Is Wind Power Green?

Introduction

The movement of rushing air creates wind. When land air that has been heated by the sun rises, it leaves a space to be filled by cooler surrounding air. The filling takes place immediately as the space is created in a way that could be described and felt as a rush. This fast movement of air is called wind. Wind power (or energy) can be described as the process by which the mechanical energy in the air movement is employed to produce electricity or do meaningful work. Wind power as an energy source is a green energy source. It is a nondepleting, naturally available, nontoxic, and environmentally friendly source of valuable and usable energy. Wind energy has historically been used directly to power ships, pump water, or grind grain, but the principal application of wind power today is to generate electricity. Large-scale wind farms are typically connected to the local electric power transmission network; smaller turbines are used to provide electricity to isolated locations (Voorspoolsl, pp: 21).

Summary and Analysis

The secret behind the fast-growing economy in recent times can be linked to adequate infrastructural development, which invariably is not unconnected to constant and sufficient power supply. A lack of energy or its inadequacy in an economy had variously led to social and economic poverty, underdevelopment, unemployment, underutilization of rural human resources, economic stagnation, underperformance of industry and industrial sectors, and low turnover. People in the rural areas of developing countries and some very poor nations around the world lack access to modern energy supply, with so many depending basically on traditional biomass to meet their energy needs. The severity of their poverty levels, however, is contributing to the reluctance of such nations to embrace the globally accepted sources of energy. Although still depending on burning coals, woods, and so on, for energy, the environmental contributions of such practices is negative, as it causes pollution and the emission of harmful gases and by-products. Moreover, other sources like fossil fuels and nuclear reactors, which have been relied on in the past and are still used in many industrialized nations, also have introduced some undesirable effects to the atmosphere, creating serious environmental concerns. The depletion of these sources points to the fact that other more permanent means and sources need to be sought (Voorspoolsl, pp: 26).

The challenge of providing adequate and sufficient amounts of energy for the populace is a global issue; ...