| Limitations of Wind energy: | | | | route includes the pass. Past attempts to |
| | | | reduce bird kills have included painting the |
| No electricity when there is any wind | | | | tips of turbine blades to try to make them |
| | | | more visible to birds and installing screens |
| The limitation of wind power is that no | | | | around generators. These measures have failed |
| electricity is produced when the wind is not | | | | to substantially lower the number of bird |
| blowing. Thus, it cannot be used as a | | | | deaths. |
| dependable source of base load power. | | | | |
| Utilities and merchant generators will not | | | | Bat kills are the latest big problem for wind |
| invest huge sums of money into a technology | | | | farmers. Researcher's estimate that 1,500 to |
| that does not work when the wind is not | | | | 4,000 bats were killed at the Mountaineer |
| blowing. Americans want the lights on when | | | | Wind Energy Center in Western Maryland in |
| they flip the switch, no questions asked. | | | | 2004. This is raising concerns about an |
| Wind power will probably increase its market | | | | expansion of wind turbine use at Backbon |
| share when we develop a 'smart grid' that can | | | | Mountain in Maryland, where Clipper Wind |
| handle multiple distributed generation input | | | | power, Inc.of California is planning to build |
| sources of electrical power. | | | | a project 20 miles away from the Mountaineer |
| | | | site. |
| Wind Turbines Killing Migrating Birds | | | | |
| | | | Solutions of limitations: |
| It has been estimated that about 45,000 birds | | | | |
| (golden eagles, kestrels and red-tailed | | | | We should build wind turbines where there is |
| hawks) have been killed over the past twenty | | | | too much of wind like near sea so there will |
| years by the whirling blades of wind | | | | be 24 hours electricity and the problem of |
| turbines. The rows of spinning blades at | | | | electricity will be solved and there are less |
| Altamont Pass, east of San Francisco, turn | | | | birds near sea so the problem of killing |
| wind into electricity, but they are killing | | | | birds will also be solved. |
| many predatory birds whose annual migration | | | | |