By now, you have undoubtedly heard about the many great benefits of renewable energy. Both solar and wind energy can be excellent choices as part of an integrated decarbonization plan. However, choosing the most appropriate solution requires consideration of several factors. To help, Green Development LLC, Rhode Island’s leading developer of utility-scale renewable energy projects, has provided a breakdown of both energy types, including some of their benefits and limitations.
Benefits of Wind
Wind energy is one of the most popular renewable energy sources. This is due to its numerous benefits:
It Is Cost-Effective
The cost of generating electricity with wind power is extremely low. On average, it costs roughly 1-2 cents per kilowatt-hour, taking the current production tax credit into account.
It Is Efficient
A single, midsize onshore wind turbine in New England can generate the same amount of electricity as approximately 11,000 solar panels. It takes only 2 acres of land and a single onshore wind turbine with a capacity rating of 3 MW to generate 7,000 MWh of energy annually. In contrast, it takes nearly 20 acres of land to produce the same amount of energy from a 4-5 MW solar farm in the Northeast.
It Is Sustainable
Like solar, wind energy is completely sustainable. Since winds are created by the heating of the Earth’s atmosphere, this affordable energy resource cannot be depleted.
Minimal Land Clearing Required
Unlike solar power, wind turbines require minimal land clearing and most of the cleared land can be replanted with low-growth shrubs, grasses, food crops, and flowers after the wind turbine has been installed. Turbines can be constructed on existing ranches or farms without disrupting existing operations. Some farmers even graze sheep, cattle, and other livestock around the bases of wind turbines. When you combine these facts with wind energy’s superior efficiency, it is an important component of an integrated carbon reduction strategy.
Predictable Income Source for Farmers and Other Landowners
Large farms and private land parcels are often the best locations for wind turbines and solar farms, particularly if they are adjacent to existing grid interconnections. For landowners who happen to have property in prime wind or solar locations, lease payments from renewable energy developers can provide long-term, predictable sources of income that allow them to retain title to the land and preserve it for future generations, while continuing to utilize unused portions of the land for farming and other purposes. When lease agreements expire, the developer has an obligation to remove the solar or wind installation, unless both parties agree to extend the contracts. Many landowners find the lease option far more attractive than selling portions of their properties to residential or commercial developers.
Limitations of Wind Energy
No energy source is perfect. While there are many benefits to wind energy, it has a few limitations. The most apparent is that the turbines must be placed in open areas, away from large cities. This is because tall buildings can disrupt wind, minimizing the effectiveness of the turbine. In addition, wind energy developers must ensure that turbines are permitted within the context of local ordinances and receive pre-approval by the FAA.
Benefits and Limitations of Solar
Solar energy also offers many benefits. As with wind power, solar is totally renewable and does not create harmful waste. In addition, it is becoming increasingly affordable as solar technology improves. However, it also has a few notable limitations.
As mentioned above, solar farms require a much larger area as compared to wind. If the land is a former industrial site, it may not be necessary to clear the land, but many rural sites will require at least some clearing. In addition to the actual footprint of the solar array, a portion of land around the array may also need to be cleared to avoids shadows on the solar panels.
Increased Focus on Building Energy Storage Facilities
Energy produced from traditional fossil fuels does not typically require storage, though the fossil fuel itself does. That’s because energy from fossil fuels can be produced on-demand when it is actually needed. Renewable energy is different because humans cannot control when the sun shines and the wind blows.
Many newer solar farms and wind farms are now being built in tandem with battery storage facilities, to capture excess solar energy produced during peak daytime production times and wind energy produced during peak night hours—output that exceeds market demand at a given point in time, and therefore has low (or no) market value. This stored energy can then be fed to the grid during the evening hours and other times of the day, when solar or wind energy production is at zero and household demand is high.
The Importance of Geographical Location
Both solar and wind energy devices are heavily dependent on geographical location. The intensity and availability of solar radiation on the Earth’s surface vary by location. In the United States, the Southwest tends to have the highest percentages of clear, sunny days, overall. For example, Arizona is highest, with 85% of its annual daylight hours being clear and sunny, followed by Nevada at 79%, New Mexico at 76%, Colorado and Hawaii at 71% each, and three states at 68%: California (southern), Oklahoma, and Wyoming.
It still makes sense to locate solar arrays in areas with lower percentages of sunny days because one of the key advantages of renewable energy is that it can be located close to the point of usage, unlike fossil fuels, which must be imported by states with few or no fossil fuel resources, often via long pipelines. In this way, renewable energy sources contribute to energy security and they can help drive down local energy costs.
Wind farms perform best in areas with consistent, high winds, especially in the Midwest, in the Great Lakes area, and along the northern halves of both coasts—both onshore and offshore. The state with the highest current onshore wind capacity is Texas at 24,900 MW. Trailing far behind in second place is Iowa at 8,422 MW, followed by Oklahoma (8,072 MW), California (5,885 MW), Kansas (5,633 MW), and Illinois (4,861 MW).
Though Green Development’s wind efforts are limited to onshore wind farms in Rhode Island, offshore wind is about to take off due to the Biden administration’s approval of the Vineyard Wind project. The project has taken 10 years to get the green light but once built, it will be the largest offshore wind farm in the United States, 14 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.
A Diverse Renewable Energy Portfolio is Critical
Each country, state, and municipality has the potential to generate clean, renewable energy, close to the points of consumption—whether residences, office buildings, or other facilities. The key is to choose a mix of solar, wind, battery storage, hydropower, and other technologies that harness the renewable resources that are most abundant, by location.
Green Development LLC has been instrumental in transforming the energy mix in Rhode Island to clean, reliable energy. Since its inception in 2009, the company has developed more than 75 MW in solar and wind capacity with plans to add an additional 70 MW of solar and wind assets in 2021. As a result, Green Development is able to provide energy savings through the virtual net metering program, benefitting municipalities, quasi-public entities, schools, churches, housing authorities, and other nonprofit organizations.
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.