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Should the Use of Wind Energy Be Encouraged?

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Should the Use of Wind Energy Be Encouraged?
Should the Use of Wind Energy Be Encouraged?
Fossil fuels are having great impacts toward nature such as global warming and greenhouse effect. Plus, the depletion of it contributes to the rising price of petroleum. Therefore, wind power rise as it is a source of clean, non-polluting renewable energy (Nash, 2008). This type of energy generation provides us with loads of benefits environmentally and economically.
On the environmental aspect, wind energy does not contribute to pollution as almost no waste materials that contribute to pollution are produced by the usage of wind power (Wright, 2005). For example, in the States, wind plants compensate the emission of than 2.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide and 15 million pounds of other pollutants (Nash, 2008). This shows that wind power is an eco-friendly renewable energy resource as it does not contribute to pollution.
Moreover, economically, wind power is said to be expensive because the initial investment on it is higher compared to fossil fuels. However, wind power is cheaper compared to other renewable energy sources. Statistic has shown that for 1 Megawatt (MW) of power, wind energy only cost $80 compared to solar and wave energy which cost $180 and $100 respectively (Peacock, n.d.). Since future technology guarantees the installation and maintenance price to only continue decreasing, the lifetime investment on wind power is much more lower (Nash, 2008). This proves that this type of power generation is affordable for everyone.
Besides that, wind power also provide job opportunities. Deal (2010) claimed that there are various professional and skilled-worker jobs available in this sector. Even Mark Flint, the state director of Ascot Wind Energy Company (AWEC), assures that the construction would bring 300 jobs to the area and create 10 permanent jobs after that (McBain, 2005). This ensures the jobless rate in a country to reduce.
In conclusion, it is proven that wind power is the great solution to overcome



References: Article: Lee McBain, 2005, Wind blows up a storm, Southern News, viewed on August 9, 2011 Graph: Craig Peacock, The approximate cost of producing power in Australia, viewed on August 9, 2011, retrieved from: www.beyondlogic.org/southaustraliapower BIBLIOGRAPHY Journal: R Billinton, D Huang, 2010, ‘Wind power modelling and the determination of capacity credit in an electric power system’, Proceedings of the Instituition of Mechanical Engineers, Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability, pp

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