What are five reasons that wind power is better than fossil fuels?

Answer 1

1. The wind is free. Fossil fuels cost money.

   Once the initial costs of building wind farms and attaching them to the grid are paid usually within a couple of years, there are fairly minor maintenance costs for the 20 to 25 year lifespan of the wind farm (at which point it is usually replaced with bigger, modern wind turbines). Fossil fuel generation, by comparison, depend on a steady supply of coal or natural gas, which has prices which vary substantially in the short term, but are steadily trending higher on a longer time frame. In many places, wind energy is in the range of 5-6 cents USD per kilowatt hour, on par with or cheaper than direct costs of coal energy, and much cheaper when approximately 18 cents of negative impacts from coal are added in.

2. Wind energy provides carbon-free energy. Fossil fuel energy contributes massive amounts of carbon to the atmosphere.

   Wind energy has a net CO2 balance which is every positive. There are CO2 production costs associated with mining, refining, manufacturing, transport and installation, but these are outweighed by the massive amounts of carbon-free electricity generated over the lifespan of the wind turbine. Fossil fuels, by comparison, release greater than their weight in CO2 when they are burned; burn a megaton of coal, get two megatons of CO2.

3. Wind energy does not emit particulate pollution which kills people. Fossil fuel generation emits particulate pollution which kills people and harms the environment.

   Wind energy does not emit particulate pollution except for minimal amounts in construction. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, are basically burnt with resulting smoke and ash. Smoke and ash get into the atmosphere even with expensive scrubbing. One estimate indicated that coal kills 13,000 people in the US annually alone, and other has over 100,000 direct coal deaths in mining and transport in the 20th century.

4. Wind energy does not pollute water and kill fish. Fossil fuels pollute water and kill fish.

   Wind energy is a net positive for ground water, and has no impact on rivers, lakes or oceans, except providing ore fish habitat when they are installed offshore. Fossil fuels frequently enter ground water, lakes, rivers and oceans directly in spills, or indirectly through air pollution. Acid rain is directly caused by coal generation.

5. Wind turbines make good tourist attractions. No one pays to see fossil fuel generation plants.

   Many places including Japan, Atlantic City and Palm Springs, Nevada have a steady influx of tourists drawn in part by their wind turbines. The same can't be said for coal plants or natural gas generation plants. Rather, the obvious can be stated: people who live near them pay to get away to places with cleaner air.