Wind farms may alter weather patterns

Clean energy may leave a 'wind' print.

Wind is the natural resource that gained a lot of headlines during the recent energy crisis.  Two University of Maryland Scientists have shown that wind turbines can affect the weather directly.  More below:  If you are looking for my morning weather post on the Winter Storm Watch, click here.  If you missed my story on towns mixing food to stretch expensive road salt click here.

While the debate on carbon footprints still goes on in scientific circles, now add wind farms to the mix.  By now, most of you have either heard or signed up to join T Boone Pickens in the 'fight' against energy dependence from foreign oil.  Pickens Plan calls for an elaborate mix of home owned natural gas and renewable energy sources.  The most profound, is the call for a continuous wind farm from the Canadian boarder through Texas. 

Scientists Daniel Barrie and Daniel Kirk-Davidoff of the University of Maryland have told DiscoverNews that they have conducted experiments on the affects the 300 foot turbines would have on the wind.  Considering the conservation of energy, moving the turbines (to create electricity) would result in a drop of wind speed by about 5-7 mph.  More importantly, the resulting winds would ripple through the atmosphere downstream and impact weather systems in a way not fully understood yet.  Rather than get into the physics of what could happen in may different scenarios, wind sheer of any sort in the central plains is not a good thing.  Think tornadoes!

Wind farms over the water:   Goran Brostrom of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute in Oslo has published research indicating that offshore wind farms might alter ocean currents in another way.  Upwelling.  This is the churning of surface water to bring colder, deeper water to the surface.  This interaction could have more profound effects with normal developing storms, as well as the flow of the currents themselves.  The main idea here is that we are in the infancy of this science.  Rather than jump to extravagant solutions with good intent, the true effects should be studied in detail.  Perhaps the Renewable Energy examiner will pick it up from here?

What do you think?  Your comments are always welcome.