Wind Power Facts

Helpful Facts for Essay
A small turbine can cost anywhere from $6,000 to $22,000 installed, depending upon size, application and service agreements with the manufacturer.
A mature tree can suck up Co2 at a rate of 48 pounds a year, and produces enough oxygen to support 2 human beings.
Already, the 43 million tons of carbon dioxide displaced by the new wind plants installed last year equaled more than 5 percent of the year’s growth in global emissions. If the wind market quadruples over the next nine years—a highly plausible scenario—wind power could be reducing global emissions growth by 20 percent in 2015.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/07/new-wind-turbin.html
Pros
1.)Wind is available everywhere, and is plentiful.
2.)Wind produces no thermal discharge and therefore places no thermal burden on the earth's atmosphere.
3.)The technology for harnessing the wind's energy is well-developed.
4.)Wind turbines are ready to be mass produced.
5.)Given the amount of energy wind machines capture, both the material and energy requirements for their manufacture are impressively low.
6.)If well-designed wind machines are placed at good wind sites, electricity can be generated for as little as 10 cents per kilowatt hour.
Cons
1.)Wind must move at speeds greater than seven m.p.h. to be usable in most cases.
2.)The rotation of windmill blades can interfere with home TV reception and other electromagnetic signals.
3.)Capital costs for wind power production are high.
4.)Mechanical failures of wind turbines could be dangerous.
5.)Possible damage to the environment from wind power includes tree removal, hill alteration to promote winds, and hazards to birds.
http://www.nuclearpowerprocon.org/pop/wind.htm