Green Development News – Wind Power Emerging As Viable Source of Green Energy

As eco-conscious global citizens become more and more concerned about greenhouse gases produced from fossil fuel fed power plants, the pressure is on to investigate alternative power sources. And one of those sources—wind power—is now part a booming international business. In fact, in the United States alone, power from wind turbines increased 45% over the last year to supply about 1% of America’s homes. Some environmental advocates claim wind could soon supply up to 20% of American’s power but energy consultants place that estimate at a more conservative 5-7%.

But America is by no means the leader in the quest to harnesses the wind’s power. Germany, with over $9 million invested in the wind power market, is the leader, followed by the United States and then Spain. Even America’s wind turbine boom is largely driven by foreign power companies experienced in developing wind power projects: companies like Iberdrola of Spain, Energias de Portugal and Windkraft Nord of Germany have all been instrumental in developing new projects. In fact, about two-thirds of the wind projects under construction in Texas, one of America’s most promising regions for wind power development, are foreign owned.

Wind power is, of course, an attractive green energy source. It’s virtually pollution-free and doesn’t tap our dwindling fossil fuels, but it does have some limitations that will need to be addressed and resolved. First off, right now wind power remains more expensive than electricity from fossil fuels, although that’s likely to change as more and more wind turbines are installed. But wind itself, and therefore the power derived from it, is highly unpredictable and sporadic. Finally, wind turbines are massive modern day windmills whose blades can kill wildlife like birds. Newer turbines are as high as a 20-story building. These more powerful turbines can generate power even when the wind is low, but many communities consider them to be eyesores and object to their installation.

That’s why more wind turbines are being installed in sparsely populated areas. This isn’t necessarily a drawback: the windiest part of the United States is the corridor from western Texas north through the Midwest—areas like Montana and the Dakotas. The problem comes in figuring how to get that power to the densely populated cities along the coasts that are in most need of alternative energy. Figuring out how to transport that energy in a cost effective manner will be the industry’s biggest challenge.

Right now, though, Texas is the leader in the industry in America with the most installed wind turbines: over 1238 were under construction at the close of 2007. California came in a far second with only 165 under construction at the close of 2007. Minnesota and Iowa were third and fourth in line with 46 and 116 respectively. Which region with the right balance of wind and an amenable population will emerge as the leader remains to be seen, but it is clear that wind, whether in combination with other green power sources or not, remains a viable and exciting source of alternative energy for an increasingly eco-conscious global economy.