Is the Answer Really “Blowing in the Wind”?
“The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.”
Bob Dylan, 1962
Could Bob Dylan been on to something when he wrote those words 47 years ago? Dylan was writing about how many people die in wars, yet he could have been forecasting a future when people die because of the environmental impacts of energy resources – the very thing that enables people to enjoy quality of life. Back then the American public did not realize the dangers of carbon emissions to create energy. Today “we are concerned about global warming caused by the carbon dioxide emitted by the burning of fossil fuels” (Easton, 2009, pg. 166). One potential solution to this problem is the development of wind energy.
Wind energy has been around for centuries. It is believed that as early as 200 B.C., China used windmills to transport water and make grain (Solar Guide, n.d.). Over time, windmills continued to be developed and the Dutch created the more modern windmill as early as the late 1300s. By 1854, windmills were found throughout the United States and by late in the 19th century, windmills were being used to create energy (Dodge, 2006). It wasn’t until the 1970s, however, that the oil crisis sparked interest in the wide-scale development of wind power in the United States in response to the lack of oil and amid concerns for the environment.
The current subject of debate is whether or not wind energy is truly environmentally friendly. The issues being raised about large-scale development of wind farms include concerns for wildlife safety, noise pollution, visual impacts, and the economic impact. This paper will present each of these concerns in detail and provide an overview of the arguments for and against wind energy as they relate to each. In the long run, wind energy may be extremely environmentally friendly as the advantages to the environment and the benefits to mankind far outweigh the disadvantages.
Wildlife Safety
Fish and wildlife agencies and environmentalists are concerned about wind farms and their affect on wildlife safety. Numerous bird kills have been reported throughout the United States and, as a result, environmentalists argue against the development of more wind farms. In his argument against wind energy, Boone discusses data collected by graduate students in Maryland showing that “as many as 300,000 birds and bats flew low enough to collide with huge wind turbines” (Easton, 2009, pg. 180). On the surface this seems like a large number; however, the American Wind Energy Association states, “No matter how extensively wind is developed in the future, bird deaths from wind energy are unlikely to ever reach as high as 1% of those from other human-related sources such as hunters, house cats, buildings, and autos.” A study completed by the USDA Forest Service compared causes of bird mortality and found that the largest man-made cause is from buildings and windows. Wind turbines are the least likely to cause bird deaths. (Erickson, Johnson and Young, 2005).
Even with this small percentage of bird and bat kills, the U.S. Department of Energy is working with environmental organizations and others to study migration patterns and ensure that future wind farms are placed to cause minimal impact. Furthermore, newer windmills are much larger and constructed with longer blades that rotate slower than traditional windmills. In addition, radar technology may be able to protect migratory birds and wildlife. This technology was developed by NASA and the U.S. Air Force and “can detect approaching birds up to four miles away … if they are in danger of flying into wind turbine blades … the turbines are programmed to automatically shut down and restart once the birds are a safe distance away” (Alternative Energy, 2009). With these safeguards in place, migratory birds and bats should be even safer than they are today.
Noise Pollution
Early model wind turbines emitted a lot of noise that people living in the vicinity found not only offensive, but in rare cases, required medical attention. Most wind turbine noise is fairly quiet while some consider it annoying at worst. C. Komanoff visited such a farm in Denmark where windmills produce close to 20 percent of their energy nationally (MacLeod, 2004, pg. 26). He described the noise level as “relatively quiet” (Easton, 2009, pg. 172). His decibel readings ranged from 45-64, “the approximate noise range given for a small town residential cul-de-sac on standard noise charts.” This hardly seems to be enough to justify a trip to the doctor.
