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10 Incredible facts about Wind Power

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You would know the general facts about wind power that make it a good alternative source of energy to replace non-recyclable energy sources. When zero-pollution energy is talked about, you would first think of wind power. But, there are certain incredible facts about wind energy that you might not be aware of. Check out what these are and why there is a need to know about them.

  • About 1.9% of U.S. electrical power generated from wind energy in 2009: Wind power is fast replacing some other non-renewable sources of energy. Though less than two percent of power generation would not seem too great to you, but it is really gaining momentum as a viable alternative for energy production at a large scale. The U.S. government is incentivizing the use of wind energy for power generation to make it increasingly popular.
  • One of the oldest energy forms: The use of wind energy dates back to around 5000 B.C. when sails used to be powered through it. Slowly, there came windmills running on sails and then some steam engines. Now, it is getting to become a viable option due to pricing and accessibility factors.

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  • Reducing carbon dioxide: Wind power is considered to be a clean form of energy as it reduces carbon emissions. If you are using just 1MW of wind energy, it can power up to 400 homes and that too, without emitting any CO2. It also saves a huge amount of water.
  • No threat to birds: In 2007, the National research Council determined the fact that wind power setups are not a threat to birds as hyped by some critics. Wind farms have only been responsible for a fraction of total bird deaths that have been caused by human beings.
  • Wind power is solar power: In actuality, sunlight heats up the earth in a non-uniform manner and that causes temperature and air pressure irregularities. That makes air molecules move to low air pressure areas that causes wind.
  • Surged wind power production: From 2000 to 2006, the worldโ€™s total wind power production nearly quadrupled. Currently, the total global production can serve around 250 million people.

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  • Texas leading the installed wind capacity: Texas wind installations make up a significant one-third of the total installations across the U.S. It is because of the state legislation support, as well as the freely available wind flowing across the state.
  • Powering Colorado: In the year 2008, the wind turbines in the U.S. generated as much energy as was required to power the complete Colorado state.
  • Wind farms in 38 U.S. states: It is really incredible to know that 38 out of 50 states in U.S. have wind installations, and the top 5 states out of these account for a cumulative 20,000 MW of power.

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  • Power of U.S. wind resources: According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the already installed wind power resources could handle the energy needs of U.S. 10 times over.

Thus, wind energy is slowly and steadily becoming a powerful source of energy across the globe.

 

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