Wind Energy and Air Emission Reduction Benefits

In recent years, increasing attentions has been focused on understanding and qantifiying the impact of wind energy development on various air pollutants. The focus on this issue has intensified as public concern about global climate change has hightened and the contribution to greenhouse gas emissions from fosil fuels to this critical problem has been recognized.

For example, wind energy's air emission reduction benefits have been a source of some confusion in state proceedings to site wind turbines. As utility commissions, evironmental agencies, and other stake holders assess the environmental impacts of wind energy, air emission reduction have become an important part of the evaluation.

This document provides a description of the impact of wind energy development on air emissions. The core document is intended for use by a variety of parties with an interest in this issue, such as state energy and enviromental agencies, county and municipal officials, environmental organizations, and the renewable energy comunity. The appendices provide full references, as well as detailed information for those seeking a more in-depth discussion of selected topics.

One of the obvious benefits of wind energy is that producing electricity from wind produces zero direct emissions of air pollutant. In contast, fossil fuel-fired electric generation from coal, oil, or natural gas results in subtantial direct emissions of numerous air pollutatnts that have adverse feneration from individual fossil fuel-fired power plants or units -thereby reducing fuel consumption and the resulting air emissions that would have otherwise occured.

It should be noted that all from of energy development - from coal and nuclear generation to wind generation- have positive and negative environmental impacts. However, the focus of this document is limited to air emissions, and it is not designed to provide a comprehensive lifecycle analysis of the full range of environmental effects of the various from of electric generation.

{source : Wind Energy and Air Emission Reduction Benefits: A Primer by A. Jacobson,D. Jacobson}