Most power in the United States does not come from wind, but this may change. Wind is now the fastest growing source of power in the world. Why is wind power becoming popular?
To understand the answer, we need to know why people did not use wind power so much. It is true that the wind will always blow again, but it isn’t always easy to guess when and where it will blow next. People discovered ways to create power that were more reliable. Steam and fossil fuels (矿物燃料), such as coal and oil, are very effective sources of energy.
In the past forty years, we have found that burning fossil fuels is not a perfect way to create power. During the 1970s, there was not enough oil available for energy. People started to realize that wind power might be one way of creating more energy. Unlike oil, wind cannot run out. As long as the wind blows, it can supply us with energy. Wind power is also a clean energy. Burning oil and coal makes the air we breathe dirty, but wind does not need to be burned to create power. It is a power on its own. Wind power may not be as reliable as fossil fuels, but our ability to catch and use the wind has improved over time.
We have improved wind machines to catch the wind and turn it into electricity more easily. We have also been able to use more wind power by building more wind farm. They are large areas with many tall wind machines arranged next to each other. Sometimes these wind farms are called wind plants.
Wind farms work best in places that are very windy on land. Another good place to catch the wind is the ocean. The wind over water is often stronger than over land. Ocean winds are more reliable than land winds. The ocean has no buildings or trees to block the wind.
Wind farms are a very effective way to create electricity, but they have their problems. They take up a lot of space on land. Many people think the machines are ugly and too noisy. Wind plants in the ocean mean that less land is needed, but they have problems, too. Buildings must worry about storms and ice. People also worry that these wind plants make noise that might scare away (吓跑) birds, fish, and other water animals.
One solution to these problems might be to build flying wind plants high in the air. The winds high in the air are strong and reliable, but for now this is just an idea.