The Time for Wind Energy is Now
by Anne Burnett, DeliciousLivingMag.com

How it works

Breezes spin the blades of a windmill or turbine, which in turn spin a shaft that’s connected to an electricity generator.

Pros

Wind energy is nonpolluting and everlasting. 

The cost of wind energy from utility companies has dropped by 85 percent over the last 20 years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). 

By using net-metering programs, home wind-turbine owners receive credit for excess energy they provide to their community energy grid.

Cons

Because wind is intermittent, energy production waxes and wanes. (Optimal wind speed is between 16 and 60 mph.) 

[Editor's note: This is one reason why my little corner of NW Iowa is prime land for wind farms - there is never a shortage of wind in these parts.  As a matter of fact, MidAmerican, whose energy-generating plants here in Iowa each currently rank, individually, in the top 10 percent of worst polluting industrial plants in the nation, now has approximately 9 percent of their energy- generating capability coming from renewable energy sources - including wind, water and biomass, with wind farms set up in Buena Vista county and nearby.  Well, it's puny, but it's a start.  Now if they'd only stop hiding behind state and federal regulations as an excuse for their continued use of extreme pollution-producing plants.] 

Although wind energy can be stored, it’s more cost-effective to distribute it as it is produced.

Community covenants or local laws may prohibit turbines, which can be noisy.

At utility-scale wind farms, turbine blades may inadvertently injure or kill birds and bats.

Ecobonus

Because wind power produces zero greenhouse gases, using it helps reduce problems associated with global warming and fossil-fuel consumption, such as acid rain.

Best choice for …

those who want to get off the grid without investing a lot. Especially viable for those in rural (and frequently windy) areas.

Approximate Cost

Wind power costs about 5 cents per kilowatt hour, which makes it one of the least expensive forms of renewable energy. According to the DOE, more than 500 utility companies offer customers the option of paying slightly more to use “green-generated” power; many of them offer a wind power option. To build or buy your own wind turbine, you’ll pay between $540 and $5,000, depending on size.

Resource

DOE Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program
www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_how.html#inside
Offers an inside glimpse of wind turbinetechnology.

Source