Wind power: The magic bullet to cut greenhouse gases?
August 11, 2009 by Tom GuayPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, News, Technology
There’s gigantic potential for wind to provide all the electricity needed to power America.
That’s the conclusion from a new Harvard University study that calculates that wind could provide 16 times more power than the lower 48 states consume today. Worldwide, wind could provide 40 times more electric power than is consumed now.
The researchers say that constructing a network of 2.5- to 3-megawatt wind turbine stations — in rural, ice-free and non-forested areas — could provide more than enough electricity to supply American cities, homes and industry. And, this would be enough to cover future projected demand for electricity.
The report doesn’t include the contribution of individual wind generation, such as the Wind Cube, a rooftop wind turbine that’s about the size of an industrial chiller. Click here for details on the Wind Cube, made by Green Energy Technologies.
The researchers say the rosy potential of wind has been vastly underestimated by the wind industry and government agencies. Before this study, the Department of Energy’s best case scenario predicted wind would provide only 20% by 2030. Click here for the DOE report.
Converting to renewable wind energy instead of building more coal-fired power plants could be a major solution to the problem of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The report indicates that China, which is rapidly building coal-fired power plants, could cut its GHG emissions by 18% if it were to embrace wind technology.
The Harvard study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is here.
Problem: Where to put all the wind farms? The Harvard study doesn’t offer ideas on how to overcome the not-in-my-backyard crowd. For example, the North Carolina Senate just overwhelmingly voted to ban wind turbines on its scenic mountain ranges. Click here.
Tags: Green Energy Technologies, Harvard University, renewable energy, Wind Cube, wind power
GreenandMore.com
Loading ...
August 13th, 2009 at 9:44 am
I took the poll on the wind power page, voted, do nohing, Global warning is a hox, checked on results, and guess what? 47% of the people are voting with me, INCREDIBLE. We all want green, we all want health care for all, NO ONE WANTS THE FREEKING BILL!!!!!!
August 13th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I agree that everyone wants less dependance on oil and big government,you can name it green technology or what ever other sill name you choose. What needs to happen is people, not government, must take charge of our individual lives and work toward a consolidated goal that does not include government intervention through worthless regulations. As for health care a lot can be done to see that the less fortunate have the necessary care, similar to what the pharmaeutical industry is doing by providing low or no cost medications.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:55 am
I would have to think that if this was a cost effective concept, we would see wind generation units on every cell tower, power distribution tower, etc. across the land.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:18 am
With wind how do we take care of the base load?
August 14th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Harvard Academics doing a study on Wind Power, electrical engineering, & grid resource allocations??
Sorry but they are not anywhere near a power engineering think tank.
You cannot power the country on wind turbines alone, it will never work.
You can do a lot to reduce dependency on foreign oil, but it can’t be your dominant source.
It’s too erratic and in large proportions can destabilize the grid. It already happened in Texas.
http://knowledgeproblem.com/2008/07/09/the_pickens_pla/
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2009/02/05/puc-rejects-northern-maine-grid-connection/
http://capecodliving.blogspot.com/2007/05/response-to-science-fiction-writer.html
August 14th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
You would need massive over capacity if relying solely on wind, for obvious reasons. If you must maintain natural gas capacity as a backup, the cost will be triple, or more, current prices. Everyone who reads this, Please take a look at Boone Pickens plan for using natural gas to power our cars, trucks, trains, and planes. I think it’s a terrific idea, and would put the Arabs into bankruptcy, in 10 years.