San Gorgonio Wind Farm is one of three major wind farms that provide 95% of California's wind generating capacity (and 30% of the world's wind generating capacity). This amounts of 4258 million kilowatt hours of electricity, or 1.5% of the state's total electricity production (California Energy Commission, 2011). Wind energy is considered to be one of the 'clean' energy sources, as opposed to fossil fuel production and nuclear energy production in particular. However, wind farms have their own drawbacks as well from an environmental perspective. Wind farms can be devastating to the local environment as they have a massive footprint. This is especially troublesome in desert environments such as that occupied by San Gorgonio. There are also visual impacts, noise produced by rotor blades and potentially high degrees of avian/bat mortality (WINDEIS, n.d.). This paper will analyze the benefits and impacts of the San Gorgonio Wind Farm, in particular with respect to its impacts on Riverside County.
Positive Impacts of the San Gorgonio Wind Farm
The primary advantage of wind farms, as cited by proponents, is that they are a relatively low-impact form of electricity generation. Compared with coal, nuclear or even hydroelectric power, wind farms do not contribute as much to atmospheric pollution or environmental degradation. The generation of electricity is one of the major sources of atmospheric pollution in the United States. Wind power does not have these sources...
Wind Power The greatest challenge of the 21st century is filling the gap between energy demand and supply with clean, reliable and green source of energy. Energy is very essential and it is in material form in everything that is around us. The opportunity cost of obtaining the energy that we require is the impact that is made on our environment. Some energy sources have greater impacts while others have relatively
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Figures 3 and 4. Vertical Axis and Home Wind Turbine Configurations. Sources: http://www.symscape.com/files/images/flowind_darrieus.img_assist_custom.jpg, and http://techlime.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/home-wind-turbines.jpg. Current and Future Trends in Wind Power Applications. While the foregoing wind power initiatives would indicate that wind farms are already contributing a large percentage of the nation's energy needs, the research shows that this is far from the case. In this regard, the current total respective renewable energy consumption rates based on source in the United States
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