Economic
Costs &
Benefits of Wind Energy
Three factors
in recent years have made wind energy cost-competitive with
fossil fuels:
1) Great technological advances in
wind turbine technology, leading to the broad introduction
of Megawatt-class turbines, have dramatically lowered the
overall market price of wind power.
2) Great volatility
in fuel prices, especially of natural gas, have caused the
domestic and constant-cost attributes of wind power to be a
great asset to many utilities intent on hedging fuel
costs.
3) The hidden external costs of fossil
fuel- and nuclear-generated electricity (e.g., domestic
security, air and water contamination, public health,
ecosystem-wide habitat destruction, etc.) have become more
and more apparent and the public thus less and less
tolerant.
Locally, wind
power projects financially benefit not only participating
landowners with lease payments, but also the larger community
with PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Tax) agreements, or some other
form of host-community benefit agreement. Project construction
also creates a huge, albeit temporary, influx of capital for
goods and services. It's also true that, contrary to many
claims, there are little or no conclusive data to suggest that
wind farms depress local real estate markets. In fact, evidence
from many projects suggests that wind farms play a positive
economic role as a tourist attraction to both school children
and adult visitors alike.
While it can be
difficult to put precise dollar values on many of the costs and
benefits of energy production, considering the many variables
involved is a useful exercise and the following websites are
good places to start.
Lawrence Berkeley National
Lab
National Resources Defense
Council
Union of
Concerned
Scientists
National Wind Coordinating
Committee
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