It’s possible that the electricity for your light bulb came from a wind turbine in California. Large fields of these wind turbines spin and pour electricity into the energy grid, all with no greenhouse gas emissions or air pollution. Each of these turbines provides enough electricity to power 400 homes. The United States has enough wind potential to produce three times more energy than it currently uses.
The blowing effect of wind is created by weather. As the sun warms the air, that air rises. Cooler air then rushes in to fill the space. Using a wind turbine, we can capture this force from the wind to spin the turbine and create electricity.
A typical wind turbine looks a lot like the propeller of an old plane set on top of a tall mast or pole. Wind energy is the fastest growing form of electricity generation in the United States. Smaller and more efficient wind turbines are being released, potentially allowing anyone to add wind power to his own home.
In order to work, wind power requires, well, wind! You need to live in a gusty, windy area or it won’t work. In order to maximize the wind around your home, raise the turbine above the height of surrounding buildings and trees.
The cost of wind energy has dropped in the past decade and will continue to decline. Personal wind turbines can be had now for under $3,000, for a 1 kilowatt system. (Most homes use 3 to 6 kilowatts.) Just as with solar (see the preceding section), you don’t need to rely on the wind for all your energy. Even just generating a fraction of your electricity with wind is a great investment.
In the early days of wind power, wind farms were located along the windiest routes. It is no coincidence these wind paths turned out to be migratory routes for birds. As a result, some of these older wind farms unintentionally kill several hundred birds a year. Today, wind farms are located to avoid bird flight paths.
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