Everything Wind Power & Wind Mills

By: Santiago Stanley
As wind power becomes more of a major player on the worldwide energy scene, interest in this alternative source is growing. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy can help shed some light on why this power choice is taking off. It can also help explain why its use isn't quite as prevalent as many would like to see.

Read How to Make Homemade Wind Turbines & Wind Power Generation

The advantages and disadvantages of wind energy are best examined separately. The advantages of this source of power include:

• Clean energy - Unlike fossil fuel combustion-based energy production, wind power does not cause environmental damage. This source of energy simply does not produce greenhouse gasses like coal and natural gas do.

• It's renewable - Of all the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy, this is one of the biggest points that make wind stand out. Unlike fossil fuels, wind energy simply cannot be depleted.

• Its costs - This is another major perk on the list of advantages and disadvantages of wind energy. The reality is wind power is fairly cheap in comparison to other forms of renewable energy. Its costs are estimated at roughly 6 cents per kilowatt hour.

• Its multipurpose functioning - The creation of wind farms in rural areas can assist the economy. This type of harvesting operation can take place on land that is used for ranging and farming food, as well. This means farmers can earn extra money off their land as they help harvest energy.

While the pros on the list of advantages and disadvantages of wind energy are quite strong, there are some cons people need to be aware of.

They include:

• Cost competiveness - It is not always feasible for the production of wind energy to compete with the pricing of fossil fuel based energy. This, however, is changing.

• Access - This can be one of the biggest cons on the list of advantages and disadvantages of wind energy. The reality is the best producing wind farms are in remote locations. This can make overseeing sites and providing maintenance difficult. It can also impede plugging into the grid.

• Intermittent nature - Like it or not, wind power can be fickle. Production does tend to be intermittent and can cause some supply issues.

The advantages and disadvantages of wind energy aside, this form of power is becoming more popular. Its use now accounts for 1 percent of the world's total energy production. This form of power is widely used in countries all over the world, including Denmark, Germany, the United States and Spain.

As the need to replace fossil fuels becomes very evident, the spotlight is on this renewable source of energy for good reasons.

Today, however, all of that has changed. Thanks to a better understanding of the advantages of wind energy, its use and production is on the rise in a very big way.

The advantages of wind energy are known and put into practice in countries all over the world. From India and China to America and Denmark, the power of the wind is used to heat and cool homes, keep lights running and more.

The increase in wind energy use has been prevalent in the last few years. In America, for example, the capacity for production of wind power grew by 45 percent in the year 2007 alone.

European countries, such as Spain and Germany, rely on wind power to augment to their electrical grids to the tune of a few percent of total power production. Denmark, however, boasts the highest use at 20 percent of its total electrical production.

So, how are the advantages of wind energy fueling the increased movement toward this form of alternative power?

A careful examination of the benefits of wind's use will make this clear. The pros of using wind power include:

• Cost effectiveness - As fossil fuels continue to be more costly, many power producers are looking for viable alternatives. Of all of the choices out there, wind power is the most economical of the renewable energy sources. This is good news for power companies that need to boost their capacity and want to do so in a greener, yet efficient way.

• The green factor - This is one of the biggest advantages of wind energy. The reality is that wind is a renewable resource. It does not go away - at least for long. Plus, it is a clean source of energy. Wind power does not release emissions into the atmosphere. It does not produce greenhouse gases. And, it doesn't leave a negative footprint behind.

• The capacity - Although it does take fairly sizeable wind farms to produce energy for the power grid, the reality is the capacity turbines can produce is rather impressive. In America, for example, one percent of the total energy production today now comes from wind power.

The advantages of wind energy are making this alternative power source stand out from the pack. This cleaner, cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels has been making big headway in recent years for very good reasons.