Wind Turbines--A Bonanza Of Free Electricity

Image source: https://www.amrita.edu/sites/default/files/science-091112-004-617x416.jpg

Wind turbine energy comes second only to natural gas as a source of new electricity generation in the United States. This according to Mark Jacobson who is an atmospheric scientist at Stanford. At the end of the year 2007 turbine wind generators in the USA were producing 16,818 megawatts of electricity. Nearly 30 percent of that generating capability was installed during 2007.

The American wind energy Association,(AWEA) estimates that nearly 30 percent of all new electricity supplies last year were wind produced energy. This year turbine wind power systems will produce about 1 percent of the United States power supply says AWEA. This is enough to supply 4.5 million homes.

Wind turbine energy will in future provide a much larger portion of the United States electricity requirements. It is estimated that wind generation will in future supply 20 percent of the United states electricity requirements.

Wind electricity is making great strides ahead all over the world. In Denmark 20 percent of power needs are generated by wind generators. In the United States the state of Texas is in the lead,producing 20 percent of the state's power needs from wind turbines. The Cape Wind Energy Project intends to build a wind farm of 120 turbines off the Nantucket coast which could provide 80 percent of the Cape and Islands power requirements.

Theoretically wind energy could produce five times more electricity than is currently used in the United States. Some of the best locations for wind power installations are on farmland,particularly in the plains states. The wind resource however varies considerably in different locations. A number of states have been producing wind resource maps and collecting data which could be used by farmers to determine the potential for wind power generation on their land. The market for wind power electricity depends strictly on the cost of course. The cost of wind generated power has fallen by around 90 percent since 1980 and by 2010 it is expected that wind energy will be cheaper than fossil fuel produced power.

The role of small home wind turbines and solar panels can be a big one. A home wind power system is easy to install and can produce part or all of the home or farm power needs.

Cost can be reduced greatly by building a wind generator from auto parts. For those who would like to build a wind generator plans and instructions are readily available. Wind energy is free and does not pollute the atmosphere. It is a technology whose time has come. Build your own home wind turbine--save money and save our environment.