Wind power is a technologically mature source of energy with enormous potential. Increasingly competitive, it takes up less land because it extends vertically, requires minimal maintenance and integrates perfectly with the circular economy model.
For millennia, humankind has been aware of how valuable wind power can be in our daily lives, from sailboats to windmills. For over a century, we’ve also been able to transform the movement of large air masses into electrical energy for use directly where it is generated or in another place or time. In short, today wind power has all the necessary prerequisites to play a leading role in the global energy transitionand the shift towards using green energy sources.
Many of the benefits of wind power are common to other renewables. First of all is its role in combatting climate change: exploiting wind power means reducing the use of fossil fuels, thereby cutting emissions of carbon dioxide, fine particles and other climate altering substances responsible for the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, wind power can also help achieve energy self-sufficiency, offering undeniable economic benefits for the countries that adopt it while also being a step in the direction of sustainable development because it is essentially free once the wind turbine has been installed. Moreover, wind is an abundant source of energy that is both inexhaustible and unlimited over time, available on most parts of the Earth’s surface.
Among the particular features of wind power that make it such a promising form of green energy is the possibility to use it in combination with solar power. In addition to coexisting at the same plant, the two forms of energy also have several features that are complementary.
There are, however, some aspects of wind power that distinguish it from other renewables like hydroelectric, geothermal and solar power. We’ve organized these into 10 points to demonstrate how, moving forward, wind power can become the second most important green energy source worldwide and the protagonist of a sustainable future for many countries.
1. Wind is almost everywhere
Not only is wind present almost everywhere on Earth, we also have precise information about where it blows most frequently and powerfully. It’s a question of availability: since it’s well known where the wind blows strongest, it’s possible to install wind plants based on our considerable awareness of the local conditions. The windier an area, the more energy it can produce, offsetting the costs of the initial investment.
2. Wind power is excellent in remote areas, wherever they may be
Like many other renewable energy sources, wind power is also advantageous because it can be exploited using micro-grid solutions even in places where there is no connection to the electricity grid. In more isolated areas far from towns or cities, this offers an important opportunity because it can lead to significant savings from not having to build expensive infrastructure. Unlike geothermal or hydroelectric power, wind can be exploited on a global scale, with the exception of those few areas in which it is not beneficial to install wind turbines.
3. Wind is consistent in the medium and long-term
Often the intermittency of the wind from one moment to another or one day to the next is brought up as one of the drawbacks of wind power. However, just as with solar power, there is another side to this coin: wind does not generally depend on specific times of day or the alternation of day and night, while it does have a seasonal or annual rhythm. So, on the whole, it’s a resource that in the medium to long-term offers an excellent guarantee of regularity, distinguishing itself with a variability that does not follow the same pattern as solar energy.
4. Excellent conversion efficiency
The transformation of wind power into electricity has already reached impressive performance levels. Efficiency ranges from 40% to 50%: very close to the maximum theoretical level, which according to Betz’s law is 59%.
5. Wind power occupies very little land
Even though they’re installed on land, wind turbines do not take up much space. The blades extend vertically and the size at the base is almost negligible, especially compared with photovoltaic plants, which makes wind power compatible with other uses of the land at the same time.
6. The environmental impact is minimal
Although the visual aspect and the low level of noise pollution caused by the rotation of the turbine blades are still a work in progress in order to make wind plants even more environmentally friendly, it’s worth noting that the actual impact today is, nonetheless, extremely limited. Wind power is, in fact, the green source with the lowest overall impact because any emissions and consumption of resources is limited solely to the production, transport and installation of the plant. Moreover, in many countries there are certifications that must be obtained prior to beginning work on a wind power project, in order to ensure that any collateral effects on flora and fauna are kept to a minimum. While in the majority of cases wind turbines are installed on mountains, on hills or at sea, when they are located in fields or on gentle inclines, the land can still be used for cultivating crops or as pasture for animals, without creating any disturbance to either activity.
7. A green source that is truly economical
Compared to other energy sources, wind power has very low installation and operating costs. Construction times are short: from two to twenty-four months depending on the size of the plant. Moreover, technological advances are driving costs down even further, with a cost per kilowatt hour of energy produced that has become negligible. Finally, wind power is increasingly accessible thanks in part to national incentives, which have reduced the cost to the end user and reduced costs more generally, thanks to the increasingly low cost of this technology.
8. Maintenance is simple and only occasionally necessary
Keeping a wind plant running is very simple. Unless there are breakages or exceptional events, which are nonetheless increasingly rare thanks to models that are more and more reliable and digital monitoring systems that are enabling ever higher performance levels, maintenance is minimal and inexpensive. In fact, towers and turbines can stay in operation for years without needing any interventions; with small adjustments they can continue to operate for periods in excess of twenty years.
9. Excellent circularity in the end-of-life phase
It can be said that wind plants are almost perfectly reversible. At the end of their working lives, it’s possible to recover practically everything: the land on which they are positioned can be completely returned to its former state, the plant itself can be dismantled into its basic components and the materials can then be recycled in the future. In fact, the same raw materials can be used to create a new latest generation plant, in line with the circular economy model.
10. The opportunities for domestic wind power
Even on a significantly reduced scale, for example for an individual home, wind power can offer numerous advantages. Thanks to mini-wind power and micro-wind power (systems of up to 200 kilowatts and 20 kilowatts, respectively), the power of the wind can be exploited at the domestic level to cover the energy needs of a building or a family. Typically, domestic wind power is used in combination with other green sources like solar or geothermal to take advantage of the benefits offered by each.
The prospects for the future
Compared to other energy sources, whether green or not, wind power is already a mature technology, perhaps because it has been harnessed in various forms for millennia. There are some aspects that we’re still working on, however: especially to improve some specific characteristics of how this technology functions. For example, solutions are being developed to counter the accumulation of ice on turbine blades, which can reduce efficiency and increase wear and tear.
Another issue that is a focus of innovation is the question of installing plants in a way that is harmonious with the surrounding landscape. In addition, for the future, there is increasing interest in floating offshore wind plants, where neither people nor fish will be disturbed by their existence. All of this makes wind power an even more perfect technology on the road to decarbonization and sustainability.
https://www.enelgreenpower.com/learning-hub/renewable-energies/wind-energy/advantages-wind-energy
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