/sci/ - Science & Math

>>10443309
>take up thousands of acres
The largest off shore wind farm in the world occupies less than 20k acres. You realize how big the ocean is, right? 88,960,000,000 acres.
>prone to wear and a lifespan of about two decades
Two decades? Oh no, how will we ever maintain something that requires attention every twenty years... I don't think you realize how long 20 years actually is, what were you doing in 1999? Not to mention windfarms have largely outlasted their expected lifespan and this continues to increase.
>viability is geographically limited to areas with decent wind
Not true at all. The vast majority of the ocean has windspeeds that actually far exceed the needs of windfarms. (See attached photo, anywhere that's not purple/blue is ideal for wind turbines). The greater limitation at this point is that we cannot just build windfarms in the middle of the ocean, they must be close to shore lines where the power will be consumed.
>ultra huge windfarms are posited to effect weather patterns
If you're talking about offshore windfarms, the effect they have on weather patterns is negligible, especially when compared to other energy methods we currently use which produce air pollution. If you're talking land-based windfarms though, it has been shown that these do cause microclimate effects for their surroundings. However, these changes are largely beneficial since most land-based windfarms in the US are located on farms in the midwest where the microclimate effects actually prevents the late spring and early autumn frosts, and also reduces the action of pathogenic fungi that grow on the leaves..

I ain't even gonna take you on solar because you've proven yourself to be an absolute brainlet.