Unlike conventional power plants, wind plants emit no air pollutants or greenhouse gases. In 1990, California's wind power plants offset the emission of more than 2.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, and 15 million pounds of other pollutants that would have otherwise been produced. It would take a forest of 90 million to 175 million trees to provide the same air quality. Even though the cost of wind power has decreased dramatically in the past 10 years, the technology requires a higher initial investment than fossil-fueled generators. Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly reduced through technological development or by properly siting wind plants.
Avian mortality remains an issue to be better understood and resolved.
The major challenge to using wind as a source of power is that it is intermittent and it does not always blow when electricity is needed. Finally, wind resource development may compete with other uses for the land and those alternative uses may be more highly valued than electricity generation. However, wind turbines can be located on land that is also used for grazing or even farming. Wind energy avoids the external or societal costs associated with conventional resources, namely, the trade deficit from importing foreign oil and other fuels, the health and environmental costs of pollution, and the cost of depleted resources. In 1994, wind turbine and component manufacturers contributed directly to the economies of 44 states, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.