Wind energy is killing our planet. There are positive and negative effects to every innovation. When hearing wind energy, most people think it is a cleaner, better alternative over burning fossil fuels. However, wind energy possesses its own unique set of faults.
Wind turbines are as unpredictable as the changing winds. Yes, while they do produce power for direct use, they have no guarantee to ensure that the wind will turn the massive turbines during the electrical use hours. When high winds occur the turbines must be stopped because they are damaged easily. The turbines alone cannot meet the base requirements as a sustainable energy source; without some form of energy storage, i.e. batteries, a large percentage of the energy that is produced by the turbines goes unused and is wasted.
For such a large piece of technology to be so ineffective and unreliable the cost is extremely high. A 10 kilowatt (kW) wind turbine costs anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000, this does not include the cost of transmission to use the energy produced by the turbines. If used as a net electricity producer to help offset the cost of owning a wind turbine , it would still take another ten to twenty years of energy production to break even and pay …show more content…
A utility scale turbine farm costs on average $1.7 million just to build, while commercial wind farms today cost between $3-$4 million just to install. Wind energy powers companies, industries, and entire cities, disappointingly, only 20% of their total energy consumption can be attributed to wind turbines. Money and wildlife are not the only resource lost in construction. Once a turbine farm is constructed, a no planting radius goes into affect. No plant life or crops may be planted within a 500-foot radius of a wind turbine. After the loss of habitat and destruction of entire ecosystems, strict guidelines contribute to the overall loss of
Wind turbines are as unpredictable as the changing winds. Yes, while they do produce power for direct use, they have no guarantee to ensure that the wind will turn the massive turbines during the electrical use hours. When high winds occur the turbines must be stopped because they are damaged easily. The turbines alone cannot meet the base requirements as a sustainable energy source; without some form of energy storage, i.e. batteries, a large percentage of the energy that is produced by the turbines goes unused and is wasted.
For such a large piece of technology to be so ineffective and unreliable the cost is extremely high. A 10 kilowatt (kW) wind turbine costs anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000, this does not include the cost of transmission to use the energy produced by the turbines. If used as a net electricity producer to help offset the cost of owning a wind turbine , it would still take another ten to twenty years of energy production to break even and pay …show more content…
A utility scale turbine farm costs on average $1.7 million just to build, while commercial wind farms today cost between $3-$4 million just to install. Wind energy powers companies, industries, and entire cities, disappointingly, only 20% of their total energy consumption can be attributed to wind turbines. Money and wildlife are not the only resource lost in construction. Once a turbine farm is constructed, a no planting radius goes into affect. No plant life or crops may be planted within a 500-foot radius of a wind turbine. After the loss of habitat and destruction of entire ecosystems, strict guidelines contribute to the overall loss of