Advantages and disadvantages of wind energy

As we have indicated before, wind energy is that which occurs thanks to the movement and force of the wind . Currently, it is one of the energies with the most future, since it has a very low environmental impact compared to other energies.

It is estimated that, in the coming years, wind energy could represent up to 20% of energy production in Spain , which is a clear example of how this energy represents a trusted niche for both energy companies and companies. public organisms. However, despite the multiple advantages that this energy represents, it also poses a series of disadvantages that make it necessary to continue research to implement a wind technology that is even better and more efficient. In fact, to this day, we can even make homemade windmills .

Next, we explain well what are the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy .

We start by explaining what are the main advantages of wind energy with this list and explanations:

• Inexhaustible: one of the first advantages of wind energy is that it is one of the renewable energies because wind is an inexhaustible resource. This means that you can always count on the original source that produces the energy, which guarantees that its usefulness does not have an expiration date (as is the case with fossil fuels).
• Clean: it is completely clean energy. In fact, this is perhaps its main advantage when compared to other types of energy. Wind energy does not produce any type of waste, which means that its use does not contribute to the destruction of ecosystems or promote global warming.
• Safe: another advantage of wind energy is that it is one of the safest energies that exist. By not producing polluting waste or posing a danger in the event of an accident, it is completely safe energy.
• It is indigenous energy: this allows promoting energy independence, since, although there are countries that have a higher wind index, it can be found all over the world. This allows an indigenous energy market to be created and frees the need to import energy from other economies.
• Ease of assembling and disassembling wind farms: the technology required when implementing a wind farm allows them to be carried out easily and quite effectively. In fact, if these days it takes longer than desired to build them, it is usually due to bureaucratic and administration-related issues.
• Little impact on the soil: Wind farms have a very small impact on the soil and its erosion. This is due both to the absence of polluting waste and to the fact that they take up little space compared to other types of energy installations.
• Respectful energy with aquifers: due to the absence of any type of polluting residue, it does not alter the composition of the water in the area, which is a fundamental element when it comes to protecting local water reserves and the ecosystems linked to them.
• It is very cheap energy: in fact, in some cases it is at the same price as coal and even nuclear energy.
• When a wind turbine ends its useful life, it is disassembled without leaving a considerable impact on the environment due to the few square meters it occupies.
• It creates jobs: in fact, those places where wind farms are built experience a considerable reduction in local unemployment.
• It is compatible with other activities: wind energy is fully compatible with other activities such as agriculture and livestock, which means that it does not have a negative impact on the local economy by not requiring a labor specialization in the area. This allows the areas where it is installed to continue developing its traditional activity while increasing its activity thanks to wind energy.

In addition to all these benefits of wind energy , today we are working on the location of wind turbines in the sea, where there is greater wind and where it does not entail such a close visual impact, which will mean a new push for the development of energy wind. Likewise, economic resources are being allocated to research and improve the efficiency of this type of energy, which will allow the advantages to be expanded in the future while solving the disadvantages that it still presents.

Finally, and once the benefits of wind energy have been explained, we also want to comment on the main disadvantages of wind energy :

• One of the first drawbacks of wind energy is that there is not always wind , so you need the support of other types of energy for those times (whether they are polluting or clean).
• Difficulty in planning due to the unpredictability of the wind. Thanks to the meteorological models, this aspect has been greatly improved, although to this day it continues to be one of the problems it raises.
• Another disadvantage of wind energy is that it is energy that cannot be stored , but must be consumed immediately when it is produced. This means that it cannot offer a complete alternative to the use of other types of energy.
• Wind turbines only work properly with gusts of wind between 10 and 40 km / h . At lower speeds the energy is not profitable and at higher it represents a physical risk for the structure.
• Since wind farms are located far from consumption points, it requires an energy transport infrastructure , which entails energy loss and the need to install transport infrastructure.
• The energy density of the wind is low , which requires that the number of wind turbines be high to be useful. In other words, even if it is cheap and easy to obtain energy, it takes a large sum of wind turbines running at the same time for it to be profitable.
• The construction of wind farms has an aesthetic impact on the landscape that, at times, causes discomfort in the local population.
• The turbines produce sound . However, it is true that this disadvantage has been minimized thanks to the advances in engineering that have been applied to the new turbines.
• Another of the drawbacks of wind energy that turns out to be serious is that, when they are in operation, the blades or blades of the wind turbines pose a danger to the fauna of birds in the area , which if they collide with them during the flight they usually die due to impact.

You may also be interested in knowing these Original alternatives to typical wind turbines .

If you want to read more articles similar to Advantages and disadvantages of wind energy , we recommend that you enter our Renewable Energy category .