There is a lot on the line with diminishing fossil fuel resources. The wind power vs. solar power debate should have ended by now and resulted in less competition and more cooperation.
I know what you’re thinking – the competition is only good for both products and I agree, but my point is they just don’t have to be mutually exclusive technologies and we shouldn’t look at it like one or the or the other has to be chosen. Wind and solar can work together in a complementary fashion.
Since renewable resources are all we have to rely on to replace oil, gas, and coal, we have to take advantage of all that’s available.
Let me explain why these 2 energy producing devices work together well.
Solar has many advantages that are complimentary to wind
The sun is out all day, but not of night. This of course, is the largest downside of using solar panels. Without question, many areas of the world are a lot better than others for solar. That is due to the fact that certain areas like Las Vegas, Nevada have up to 85% with at least some sun, while areas like Buffalo, New York only have 48% sunny days.
The sun is “passive energy” at its ultimate – there are no parts that are mechanical. These systems are very simple so there is nothing really to break. They are almost always mounted on a roof which makes them very simple to access and work on if they do in fact require maintenance.
Wind power is effective for the following reasons
Wind is available to drive a turbine during the day and during the night, (but it blows stronger and more consistently during daylight hours). The reason for that is the way wind is created. The ground is heated during the day and, as the heat is released, it creates vertical lift and air movement.
Nevertheless, wind turbines can work to make some power at night, whereas solar cannot.
Wind power also takes up very little space if you mount on your roof – less even than a solar system.
The most successful renewable energy systems in the future will be hybrids – both solar and wind together – taking advantage of the strengths of both ways of making energy. WindEnergy7 has hybrid systems now for example that mount on a roof and are easy to install.
The great thing about the hybrid system is your resulting energy produced will be amplified by being able to harvest power both day and night.
Summarizing, the only way to begin to dig ourselves out of the energy hole we have dug for ourselves is to work hard to take advantage of ALL available renewable resources. We simply can’t afford to neglect any one way of harvesting available energy.
Therefore, we should change our energy question going forward from wind power vs. solar power to, “how can we use both wind and the sun to get the most energy out of our world.”
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Roger G. Brown has been an energy engineer for 20 years. Take a minute and check out Roger’s tips on how to save money AND maybe get a Wind Tax Credit.
