What's Wrong With Wind Energy? - ECS Geothermal, Inc.

What’s Wrong With Wind Energy?

We all know Texas had some big energy problems in this last month. That’s because, in the wake of all the below-freezing temperatures, they literally froze & stopped spinning. Therefore, they stopped providing Texas with an all-important energy source. However, this issue is not the only one wind energy has. Let’s take a closer look at wind energy.

Wind Turbines

Wind energy is reliant on wind turbines. Wind turbines need to be quite large to gather enough momentum required to produce any level of reliable power. Not only are they obviously susceptible to problems like freezing, but their sheer size creates issues as well.

You see, after the lifespan of a wind turbine blade (which can be larger than a Boeing 747) has ended, they cannot be simply hauled away. First, you must use a diamond saw to cut them into pieces small enough to fit into a tractor-trailer. Then they are dumped into a landfill.

Consequently, landfills are starting to fill up with these blades, given how large they are. Because these blades are built to withstand great force & impact, they are highly durable. It sounds like a blessing; however, it creates a problem. They don’t degrade, and we can’t recycle them. Where they sit in the landfill, they will sit forever.

As a result, we will have a crisis on our hands as more than 8,000 blades go down in the US over the next four years, and 3,800 go down annually across Europe. This pattern is not sustainable.

On top of the disposal issues, they also kill many birds. Not just any birds, though, essential birds. Birds at the top of their food chain. Apex predators are massively important to their ecosystems (think wolfs in Yellowstone.) These two issues combine to lead to the fact that, on top of being unstable, wind energy is likely not going to be the long-term solution we had all hoped it could be.

Geothermal Is Better

Wind turbines may stop working and may not always be a part of our lives. However, just below the earth’s surface will always remain a calm, cool, constant temperature that we can utilize to heat & cool your home with geothermal technology. If you are interested in finding out we can save you money & help the environment, give us a call today!