Nuclear troubles puts wind power in the spotlight

The still-developing nuclear disaster in Japan threatens to kill the nascent revival of atomic energy production in the United States, but we hope it only serves to improve reactors that will be built here in the coming decades.

With few other resources, Japan had to rely on nuclear power to support an economy dependent on high productivity.

America is blessed with many choices when it comes to energy -- coal, oil, hydro, solar and wind as well as nuclear, but we need to find the proper balance.

In calling for finding ways to properly incorporate wind into Nebraska's energy mix, we suggested that filling our energy needs entirely with wind would require "a large fraction" of the state's land.

While miles of wind turbines might create the perception of large land requirements, the amount of land actually taken out of agricultural production isn't that great, according to figures provided by the Nebraska Public Power District.

We found the numbers very interesting.

The 117 wind turbines now in operation at Ainsworth, Elkhorn Ridge near Bloomfield and Laredo Ridge near Petersburg actually used a total of 103.5 acres of land, or .5 percent of the 19,500 acre plots they occupy. The rest of the land continues to be used for pasture or farmland.

Replacing 1,200 megawatts of power from a nuclear power plant with wind would, allowing for wind power's 30 percent capacity, require 2,400 wind turbines (1.5 mw each) covering 100,000 acres or 280 square miles of land, according to Mark Becker, media relations specialist. A one megawatt wind turbine needs about 50 acres of land for the proper footprint and wind sweep.

NPPD needs about 2,400 megawatts on average, which would require about 4,800 wind turbines covering 360,000 acres or 560 square miles.

With 77,000 square miles of land in the state, NPPD would require about 1 percent to generate all of its electricity by wind. Add Omaha Public Power District, Tri-State in the panhandle and others such as Grand Island, Hastings and Fremont, and the requirement might rise to 2-3 percent.

Wind has the advantage over solar in that a wind turbine doesn't shut off sunlight from the ground the way a solar farm might.

Of greater concern, however is the need to transmit the power generated at remote wind farms to customers in more populated areas. Sometimes, building power lines to accomplish that goal runs into opposition by landowners.

Another issue, of course, is the fact that wind is intermittent, and the lowest period for wind production at wind farms is the summer, unfortunately the time of highest demand for air conditioning and pivot irrigation. Less electricity is needed during the fall, winter and early spring, when wind production is the strongest.

Wind power, like every other energy source, has its advantages and drawbacks. With nuclear energy's dangers in the spotlight, however, wind is likely to become a more and more viable option as utilities strive to meet the demands of a growing economy.