Harvesting Wind Power

Farm after farm has been added to the American landscape in the last year alone. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, nearly every state has witnessed their scorching-fast growth. But these farms don’t harvest corn or soybeans, they harvest wind power. In 2008, wind farms grew a record 50% and right now, Texas is already the top wind-producing state, passing up California and Iowa. The Lone Star State boasts more than 2,000 wind turbines churning out 2,768 megawatts of power. That is enough energy to serve 600,000 average U.S. homes.

Blowing and going.
The industry is blowing and going. Right now, 85,000 people are employed by this growing new energy source. Little wonder, when you consider the advantages of wind power.

Clean.
Unlike other energy sources, such as coal, wind power is an extremely clean resource. 

Sustainable.
Wind power doesn’t have to be mined out of the earth. It doesn’t have to siphoned out of the sea. It just blows through town. In fact, as more and more energy sources dissipate and disappear, wind is one powerful force that promises to be around for millennia to come.

Cheap.
You can’t get much cheaper than free. Although the wind farms cost something to erect, the land they occupy has to be purchased or leased and turbines require a little bit of routine maintenance, this precious fuel called “wind” is 100% free.

Unpredictable.
Of course, along with the pros, come a few cons. When the wind doesn’t blow, the electricity doesn’t flow. Like other electricity sources, wind energy must be "scheduled". Wind power forecasting methods are used, but predictability of wind plant output is a bit dodgy.

Wind is invisible. Wind turbines are not.
As awesome as these turbines look dotting the landscape, they are no substitute for the grandeur of the painted dessert or the majestic Rockies. And plenty of people see these whirling turbines as just another technological eyesore.

Wind power kills.
Wind power, is not without its casualties. Those giant turbine rotors kill their share of birds and bats (guess you can chalk that up to a pro, if you are no fan of bats).

Not enough infrastructure.
And the biggest con of all­––transmitting energy over power lines requires more power cables to be raised across the country. This isn’t free.

A bright future.
But all in all, the future of wind energy looks very promising. The recession has slowed the expansion of wind farms, but it has not stopped it. According to report issued by the Department of Energy, wind energy is likely to account for 20% of all energy use by 2030.

"DOE's wind report is a thorough look at America's wind resource, its industrial capabilities and future energy prices," said U.S. Department of Energy representative Andy Karsner. "To dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance our energy security, clean power generation at the gigawatt-scale will be necessary, and will require us to take a comprehensive approach to scaling renewable wind power, streamlining siting and permitting processes and expanding the domestic wind manufacturing base."

So it looks like “reaping the wind” may not be such a bad deal, after all.