Emma Stiner

Wind Energy: Property Owner Point of View

I know I hate the chill I get from the wind on a breezy afternoon, but after I realized wind can save

me money and help my health, it does not bother me as much. As a homeowner, I did not understand the

need wind turbines until I talked with my local town engineer. After that I realized that the benefits wind

power provide for the state and community far outweigh the ugliness of the structure and the potential

to decrease my property value.

Cities in Pennsylvania, such as Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, have some of the highest

rates of pollution in the country due to their dependence on fossil fuels. Creating more wind farms

throughout the state would not only decrease the pollution rates, but would also help workers in the fossil

fuel industry. Working with fossil fuels can greatly impact one’s health, and cause tremendous damage to

the lungs. The transition to wind energy, though, could help improve the workers’ health as they would

not be exposed to the dangerous fossil fuels Pennsylvania is currently using.

In comparison to fossil fuel energy, wind energy does not put the workers' health at as great of a

risk. Changing the energy source to wind, however, would not lay people off. These workers from the

fossil fuel industry could easily learn and work in the wind energy industry. Along with this, a wind farm

can mostly operate on its own. While workers are not needed for everyday work, they are needed to

periodically inspect and check the turbines to ensure safety and compliance. With wind turbines bringing

in the energy, workers will still be needed to supply the energy to the local area and make sure it is working

effectively.

Wind turbines are also relatively easy to install and are an effective way to provide energy.

Installing wind turbines would help bring business to Pennsylvania. Since Pennslyvania is home to the

Pocono and Allegheny Mountains, it would be easy to establish more wind farms throughout the state on
these mountains to decrease pollution while providing electricity to its residents. The wind farms would

not be visible by many and can also help power homes and businesses, especially ski mountains, in these

areas. Not only do the current 27 wind farms provide enough electricity for about 350,000 homes, they

also provide residents with a clean and renewable energy source that is relatively inexpensive.

Even though wind turbines are initially expensive, they will pay for themselves over time because

of the positive effect on the environment and residents. With the future of the environment being

unknown, Pennsylvania can help start the movement towards clean, renewable energy that helps both

the residents and the environment. There are many places to put wind turbines and maximize the land

use, especially on farms and rural areas. If wind turbines are put in these places, there would be little

disruption and it would benefit the local community by providing them with electricity. Wind energy

would be beneficial to residents and would also help farmers because the energy can be used to power

grinding grain and pumping water.

According to Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), wind energy only

generated 4.13 percent of electricity in the United States in 2013. After analyzing the country’s current

wind energy production, the U.S. Department of Energy developed a plan to have wind energy provide

10% of the U.S. with electricity by 2020, 20% by 2030 and 35% by 2050. With this plan in place,

Pennsylvania officials should take the time to evaluate the state’s current pollution rate and implement

ways throughout the state to improve energy use like the national government is. Pennsylvania has plenty

of areas where we can take advantage of the weather and convert it into clean energy that can help

alleviate the unhealthy yet fixable problem the state has. With the current pollution problem that exists

in Pennsylvania, I hope more residents understand and realize that wind turbines are not just ugly, but

can be beneficial and helpful to the local community.

Word Count: 676 words