Future of Wind Power

The future of wind power looks bright !

With the new President committed to alternative energy sources, the future of wind power looks bright for the foreseeable future.  In 2005, there was enough wind power capacity to power 2.3 million homes, from primarily California, Texas, Iowa and Minnesota and other projects in development stages in 36 other states.

While the United States was leading the world market in wind power production, there has been inconsistent progress made in the past ten years, and it has fallen behind other countries to third place.  With increasing energy costs and the dependence on foreign energy sources, the United States is launching a new initiative into harnessing the future of wind power, which is a cheap and natural energy source.

Anticipated growth is expected to double by the year 2010, primarily in the United States, India and China as turbines are getting larger and offshore turbines are becoming more commonplace.  Technological advances are provide larger wind power projects, but there are many forward looking individuals who are harnessing wind power for their own residential and farm needs.

Natural energy sources have become a necessity to many remote ranches, farms and residents who have taken advantage of solar power or wind power, where no electrical or natural gas lines are available.  It offers the ability to build anywhere, in the desert, on a mountain or other remote location, without relying on outside utilities as an energy source.

Some of the pioneers in residential and individual wind power projects have utilized windmills to pump water on farms, or built their own wind turbines to generate power to their residences.  There are kits available, although, it is possible to build your own wind turbine from PVC pipe, batteries, inverters, generators and controllers.

While it used to be costly to put together the package individually, the installation costs have come down and the packages can run between $8 and $10 thousand for the package including the generator, and $1 to $3 thousand for the tower, depending on the height.

The future of wind power is much more promising than solar, in that the wind blows across parts of the country, more often than the sun shines in some parts.  Many individuals are combining the advantage of both sources of alternative energy and the initial investments are paying off quickly in areas that have high demand and energy costs.

Designs of wind turbines have advanced to where they can produce electricity in winds as low as 5 mph and needs winds of 8 mph to start turning.  The lower speeds keep the noise down and simpler designs are increasing the life and reliability of the wind power turbine and generator systems.  Still, there is room for improvement in servicing and installation and some wind turbines cannot hold up to extreme weather.

Companies that are specializing in the future of wind power have a large number of opportunities and individuals that have locations that allow for the option are finding it more affordable.  The government is offering development money to expand the alternative energy markets and the future of wind power is definitely destined to be an important part of the development.

Larger project development has been in the works by energy companies, and working with utilities to get the interconnection needed could be the largest obstacle.  For those that are wanting independence on an individual basis, the investment could allow a quicker payback of initial costs through incentives and grants.  

The future of wind power is promising, despite what some skeptics may say.  The larger energy companies are looking for ways to diversify into wind power, but the individual and smaller projects may be what lead the way through development.  In 2006, it was estimated that 20% of the United States power would come through wind power.  It’s possible that number may be higher since the oil crisis that instigated the present economic conditions.

There is increasing pressure from the government to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and to get into cleaner, environmentally friendly energy sources, such as solar, wind and water power.  

It’s not only the automakers that have felt the pressure, but utilities that burn coal and fossil fuels are under pressure for cleaner burning methods.  The sun and wind power options are not only environmentally friendly, but relatively cheap to harness.  The future of wind power is now, not only as an alternative energy, but a growing market for employment in the next decade.

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