In several recent published studies, researchers have explored the issue
of turbines stealing energy from the wind, creating drag or a "wind shadow"
of air slowed by the spinning blades. Each turbine added to a particular
landscape captures less energy.
As seemingly limitless as the air that swirls around us, wind
has proven to be the world's fastest-growing source of
renewable energy. Backers suggest wind power can continue growing as quickly as
companies can raise turbines to capture it.
But some scientists are challenging that assumption, arguing
that the laws of physics will limit wind's potential for meeting the world's
energy needs. The controversy arises from the turbines themselves. "As
soon as you start to put turbines into the wind, you start to change the resource,"
said Amanda Adams, a meteorologist who conducts atmospheric modeling at
the University of North Carolina Charlotte. (See related quiz: "What You Don't
Know About Wind Energy.")
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