Imagine, if you will, a rural landscape. Nestled amongst scattered farms spreading out across rolling green hills, animals are lolling about in their enclosures, the sky is a brilliant blue and the breeze is blowing the clouds across the sky in ever-changing patterns. Here and there, in neat little rows, or even standing off all alone, are windmills. No, you have not suddenly been transported to Holland. In fact, you are in pretty much anywhere, USA! While there are numerous wind energy facts and myths, the biggest myth of all is that they are old fashioned, out of date, and only something you would find somewhere in the Netherlands!

The fact is, here in America and elsewhere, wind turbines are springing up in some of the most unlikely places! From farmland in the middle of rural nowhere to the heart of any major metropolitan area, these futuristic looking versions of yesteryear’s windmills are becoming more common wherever you look. Debunking wind energy myths and providing facts (Earth 4 Energy) has, over the past few years, truly changed many people’s viewpoint on these eco-friendly energy production, making them ever more popular in mainstream America.

It is a widely believed misconception that wind energy was more expensive to produce than using conventional sources. This myth has been debunked repeatedly. In 2001, the Colorado Public Service Commission determined that wind energy provided the lowest cost of any “new generation resources” submitted via bidding for Xcel Energy and there was no risk of increased fuel prices in the future. In New York, ten percent wind energy integration into the electrical power system would actually produce a reduction in customer payments of $305 million in just one year! While wind energy receives significant federal subsidies – referred to as “Production Tax Credits” – so do all of the established energy production methods.  However, as opposed to major energy corporations, wind turbines can be locally and privately owned and operated.  This means that tax credits and other federal benefits are brought to the local level instead of solely to the large corporate level.

Another myth states that wind energy is “unpredictable” and, therefore, must be backed up by traditional power generation methods. This is true for all types of energy. The energy generation field is full of redundancies already in place to compensate for load issues and other variables. Adding wind energy to “the grid” does not add to the need for any new back up methods and can be very useful in being a back up method in itself! In Denmark, Northern Germany, and parts of Spain, wind supplies twenty to forty percent of their electricity without sacrificing reliability and, in fact, increases overall energy productivity.

Other myths touch on the environmental impact of wind turbines, themselves. Wind is a constantly renewable resource, so when gas and oil prices fluctuate due to availability, wind does not. Wind turbines are far less harmful to wildlife, producing virtually no harmful byproducts. Modern wind turbines are extremely quiet, producing little more sound than a low whooshing noise, which, at any distance, is barely noticeable. So there you have it, a few wind energy facts and myths cleared up and explained.