11 Reasons for wind energy (1/3)
1. Wind turbines lessen the risks of climate change
Millions of people suffer from the effects of climate change worldwide. In order to keep further risks of climate change at bay, developing countries need to decrease their CO2 emission with at least 80-95 percent before the year 2050. Climate scientists agree on this fact. In order to achieve this, 80-90 percent of our energy must be generated through the use of renewable methods by 2050.
At the moment, in the Netherlands, only 6 percent is generated through renewable means. Wind turbines will give an important contribution, because we have a lot of wind in the Netherlands. With only the use of solar panels and geothermal energy, it is impossible to get the desired percentages in the Netherlands. We simply can’t move forward without wind turbines.
The Global Wind Energy Council calculated that by 2030, 19 percent of all globally generated energy can be generated with wind turbines, and by 2050 that percentage will be 25-30.
2. Wind turbines are cheap
Wind turbines on land are one of the cheapest forms of renewable energy, bested only by geothermal power by a small margin. Wind turbines on land only use about 4 cents subsidy per kWh. For sea wind, that price is currently 7 cents, but that will rapidly decrease. Nowadays, in places along the coast, wind turbines can run almost without subsidy. The fossil fuel industry on the other hand, receives a great amount of subsidy.
Contamination is extremely expensive. The costs of contamination caused by fossil fuels – climate change, air pollution are now paid with tax-payers money. Wind turbines deliver energy cleanly.
Those who think wind turbines are expensive, usually do not consider these factors:
- The air pollution caused by energy generation with fossil fuels, and the costs it brings with it regarding climate change. If you factor those costs into the equation, renewable energy can easily compete with fossil energy, wind energy being the cheapest of those methods. At the moment, the costs for the emission of one tonne of CO2 is a measly 5 euros, while the real costs for the emission is around 67 euros. 13 times as high!
- Job opportunities: Wind energy creates lots more job opportunities than energy plants reliant on fossil fuels.
- The costs of fossil fuel will keep increasing, as the supply lessens. The costs of wind turbines will keep falling as they become easier to install, and the demand grows. And unlike with fossil fuels, the wind supply will never run out. D
We need to invest in wind in order to sustain the future economy on only renewable energy. If we do not make the transition now, future generations will have an enormous problem.
3. Wind turbines generate a lot of energy
‘‘I’d rather have a field full of solar panels’’ A fan of wind energy often gets to hear it. Solar energy is indeed an ingenious and the technique is getting better all the time. Unfortunately, the amount of energy generated through the use of solar panels simply does not stack up to amount even a midsized wind turbine can generate. A single 250kW wind turbine can generate the same amount of energy as 2500 solar panels in the same time span. To put that in perspective, that many solar panels could fill a field almost the size of a soccer field!
4. Wind turbines make us independent
We all want to be independent energy wise. This is possible. According to scientists, wind turbines can supply the entire world with energy. This is however only in theory, and in practice, we need to make combinations between different sorts of renewable sources to achieve this.
In all plans for energy supply in the future, whether they come from Shell or the International Energy Agency of Greenpeace, wind energy is one of the prime energy suppliers. But not only big corporations are investing in renewable power, everyday people are also choosing their own renewable energy supplies, and are investing in solar and wind energy. Some people use this same technique to buy wind turbines, sharing the costs and the power.
5 Wind turbines provide jobs
According to a study made by consultancy bureau Ecofys, wind energy, both on land and in sea, provides ten times the amount of permanent jobs that a fossil power plant can! The study was issued by Greenpeace, and focused on the Dutch provinces Groningen and Friesland.
6. Wind turbines are recyclable
Because technology develops, new wind turbines are more nature-friendly than older models. Modern wind turbines can be recycled quite effectively, and leave very little waste , as a lot of the materials can be reused to construct other wind turbines. The only parts for which this doesn’t apply, are the rotor blades, as they are mostly made of fiberglass. They can be recycled, but not for wind turbine parts, and they are mostly used to make bollards. Currently, research is being done to see if it can be used for other purposes.
Birds do fly into the wind turbines occasionally, but the number of birds that are injured because of wind turbines pales in comparison to the amount of birds that die because of other sources of danger, such as traffic, cats or high-voltage cables.
8. Most inhabitants are happy with wind turbines
In Holland the citizens want more wind turbines! Although it looks like the Netherlands is divided between favoring or despising wind energy, mainly because the opposing side is quite vocal in their displeasure, studies show that nearly 78% of the Dutch population is in favor of wind turbines. The majority of the supporters of most Dutch political parties is of the opinion that we should generate more energy with renewable resources, according to research.
Research has shown that people who live within a five kilometer radius of wind turbines are extraordinarily positive about stimulating renewable energy in general. Most of the time they are also more prepared to make their own contribution to a renewable energy supply. (Source: Motivaction)
9. Wind turbines help fulfill the EU agreements
In Europe we have come to an agreement that by the year of 2020, 20% of our total energy supply needs to be generated through renewable resources. In the Netherlands there is a minimum goal of 14%. In order to fulfill that promise, the national energy agreement states that around 40 % of our energy production needs to be from renewable sources. At the moment, this is only 10%. The energy agreement also states that we will fill that gap by building wind farms.
10. Wind turbines make inhabitants healthier
Less people will get sick and less people will die if we choose to invest in wind turbines. This might surprise you, but the numbers do not lie, In The Netherlands 137 meet their end too soon because of the pollution caused by fossil power plants. The fossil power plants also caused 31.000 days of sick-leave in 2013 in The Netherlands. Air pollution causes diseases like Asthma, and the air in The Netherlands is already relatively polluted. The physical and economical damage is not paid for by the polluters, and it is not included in the social costs of fossil power plants.
11 Wind turbines save water
Water security is a major policy challenge: According to the OECD’s report ‘Water security for better lives’ (2013), 40% of the world’s population will face severe water stress conditions by 2050. Increasing water demand, water pollution and water stress will worsen water security in many regions worldwide. The OECD’s report called on governments to speed up efforts to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in water management.
Of all the water used in the EU, the highest amount – 44% – is used in power production primarily to cool thermal or nuclear power plants (EEA, 2009). Such plants are contributing to Europe’s water scarcity, and with more frequent droughts and the reduction of water resources in the south and east of Europe in the future, there will be an increasing need to minimize the European power sector’s water consumption. The water used by thermal electricity generation and nuclear is equivalent to the average annual household water use of 82 million EU citizens. To put that into perspective, that equates to the entire population of Germany.
Wind energy uses virtually no water. Replacing thermal and nuclear power stations with wind energy is therefore a key step in the fight to conserve and protect Europe’s precious water resource and hedge against future power shortages due to water-dependent electricity production. In 2012, wind energy avoided the use of 387 million m³ of water – equivalent to the average annual household water use of almost 7 million EU citizens, which saved a total of €743 million!
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