| The advantages and disadvantages of wind energy | | | | - It's clean - wind turbines produce absolutely no |
| are hotly disputed these days. With global energy | | | | waste whatsoever. There is obviously the one-off |
| costs rising, and showing no sign of coming down, | | | | environmental cost of building and installing them, but |
| alternative energy sources are big news. Some | | | | once they are up and running, there are no waste |
| people believe that wind power, and solar power, are | | | | products of any sort. |
| the only way forward. Others, and this may include | | | | - There are virtually no running costs. Apart from the |
| oil companies, are keen to play down the | | | | regular maintenance that any machine needs, a wind |
| advantages, and point out some of the problems. So | | | | turbine needs very little attention. This reduces the |
| what are the advantages and disadvantages of wind | | | | Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of any wind |
| energy? | | | | generation project, and makes the generated power |
| Advantages of Wind Energy | | | | more cost-effective |
| - It's completely renewable - it's very unlikely that the | | | | Disadvantages of wind energy |
| earth will ever run out of wind! In fact, as a result of | | | | - It's dependent on the weather. Critics point out |
| global warming, weather systems are becoming less | | | | that a wind turbine is only of any use when strong |
| stable, resulting in more turbulent weather. This extra | | | | winds are blowing - in fact it can generate power at |
| wind power can be harnessed at no extra costs - | | | | even slow speeds. It's true however that to be |
| existing wind turbines will simply produce more | | | | effective, a wind turbine has to be located on open |
| energy. | | | | ground where wind power is at it's greatest. |
| - It's simple - the technology in wind turbines is not | | | | - It's unsightly - the problem with wind generators is |
| new - it's simply been refined for a new use. In fact | | | | that because of the requirements for wind, they are |
| it's so simple that you can build your own domestic | | | | often sited in rural areas. |
| wind turbine at a reasonable cost. | | | | |