Challenges of Wind Turbines

Those who want a greener environment and a healthier world strive to do their part to live greener.  If you have the space and want to find a cleaner way to generate energy, a wind turbine would be a great choice.  We’d like to list some of the challenges with wind turbines to help you with your decision in using one or not.

• Wind power must still compete with conventional generation sources on a cost basis.  Depending on how energetic a wind site is, the wind farm may or may not be cost competitive. Even though the cost of wind power has decreased dramatically in the past 10 years, the technology requires a higher initial investment than fossil-fueled generators.

• Good wind sites are often located in remote locations, far from cities where the electricity is needed.  Transmission lines must be built to bring the electricity from the wind farm to the city.

• Wind resource development may not be the most profitable use of the land.  Land suitable for wind turbine installation must compete with alternative uses for the land, which may be more highly valued than electricity generation, like farming for example.

• Turbines may cause noise and aesthetic pollution.  Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to other conventional power plants, there is some concern over the noise produced by the rotor blades, and aesthetic (visual) impacts.

• The turbine blades may damage local wildlife.  Sometimes birds have been killed by flying into the rotors.  Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly reduced through technological development or by properly sitting wind plants.