The Time for Wind Energy is Now
by Anne Burnett, DeliciousLivingMag.com
How it works
Breezes spin the blades of a windmill or turbine, which in turn spin a shaft that’s connected to an electricity generator.
Pros
Wind energy is nonpolluting and everlasting.
The cost of wind energy from utility companies has dropped by 85
percent over the last 20 years, according to the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE).
By using net-metering programs, home wind-turbine owners receive credit
for excess energy they provide to their community energy grid.
Cons
Because wind is intermittent, energy production waxes and wanes. (Optimal wind speed is between 16 and 60 mph.)
[Editor's note: This is one reason why my little corner of NW Iowa is
prime land for wind farms – there is never a shortage of wind in these
parts. As a matter of fact, MidAmerican, whose energy-generating
plants here in Iowa each currently rank, individually, in the top 10
percent of worst polluting industrial plants
in the nation, now has approximately 9
percent of their energy- generating capability coming from renewable
energy sources – including wind, water and biomass, with wind farms set
up in Buena Vista county and nearby. Well, it's puny, but it's a
start. Now if they'd only stop hiding behind state and federal
regulations as an excuse for their continued use of extreme
pollution-producing plants.]
Although wind energy can be stored, it’s more cost-effective to distribute it as it is produced.
Community covenants or local laws may prohibit turbines, which can be noisy.
At utility-scale wind farms, turbine blades may inadvertently injure or kill birds and bats.
Ecobonus
Because wind power produces zero greenhouse gases, using it helps
reduce problems associated with global warming and fossil-fuel
consumption, such as acid rain.
Best choice for …
those who want to get off the grid without investing a lot. Especially viable for those in rural (and frequently windy) areas.
Approximate Cost
Wind power costs about 5 cents per kilowatt hour, which makes it one of
the least expensive forms of renewable energy. According to the DOE,
more than 500 utility companies offer customers the option of paying
slightly more to use “green-generated” power; many of them offer a wind
power option. To build or buy your own wind turbine, you’ll pay between
$540 and $5,000, depending on size.
Resource
DOE Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program
www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_how.html#inside
Offers an inside glimpse of wind turbinetechnology.
Source
Blog For Iowa 
I am proud to have been involved in an economic development incentive offering in the City of Cedar Rapids encouraging the production of turbines and other related wind energy infrastructure.
Clipper Windpower (www.clipperwind.com) is committed to the clean energy creation process and is also committed to employing Iowans. (http://www.clipperwind.com/pdfs/RibbonCuttingCeremony.pdf)
Clean and renewable energy production should be explored and invested in as much as possible.
Doug
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