Cooperative Living September 2023 - 20

CLOSER LOOK
In the U.S.,
Wind
Energy is
Soaring
Wind is generating more
and more electricity
by Paul Wesslund, Contributing Columnist
W
ind energy is big and getting
bigger, in more ways than one.
In the U.S., wind currently
generates twice the amount of electricity
it did fi ve years ago and provides 10% of
the nation's electricity - a share expected
to grow to more than 25% by 2050.
Th e basics behind wind power
technology is a tall pole with rotor blades
at the top. If you've taken a road trip
across the Midwest, you've likely seen
huge fi elds of those turbines, with white
rotor blades spinning lazily around. But
they're not lazy at all, and that's another
way wind energy is big - in physical size.
Federal and state governments are encouraging developers to build wind turbines
out in the ocean, where winds are more constant and the rotors could be even larger.
BIGGER TURBINES MAKE
MORE ELECTRICITY
Wind turbine blades seem to circle
slowly due to an optical illusion resulting
from how big they are. Th e tips of those
rotors are likely to be moving at more
than 150 miles per hour.
Th ere's a reason for that size. Wind
turbines are getting bigger and taller to
capture more wind high in the air. Th e
average wind turbine height has increased
from about 190 feet in 2000 to nearly
300 feet today - as tall as the Statue of
Liberty. During that time, the size of the
rotor blades doubled, making a circle
more than 400 feet in diameter. Th at
size growth has tripled the amount of
electricity a wind turbine can produce,
lowering the cost of wind power.
One wind turbine can generate enough
electricity to power about 900 homes,
and they're being installed at a rate of
about 3,000 a year. Today, there are more
than 72,00 turbines in the U.S., primarily
located in the middle part of the country.
One challenge for wind is transporting
rotor blades, which can average more
than 100 feet long.
18 * Cooperative Living * September 2023
PROTECTING BIRDS
FROM WIND TURBINES
Bigger sizes can cause problems,
though, like transporting rotor blades
that average more than 100 feet long.
Delivering those monsters can cost
more than $30,000 in fi nding the right
truck for the oversized load, planning
the route, obtaining permits, checking
clearances and recruiting escort vehicles.
Researchers are already working on those
problems. One solution is fl exible blades
that could be carried on three train cars.
Th e blades could bend to allow the
train to maneuver around curves.
As the wind industry has evolved,
attention has been focused on bird
deaths - as many as a million birds
a year fl y into spinning rotors. Th is
poses a dilemma for wildlife and nature
groups, who are generally supportive
of renewable energy. Th e National
Audubon Society, for example,
supports wind power as a way to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, but urges
careful planning to locate wind farms
in ways that minimize risk to wildlife.
We'll have to watch as wind energy and
the technologies that power it evolve. For
wind power, there will be opportunities
for growth at both smaller and larger
scales, as well as on land and off shore.
*
Paul Wesslund writes on consumer and
cooperative aff airs for the National Rural
Electric Cooperative Association.
co-opliving.com
wind provides
10% of the nation's
electricity.
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living September 2023

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