According to a recent study, if operators reduced output from the most polluting fossil fuel-based power plants when wind energy is available, the health benefits of using wind energy could more than quadruple.
Nevertheless, disadvantaged communities would only receive a smaller portion of these advantages in comparison to wealthier communities.
Health benefits of using wind energy instead of fossil fuels
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Almost 10% of the electricity used in the United States today is generated by wind.
By replacing the emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants that would otherwise be produced by fossil fuel-based power plants, renewable energy sources benefit the environment, air quality, and public health, as per ScienceDaily.
According to a recent MIT study, the health advantages of wind energy could more than quadruple if operators prioritized reducing the output of the dirtiest fossil fuel-based power plants when wind energy is available.
Researchers examined the hourly operation of wind turbines as well as the reported emissions from each fossil fuel-based power plant in the nation between 2011 and 2017 for the study, which was published in Science Advances.
They tracked emissions across the nation and linked the pollutants to the effected populations' demographics.
The cost to each community's health of the regional air quality was then calculated.
According to the researchers, state-level policies linked to wind energy in 2014 resulted in overall improvements in air quality that generated $2 billion in health benefits across the nation.
However, only about 30% of these health advantages reached underprivileged communities.
The research team discovered that the overall health benefits could increase by a factor of four to $8.4 billion across the country if the electricity industry reduced the output of the most polluting fossil fuel-based power plants rather than the most cost-saving ones during periods of wind-generated power.
The results would have a comparable demographic breakdown, though.
To determine how regional electricity markets changed the output of power plants in response to influxes of renewable energy, the team's new study looked for patterns between periods of wind power generation and the activity of fossil fuel-based power plants.
To do this, the researchers compared two historical datasets from the years 2011 to 2017: a detailed record of emissions measurements from every fossil fuel-based power plant in the United States, and an hour-by-hour record of energy output from wind turbines across the nation.
Each of the seven significant regional electricity markets, which each supply energy to one or more states, was covered by the datasets.
In general, they noticed that markets adjusted by essentially reducing the power output of natural gas and sub-bituminous coal-fired power plants during periods when wind energy was available.
They observed that since some plants were less expensive to reject than others, it is likely that the plants that were rejected were chosen to save money.
After simulating the wind patterns and chemical transport of emissions across the nation, the team was able to pinpoint where and at what concentrations the emissions gave rise to fine particulates and ozone, two pollutants that are known to have a negative impact on both air quality and human health.
Finally, the researchers used U.S. Census data to map the general demographic populations across the nation.
They then used a conventional epidemiological approach to determine the cost to a population's health of exposure to pollution.
Challenges of Wind Energy
Other cheap energy sources must compete with wind energy.
Wind and solar power projects are now more economically competitive than gas, geothermal, coal, or nuclear power plants when comparing the cost of energy associated with new power plants, as per Office Of Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy.
However, in some places that are not sufficiently windy, wind projects might not be cost-competitive.
Costs can be reduced even further with the aid of cutting-edge technology, better manufacturing practices, and a deeper comprehension of the physics of wind farms.
Ideal wind sites are frequently found in isolated areas.
To meet demand, it is necessary to bring electricity from wind farms to urban areas, but installation difficulties must be overcome.
The cost of increasing land-based wind energy could be greatly reduced by upgrading the nation's transmission network to connect regions with plentiful wind resources to major population centers.
Additionally, grid interconnection and transmission capabilities for offshore wind energy are developing.