In contrast, when turbines break down, they can make a loud sudden noise which can be disconcerting to those nearby. Also, the noise generated by a large wind farm is much greater than that generated by a single windmill. In an effort to deal with this issue, the first Wind Turbine Noise conference was held in 2005 (Wind Turbine Noise, 2009). Researchers and wind turbine manufacturers are attempting to reduce the level of noise generated. The U.S. Department of the Interior states, “As wind turbines have become more efficient, more of the wind is converted into rotational torque and less into acoustic noise” (2009). Additionally, wind farms are being built further away from residences. The American Wind Energy Association notes that “a wind turbine 300 meters away is no noisier than the reading room of a library.” Clearly, the concerns over noise pollution are being addressed and will diminish over time.
Visual Impacts
Many people have the “not in my backyard” view about wind farms. They are concerned about property values going down and at least one appraiser found that “residential property near a proposed windplant ‘will likely be in the 17%-20% loss range’” (Easton, 2009, pg. 179). However, there is no concrete evidence to confirm that wind farms actually do reduce property values. One option is to locate them off the coast, but this is much more expensive than placing them on land and there is concern that the beauty of the landscape will be diminished. The American Wind Energy Association (2009) notes that “Many rural areas in the U.S. have noted increases in tourism after wind farms have been installed.” Furthermore, post cards, magazine covers and other media frequently feature photographs of windmills or wind farms. Many consider wind farms to be visions of beauty in their own right both aesthetically as well as for what they represent: a new form of renewable energy that could help save the environment.
Economic Impact
Besides a positive impact on the environment, wind power has the potential to positively impact the U.S. economy. The Renewable Energy Policy Project (Sterzinger & Svrcek, 2004) estimates that 150,000 manufacturing jobs could be created, with many of those being in states that have lost the most manufacturing jobs in recent years. This is especially encouraging as manufacturing jobs have been on the decline for years in the U.S. They predict wind energy could be the largest source of manufacturing jobs worldwide.
Wind energy is already reducing the need for natural gas by 10-15 percent (American Wind Energy Association, 2009). American Wind Energy Association also reports that the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that “the world’s winds could theoretically supply the equivalent of 5,800 quadrillion BTUs (quads) of energy each year – more than 15 times current world energy demand.”
Rural communities can benefit economically from wind farms. Farmers and ranchers can lease out some of their land to wind farm companies and expect to receive up to $14,000 per year in lease payments. Crops can be grown and cattle can graze on the land surrounding windmills. Farmers in west Texas are reaping the benefits already by leasing out land and receiving payments to replace income lost due to depleted oil wells. One school in Forest City, Iowa is anticipating a savings of $1.6 million in electricity costs over the lifetime of a single turbine erected as a school project (American Wind Energy Association).
Another plus to the economy for wind power is the generation of additional tax revenues. The U.S. Department of Energy (2008) estimates that as much as $1.5 billion in tax revenues could be generated by the year 2030. Furthermore, “cumulative economic activity would exceed $1 trillion or more than $440 billion in net present value terms.” Wind energy clearly can have a positive impact on the environment by providing jobs, saving money, and generating tax revenues.
Technological Advancements
Many of the problems associated with wind energy production have been addressed through recent advances in technology. Radar technology is being deployed to identify bird and bat migration in an effort to reduce fatalities. This technology will shut down the turbines temporarily while large groups of these animals fly through the region. In addition, since these problems have been identified, many new wind farms are being positioned in areas that don’t experience as much bird migration. Larger wind turbines with slower moving engines are being constructed to generate more wind power and reduce noise pollution. They are being made with what is called an intelligent controller that has a microprocessor to manage speed and power. It is “less prone to wear and tear and minimizes its opportunity for failure” (Alternative Energy, 2006).
The biggest hurdle in wind energy development is how to store the excess wind for use when the wind does not blow. Typically, as the wind blows, energy is transferred to the electrical grid for immediate use. But when the wind stops blowing, grid managers must switch over to traditional electricity to maintain power. Additionally, when the wind is blowing, many times it produces too much energy that cannot be transferred to the grid, requiring the turbine engines to be shut down even while the wind is blowing.
