Wind electricity is great, but choosing a site for a wind farm can be difficult. While wind blows the world over, a farm needs fairly specific conditions to be economical. Here are some of the factors.
Wind Consistency
Wind consistency is probably the biggest factor in choosing where to build a wind farm. It doesn’t matter if the wind blows at 100 MPH if the gust only lasts a second. The turbine won’t even have time to orient itself before the wind is gone.
A good site for a wind farm, and wind turbines in general, is a location with strong, steady wind. The Midwest has ideal conditions, which is why there are so many wind farms out there. Oceans are also great, but they present their own challenges. [1]
Ease of Construction
The winds off the coasts are the best wind conditions on earth for power generation. So why are so few wind turbines water bound? It’s a simple matter of economics.
Building a wind turbine on land is fairly simple, thanks to the presence of flat, steady ground and an easy spot to which to anchor. The ocean offers no such luxury. First, you have to manage to anchor a base to build the turbine on. Then you have to build the tower, using a crane to hoist the pieces into the proper position. That would be easy on land, but the crane is floating on the ocean. Finally, once you have the tower installed, you get to the best part – attaching giant airfoils to your generator in a place known for strong, consistent wind, with the possibility of a stronger gust at any moment, all the while on a boat that won’t stay still. [2]
Despite the challenges, there is a growing number of water-bound wind farms. The consistent quality of the wind trumps the difficulty of construction in some cases.
Distance to People
There are actually two different considerations here: distance to those who need power and distance from those who will be upset by the noise.
Locating power plants that are long distances from people is generally a bad idea. In order to keep a high-efficiency link with the rest of the power grid, an expensive array of inverters and transformers is needed. Even with this, there will still be significant energy loss. Some wind farms are large enough that neither the loss nor the equipment are much of a hindrance, but for most farms you will need to be near the power grid. [4]
The other consideration is noise pollution. As green as wind turbines are, they are not quiet. The prop wash from the blades can make quite a racket, and people who live nearby may quickly start to complain. There are quieter types of windmills than the giant propeller, but they have their own drawbacks. [3]
These two factors are essentially at odds: You want the wind farm to be nearby so that you can transmit the energy easily, but you don’t want it too close or people will be upset by the noise. It can be a struggle to find a happy medium between the two.
Sources:
1. http://dearscience.org/2008/07/23/wind-power/
2. http://www.oceanenergycouncil.com/index.php/offshore-wind/offshore-wind-energy.html
3. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/podcast/2010/08/when-is-wind-energy-noise-pollution
4. http://www.zyra.info/i2r.htm
