Wind Energy – The Pros and Cons
What is wind energy?
Wind energy is a form of renewable energy which is generated by the use of wind turbines. These transfer kinetic energy, produced by wind which pushes their blades in a rotary motion, into electrical energy.
Just like every form of power generation, wind-generated electrical power offers a few advantages, as well as some disadvantages. In order to have a full understanding of the merits of wind energy as a renewable energy it is important to look at the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy production. I’ve listed the pros and cons of using wind energy below:
Pros of using wind energy:
• Using wind turbines does not generate pollution or radioactive waste like most other forms of electricity generation do. Their construction and installation has less environmental impact as well.
• Wind energy can be used to provide electricity to individual homes or other facilities on a self-reliant basis, with no need for fuel or other materials to be supplied. So, if a natural disaster severs power lines, residents with windmills will not lose their supply of electricity.
• Wind can also generate energy for large numbers of people, using larger turbines connected to an electrical grid. This allows individuals to take advantage of some of their benefits without personally owning or maintaining the equipment.
• Another one of its advantages is that this type of energy generation does not consume any non-renewable resources, like coal, natural gas, or oil. Therefore, it will not contribute to their eventual depletion, nor does it promote environmental harm brought about by obtaining these resources.
Cons of using wind energy:
• Some people consider the turbines to have an undesirable appearance, especially when there are very tall units and/or large groups of them.
• Wind turbines can be damaged in thunderstorms, partially because of their tall, thin shape.
• The blades of wind turbines can hit birds who attempt to fly between them.
• Some people find that turbines produce noise. Wind turbines, on an average make a sound of about 50-60 decibel. The slower the wind’s speed, the more sound is produced.
• Wind does not necessarily flow at the same speed all the time. Therefore, the production of electricity is not always going to remain consistent, there might be peaks and troughs in its production, depending upon the speed of the wind. This inconsistency in electricity production affects its supply in the nearby high demand areas like cities and towns.
Conclusion:
Basically, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages when considering wind power as a source of renewable energy. It does provide an inexpensive, self-reliant method of generating electricity with relatively little maintenance. However, there are some disadvantages with regard to birds (which are also affected by the disadvantages of other power generation methods), thunderstorms, and the appearance of turbines. As it is not always windy, a combination of solar and/or hydroelectric with wind power would be more practical as it can provide a more consistent supply of renewable energy.
