| Could wind power be a viable alternative to | | | | private ownership are profitable and |
| conventional methods of power generation? | | | | expanding. We now have the technology to |
| | | | produce much cleaner power from coal. Much |
| If looked at from a slightly different | | | | the same could be said of other fossil fuels, |
| perspective, wind power may already be a | | | | but whichever way you cut it, the end result |
| viable alternative - the link below is a web | | | | is still environmentally unfriendly. |
| page where you can buy your own domestic wind | | | | |
| turbine. | | | | On a global scale nuclear power generation, |
| | | | with all its waste management issues, |
| It produces around 1Kw at moderate wind | | | | produced 366 Gw in 2005. Wind power produced |
| speeds and costs around 1500GBP. | | | | 74 Gw in 2006. Comparing one to other |
| | | | indicates that wind power has lots of ground |
| Okay, so it's not cost effective, but it is a | | | | to make up, but this is where the comparison |
| step along the road. The manufacturer and | | | | falls down and fails to demonstrate the |
| retailer must believe they have a market. If | | | | potential. |
| they have, the unit cost will fall as sales | | | | |
| rise. Once competition gets hold, the | | | | With conventional power production, coal, |
| performance of equipment from alternative | | | | oil, gas and nuclear, the only interaction an |
| suppliers will improve. | | | | individual may have is to say yes or no to |
| | | | the power production plans of a government. |
| This and commercial wind farms still won't | | | | With wind power generation, the consumer can |
| meet the rising thirst for cheap energy. The | | | | produce private power and reduce the demands |
| real issue is - How do we get people to use | | | | on the grid at an individual level. |
| less? | | | | |
| | | | There are over twenty-one million households |
| Let's not forget that there are still coal | | | | in the UK. Imagine, if every residence |
| reserves in the ground sufficient for between | | | | produced 1Kw of power whenever the wind blew, |
| two and three centuries. The UK in recent | | | | the scale would be phenomenal. Around 21 Gw |
| decades has stopped mining coal on a national | | | | peak power. |
| basis, yet the few mines that continued in | | | | |