Debate Over Wind Power: Is there merit to the critisims?

The Debate
Wind farms are nothing new to some parts of the United States. In fact, wind projects are in the midst of a huge growth spurt in many parts of the country, driven by government incentives to promote alternatives to fossil fuels. Significant public debate and navigation of a "hodgepodge" of regulations has risen from the increased interest in renewable energy alternatives such as wind power. While public debate over inland and offshore wind power is likely to be centered on environmental and aesthetic issues. Probably the most publized clash of wind power advocates vs. opponents right now involves the Cape Cod Wind Project, proposed in 2001 for Nantucket Sound, just outside Massachusetts state waters, would include the installation of 130 wind turbines, each 40 stories tall, that collectively would generate enough electricity for most of Cape Cod. These wind turbines would cover a 24-square-mile area of seafloor within view of the shoreline. Do critics of wind farm projects have enough justifiable cause to oppose this form of renewable energy, or are they just another group of NIMBYs that need something to complain about?

The Basics: How Wind Power Works
Wind power is converted to electricity by a wind turbine. In a typical, modern, large-scale wind turbine, the kinetic energy in the wind (the energy of moving air molecules) is converted to rotational motion by the rotor – typically a three-bladed assembly at the front of the wind turbine. The rotor turns a shaft which transfers the motion into the nacelle (the large housing at the top of a wind turbine tower). Inside the nacelle, the slowly rotating shaft enters a gearbox that greatly increases the rotational shaft speed. The output (high-speed) shaft is connected to a generator that converts the rotational movement into electricity at medium voltage (a few hundred volts). The electricity flows down heavy electric cables inside the tower to a transformer, which increases the voltage of the electric power to the distribution voltage (a few thousand volts). (Higher voltage electricity flows more easily through electric lines, generating less heat and fewer power losses.) The distribution-voltage power flows through underground lines to a collection point where the power may be combined with other turbines. In many cases, the electricity is sent to nearby farms, residences and towns where it is used. Otherwise, the distribution-voltage power is sent to a substation where the voltage is increased dramatically to transmission-voltage power (a few hundred thousand volts) and sent through very tall transmission lines many miles to distant cities and factories.

The Advocates
According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), using today’s technology, there is theoretically enough wind power flowing across the country to supply all of our electricity needs. North Dakota alone could supply about one third of the nation’s electricity. Using today’s technology, there is theoretically enough wind power flowing across the country to supply all of our electricity needs. North Dakota alone could supply about one third of the nation’s electricity. About 20% of Denmark's electricity is generated by wind power, yet Danish utilities report no loss of reliability and no need for expensive new equipment or energy storage. Wind Power Today, AWEA Fact sheet

The Critics

There are some groups that are very critical of wind energy, such as Industrial Wind Action, who assert, among other opinions, that wind power isn't reliable enough to satisfy electricity needs.They have produce or sponsored research that takes aim at discrediting many proposed wind energy projects. One publication titled, Stretching or Ignoring Facts and Making Unwarranted Assumptions when Attempting to Justify Wind Energy, claims:

Electricity produced by wind turbines is lower in quality and value than electricity produced from reliable generating units
Building wind turbines will not replace the need for building reliable, dispatchable generating capacity
Published information on the cost of electricity from wind per kWh generally is not valid or reliable
True costs of electricity from wind are much higher than often admitted because important elements of cost are ignored
Local economic benefits of “wind farms” are generally exaggerated
Environmental benefits of wind energy are typically overstated
Wind Energy Advocates try to ignore adverse environmental, ecological, scenic and property value impacts of ”wind farms”
Benefits
abundant: With today's technology, wind energy could provide 20% of America's electricity (or about the amount nuclear power provides) with turbines installed on less than 1% of its land area. And within that area, less than 5% of the land would be occupied by wind equipment--the remaining 95% could continue to be used for farming or ranching.
affordable: Several U.S. utilities today offer their customers the option to purchase wind-generated electricity at a price premium of 2 to 2.5 cents/kWh. At that price, the average household could obtain 25% of its electricity from wind for $4 5/month--and the cost of wind generation is continuing to decline.

inexhaustible: To generate the amount of electricity that America's wind resources could supply, 20 billion barrels of oil per year would be needed

domestic: It will never be subject to embargoes or "price shocks" caused by international conflicts.

environmentally preferable: Traditional energy sources carry a host of serious environmental baggage: air pollution and acid rain; the possibility of changing the earth's climate; radioactive waste disposal; oil spills; and more. Wind Power Today, AWEA Fact sheet , 2007

The Drawbacks
The U.S. Dept of Interior cites the following as drawbacks to wind energy:

windmills have moving parts which can be costly to maintain,
the amount of wind available may be inadequate in certain areas;
to produce a significant amount of energy a large number of windmills and a large land base is needed, and
operation of windmills is hazardous to birds, however, the industry is taking many steps to reduce or eliminate bird-windmill interactions. Greening the Department of Interior, Green Energy and Water Program
With these arguments and others that can't be covered here, it appears that the opponents of wind power arguments are weak. The criticisms of clean wind energy just don't seem to measure up to the benefits. No energy source is perfect. That's why modern energy wisdom tells us that wind and other renewable used in combination with non-renewable or fossil fuels. The ruckus raised by NIMBYs to protect their precious ocean views, doesn't seem to be enough justification to kill an opportunity get move toward energy independence. So let them wine.