Top 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Energy

Human Race had always been hungry for energy. Since we started using electricity, there had been a major dependency on fossil fuels with time, we have started adapting to a different source of fuels for generating electricity. There has been an increased dependency on nuclear energy and most of the countries are also dependent on the renewable form of energy to generate electricity. Some of the examples of this can be solar energy, hydro power electricity,and wind energy.

In this article, we are going to talk about Wind Energy has this has proved to be a promising source of electricity in the recent past. With wind turbines becoming more efficient, wind energy is certainly a great thing to consider. If you wish to know about the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy then you are in the right place as we are going to discuss all about wind energy in this article. Let us look at the advantages of wind energy first and then we will talk about the disadvantages of this efficient source of energy.

So, the advantages of Wind Energy are listed below.

Advantages of Wind Energy

1. Green Energy

The best part about wind energy is that it is a clean source of energy. It has a two-way impact on the environment. The first impact is that we do not have to burn fossil to produce electricity so there is a very low footprint and secondly, the wind energy reduces the dependency on fossils and hence reducing the carbon footprints. This is one of the greatest advantages of wind energy.

2. Low Maintenance Cost

Wind energy also has a low maintenance cost. There is periodic maintenance required but it is restricted to lubrication of machinery. This is more of a long term investment for energy generation. Low maintenance cost also means that the per unit cost of electricity would be low. This is another reason why a lot of countries are now preferring wind energy over other types of energy generation.

3. Employment

Apart from the advantages listed above, wind energy is also helping by generating employment. A workforce is required to setup the wind farms and once that is done, you also need a workforce to run the power plan for wind energy. So, directly and indirectly, wind energy is also creating employment for the people. The risk of working on a wind farm is much lower when we talk about operational

4. Domestic Installation

Today, the wind turbines are not just restricted to commercial usage. Smaller wind turbines are available which can be installed for domestic use. The advantage of these smaller wind turbines is that the electricity generated can be used to cut the cost of incoming electricity. In addition to this, some countries have a system wherein the additional electricity can be transferred to the grid for credit from the government.

5. Reducing Cost

The cost of wind turbines and the technology being used is also falling with every passing year. The reason for this is the technological advancement in the sector and the reduced cost has encouraged a lot of countries to invest in wind farms. The impact of wind energy is on the environment and the cost of electricity that the people are paying to the government of their country.

You have looked at the advantages of wind energy but do you know that there are also many disadvantages of wind energy? That is right, wind energy comes with some of the disadvantages and they are listed below.

Disadvantages of Wind Energy

1. Expensive to Setup

The fact is that the wind turbines are very cheap to maintain but they require a lot of capital for setup. This is considered to be one of the greatest disadvantages of wind The cost is certainly coming down but it is still at a higher end and this discourages the countries to invest in technology. If there was a way to bring down the initial setup cost then it would surely prove to be of great advantage.

2. Remote Locations

Wind turbines are installed at a remote location where the wind speed is good. This means that the workers would have to travel a lot for their work and in addition to this, it also increases the transmission cost because of the long diastase. Sometimes, it is not feasible to use wind energy because of the distance from the nearest

3. The danger to Wildlife

Wind energy also possesses a danger to the wildlife. It is believed that wind turbines increase the mortality rate among birds and bats. So, it is some way or the other harming the environment by disturbing the ecosystem where the wind turbines are installed. As per some of the experts, wind turbines are equal dangers to wildlife as the cell phone towers are.

4. Fluctuating Wind Speed

Wind speed fluctuates from time to time and this impacts the energy generation as well. There is a threshold speed of wind which is required to generate electricity. In addition to this, there has to be a lot of research and study that needs to go in before the installation can start. The wind turbines can’t be installed in cities because the wind flow is restricted and that causes the failure to the project. This fluctuating wind speed doesn’t grantees a steady flow of electricity and hence it is not very reliable.

5. Visual and Noise Pollution

Wind turbines are known to cause noise pollution but at the same time, they may also create visual pollution. Some of the people find the sight of find farms mesmerizing but at the same time, some of the people may feel that it is disturbing and it spoils the landscape of the site. But the noise pollution created by wind turbines is significant.

This was all about the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy. With increasing domestic installation, we can say that wind energy surely has a lot of advantages as compared to the disadvantages of this clean source of energy.