Wind Technology

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More Eric Atienza

• Alternative Energy Debate
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• Wind Energy in the Modern Power Grid
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I am all around but cannot be seen. I can be felt but cannot be touched. I have no voice but I can be heard. What am I?

Here’s one more clue: I’m one of the cleanest and most renewable energy sources known to man.

Answer: I am wind.

By now most Americans are probably familiar with the image and concept of the towering yet elegant wind turbine. The large fan-like structures have been staples of renewable energy portfolios for decades. Though they are one of the cleanest ways to generate power, some detractors – and fossil fuel interests – have been tilting at these modern windmills with Don Quixote-like obsession. Worries of bird and bat strikes ignore the fact that fossil fuels kill more airborne life each year than turbine blades. So-called environmental concerns about hydraulic fluid leakage and safety concerns over broken blades gloss over the reality that coal mining carries some of the highest environmental and human costs in power generation. The portion of Alaskan coast affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill has still not fully recovered 20 years later.

This is not to say that wind is without its problems. Low efficiency per turbine generally requires the construction of huge “wind farms” that cover large amounts of land even though they do not generate eye-popping amounts of power. Further, since tall buildings inhibit the flow of air, the installations are not very effective when built near large cities.

As wind technology continues to mature, however, these challenges will continue to shrink. New turbine designs will drastically increase the amount of energy we can harvest while allowing us to install units closer together, which would increase the power generated per area of land. Further, off shore wind farms such as the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound will give larger coastal cities the ability to draw electricity from wind in amounts similar to inland areas.

Since wind is a major factor in the Earth’s weather – affecting changes in temperature and moisture – there are very real limitations to the numbers of wind farms we can responsibly erect. Current estimates state that no more than 10% of the planet’s land mass can be covered by turbines before global climate is affected, since turbines alter the natural flow of air currents. This is much like when rivers are dammed for hydroelectric power, causing a reduced flow of water to areas downstream.

Despite this limitation on the volume of wind installations we can build, wind power remains one of the most promising avenues of clean energy. It’s the fastest growing form of power in the world today, as it creates zero carbon emissions while drawing from a seemingly infinitely renewable resource. It is, and will continue to be, an integral piece in the clean energy puzzle—it allows us to practically draw electricity from thin air.