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Essay / Wind Power Essay - 1700
(Halacy) Large-scale wind power plants require a minimum average wind speed of six meters per second. The average American household uses approximately 10,655 kilowatt hours of electricity each year. One megawatt of wind power can produce 2.4 to more than 3 million kWh per year. Therefore, one megawatt of wind power produces about as much electricity as is consumed by 225 to 300 households. It is more important to note that since the wind does not blow all the time, it cannot be the sole source of energy for so many households without some form of storage system. The goal of installing wind farms in the United States is to reduce our harmful carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. To achieve this, we would need 400,000 wind turbines of 2.5 megawatts each. Each wind turbine needs sixty acres around it because the towers are several hundred feet tall and their blades can be up to 165 feet long. To get 400,000 turbines, you would have to travel 37,500 miles, across all of Indiana or Maine. Along with this, we would need to clear more land to install ridgelines, facilities, access roads and other elements necessary to support them. (Komanoff) Therefore, restrictions should be placed on wind farms because they are inefficient, harmful to the environment and endangered species, and