Wind Energy - Friend or Foe?

Godzilla winds raged through our city a few weeks ago. Because over 300,000 homes were without power, wind was a hot topic around town. Wind has the awesome power to damage and destroy. Yet, it also has tremendous potential as a green energy resource.

Let’s face it folks, although Ohio is a coal state, there isn’t enough of it to last forever. The resources are rapidly declining. Coal, oil and natural gas are limited resources. There is no question that some of our natural resources will be tapped out within our lifetime. Even if these resources would last forever, the planet couldn’t handle 100 more years of C02, NOx and particulates.

Ohio is focused on developing and encouraging green energy. Wind is on the forefront. The Buckeye State has suitable wind resources for wind turbines to be successful in generating power. Like it or not, you will be seeing wind turbines in Ohio.

Wind is going to come up in your conservations. Your kids will probably be working on wind projects at school. To make sure that you’re up to speed on wind, I will serve as your nerdy science resource.

Let’s take a gander…

What is wind?
The sun heats up the Earth. It keeps us warm and helps the plants grow. Some parts of Earth get a lot of sunlight. Other parts of the Earth don’t get as much sun. Because of the differences in sun exposure, some parts of the planet are warmer than others.

Warm air is lighter than the cooler air. Since the warmer air is lighter, it floats above the colder air. When the warm air moves up, the cold air scoots underneath it. Sort of like, “on your feet, lose your seat.” The air is constantly playing musical chairs. The air moving all around is what makes the wind!

How does a Wind Turbine Work?

The wind causes the rotor blades to turn (sort of like the pinwheels that we played with when we were pups—if you blow on it, the pinwheel spins round and round). So the wind causes the rotor blades to turn and that turns a shaft inside of the wind turbine. The shaft is connected to a generator. The generator sends the electricity onto the electrical wires that are inside of the turbine. The electricity ends up in a switchyard and then sent onto the transmission lines. Cool stuff.

Not everyone is feeling super pumped about wind power. There are some rockin’ aspects about wind but there are some trade-offs too.

Some potential Impacts Associated with Wind Power

• Water —Wind turbines do not require water for operation. Therefore, there are no impacts to surface or ground waters for operation of the turbine.
• Air — Wind turbines do not emit any air pollution.
• Trees —Trees/vegetation could be cleared for construction of a wind farm. Many wind farms would be constructed in areas which aren’t heavily forested.
• Wildlife — Bird and bat fatalities have occurred on wind farms. The animals fly into the turbine.
• Aesthetics — Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

What do you think about wind? Are you charged up? Are you worried about it? Would you protest against a wind farm in your community? Are you secretly hoping that a utlity company will buy your land for a wind farm so that you can use the money to move to Hawaii?

Post your thoughts and questions. We are all different but we all live on the only planet that has been proven to sustain human life. Therefore, we're all in this energy crisis together.