Wind Power
Are Wind Turbines an answer to the Global Electricity Challenge?
We are faced with a Global Electricity Challenge. Can wind power offer an answer to this challenge?
We are faced with a Global Electricity Challenge: increasing demand and rising prices for electricity, coupled with the environmental problems of traditional power stations. Can wind power offer an answer to this challenge? The answer is, “yes and no”.
At the beginning of 2007, wind power already supplied 1% of world electricity consumption following a 25% growth rate in 2006. Enthusiasts see wind power as the vanguard of a clean energy revolution, the first of many new technologies that will transform electricity production. Opponents to wind farms argue that wind turbines are an unsightly, unreliable source of power that cause problems for the local population, including noise pollution
A modern wind turbine produces two to three megawatts of power when operating at full power. This doesn’t sound like a great deal compared to a nuclear generating unit which typically produces a constant 500 megawatts. But viewed from another perspective, a two megawatt wind turbine produces enough electricity for around two thousand European households, excluding electric heating. If you then consider that this wind-generated electricity produces virtually no carbon emissions and no dangerous waste materials, then wind power starts to look interesting. More attractive still, wind power is beginning to compete economically with traditional sources of electricity on the open market. And finally, while gas, uranium and coal prices are forecast to rise, the wind will remain free.
There has to be a catch, doesn’t there? Opponents to wind power argue that there is. There are a number of perceptions concerning wind power, some of which are valid, while others are now myths that linger from the previous generation of wind turbines.
Noise is no longer a serious issue. At a distance of a few hundred metres from a modern turbine, the noise level is similar to that in a quiet living room. A visit to a modern wind farm is the best way to appreciate this for yourself.
The effect on the landscape is more subjective. Some people find wind turbines beautiful, a sign of hope for the future; indeed wind turbines often appear on advertisements for products unrelated to electricity production. Other people consider them to be ugly, industrial installations unsuited to the countryside. It is simply a question of personal opinion.
Modern turbines have little effect on bird populations so long as adequate environmental studies are carried out during planning to ensure that turbine positions are appropriate; for example, wind turbines should not be built in rows perpendicular to the migration route of a species of bird known to be at risk from turbines. However, most birds simply avoid the moving blades.
The wind is indeed an intermittent source of energy, but a well managed large-scale electricity network can be used to even out production from renewable sources of electricity over several states or countries. Wind power is an excellent partner for hydroelectric power; when the wind blows, water accumulates in dammed reservoirs, and when there is no wind the valves are opened to produce hydro electric power.
With the huge demand for wind turbines worldwide, and rising steel prices, the price of wind turbines is increasing; while the fuel is free, the initial investment is increasingly onerous.
Wind is not a panacea that will replace traditional sources of electricity; it will at best provide around 20% of overall electricity production (unless a practical method of storing large quantities of electricity is developed). However, wind power provides a very useful source of cost-effective, clean electricity in an increasingly energy-hungry world.
