Wind power is recognized as clean and renewable, so why is there any political debate at all?

The three top advantages of wind power are:

• Renewable electricity generation

• Vastly reduced carbon emissions

• Energy independence

Renewable energy means it replenishes itself. Wind power does not burn coal, oil or gas. The wind is free and doesn’t use up any fuel consumption to get it to the wind generation plant. Wind speed and duration are the only constraining factors in providing electricity using wind turbines. Renewable energy is unlimited. Fossil fuels are burned once and gone forever, while the wind keeps blowing all the time.

Carbon emissions or the creation of greenhouse gasses has been at the forefront of political agendas for many years. No matter what side of the fence you’re on regarding the greenhouse gas effect on the environment, everyone can agree that limiting carbon emissions will not destroy the environment. I’m a skeptic about global warming because man is very insignificant compared to Mother Nature and Mother Nature will take care of herself no matter what course man decides to pursue. Decreasing carbon emissions will make the air much easier and safer to breathe.

One of the top advantages of wind power is the significant "energy independence" it provides. This is true for developing or emerging nations, island nations, remote sites and even in mainstream society where wind power will never suffer from an embargo, it will not have a price escalation and wind will not become more difficult to produce. Energy independence makes a society self-dependent and reduces the risk of external economics and politics.

The top three primary advantages of wind energy make it desirable, but there are some negative aspects involved which must be considered in your planning;

• Wind variability

• Noise

• Size

Wind varies minute by minute and exceptional engineering provides for it. First, there is a wind speed index for various parts of the world. Proper engineering design uses the index to determine the feasibility of your project. If the index is too low then wind power is out of the picture; however, lower wind indices could just need more wind turbines to get the desired effect. Local wind variation is not a limiting or negative factor.

Noise is a nuissance and a wind turbine can make as much noise as the family car traveling at 60-70 miles per hour. Noise is considered as part of the design of the wind power system. Minimum distances to residences are required, along with wind studies, noise studies are provided too. This would not be such a drawback if people got close enough to the run of the mill fossil fueled electrical plant. They are noisy, unsightly and often times smelly.

A wind farm must have a large parcel of land to be set aside. Each turbine requires enough room to allow for adequate wind flow. Building the turbines too close together decreases their output because the blades create wind turbulence which reduces the performance of subsequent turbines if they are too close. Wind farms are thought of in thousands of acres to provide reliable and efficient electricity. Before you fault the size drive by your local fossil fuel power plant and look at how many acres it sits on. There isn’t much difference.

The advantages of wind power surpass the disadvantages. The disadvantages currently exist with current fossil fuel plants and we didn’t even talk about what the mining industry does to the environment with its noise, size and variable costs. Wind power will play an important part in reducing carbon emissions which benefits those who are in favor of reducing greenhouse gasses and those who are not.