No Other Charcoal! Wind Energy Is Cheaper!

Wind energy could provide part of the solution to exit the crisis in Greece, but for such long-term investments, political stability is required, as it was mentioned by Dr. Klaus Rave, president of the World Wind Energy Council, namely the International Union of wind power industry.

According to Dr. Rave, the combustion of fossil resources needs hundreds of millions of years to be developed; consequently it is a fossilized ... approach. It belongs to the past.

Moreover, as it was pointed out by Mr. Rave, the wind energy that is produced in inland areas is cheaper than coal, gas or nuclear, considering the cost of external factors such as air quality, toxicity and climate change.

Wind energy is the cheapest option in many countries (Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, South Africa and China) as well as in areas of the US. According to the EU's analysis for the year of 2014, the energy produced by the wind in inland areas is cheaper than coal, gas or nuclear, when taking into account the cost of external factors such as air quality, toxicity humans and climate change: the European average cost of wind is 105 euros per MWh while for coal and natural gas around 233 and 164 per MWh respectively. Moreover, wind energy does not consume water. Investing to wind, the costs can be reduced effectively and permanently.

The general benefits arising from the use of wind energy are environmental, economical and social: avoiding carbon dioxide emissions, price volatility, decentralization and optimization of the power system, creating permanent jobs. The electricity generated by wind and sun is the future. What is more, a clean energy avoids conflicts in areas with scarce resources. The wind and the sun belong to everyone.

Regarding the problem of noise from the function of wind turbines, Dr. Rave said that the higher the turbine is, the bigger the blades are, and since the rotation of the blades is slower, consequently less noise will be produced. This is achieved by the industry over the last 25 years. However, every investment is different, since it can change the landscape and it must be carefully planned.

Source: tovima.gr