As renewable energy gains more prominence on the global stage, attention focuses on the different ways power can be provided. Hydroelectric dams have been in use for decades while solar power has become a trendy addition to rooftops across the nation. Wind turbines offer another way to profit from the Earth’s natural resources, but many people misunderstand how they work and help the environment as a whole.
Back to Basics
Imagine a water wheel next to a river. As water flows over the slapts, it pushed the wheel and turns rod that operate machinery within the mill. A wind turbine works the same way, except that air movement does the pushing, and the power is collected by magnets and brushes and stored in a battery to be used later. No extra fuel is needed, and as long as there’s wind there’s power to be collected.
The Emission Condition
Conventional power plants often operate similarly to wind turbines in that air is used to spin a large “fan,” resulting in power generation. Only this air is actually steam from water heated by burning fossil fuels. The smoke produced from this process is what contains pollutants that not only harm the environment but the populace as well.
Wind power doesn’t create any toxins when running. Since the only thing fueling it is air, there is no waste to be exhausted nor fires to burn. It produces relatively free energy as opposed to fossil fuels which need to be removed from the ground and transported to power plants that could be hundreds of miles away.
Making Land Useful
A wind turbine has a relatively small footprint in comparison to other energy production options. This makes it easy to find windy areas for installation. Even small plots of unused land can be taken advantage of and turned to power facilities that not only create energy but provide jobs at the same time.
Farmers who have some land to spare or rural areas with unexploited areas can rent plots to power companies. This not only puts funds into the hands of those who need it, but it also creates ways to generate power that does little to impact the environment. There’s no need for national parks to disappear when local farmers can rent their land for wind turbines.
The advantage that renewable energy has over fossil fuels is evident. The first step is realizing that clean power like a wind turbine is both beneficial to people as well as the environment. By taking advantage of the Earth’s natural and renewable resources, it can be made a better place for today as well as the future.