There are several companies investing in the development of ways to store excess wind. General Compression is one such company. In 2007, it began design of technology that will compress the air generated by the turbines and send it “down the tower and into underground storage, such as caves or depleted gas wells” (LaMonica, 2007). The energy can be stored and retrieved later when utility companies experience peak electricity usage, thus reducing the demand for traditional sources of power.
In the United States, there is already a compressed air storage facility located in Alabama, but it is not currently used for wind energy. Iowa is developing the Iowa Stored Energy Park which will be used to store compressed air in an underground aquifer. This project is expected to be on line by 2011 and is mostly funded by municipalities. Kent Holst, the project director states, “If all of a sudden you had capacity, you can make a bigger dent in climate change, energy security and make a significant contribution to peak demand” (LaMonica, 2007).
Benefits to the Environment
The American Wind Energy Association (2009) identified numerous environmental benefits to wind power generation. Wind farms have the potential to produce as much as 20 percent of the nation’s electricity without dangerous emissions or hazardous waste. The reduction in CO2 could displace as much as one-third of emissions from coal-fired power plants or 7,600 million tons by 2030. It is a free, naturally renewable resource since the wind always blows somewhere. One megawatt of wind generates as much electricity as 225-300 households use. And since electricity production consumes a considerable amount of water, wind power could reduce water consumption by as much as four trillion gallons between 2007 and 2030.
The bottom line is that wind energy can help prevent global warming. It is the “least expensive, most developed renewable energy technology … to deliver carbon emissions reductions on a large scale, quickly” (American Wind Energy Association, 2009). Furthermore, by reducing our dependency on fossil fuel power plants, we can reduce health care costs. With cleaner air to breathe, it is estimated that asthma attacks and other health problems associated with carbon emissions could be reduced significantly.
Conclusion
Coal is currently used to provide more than half of the electricity used in the United States. It is the most polluting form of energy production and the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Wind energy has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to a third and could provide many benefits to our environment. While there are some disadvantages to wind power, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Wind energy is a clean, free, renewable resource that would reduce water consumption considerably. Technological advances are addressing some of the disadvantages by reducing harm to wildlife and noise pollution. Further advances in technology will address the need to store wind power when it is not actively in use. The economic impact of wind energy production has great potential both for rural communities and in the creation of new manufacturing jobs for cities that have lost these jobs recently. Bob Dylan could have been onto something. Perhaps the answer to our most pressing environmental concerns really is blowing in the wind.
References
Alternative Energy (2009). Using radar to protect birds from wind farms. Retrieved August 2, 2009 from http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/using-radar-to-protect-birds-from-wind-farms/
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Easton, T.A. (2009). “Is wind power green?” Taking sides: Clashing views on environmental issues. 13th ed. McGraw-Hill, pp. 166-189.
Erickson, W.P., Johnson, G.D., Young, D.P. (2005). A summary and comparison of bird mortality from anthropogenic causes with an emphasis on collisions. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191, pp. 1029-1042.
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MacLeod, D. (Winter 2004). Blowing in the wind: The Danes have shown that wind energy thrives when there is consistent government support and community ownership. Alternatives Journal, 30,1. Pg. 26.
Sterzinger, & Svrcek, M. (September 2004). Wind turbine development: Location of manufacturing activity. A study by the Renewable Energy Policy Project. Retrieved August 2, 2009 from http://www.repp.org/articles/static/1/binaries/WindLocator.pdf
The Solar Guide (n.d.). Wind energy history. Retrieved August 4, 2009 from http://www.thesolarguide.com/wind-power/history.aspx
U.S. Department of Energy (2008). Advantages and disadvantages of wind energy. Wind and hydropower technologies program. Retrieved August 16, 2009, from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/printable_versions/wind_ad.html
U.S. Department of the Interior (2009). Wind energy basics. Retrieved August 4, 2009 from http://windeis.anl.gov/guide/basics/index.cfm.
Wind Turbine Noise 2009 Conference (June 17-19, 2009). Aalborg, Denmark. Retrieved August 5, 2009 from http://www.windturbinenoise2009.org/
