Wind turbine farms are an excellent way to the tap the energy of wind, as highlighted by the number of installations in recent years. Wind turbine systems can not compete with the power output of moder combustion power plants. Combustion fuels have high energy density at low cost and in most cases outperform the cost of installing and maintaining wind power.
This is not as bad as you might intially think. The truth of the matter is we take for granted all the things in life provided by a solid industrial base. These industries include mining, metallurgy, timber, manufacturing, all the way down to the equipment we use to harvest our foods. And this industrial base requires potent sources of energy.
When it comes down to heavy industrial applications like smelting ores, machining metals, and forging steel, these operations require enormous power inputs. A large and varied heavy infrastructure like this is hard to power on wind or alternative energy alone. The heat energy and motive power required is far too significant.
This does not mean that wind turbine systems are undesirable, however. Wind machines are a simple tried and true way to tap a never ending source of free energy. Wind turbines are great for supplying residential power and for smaller industrial applications.
As an example, a 500 MegaWatt power plant can fit in a relatively small space, less than a 1/4 square mile without much difficulty. As a comparision consider a wind farm of equivalent output. Estimating 2 MegaWatts per turbine would then require over 250 wind turbines be placed in service. Think about the amount of space this would require! Also consider a consistent supply of wind is required which is not always the case.
When the location and conditions justify wind power it should be a part of our energy portfolio. But we can not abandon our combustion technologies where efficiencies and pollution controls continue to improve, combustion is the heart of our economy driving our heavy industry.
