Europe Takes A More Discerning Look At Wind Energy

"A new, gleaming $280 million wind park is entering service in Sweden at a time when wind energy is coming under sharper scrutiny, not just from hostile neighbors (for years, residents opposed the wind farm near Malmo), who complain that the towers are a blot on the landscape, but from energy experts who question its reliability as a source of power.

For starters, the wind does not blow all the time. When it does, it does not necessarily do so during periods of high demand for electricity. That makes wind a shaky replacement for more dependable, if polluting, energy sources like oil, coal and natural gas.

In Denmark, which pioneered wind energy in Europe, construction of wind farms has stagnated in recent years. The Danes export much of their wind-generated electricity to Norway and Sweden because it comes in unpredictable surges that often outstrip demand.

In 2003, Ireland put a moratorium on connecting wind farms to its electricity grid because of the strains that power surges were putting on the network; it has since begun connecting them again."

The world's largest wind energy producer, Germany, "where 20,000 wind turbines generate 5 percent of the electricity, locations are running out to put the turbines because of restrictions on the location and height of the devices. And rising raw material prices are making wind farms more expensive to build."

"That is not to say that wind energy growth has stalled. An energy expert indicated that annual growth is over 26%.

The United States, which is considered a pioneer in wind, added more generating capacity in 2006 than any year on record. With 11,575 megawatts, the United States is the world's third largest wind country, after Germany and Spain, and it is adding more capacity than any other."

Thanks to Mark Boshnack