Wind Power: What Can One Person Do?

Could wind power be a viable alternative toexpanding. We now have the technology to produce
conventional methods of power generation?much cleaner power from coal. Much the same could
If looked at from a slightly different perspective,be said of other fossil fuels, but whichever way you
wind power may already be a viable alternative - thecut it, the end result is still environmentally unfriendly.
link below is a web page where you can buy yourOn a global scale nuclear power generation, with all its
own domestic wind turbine.waste management issues, produced 366 Gw in
It produces around 1Kw at moderate wind speeds2005. Wind power produced 74 Gw in 2006.
and costs around 1500GBP.Comparing one to other indicates that wind power
Okay, so it's not cost effective, but it is a step alonghas lots of ground to make up, but this is where the
the road. The manufacturer and retailer must believecomparison falls down and fails to demonstrate the
they have a market. If they have, the unit cost willpotential.
fall as sales rise. Once competition gets hold, theWith conventional power production, coal, oil, gas and
performance of equipment from alternative suppliersnuclear, the only interaction an individual may have is
will improve.to say yes or no to the power production plans of a
This and commercial wind farms still won't meet thegovernment. With wind power generation, the
rising thirst for cheap energy. The real issue is - Howconsumer can produce private power and reduce the
do we get people to use less?demands on the grid at an individual level.
Let's not forget that there are still coal reserves inThere are over twenty-one million households in the
the ground sufficient for between two and threeUK. Imagine, if every residence produced 1Kw of
centuries. The UK in recent decades has stoppedpower whenever the wind blew, the scale would be
mining coal on a national basis, yet the few minesphenomenal. Around 21 Gw peak power.
that continued in private ownership are profitable and