Wind Energy – Advantages and Disadvantages

Wind energy is an alternative source of renewable energy that generates electricity from the wind. Wind energy is the process of converting kinetic energy from the wind into electrical power.

Wind turbines are used to generate electricity from wind energy.

Advantages of Wind Energy:

1. Wind power is non-polluting and can produce more than 3,000 watts per square meter.
2. Wind power doesn’t produce greenhouse gases or harmful pollutants like coal-fired plants do. 
3. It is renewable and clean.
4. Wind turbines can be placed on any land that has an average wind speed of about 7 meters per second.
5. It is environmentally friendly.
6. It is one of the most efficient sources of power.
7. It can be used for baseload generation and is a flexible resource because it’s available at any time of day.
8. Wind energy is an efficient and reliable source of renewable energy that does not produce greenhouse gases or other pollutants. 
9. It can be produced in remote areas where there’s no need to build transmission lines, which means it’s less expensive than other sources of renewable energy. 
10. It has a low cost per unit of energy generated compared to other sources such as coal, gas, or nuclear. 
11. Its operational costs are low because they’re offset by variable cost savings such as fuel savings and avoided network connection charges. 

Disadvantages of Wind Energy:

1. Wind turbines need a lot of space in order to generate enough electricity.
2. Power lines need to be constructed in order to transfer electricity from the turbine to consumers.
3. It produces very little power when there is no wind which means less reliable electricity production. 
4. Wind farms often cover large areas.
5. The cost of building and maintaining wind turbines is expensive. 
6. If the weather conditions are bad it may damage the turbine.
7. Wind turbines kill birds, bats, and small mammals. 
8. Turbines can produce infrasound that is harmful to humans.