Does Wind Power Blow?

Did you know? Wind power effectively comes from the sun as differential heating of the earth causes differences in air pressure, which causes wind.

As I’m sure you could discern from the title, this post will be centered on wind power and the issues surrounding it. An article produced by the UK government states that wind power generation was 26% higher in 2012 than in 2011. Meanwhile, according to an article on BP’s website, the UK leads offshore wind power production with 3 GW being our total for 2012. It would seem that our country is very much pro wind energy, but why is this?

Like all modes of power generation, wind power has its limitations. Noise from wind farms can be a problem for local inhabitants (Kelley 1987), along with the fact that some people think they are unsightly. Wind farms can also pose a threat to aviary animals such as birds (Osborn et al. 2000, Barrios & Rodriguez 2004). Other sceptics may argue that wind farms should not be heavily invested in, as they do not provide a constant source of energy. I believe this point can be disregarded if our nation is to move forward with the mixed energy approach that I mentioned in a previous post.

Along with these cons, wind power has many pros such as low operational costs (EWEA) as well as great domestic potential. However, wind energy has an advantage that I feel can be used as a trump card. This is that it is clean energy and will not run out until the sun does (and at that point we’ll have bigger problems). I believe that with the challenges we face presently, such as meeting EU emissions policies, this is an advantage that cannot be overlooked.

In my opinion, we should continue to invest heavily in wind energy as I predict that despite its unpredictable power generation, it will become a major player in our future production of energy. I’d love to hear your views on the matter so comments are welcome as usual. Do you feel investments are well placed in wind energy or should they be placed in other modes of energy production? I’ve provided a picture below to summarise my feelings on the topic, thanks for reading.