Wind: Energy picked out of the air
An old proverb warns "An ill wind blows no good." However, a frequent wind might save you money on your electric bill and offer a secondary energy source.
Residential wind turbines are becoming popular, especially for remote areas off the electrical grid, but they can work for properties with at least an acre of unobstructed land. Residential towers are 80- to 120-feet tall, according to the American Wind Energy Association, and cost from about $10,000 to $20,000 to install. Once installed, local utilities must, by federal law, purchase excess power the windmill generates. However, most residential windmills will not supply all power to a home.
Wind power is also a large component of today's public effort to use renewal energy sources. One of the newest windmill farms is in Iowa where Warren Buffett's Mid American Energy has 257 wind turbines, generating 489 megawatts of energy. The huge project, involving 222-foot turbines with 100-foot rotors, generates just 9 percent of Iowa's energy needs.
Although hailed as a promising energy alternative, wind projects are not always greeted favorably. In Massachusetts, the Kennedy families fought wind farms, which would disrupt yachting and fishing routes. In New Jersey, wind power remains controversial since the enormous turbines will disrupt coastal views.
Other objections to wind farms are environmental. In Altamont, Calif., one of the oldest wind farms of 4,000 turbines spans 50 square miles, across a migratory bird route. The annual bird kill is put, conservatively, at 5,000, according to USA Today. Wind proponents say newer, taller turbines will kill fewer birds and that all tall man-made structures cause bird kills. They argue windmill bird kills are not nearly the problem as cell tower kills.
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