, for example,
will cost almost $5 billion per
GW. The London Array is an
offshore site, and the cost of
building such a facility is more
expensive than building a landbased
site because the towers
have to be bigger and stronger
to withstand waves and the
corrosive effects of salt water.
Offshore sites also require
longer transmission lines. Of
course, the construction also
has to take place on—and
under—the water!
The typical cost of a largescale
wind farm built on land

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is about $2.5 billion. A typical coal-fired power station can cost
around $2 billion to build. A nuclear-powered station can cost
between $2 billion and $3 billion. (The range in cost has to do
with the size of the plant and how much energy it produces.)
Supporters of wind power argue that these numbers do
not reflect the true cost of the different systems. They claim
that in calculating the cost of an energy source, we should
include something called external—or social—costs. These are
the effects that using a particular energy source has on the
environment and human health, among other things. Though
these costs can be hard to calculate, a 10-year study conducted
by the European Union suggests that the real cost of producing
electricity is cheaper with wind power than with coal. That
is because wind power has very few external costs. It does
not have any associated health risks (such as the lung disease
linked to soot and smog), and it does not hurt the environment.
Environmental Menace?
Some critics of wind power are not concerned about the
effectiveness of wind technology. They are more concerned
about the turbines themselves. Some people who live near
wind farms have complained that the large turbines are ruining
the natural appeal and appearance of the countryside. Many
also complain that the turbines are noisy. Noise was a problem
with early turbine
designs, but this has

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been largely taken care of
through better technology.
There are also rules about
how close to residential
areas a company can build
a wind farm.
Some environmentalists
are worried about the
negative impact some
wind turbines have on
wildlife, especially birds.
Even supporters admit that
turbines do kill birds. They
point out, however, that
the machines account
for only one out of every
5,000 to 10,000 birds killed
by human activity each
year. Far more birds are
killed by communications
towers, domestic cats, and
cars than by wind turbines.
In addition, every year,
an estimated 97.5 million
birds are killed when they
fl y into windows. In these
cases, however, the victims
are usually common birds
such as sparrows and
pigeons. In many cases