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- A Harvard study found that large-scale wind farms have a more immediate and localized effect on surface temperature.
- The study found that turbines slowed the wind, which could affect "heat, moisture and momentum" between the atmosphere and the surface.
- Proponents of wind energy criticized the study and pointed out that any localized temperature change had the same effects as emissions-induced global warming.
A study by Harvard researchers suggests that large-scale implementation of wind turbines would increase local temperatures in the immediate future.
If the country radically transformed its production industry into large-scale wind farms, the average surface temperature of the continental United States would increase by 0.24 degrees Celsius, according to a study published Thursday by two Harvard authors. Such an increase in temperature would exceed the expected reduction in warming by 0.1 degrees Celsius if the United States were to decarbonize their electricity sector. A separate report from the authors also revealed that a complete switch to renewable energy would require five to twenty times more than originally planned.
Harvard professor David Keith and Lee Miller, a postdoctoral researcher focused on large-scale wind energy, were the two authors of the two research projects. While the paper questions the environmental good faith of wind energy, the authors note that the effects on temperature are immediate, the long-term implementation of wind energy proving itself always more beneficial than coal and gas.
"The direct impacts of wind energy on the climate are instantaneous, while the benefits of reducing emissions are slowly accumulating," said Keith, the lead author of the paper. "If you are considering the next 10 years, wind energy has, in some ways, more impact on the climate than coal or gas. If you are considering the next thousand years, then wind energy has a lot less impact on the climate than coal or gas. "
The study examines the consequences of using wind energy to produce electricity. When a turbine uses the outside air to extract energy, the wind is eventually slowed down, resulting in "heat, moisture and momentum exchange." between the surface and the atmosphere, "he explains. While previous researchers had studied the use of turbines and their effect on the wind, these studies generally covered only global or small-scale impacts. The Harvard study examines a "plausible scale" of wind energy in a large country. (RELATED: Ministry of Energy invests nearly $ 30 million to strengthen cyber security)
The study also revealed that the impact of wind energy on the climate was about 10 times higher than that of solar energy.
"Our analysis suggests that, to the extent possible, it would make sense to push a little stronger the development of solar energy and a little less strong against the wind," Keith said in a statement, according to MIT Technology Review.
However, this controversial study sparked opposition from wind energy advocates and other critics.
"Given that the recent study focuses only on localized impacts over a short period, it significantly overestimates the impact on surface temperature of renewable resources compared to fossil fuels," said Michael Goggin, former director of the search for the American Wind Energy Association statement. "If the document looked more closely at the global and sustainable schedules that matter, renewable resources would sell hundreds of times, if not infinitely better than fossil resources."
Steven Sherwood, a professor at the University of New South Wales, acknowledged that the study was a useful calculation, but added that localized warming of wind farms would not produce the same environmental effects as those caused by the global warming of the ice sheets and rising sea level.
"The wind does not contribute to ocean acidification. I would therefore characterize these impacts as extremely minor compared to those of the greenhouse gas emissions that they would be displacing. In addition, if the wind farms were located above the oceans, the impacts would be even smaller, "Sherwood told E & E News.
The issue is likely to be more debated, as wind energy is rapidly becoming a more important part of the country's energy portfolio. Since 2000, wind energy has been multiplied by 35. The Ministry of Energy predicts that the capacity of wind turbines will increase by more than fourfold by 2050.
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