Wind is essentially fast-moving air set in motion by the sun’s heat. Kinetic energy results from the fast motion of the air particles. The kinetic energy can then be collected and converted into electricity.

Wind turbines harness wind power with blades designed for effective capture of kinetic energy. The kinetic energy collected by the blades spin the central rotors and shafts of turbines.  The mechanical energy in the turbine shafts then enter the electrical generators, where the mechanical energy is transformed into electrical energy.

Wind power has become phenomenally popular in the last two decades, dropping 85% of its cost during that time, because of its many benefits as an energy source and wider use. 

 

 

Benefits of Wind Energy

 

• • Highly efficient powering source to produce electricity


• • Highly affordable, competitive in cost with energy derived by polluting fossil fuels


• • Pollutant and emissions free


• • Unlike fossil fuels, wind is renewable and inexhaustible


• • Wind farms can be built much more quickly than coal or natural gas power plants


• • Wind power farms return on their building and installation investments after only 3-8 months


• • Because it is clean power it does not have the added government subsidized environmental and public health costs tied to dirty disease bearing fossil fuel production (In the last 30 years the government paid out $35 billion to cover medical expenses of those who were afflicted with black lung disease as a result of coal mining)


• • Farmers and ranchers benefit from wind turbine system land leases


• • Wind power generates not just affordable electricity but more jobs per dollar invested than any other energy technology

 

Can you harness wind power anywhere?

Though in the United States wind power is most used in the west, containing particularly windy regions, developing technologies are allowing wind power to be effectively harnessed without regional restriction.

Wind power can be used by any sector to produce clean, emission-free electricity. It has not yet been able to match the exact low price point of the cheapest fossil fuel energy sources but with its rapid advances is expected to match the lowest price point, coming down to as low as 3 cents per kilowatt hour by 2012.

 

Wind Power Resources

Pickens Plan: A wind power energy proposal

Wind Power use Government Incentives

Wind Power use State Incentives