We focus on renewable energy projects that are both profitable and beneficial to the environment.The environmental benefits from properly executed renewable energy projects are numerous and include:
• Wind farms generate zero carbon emissions missions into the air. • A 1 megawatt wind turbine will annually displace emissions of 1,600 tons of Carbon Dioxide, 9 tons of Sulfur Dioxide and 4 tons of Nitrous Oxide. It would take 900,000 trees to absorb the same amount of Carbon Dioxide that a 1 MW wind turbine displaces. • According to the US Department of Energy, in 1990, California's wind power plants offset the emission of more than 2.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide and 15 million pounds of other pollutants that would have otherwise been produced. It would take a forest of 90 million to 175 million trees to provide the same air quality benefits.
• Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide may cause acid rain. Acid rain harms forests and the wildlife they support. Many lakes in the U.S. Northeast have become biologically dead because of this form of pollution.
• A 100 MW wind generation facility operating for 30 years is comparable to the following usageofnon-renewable natural resources: • Natural Gas: 78,000,000,000 cubic feet • Crude Oil: 14,040,000 barrels • Coal: 3,510,000 tons
• Wind power limits the use of our ever shrinking water supplies. Wind uses less than 1/600 as much water per unit of electricity produced as does nuclear, approximately 1/500 as much as coal, and approximately 1/250 as much as natural gas. • Do not cause noise pollution. Wind turbines are no louder than ordinary speech or the normal noises in your backyard.
• Unlike nuclear and fossil fuel plants, wind generation facilities do not require transportation and disposal of hazardous waste created as a byproduct of large production facilities.
• When or if wind farms are dismantled (usually after 20-25 years of operation) they leave no legacy of pollution for future generations.
• Wind farms require very little land, and can co-exist with agricultural and industrial uses. Animals are not disturbed by wind generation facilities and turbines, and will graze in the immediate proximity of the turbines.
• Tubular towers, UV reflective paint and underground wires discourage birds from perching in harms way and dramatically decrease bird deaths. Also careful precautions are taken so that turbines are not in the way of migratory paths.
• The environmental impacts of various options for producing electricity have been studied by the European Union in a 10-year effort called the "ExternE" ("external" or non-economic costs of energy). The results of this study found wind energy's costs to be among the lowest -- far below those of fossil fuels. http://externe.jrc.es
