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1st December 2007

Wind farms may be inconsistent, but linking them together cleverly could make them our primary energy source

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Wind turbines are as inconsistent as the wind itself – which means we still rely primarily on coal, nuclear and hydro energy for reliable power at the flick of a switch. But a study in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology suggests a way to harness non-stop clean energy: linking wind farms together. Professor Cristina Archer, an engineer at Stanford University, argues that by picking farm locations carefully and joining them together, about one-third of their collective wind power could supply our electricity.

Inconsistency isn’t the only criticism levelled at wind farms: People who live near them have complained of unsightly landscapes, noise and strobe-light effects – and they are blamed for 30,000 bird deaths a year. But Prof. Archer says the threat to birds is exaggerated. “We don’t bulldoze a building every time a bird hits a window,” she says. She adds that the best areas for turbine farms tend not to be frequented by birds, since they find it difficult to fly in strong winds.

The bottom line, she says, is that careful planning and linking of wind farms could actually make them our primary energy source.

Published in The Green Report in The Globe and Mail

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• Tags:
• Energy
• Research
• Wind farms

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