WIND POWER


Wind power is becoming more and more economically competitive compared to coal-fired power plants. In the USA the cost of wind-generated electricity dropped substantially since Critical Path was published, to 7 cents/kWh compared to electricity at 5 cents/kHw from a new coal-fired plant.

There was speculation in Scientific American of September 1990 that US electricity demand could be satisfied by 4 million 500 kHw wind turbines spaced 0.5km apart over 10% of the US where wind is favourable. More recent figures would obviously be desirable, and should appear here in due course.

Who owns the wind? When the windmill was invented this became an issue. (See Marx, 1867, p.496, note 8.)



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© Paul Taylor 2001