Wind Energy Pros and Cons: The Top 11 to Know

People remain skeptical yet optimistic about turbines, as there are wind energy pros and cons. It’s amongst tough competition, such as solar energy and biomass.

The future of sustainable energy remains the fastest-growing industry. Does wind energy stand a chance amongst the rest?

Let’s dive into the pros and cons of wind energy.

Pros

1. Wind Power Increases Domestic Sources of Energy

As of 2019, wind energy exceeded hydroelectricity as the most-used electricity generation source in the U.S (1). China has the largest portion of onshore wind energy. Both China and the United States increased their domestic wind energy, accounting for 60% of the world’s onshore additions (2).

Domestic use of wind power is expected to increase because of its lower cost over offshore energy. This great video from CNBC expands on the potential impact wind power can have on our overall domestic energy production.

2. Wind Energy is Cost-Effective

These key factors contribute to the cost-effectiveness of wind energy (3):

• Wind power capacity is increasing at a vigorous pace
• Bigger turbines produce more energy while lowering costs
• Reduced turbine pricing is fueling low installation costs
• Wind energy prices reaching historical lows
• Lower costs than fossil fuels
• Wind is free

The supply chain and parts continue to reduce costs, while the industry continues to increase jobs.

3. Wind Power Creates Jobs

In the United States alone, the industry projects 600,000 jobs by 2050 (4).

Amongst China, the U.S., Brazil, the European Union, and India, there are over 1 million wind energy jobs (5). Job creation exhibits why renewable energy is important, as renewables employ 11.5 million people worldwide and counting (6). 

4. Wind Energy is a Clean Fuel Source

Wind power does not produce air pollution (7).

Traditional power plants emit harmful emissions that produce acid rain, and smog; this makes them harmful to both people and the environment.

5. Wind Energy is Sustainable for the Future

Wind energy is a form of solar power (8), involving three events:

• The sun heating the atmosphere unevenly
• Earth’s surface and its irregularities
• Earth’s rotation

Wind power does have challenges, as it’s an interchanging field (9). Charles Meneveau, a Mechanical Engineer, and wind energy expert put it best when he said this:

While challenging, as long as the wind is around, wind energy will continue to grow as a potential sustainable energy source.

6. Wind Turbines Can Help Farmers and Ranchers

The best wind sites remain to be rural areas (10).

Wind power plant owners can pay rental fees to farmers to use their land, giving them extra income. Ranches and farmers can still work, as wind farms will occupy part of the land.

Cons

1. Wind Power Competes with the Reliability of Conventional Power

While fossils fuels contribute to air pollution, they are the most reliable in powering households. About 77% of Americans believe it’s important to explore alternative energy sources (11). However, fossil fuels still dominate the market. The United States still contributes most of its domestic production in energy in natural gas and petroleum.

Fossil fuel price increases may open present wind power an opportunity if it remains a cheaper alternative.

2. Wind Sites May Be Limited Geographically

When you’re looking for the top wind energy pros and cons, you have to mention the inconvenient fact that the wind does not blow strong enough everywhere.

For instance, in the United States, most wind sites are in five states (12):

• Texas
• Oklahoma
• California
• Iowa
• Kansas

These states produced 60% of the total wind electricity in the U.S.

3. Wind Power Plants Raise Noise and Aesthetic Concerns

The most common complaint amongst residents is the noise. Turbines tend to be in remote areas amongst rural communities. Curtailing is an option to alleviate these disturbances, which limits nuisances (13). Scientist Jonathan Rogers explains this further in his recent article:

That said, by setting limits within a community during the night, noise pollution may reduce. Wind turbines also can be an eyesore on vast landscapes.

4. Wind Turbines Historically Harms Wildlife

Wind power contributes to bat fatalities across the globe (14).

Bats help the environment as natural pest control. Birds also are harmed yearly by wind turbines. Experts are unsure why these fatalities occur but continue to find solutions to alleviate this issue.

5. Solar Energy Triumphs Over Wind Energy

The number of solar energy solutions are growing rapidly, just barely breezing by wind energy. Solar energy can occur in most areas where the sun shines. Wind power requires an intricate location with decent wind speeds.

Until wind energy builds a better sail, solar energy will be more viable for most U.S. homes.

FAQs

• How Efficient Is Wind Energy?

  Wind energy is becoming more efficient than fossil fuels because of its low cost, and increasing capacity.

  Plus, it’s much cleaner than fossil fuels. Other sources produce more power than wind due to their current convenience, but the landscape is changing rapidly. This guide on the most efficient renewable energy sources details this further.

• How Clean is Wind Energy?

  Wind energy is a clean source of power because it does not emit any harmful substances, and the wind is free! Compared to the energy produced from fossil fuels, which require the burning of a finite resource, wind energy uses what the Earth naturally provides in a more sustainable way.

• Can Wind Energy Generate Enough Power for a Home?

  Yes, wind energy can definitely generate enough power for a home, depending on the location. The average home will require around 867 kilo-watt hours of electricity annually, and with the right set up, wind energy can more than shoulder the load (15).