Wind energy is a clean fuel source. It does not pollute the air; it does not produce atmospheric emissions that cause acid rain or greenhouse gasses. 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. Wind energy is a free, renewable resource, so no matter how much is used today, there will still be the same supply in the future. Wind energy is the lowest-priced renewable energy technology today; it costs between 4 and 6 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on various factors. Wind energy is widely distributed; more countries have sizeable wind power potential than have large resources of hydro-power or fossil fuel reserves.
Wind energy is ideal for generating electricity at a local level; the electricity can be fed directly into the distribution network, reducing electricity distribution and transmission losses. By contrast, electricity from larger power stations has to be transmitted on high voltage power lines and travel long distances before it gets to the point of use. Wind energy is low risk; the relatively small unit size of each individual wind turbine also reduces the risk of technical failure or industrial action compared with larger generating units. Wind turbines deliver 80 times more energy than is used in their production, maintenance and scrapping.
Wind turbines produce the same sound level as ordinary speech
