Is Wind Energy the Real Answer? – Guest Blogger Anil

In recent times, there has been a lot of attention being given to usage of green and clean energy. The governments of different nations are bent upon adoption of green and less polluting energy options. The International Energy Agency (IEA), the European Commission (EC) and other national governments back up the economic models of energy policy decisions. In the process, they tend to ignore the risks involved such as fuel price risk, supply risk and political risk.

Wind energy, being a “less polluting” way of generating energy, has been given a lot of importance. Wind energy is supposed to be economically viable, a clean source of energy and saves people from the pollution caused by using other non renewable sources of energy. Well, it is difficult to say that how much it fulfills the purpose in a real sense with the kind of initial investment for a wind energy farm. Rough estimates figure that raw materials requirements (e.g. iron and concrete) of a wind farm are around ten times bigger than a comparable nuclear plant.

Governments have spent billions of dollars investing in wind energy projects and will continue to do the same. The companies working on wind energy projects make false promises, present false proposals and commitments of generation of clean energy and governments believe them. In return, the companies are gaining lavish subsidies and lucrative funds out of these projects. Governments, on the other side, are busy displaying to the people of their respective nations, that how much concerned they are for the environment and the public. In the entire episode, the true objectives are lost.

Out of the funds being deployed for green energy this year, the US government has invested 42 percent in wind energy. But the truth is that currently wind energy meets only 3 percent of the total energy requirements of US. Government has invested too much in wind technology and is unable to generate expected results, which in turn is raising the operating costs of such projects. The situation calls for an extensive research before setting up a wind farm as it has to be an area where winds flow in abundance at a speed enough to spin the blades of wind mills to generate energy.

It is not just about the kind of investment made in this field but beyond that as well. There are various factors which prove that wind energy is not a feasible option to be the future energy. For starters, one such variable is capacity factor, the ratio of the actual output generated by a power plant over a period of time and full capacity for the given time period. It refers to the time a plant is in operation as compared to the time it is offline. A typical wind turbine has a capacity factor of 20-40 percent which is the lowest among other power plants. The capacity factor for wind turbines does not include inspection or maintenance. In addition to this, turbines also have a cut-in and cut-out point, which means that mere blowing of the wind is not enough to generated energy. It has to blow at a speed, capable of producing energy economically or it will shut down automatically.

Size of the wind farms is another drawback of this energy technology. In order to make commercial farms viable, a certain number of turbines are required. The largest turbine stands up to 125 meters with a blade span of 45 meters. It makes quite an impact on the surrounding landscape as well. Turbines require a very strong foundation; hence they require tons of steel and concrete to be fixed into the ground to support the wind mill. The large areas with trees and green spaces have to be cleared for the installation of turbines. Accordingly, construction of wind farms also affects the ecological balance. It requires the installation of the structure itself with transformers and power lines throughout the area to carry the power to the grid.

Transmission losses can also be a problem. For ensuring proper transmission, large power transformers have to be installed. The output power could be varying and is not a steady source. In such cases, wind farm has to be near high power lines. And for a relief, the cost of long distance power transmission is not that high these days.

Another problem is that it is important to connect wind farms across the country in order to remove all natural variations of wind activity. As wind farms work on the basis of wind they receive, if one wind farm does not have enough wind blowing, the other may have it, as wind may be blowing somewhere else. It may seem to be quite simple to understand but it is equally difficult to implement. Each wind turbine of 1 MW or higher capacity requires about 65 acres of land on an average basis. Wind farms have to be at different locations as there are certain dangers involved with it such as windstorms, hurricanes, severe lightning. The difficult part is to connect these isolated wind farms. It can be estimated by the above facts that how difficult it will be to connect them.

Some researchers believe and have proved that such energy forms cost more than the conventional sources of energy generation. Also there are hidden costs involved in the form of down-time, maintenance, installation, expense of maintaining the areas around the wind farms so that the efficiency stays in the maximum form. It is debated upon, that the cost of wind power today is near about to be twice the cost of a coal powered plant. It is not quite evident as generous government subsidies overshadow the real truth. The subsidies are subtracted from the actual cost of wind power which shows that they are cheaper to implement and run.

Wind energy, which is known as a non-polluting energy source does create noise pollution. It affects the wildlife around the wind farm. A study revealed that the noise generated by wind farms can cause significant health problems for the people working there and even for those who live near wind farms.

Various studies also revealed that wind turbines are fatal for birds when the rotating blades of the turbines happened to kill them. A study published in the year 2001 by the US National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) estimated that the about 15,000 wind turbines which were operating in the US at that time killed around 33,000 birds annually. It means about 2.2 birds per turbine per year. Although the figures could vary greatly from one location to other, still it could clearly reveal the impact on wildlife.