Environmental

There are a variety of arguments against the use of wind as an alternative energy source, including economic issues, the viability of wind power, and the environmental effects of wind power. By researching these arguments, as well as the advantages to wind power, you have the knowledge you need to make an educated decision about your stance in the support of wind energy use.

One of the main arguments against wind power is economics. In order to compete with tradition sources of energy, wind power often receives financial incentives. For example, in the United States, someone using wind power will receive a tax credit of 1.9 cents per kilowatt/hour produced. This tax credit has a yearly inflationary adjustment. Critics of wind power argue that when the U.S. production credit lapsed for nine months in 2004, wind power was still a rapidly growing form of electrical generation, which called into question the value of these production tax credits.

Many states also provide incentives, which include exemption from property tax, mandated purchases and additional markets for “green credits.”

Another financial argument against the use of wind as an alternative energy source is that many potential sites for wind farms are far from where the demand centers are. This will require a substantial amount of money to construct new transmission lines and substations.

Some critics also question wind energy’s ability to significantly move society towards the goals of renewable energy development, such as reduction of reliance on fossil and nuclear fuels, reduction of greenhouse gas and other emissions and the establishment of more sustainable sources of energy. Wind is not a reliable source of energy, since many things can affect the amount of wind available on any give day. Currently, the process of harvesting wind is also not very efficient.

Opponents are also worried about the ecological effects of wind power. One is the potential removal of forests. It may be necessary to clear trees in order to reduce the obstructions that they provide, which reduces yield. This is not the case, obviously, with most already-cleared farmland sites, but there are other ecological and environmental concerns that worry critics. Harm to wildlife, most particularly birds and bats, is a main concern. In order to meet the worldwide energy demands in a sustainable way, it’ll require a much larger number of turbines than we currently have. The increase in wind turbines has critics worried over how it will affect more people and wildlife.

In the end, there are as many problems with wind power as there are benefits. Researchers are working to change wind power technology to overcome these disadvantages, but as of now, wind energy is still not able to become the most used form of generating power for the country.

By studying both sides of the argument, you can decide for yourself whether to support or oppose the use of wind turbines in as an alternative energy source.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007 at 5:58 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.