Wind energy is that which is obtained directly from the force of the wind. It is one of the most promising energies given its very low environmental impact. On average, a windmill avoids the emission of more than 6,300 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year, which is an inestimable help when it comes to fighting the greenhouse effect and the consequent climate change.
However, wind power also has some downsides. In the following Green Ecologist article we will put it on a scale and tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy.
What is wind energy - definition and growth
As we have indicated before, the wind power is what is given thanks to movement and wind force. Currently, it is one of the energies with the most future, since it has a very low environmental impact compared to other energies.
It is estimated that, in the coming years, wind energy could represent up to 20% of energy production in Spain, which is a clear example of how this energy represents a trustworthy niche for both energy companies and public bodies. However, despite the multiple advantages that this energy represents, it also poses a series of disadvantages that make it necessary to continue researching to implement a wind technology that is even better and more efficient. In fact, to this day, we can even make homemade windmills.
Next, we explain well what are the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy.
Advantages of wind energy
We start by explaining what are the main advantages of wind energy with this list and explanations:
- Inexhaustible: One of the first advantages of wind energy is that it is one of the renewable energies because wind is an inexhaustible resource. This means that you can always count on the original source that produces the energy, which guarantees that its usefulness does not have an expiration date (as is the case with fossil fuels).
- Clean: it is completely clean energy. In fact, this is perhaps its main advantage when compared to other types of energy. Wind energy does not produce any type of waste, which means that its use does not contribute to the destruction of ecosystems or promote global warming.
- Safe: Another advantage of wind energy is that it is one of the safest energies that exist. By not producing polluting waste or posing a danger in the event of an accident, it is completely safe energy.
- It is indigenous energy: This makes it possible to promote energy independence, since, although there are countries that have a higher wind index, it can be found all over the world. This allows an indigenous energy market to be created and frees the need to import energy from other economies.
- Ease of mounting and dismantling wind farms: the technology required when implementing a wind farm allows them to be carried out easily and quite effectively. In fact, if these days it takes longer than desired to build, it is usually due to bureaucratic and administration-related issues.
- Little impact on the ground: wind farms have very little impact on the soil and its erosion. This is due both to the absence of polluting waste and to the fact that they take up little space compared to other types of energy installations.
- Aquifer-friendly energy: Due to the absence of any type of polluting residue, it does not alter the composition of the water in the area, which is a fundamental element when it comes to protecting local water reserves and the ecosystems linked to them.
- It is a very cheap energy: in fact, in some cases it is at the same price as coal and even nuclear energy.
- When a wind turbine ends its useful life it is disassembled without leaving a considerable impact on the environment due to the few square meters it occupies.
- Create jobs: in fact, those places where wind farms are built experience a considerable reduction in local unemployment.
- It is compatible with other activities: wind energy is fully compatible with other activities such as agriculture and livestock, which means that it does not have a negative impact on the local economy by not requiring a labor specialization in the area. This allows the areas in which it is installed to continue developing their traditional activity while increasing their activity thanks to wind energy.
Besides all these benefits of wind power, today we are working on the location of wind turbines in the sea, where there is more wind and where it does not have such a close visual impact, which will mean a new push for the development of wind energy. Likewise, economic resources are being allocated to research and improvement of the efficiency of this type of energy, which will allow the advantages to be expanded in the future while solving the disadvantages that it still presents.
Disadvantages of wind energy
Finally, and once the benefits of wind energy have been explained, we also want to comment what are the main disadvantages of wind energy:
- One of the first drawbacks of wind power is that there is not always wind, so you need the support of other types of energy for those moments (whether polluting or clean).
- Difficulty in planning due to the unpredictability of the wind. Thanks to the meteorological models, a lot has been improved in this aspect, although to this day it continues to be one of the problems it raises.
- Another disadvantage of wind energy is that it is an energy that cannot be stored, but must be consumed immediately when it occurs. This means that it cannot offer a complete alternative to the use of other types of energy.
- Wind turbines only work properly with gusts of wind between 10 and 40 km / h. At lower speeds the energy is not profitable and at higher it represents a physical risk for the structure.
- Since wind farms are located far from consumption points, it requires a energy transport infrastructure, which entails loss of energy and the need to install transport infrastructure.
- The wind energy density is low, which requires that the number of wind turbines be high to be useful. In other words, although it is cheap and easy to obtain energy, it takes a large sum of wind turbines running at the same time for it to be profitable.
- The construction of wind farms involves a aesthetic impact on the landscape that, at times, generates discomfort in the local population.
- The wind turbines emit sound. However, it is true that this disadvantage has been minimized thanks to the engineering advances that have been applied to the new turbines.
- Another serious drawback of wind energy is that, when in operation, the blades or blades of wind turbines represent a danger to the fauna of birds in the areaIf they collide with them during the flight, they usually die due to the impact.
You may also be interested in knowing these Original alternatives to typical wind turbines.
If you want to read more articles similar to Advantages and disadvantages of wind energy, we recommend that you enter our category of Renewable Energies.
