Wind Power as an Alternative to Fossil Fuels Essay

Wind Power as an Alternative to Fossil Fuels - Essay Example The essay "Wind Power as an Alternative to Fossil Fuels" aimed to discuss the environmental advantages of wind power. They include the fact that wind energy production is pollution free, which results in it having no effect on air quality or climate change. Wind energy also produces no particulate emissions that contribute to mercury contamination in lakes and streams. They also conserve water resources by using less water in electricity production, e.g. electricity generation through nuclear power uses 600 more times water than wind power. Wind power can also be beneficial to land preservation because their actual ‘footprint’ is small, which means minimal land is required. Wind farms also reduce the need for mining, which often destroys wildlife and ecosystems. Offshore wind farms also have no environmental effects on the land itself. However, marine life must be considered. It is also safer than other alternative energy sources such as nuclear power, with the Fukushima Nuclear Plant disaster fresh in many people’s minds. Also, the paper dwells upon the economic benefits of wind farms. They include the fact that wind is a native fuel that does not need to be mined or transported, which reduces production costs. Wind power can therefore be produced cheaper. The Wind Industry Group also claims that wind energy creates 30% more jobs than a coal plant and 60% more than a nuclear plant per unit of electricity released. Wind power is also getting cheaper to produce from nearly 30 cents per kWh in the early 1980’s to 3-5 cents per kWh today.