Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of wind power
What will be an ideal response?
Advantages: Wind produces no emissions once the necessary equipment is manufactured and installed. As a replacement for fossil fuel combustion in the average U.S. utility generator, running a wind turbine can prevent the release of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. Wind power appears considerably more energy-efficient than conventional power sources. Wind farms also use less water than do traditional generating plants. Wind turbine technology can be used on many scales, from a single tower for local use to fields of thousands for utilities to supply large regions. Small-scale turbine development can help make local areas more self-sufficient. Currently, start-up costs of wind farms are considerable, but they incur fewer expenses once up and running.
Disadvantages: We have no control over when wind will occur; it is an intermittent resource. This poses little problem if wind is one of several sources contributing to a utility's power generation. Moreover, several available technologies can help address the problem. For example, batteries or hydrogen fuel can store energy generated by wind and release it later when needed. Some areas are windier than others. Global wind patterns combine with local topography—mountains, hills, water bodies, forests, cities—to create local wind patterns. Good wind resources are not always near population centers. Thus transmission networks would need to be greatly expanded. Moreover, when wind farms are proposed near population centers, local residents sometimes oppose them. Many people object to wind farms for aesthetic reasons. Wind turbines also pose a threat to birds and bats, which can be killed when they fly into the rotating blades. Studies estimate that the number of birds killed this way is far less than the millions already being killed annually by other human causes. The key for protecting birds seems to be selecting sites for wind farms that are not in the midst of prime habitat.
You might also like to view...
The meanings of elevation and relief imply that
A) elevation and relief are the same when the location is far inland. B) elevation cannot be smaller than relief except when comparing areas below sea level. C) relief must always exceed elevation in coastal areas but elevation must always exceed relief in mountainous areas. D) the units of measurement of elevation must be different from the units of measurement of relief.
A rock is subjected to differential stress, then it means that:
a) forces are pushing inward from all directions by the same amount b) stresses are pushing inward all directions by the same amount c) fluid pressure is greater than the confining pressure d) the amount of stress is greater in some directions than in others
In cultural eutrophication, fish die from ____.
A. acid deposition B. depletion of oxygen C. toxic substances in the water D. increased sediment reducing habitats E. loss of space
Between a river and its floodplain, you might find ________
A) natural levees B) deltas C) distributaries D) meanders