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June 10, 2009, 01:34 PM ET
Climate Change May Mean Less Wind -- and Less Energy
Declining reserves of oil and gas — and now declining wind? Here’s an Associated Press news item for any of the many colleges considering erecting wind turbines to generate power: We may have a less-windy country in years to come, thanks to climate change.
The wind, a favorite power source of the green energy movement, seems to be dying down across the United States. And the cause, ironically, may be global warming — the very problem that wind power seeks to address.
The idea that winds may be slowing is still a speculative one, and scientists disagree whether that is happening. But a first-of-its-kind study suggests that average and peak wind speeds have been noticeably slowing since 1973, especially in the Midwest and the East.
“It’s a very large effect,” said the study’s co-author, Eugene Takle, a professor of atmospheric science at Iowa State University. In some places in the Midwest, the trend shows a 10-percent drop or more over a decade. That adds up when the average wind speed in the region is about 10 to 12 miles per hour.
It’s unclear how this phenomenon, if it exists, would affect colleges’ investments in wind turbines and other wind generators. Although turbines can be a tremendous symbol for green sensibilities with its own public-relations benefits, the biggest turbines involve a serious investment, which colleges weigh against energy savings through wind resources in their area.
The story quotes Jonathan Miles, a wind-energy expert at James Madison University, who says that a 10-percent reduction in wind speeds over a decade “would have an enormous effect on power production.”
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