"ADVANTAGES OF WIND POWER
Wind energy is a clean fuel source. Wind energy doesn't pollute the air like power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas. Wind turbines don't produce atmospheric emissions that increase health problems like asthma or create acid rain or greenhouse gases. According to the Wind Vision Report, wind has the potential to reduce cumulative greenhouse gas emissions by 14%, saving $400 billion in avoided global damage by 2050.
Wind power does not use water, unlike conventional electricity sources. Producing nuclear, coal, or gas-fired power uses water for cooling. Water is becoming a scarce resource all over the country. Wind power uses zero water in its energy generation.
Wind is a domestic source of energy. The nation's wind supply is abundant. Over the past 10 years, wind capacity increased an average of 31% per year, reaching a cumulative capacity of over 75,000 MW in 2016, enough to power over 20 million homes. Wind power is the largest source of annual new generating capacity, well ahead of the next two leading sources, solar power and natural gas.
Wind power is inexhaustible. Wind is actually a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the rotation of the Earth, and the Earth's surface irregularities. For as long as the sun shines and the wind blows, the energy produced can be harnessed to send power across the grid.
Wind power is cost-effective. It is one of the lowest-cost renewable energy technologies available today, with power prices offered by newly built wind farms averaging 2 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on the wind resource and the particular project’s financing. Even without government subsidies, wind power is a low-cost fuel in many areas of the country.
Wind turbines can be built on existing farms or ranches. This greatly benefits the economy in rural areas, where most of the best wind sites are found. Farmers and ranchers can continue to work the land because the wind turbines use only a fraction of the acreage. Wind power plant owners make rent payments to the farmer or rancher for the use of the land, providing landowners with additional income. In 2015, annual land lease payments in the United States were estimated to total $222 million. This additional income provides the agricultural community an avenue to diversify revenue and reduce reliance on uncertain commodity prices. According to the Wind Vision Report, annual land lease income for rural American landowners could increase to $1 billion by 2050.
Wind creates jobs. In 2016, the wind energy sector invested more than $8.8 billion of private capital in the U.S. economy to build projects and employed more than 101,000 workers (approximately 30% women, 11% veterans, and 25% minorities), according to the 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report. More than 8,800 technicians were employed in 2015 to monitor and maintain wind turbines, and this profession is expected to grow by 108% in the next decade, making it the country’s fastest-growing occupation (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics). According to the Wind Vision Report, wind has the potential to support more than 600,000 jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and supporting services by 2050."
Department of energy
Wind energy is a clean fuel source. Wind energy doesn't pollute the air like power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas. Wind turbines don't produce atmospheric emissions that increase health problems like asthma or create acid rain or greenhouse gases. According to the Wind Vision Report, wind has the potential to reduce cumulative greenhouse gas emissions by 14%, saving $400 billion in avoided global damage by 2050.
Wind power does not use water, unlike conventional electricity sources. Producing nuclear, coal, or gas-fired power uses water for cooling. Water is becoming a scarce resource all over the country. Wind power uses zero water in its energy generation.
Wind is a domestic source of energy. The nation's wind supply is abundant. Over the past 10 years, wind capacity increased an average of 31% per year, reaching a cumulative capacity of over 75,000 MW in 2016, enough to power over 20 million homes. Wind power is the largest source of annual new generating capacity, well ahead of the next two leading sources, solar power and natural gas.
Wind power is inexhaustible. Wind is actually a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the rotation of the Earth, and the Earth's surface irregularities. For as long as the sun shines and the wind blows, the energy produced can be harnessed to send power across the grid.
Wind power is cost-effective. It is one of the lowest-cost renewable energy technologies available today, with power prices offered by newly built wind farms averaging 2 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on the wind resource and the particular project’s financing. Even without government subsidies, wind power is a low-cost fuel in many areas of the country.
Wind turbines can be built on existing farms or ranches. This greatly benefits the economy in rural areas, where most of the best wind sites are found. Farmers and ranchers can continue to work the land because the wind turbines use only a fraction of the acreage. Wind power plant owners make rent payments to the farmer or rancher for the use of the land, providing landowners with additional income. In 2015, annual land lease payments in the United States were estimated to total $222 million. This additional income provides the agricultural community an avenue to diversify revenue and reduce reliance on uncertain commodity prices. According to the Wind Vision Report, annual land lease income for rural American landowners could increase to $1 billion by 2050.
Wind creates jobs. In 2016, the wind energy sector invested more than $8.8 billion of private capital in the U.S. economy to build projects and employed more than 101,000 workers (approximately 30% women, 11% veterans, and 25% minorities), according to the 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report. More than 8,800 technicians were employed in 2015 to monitor and maintain wind turbines, and this profession is expected to grow by 108% in the next decade, making it the country’s fastest-growing occupation (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics). According to the Wind Vision Report, wind has the potential to support more than 600,000 jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and supporting services by 2050."
Department of energy
