We Canadians

It is freely available in every part of the world and it causes no pollution. This form of energy has been harnessed for hundreds of years and it can meet the planet’s current demand for energy five times over. Yet, wind energy production meets only about 1% of world’s energy needs. Why has so little of the promise of wind power been realized so far?

A  lttle research shows that the answer is very simple – there are far too many misconceptions about wind energy and one or two real problems. The misconceptions can be traced back to the early days of the development of wind turbines; few people realize how much the technology has advanced in the last thirty years or so.

The first misconception is that windmills are too noisy. This was true of the earlier models, but today’s wind mills generate hardly any noise; in many cases the blowing winds produce more noise. The sound is hardly audible one or two kilometers from the wind mill site.

Another misconception is that windmills are very harmful to birds. Not quite true; the number of bird deaths due to windmills is far less than the number due to power lines or road accidents. There have been some reports that windmills have adversely affected bat populations but the evidence is very inconclusive. Further, all new wind farm projects require environmental approvals to ensure that such disturbances do not occur. In the UK, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has concluded that “The available evidence suggests that appropriately positioned wind farms do not pose a significant hazard for birds.” as reported in Wikipedia, “Environmental effects of wind power.”

Yet another misconception is that windmills require clearing of woods and forests and interfere with the ecology of the regions. Again, not quite true, especially with a proper environmental assessment. Most wind farms can be installed on existing terrain with only minor clearing of the woods around the actual installation site. In many cases, farming activities can continue uninterrupted in the area. Very often, windmills can be sited on unused land which is unfit for farming.

Many feel that wind mills are very expensive and are not an economical source of power, especially as they operate at low efficiency levels and produce only intermittent power. Again, the economics has changed over the years with a steady reduction in costs due to the economies of mass production. True, the power generation is intermittent, but this does not matter anymore as modern wind farms are tied to national power grids.

The benefits of wind power far outweigh the few drawbacks. Installation of wind mills creates thousands of well-paying construction jobs. Most of these jobs are created in isolated areas where there is not much other activity; the Maple Leaf Wind Farm in upstate New York has created hundreds of jobs in an economically depressed region. Further, it requires a steady stream of technicians to maintain these installations- creating more jobs.

The biggest benefit, of course, is that we reduce our dependence on more polluting sources of power. Coal-fired plants are notorious for spewing green house gases and other pollutants. Large hydro-electric plants sometimes cause ecological damage and destroy local habitat. Some people consider nuclear plants to be clean, because they produce few emissions. But there is the problem of nuclear waste that will remain radioactive for thousands of years. It has to be stored in lead containers for disposal in remote areas – it is not a sustainable solution.

Wind power generation works best in areas with low population density. This is an exact fit for Canada, a country with one of the lowest population densities in the world.