What are the benefits of wind energy?

Wind power is an advanced technology that has been reliably supplying electricity into the utility grid for many years. There are no harmful emissions. There’s no mining, no fuel drilling, no radioactive or hazardous wastes, and no need for water for steam or cooling. There are no other power plants being built today that can generate electricity with zero emissions at the affordability of wind’s per kilowatt-hour cost.

Isn't wind energy more expensive?

The cost to produce electricity from wind has been declining since its early days in the 1970s and will continue to do so as technology advances. In many places in the United States, wind energy is less expensive to produce than energy from conventional sources. The cost of energy from electricity generated from carbon fuels has been increasing steadily and will continue to do so. This increase is due to many factors that include increased demand for coal to generate electricity in developing countries and volatility in supply due to worldwide supply issues. Many areas of the country, such as the Midwest, have shown that wind energy is a hedge against the volatility of fuel prices associated with traditional electricity sources. Once a windmill is built, the long-term operating costs are known because the fuel is free and the supply is endless. This allows the utilities to enter into long-term agreements with wind farm owners that have a fixed cost for the electricity that is produced. Electricity prices will be stabilized due to these long-term agreements.

What does this mean for my utility costs?

Wind energy actually can help to lower utility costs. Studies conducted by the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) show that with a critical mass of more than 10 percent wind energy penetration on the grid, electricity rates should go down. Pennsylvania has less than 1 percent wind energy penetration today. Moreover, almost all new electricity generation in the last decade has been fueled by natural gas. Studies show that increasing renewable energy will lower natural gas and electricity prices, saving Americans more than $100 billion over the next 20 years.

Aren't these wind farms being developed just to supply electricity to big cities like New York City and Washington, D.C.?

Electricity generated by the wind turbines will be consumed locally by the nearest businesses and homes needing power. Excess wind-generated electricity goes directly to the grid managed by PJM Interconnection. PJM operates the grid that serves all or part of 13 states in the Northeast, including Pennsylvania.

Is wind energy reliable?

Windmills are not meant to replace existing generating facilities. Instead, they will help to reduce the need to burn fossil fuels that create harmful pollution and diversify electricity supplies. No generating facility makes power 100 percent of the time. The statewide average for power production from all facilities, including coal, natural gas, wind, hydroelectric, solar, etc., is 50.5 percent. This is based on the total nameplate capacity installed in Pennsylvania and the total megawatt hours of electricity produced in the state. Technology exists today to make wind to be an even more substantial and significant contributor to the country’s power supply. Moreover, wind is especially valuable during our peak winter usage, and it replaces power from coal during those times. This helps reduce the significant health impacts from coal, including asthma and other breathing problems with their increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Wind energy is also an important part of the solution to reducing our nation’s impact upon global warming.

Why do we need new wind farms at all?

The nation’s demand for electricity is increasing at 3 percent per year. Windmills are a supplement to the overall makeup of the nation’s electricity supply. They diversify the production portfolio and help to stabilize long-term electricity costs. The U.S. Department of Energy is calling for a 20 percent penetration of wind energy onto the U.S. electricity grid. Pennsylvania mandates that by 2020, 18 percent of the state’s electricity must come from alternative energy sources, including wind, which can be harnessed in an ecologically sustainable way.

What about the legacy that wind farms leave behind?

Wind farms leave no lasting legacy. Unlike traditional power plants, Gamesa’s wind farms post a decommissioning bond that allows the turbines to be removed, after their 20- or 30-year lifecycle, and for their foundations to be restored fully to pre-existing conditions.

Aren't there other sites that are more appropriate than the top of a mountain?

Gamesa is taking exceptional measures to protect the natural habitat and wildlife. Proper design and the use of best management practices help to avoid conflicts with area species, especially migrating birds, bats and raptors. Avian surveys of the project area are coordinated with and reviewed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Over the last 20 years, technology has advanced so windmills can be sited to avoid harm to raptors altogether. Windmills today spin at slower rates and have tubular towers instead of lattice towers like those installed in the western United States in the 1980s and 1990s. These design changes have made all the difference. With the exception of one of the first commercial wind projects, which was installed in the Altamont Pass near San Francisco in the early 1980s, impacts to birds and raptors at projects have been very low.

National environmental protection laws apply to all wind projects, and states such as Pennsylvania have even added another layer of consultation and review by wildlife agencies. These safeguards, combined with preconstruction surveys to identify possible impacts, ensure that impacts remain low and wind energy is developed responsibly.

Will wind farm development affect local water supplies, or local streams and creeks?

Wind farms do not pollute or disturb subsurface water quantity or quality. In fact, Gamesa faces strict regulations to protect streams and creeks when siting and developing its wind farms. Gamesa is required to obtain a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit. State regulators will not grant permits for projects that negatively impact pristine waters.

Do wind farms affect habitat?

Gamesa's wind farms are designed to have little, if any, ecological impact. The company surveys the area for wetlands, rattlesnake dens, Allegheny woodrats, endangered plants, migrating birds and bats, eagle nests and more. Gamesa also signed a voluntary agreement with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to fully assess potential impact to wildlife at the company's development sites before building any wind farm, and to study each site for three years after construction to assess their actual impact. Gamesa also must coordinate and work with four state and federal agencies to survey project areas as part of the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory. PNDI is designed to protect the state's natural resources and the wildlife living in it.