Pennsylvania Wind Energy, a Smart choice for Viridian Customers
As of 2000, the Pennsylvania electricity market is deregulated - meaning that electricity consumers can choose which company they want to produce their energy such as Viridian which uses 20% Renewable GREEN Energy, while transmission and distribution are still handled by the local utilities. This means that Pennsylvania consumers can purchase clean, renewable wind energy to power their homes and businesses, with no change in service or reliability. For more information visit www.SwitchElectricRates.com Viridian is currently available to PPL customers.
Wind power is a free and inexhaustible ("renewable") source of energy. Unlike fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which exist in a finite supply and which must be extracted from the earth at great environmental cost, wind turbines harness a boundless supply of kinetic energy in the form of wind.
Adding wind power to the energy supply diversifies the national energy portfolio and reduces America's reliance on imported fuels, stabilizing the the cost of electricity, reducing vulnerability to price spikes and supply disruptions, and bolstering the security of our national energy supply.
Wind farm development is an excellent source of local jobs, from construction to maintenance and upkeep.
Because good wind resources are often found in remote and/or economically disadvantaged areas, wind power provides steady and significant revenue to rural landowners, farmers, and communities. Wind turbines occupy little surface area, leaving land open for farming, housing, and other uses.Wind power farms generate between 17 and 39 times as much power as they consume, as compared to 16 times for nuclear plants and 11 times for coal plants, according to a study of Midwestern wind farms by the University of Wisconsin.
Benefits of Wind Energy
Wind energy releases no pollution into the air or water, and does not contribute to global warming. According to the American Wind Energy Association.
Wind power is a free and inexhaustible ("renewable") source of energy. Unlike fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which exist in a finite supply and which must be extracted from the earth at great environmental cost, wind turbines harness a boundless supply of kinetic energy in the form of wind.
Adding wind power to the energy supply diversifies the national energy portfolio and reduces America's reliance on imported fuels, stabilizing the cost of electricity, reducing vulnerability to price spikes and supply disruptions, and bolstering the security of our national energy supply.
Wind farm development is an excellent source of local jobs, from construction to maintenance and upkeep.
Because good wind resources are often found in remote and/or economically disadvantaged areas, wind power provides steady and significant revenue to rural landowners, farmers, and communities. Wind turbines occupy little surface area, leaving land open for farming, housing, and other uses.
Wind Energy by the Numbers
Wind energy produced worldwide: 65,000,000,000 kWh per year (enough power for 6 million U.S. homes)
Wind energy produced in the U.S.: 16,000,000,000 kWh per year (enough power for 1.6 million homes)
Potential U.S. wind energy production by 2020: enough power for 25 million homes yearly
Installed cost of wind energy: 2-6 cents/kWh
Yearly emissions eliminated by generating energy from a 1 MW wind turbine instead of 1 MW of conventional sources: over 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide, 6.5 tons of sulfur dioxide, 3.2 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 60 pounds of mercury in one year.
Wind power farms generate between 17 and 39 times as much power as they consume, as compared to 16 times for nuclear plants and 11 times for coal plants, according to a study of Midwestern wind farms by the University of Wisconsin.
