Why Wind Energy?
Americans and people around the globe have been using energy at an astounding rate. During the last century, our reliance on fossil fuels and other limited energy sources has caused serious problems, including price hikes, rising asthma rates, global warming and acid rain. We now realize that it's time to change not only how we use energy, but the sources from which we get it. Wind energy is one of our best electricity alternatives.
Wind GraphicWind energy benefits all of us. We cannot afford to wait to do the right thing anymore. Fossil fuels and nuclear energy are costing us too much in terms of our economy, our health, our changing climate, our lakes and rivers, and our wildlife.
Wind energy is the fastest growing energy technology in the world. It currently makes up a small percentage of our total energy picture, but the rate at which it is growing promises to make it an important part of our energy mix in the future. The benefits of wind energy are numerous.
Revitalizes Rural Economies
Wind energy can diversify the economies of rural communities, adding to the tax base and providing new types of income. Wind turbines can add a new source of property value in rural areas that have a hard time attracting new industry. Each 100 MW of wind development in southwest Minnesota has generated about $1 million per year in property tax revenue and about $250,000 per year in direct lease payments to landowners. Ranchers in west Texas are welcoming the revenue from wind projects to replace declining royalty payments from soon-to-be-depleted oil wells. In addition, building wind power projects can help contribute to a stronger infrastructure of roads and power lines.
Creates Jobs
Every time a wind energy project is installed, it creates new jobs for people who set up and maintain the turbines. Employment opportunities range from meteorologists and surveyors to structural engineers, assembly workers, and mechanics and operators. The U.S. wind industry currently directly employs more than 2,000 people, and every megawatt of new wind capacity creates 4.8 job-years of employment according to the Renewable Energy Policy Project. The 240 MW of wind capacity installed in Iowa in 1998-1999 produced 200 six-month long construction jobs and 40 permanent operations jobs.
Danish wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Glasfiber became one of North Dakota's largest employers in the spring of 1999 when it opened a new factory in Grand Forks, ND, with 130 workers. As the American wind energy industry develops and more projects are completed, manufacturers will find it cost-effective to locate their factories in the U.S., thus adding skilled jobs and strengthening the domestic production base. Wind energy provides more jobs per dollar invested than any other energy technology.
Promotes Cost-Effective Energy Production
In the last century, coal, oil, and natural gas were promoted as cheap sources of energy, but their hidden costs have been enormous. Wind power has no hidden costs, and it has become more cost-effective with each new round of technological advancements. The cost of wind-generated electricity has fallen from nearly 40¢ per kWh in the early 1980s to 2.5-5¢ per kWh today depending on wind speed and project size.
Improves Sustainability
Wind energy is a technology we can sustain over the long term. It won't pollute our air and water, and it won't produce wastes that will pile up year after year. It's also renewable. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. We can continue to use wind power effectively and efficiently for centuries, without worrying about how it will affect future generations.
Reduces Air Pollution
The burning of fossil fuels emits pollutants that gather in the atmosphere and fall to earth in the form of acid rain. Thousands of acres of forest have been severely damaged by acidic particles in the air. Fossil fuels also produce mercury, which has contaminated fish in lakes and rivers all over the world, making them unsafe to eat.
