Wind energy could cause significant warming in the United States that would take 100 years to offset itself

Wind energy seems to be a better alternative to burning fossil fuels. On the one hand, it does not generate greenhouse gases, which is largely attributed to global warming caused by humans.

The results of a new study suggest, however, that wind energy also has an undesirable impact on the climate.

Researchers Harvard University researchers Lee Miller and David Keith have discovered that a large amount of wind energy could actually translate into more pronounced climate warming, at least regionally and globally. in the coming decades.

Their study, which was published in the journal Joule On October 4, it was found that if wind energy met all of the country's electricity demands, the temperature in the continental United States would increase by 0.24 ° C, as wind turbines would redistribute heat in the United States. 'atmosphere.

"Wind turbines produce electricity but also alter atmospheric flux," Miller said in a statement. Cell press published by Science Daily.

"These effects redistribute heat and humidity into the atmosphere, which has an impact on the climate. We have tried to model these effects on a continental scale. "

The increase is significant in that it could exceed the reduction in US warming that the country has achieved by decarbonising its electricity sector during this century.

The researchers also found that it would take about a century to compensate for the warming by reductions in the concentration of wind-related greenhouse gases.

Keith said that the direct impact of wind energy on the climate is instantaneous and that the benefits accumulate slowly.

He said that the wind would be much cleaner than gas or coal if the prospect was that of the next thousand years, but that if the prospects were the next ten years, wind power could, to some Considerations, have more impact on the climate than gas or coal.

The researchers said wind energy could beat coal from any environmental measure, but that does not mean its impacts are negligible.

While it is crucial to move quickly from fossil fuels to impurities to halt the massive carbon emissions that warm the planet, the researchers said it was important to choose from a variety of low-emission technologies. carbon.

The researchers found that solar energy had about 10 times less impact than wind in terms of temperature difference per unit of energy production. Nevertheless, it also has its own environmental and social impacts.

"Wind's global impact on the environment is certainly lower than that of fossil energy. However, while the energy system is decarbonized, decisions between wind and solar energy must be informed by estimates of their climate impacts, "the researchers wrote in their study.