10 Things You Don’t Know About Wind Energy
10 Surprising Wind Energy Fun Facts
As more and more people have realized the need for renewable energy, information about wind energy has become highly prevalent. It’s surprising then, to find wind energy fun facts that you’ve never heard before. Here are our 5 favorite fun facts that you probably didn’t know about wind energy.
1. Using Wind Energy is Nothing New
Various human civilizations have harnessed wind power for thousands of years. Sure, the way in which we capture and use wind energy is different now, but the practice has been around for a very long time. Some original, earlier versions of windmills were used to crush grain or pump water. Now, as you probably know, most wind turbines are used to create electricity.
2. Wind Energy Could Decrease Greenhouse Gases By a Whole Lot More
By 12.3 gigatonnes, to be exact. That’s 12.3 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions reduced and 260 billion gallons of water saved, by 2050. That’s our potential if we continue to increase the use of wind power everywhere electricity is consumed.
3. Wind Energy is Cheaper
Putting it very simply, clean energy is always going to be cheaper energy. If we can create more green energy, we can all save money while we’re saving the planet. Currently, wind prices are as low as 2 cents per kilowatt-hour in some parts of the country.
4. The Higher the Wind Turbines Reach, the More Electricity We Generate
As you might imagine, higher wind speeds equate to more electricity. One of the ways to accomplish this? Making the wind turbines taller, so that they reach windier levels and create more electricity.
5. A Wind Turbine Has More Than 8,000 Components
When you think of wind energy, you probably think of the simple windmills dotting a prairie landscape. Modern wind turbines are far more complicated than that, made out of over 8,000 components.
6. The US Wind Energy Industry Employs Over 88,000 People
America’s wind energy industry supports a large (and growing) domestic industrial force. The majority of these jobs are found in the many wind-related manufacturing facilities across the United States. Remember those 8,000 components per wind turbine? Those are all made in US facilities.
7. Offshore Wind is a Promising and Growing Technology
Harnessing offshore wind is especially promising for coastal cities. The benefits of this include wind energy being more abundant, consistent, and stronger than land-based wind.
8. The US Generates More Wind Energy Than Any Other Country
We’re harnessing the benefits of wind and leading the way in clean energy. And within the US, our wind energy generation is growing and becoming more commonplace. In 2015, wind represented the largest source of all newly installed US electricity generation.
9. Many Wind Turbines Are Installed For Local Use
Distributed wind power is wind energy that is used at or near the location where it is generated instead of being delivered through electricity lines for wide use. Many schools, homes, industrial sites, etc. use distributed wind power.
10. The US Generates Enough Wind Power for Over 19 Million Homes
That’s our capacity, anyways. We could generate enough wind energy to power more than 19 million homes annually. That’s a lot of wind power.
