Micro Wind Turbine, Not really worth the effort!
Sunday, December 2nd, 2007
Ok, so till date we were so consciously looking for an alternative to fossil fuels that we actually overlooked the hazards that such methods could possibly cause. One such important issue is about the micro wind turbines, designed to suit the cities. The ‘oh so good’ alternative for generating electricity actually has the potential of increasing the carbon footprints of any environmentally conscious city household where it might be installed.
A study by The Building Research Establishment Trust (BRE trust) on the performance of wind turbines in the cities like Manchester, Lerwick and Portsmouth revealed that the weak wind and turbulence can make turbines produce so much carbon dioxide that it possibility of paying it back is nullified.
Apart from the energy spent in the manufacturing process of such units using aluminium, steel, fibreglass and copper, the transportation of the units to the site and its maintenance thereafter (due to weak and turbulent wind in the built up areas) is also likely to increase the carbon footprints of the turbines which were actually perceived to be environmentally friendly.