Today, the torch atop the Statue of Liberty -- the nation's symbol of hope and freedom -- is powered by wind energy. And what a powerful symbol of our determination to become less dependent on foreign oil and more optimistic about America's energy future.
During the last five years, wind energy development in the United States has more than doubled. Proponents -- and I am one -- believe that wind energy is reaching a critical "tipping point," what author Malcolm Gladwell calls the "magic moment when an idea crosses the threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire."
Northwest Missouri farmers and the Missouri Rural Electric Cooperatives would agree. They recently joined with John Deere and the Wind Capital Group, the company I head, in breaking ground in King City for the state's first utility-scale wind power facility. The Bluegrass Ridge wind farm will be operational by December and provide enough power to supply approximately 20,000 homes. The same group has announced a second project to be built next spring in nearby Atchison County.
Although skeptics dismiss renewable power as costly, unreliable and insufficient, several factors suggest otherwise. First, wind power is beginning to make economic sense and soon may become the nation's most affordable energy source.
Not only is wind abundant, local and free, but now we also have technology that makes the turbines that capture wind energy more efficient. The cost of electricity generated from coal and natural gas fluctuates with the market for those commodities, but the cost of wind power remain constant over the 20-year life of a project.
Of course, the United States will continue to rely heavily upon coal for decades to come, but one thing is certain: As the supplies of fossil fuels are depleted and their prices continue to rise, the price of renewable energy will continue to fall.
In addition, energy policy now is a national security issue. The major oil-producing areas on which we rely are in unstable parts of the world or are hostile to U.S. interests. This leaves us vulnerable to the whims of foreign governments that can use their oil deposits as political levers. It also provides plenty of opportunities for terrorists to interrupt the importation and transportation of oil to this country.
But perhaps the most immediate appeal of wind energy development is the way it can transform rural communities. During the 1930s, farm communities changed dramatically for the better, thanks to the Rural Electric Association. Families traded kerosene-operated refrigerators for electric ones, replaced their battery-operated radios with ones that plugged in and exchanged coal oil lamps for incandescent light.
In the waning years of the 20th century, many of these same communities suffered declines in population and prosperity. Younger people moved out, and small businesses closed. During its heyday, King City, which lies less than 100 miles north of Kansas City, was a thriving community known for the production of high quality bluegrass seed. But over the years it has lost population, jobs and income.
These days, with construction underway, there's a buzz in the air around King City again. Instead of bluegrass seed, the new cash crop will be electricity from the Bluegrass Ridge wind project. The cafes are full. Trucks loaded with building supplies and equipment remind residents that the area is experiencing the greatest infusion of economic investment in its history.
And while farmers certainly welcome the annual cash payments that will come from participation in the project, most will tell you that they are more pleased with the new tax base and increased funds for schools it will create.
Now is the time to invest in our communities and improve our national security through the development of locally-produced wind. We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by supporting and promoting this completely clean source of power. The winds of change are blowing.
A Chinese proverb says, "When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills."
Tom Carnahan is president of Wind Capital Group, a wind energy development company based in St. Louis.
Source:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/
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