HOW GREEN THE WIND

Is Wind Power Green?
Cristen Conger, July 19, 2010 (Discovery News)

"…As the U.S. energy industry inches away from reliance on fossil fuels, experts have heralded various greener technologies…And while each of those alternatives holds marked environmental advantages over dirty oil and coal, none match wind power’s squeaky clean performance…

"Last year, [Mark Z. Jacobson, an engineer at Stanford University] and a colleague from the University of California, Davis, drafted a global blueprint for converting 100 percent of the world’s energy use to renewable sources. Wind power is leading the charge due to its minimal carbon footprint compared to energy output… [J]ust 15 percent of the land on Earth has enough wind speed capacity to meet global energy needs many times over, Jacobson said…"

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"…U.S. energy policy calls for 20 percent of the nation’s total energy use to come from wind power by 2030, which is a modest proposal in light of its impressive potential…The actual ground space required [to power the U.S. vehicle fleet, converted to electric, with ~100,000 5-megawatt wind turbines is]… less than 2 square kilometers…That doesn’t include the spacing between turbines, but well-designed wind power systems can preserve the integrity of green space surrounding turbines and minimize any disruptions to indigenous wildlife, especially compared to habitat destruction associated with coal mining and fossil fuel drilling…

"As wind energy technology improves, offshore turbines situated in the ocean could further reduce the total land space required for wind energy systems…Whether on land or in sea, once turbine and transmission systems are in place, wind harvesting relies on no other natural resources, such as water required to irrigate fields for ethanol manufacturing, and produces virtually zero carbon emissions…Even after wind turbines reach the end of their 30-year lifecycles, the materials can be recycled…"

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"…[W]ind technology developments over recent decades have drastically lowered the associated costs, which is why wind energy has been the second-largest new source of electric power after natural gas for the past four years…But due to still competition from other energy sectors and a lack of a cohesive government push toward wind energy development, the U.S. has a long way to go in order to meet that goal of 20 percent wind power by 2030…

"Meeting that marker demands a laundry list of additional efforts…including educating the public and legislators on the environmental value of wind energy, retraining manufacturers to facilitate wind energy capture and providing government incentives for building wind turbine systems…[C]onsidering wind energy’s bright green track record and power supply potential, [there is reason to be] hopeful that favorable political winds will blow in its direction…"