The Advantages and Drawbacks of Wind Energy
By Yash More
The world is shifting to a greener environment. This movement to a cleaner environment is being spearheaded by President Biden who is focused on reducing net carbon emissions by 0% by 2050. President Biden believes that by trying to achieve our growth we will fuel economic growth and take part in a new industrial revolution - a clean one. Step one in making this dream a reality is shifting our primary source of energy from dirty energy - energy created by fossil fuels to renewable sources such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric energy. This will, on our part, require novel ideas and a newfound sense of innovation. We are starting to see this innovation come to light as we look at the wind energy sector. This article will focus on understanding the rise of wind energy in the United States over the past few decades and analyzing its advantages and drawbacks.
Wind energy has been part of the US economy since the 1850s when colonists would use windmills “to grind grain, pump water, and cut wood at sawmills.” Windmills rapidly grew in popularity following 1857 when the first Wind engine company was launched. Farmers quickly caught on the trend of using these tools to pump water and electricity without the help of humans increasing their productivity. Windmills became an even more attractive power source when the oil prices started creeping up in the 1970s. During this time, the interest in renewable energy sources was spiking as well, thus the government began funding wind energy research. Today, wind power is considered one of the most popular sources of energy throughout America, and in fact, turbine service technicians were the fastest growing job in the decade!
As you can see, the industry is moving in the right direction. Wind energy has many advantages: it is readily available. Whenever there is a gust of wind electricity is simply produced. Furthermore, wind turbines are very easy to build on farms and ranches that have a ton of space which can bolster the economy in these more rural areas. Farmers are not disturbed by the construction of the wind turbines and can even use it for their own energy. Additionally, the turbine service technician job is growing so rapidly that as more windmills are built the amount of jobs available will grow exponentially. This will help the US economy grow and thrive. Wind turbines are also known to remove the pollutants from the air to create, quite literally, a cleaner environment. People estimate that wind power allowed us to save a striking 9.4 billions dollars in health issues. The fact that wind power is domestic also suggests that wind power can be a sustainable source of energy in the upcoming years.
Even though there are many advantages to wind power, the disadvantages are extremely important to consider. Although the price of wind power is dropping, it still remains quite an expensive source of energy and can not compete with cheaper sources such as oil. Wind turbines are also a hazard to local wildlife: they may strike a bird. Wind energy can not be stored and also only occurs when wind speeds are between 10-40km/hr. In drier areas where there is less or no wind, wind energy is not necessarily a feasible option. This applies to large cities. A corollary to this is that slower wind speeds produce less energy. Additionally, winds are more prevalent throughout rural areas which does not necessarily benefit densely populated areas. Thus, while wind energy is becoming a more prominent source of energy, it is not prevalent throughout the United States.
Personally, I believe wind energy is something to look at in the coming years. It is becoming cheaper and easier to implement in large farms and areas. I truly believe that if technicians find a way to store energy in the gearbox and transmission lines become longer wind power can be used more prevalent throughout the United States. The problems about harming local wildlife I do not think can be solved, but I believe that the benefit from job creation outweighs this cost. I do believe the exponential growth in the sector will bolster the US economy tremendously.