Wind Power

Last week saw the opening of a wind farm several miles off the coast of Kent in Britain. With 100 turbines spanning an area of 22 square miles and a 780 million pound ($1.2 billion) price tag, it is currently the world's largest offshore wind farm. the farm will increase Britain's wind power capacity by 30 percent, and at full power it could power up to 200,000 homes. Britain's national goal is to produce 15 percent of energy through renewable sources by 2020.

From an environmental standpoint, wind power is great, for obvious reasons. Environmentalists point out a few flaws (ex. noisy and a hazard to birds) but the pros outweigh the cons in this aspect. Yet it is still difficult to consider wind power as a major player in the production of electricity. Currently the United States generates about 1.80% of its electricity through wind power. The problem is not the amount of wind energy; in fact, both onshore potential capacity is 9 times greater than total U.S. electricity consumption. Offshore capacity as well is about 4 times greater than all other sources of electricity in the United States. The problem is the feasibility economically due to high capital costs of wind turbines. In the U.K., the Telegraph estimates wind power to be about 3 times more expensive than conventional power. Estimates of cost comparison vary from source to source, but most agree that wind power is significantly more expensive. In a cost competitive market, price is just too important to make it a major electricity producer.

I love wind energy as a renewable resource because of the lack of air pollutants and negligible fuel required. Hopefully in the future we can find a way to increase turbine efficiency and lower production costs. Accomplishing these goals would make investors very interested in wind energy.