Why wind energy isn’t living up to its pollution-preventing potential
Story by Justine Calma • Yesterday 2:22 PM
Wind power isn’t cleaning up as much pollution as it could, especially in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods, new research shows. The US’s wind energy boom has already led to billions of dollars of health benefits. But the majority of that hasn’t trickled into communities that have historically been burdened with the most air pollution, finds a study published today in the journal Science Advances. Fortunately, that could change if new wind energy projects are deployed more strategically.
Over the past two decades, wind energy has grown from less than half a percent of the US electricity mix in 2002 to almost 10 percent today. By 2014, increasing amounts of wind energy had measurably improved air quality, resulting in health benefits across the US, according to the new study. But only 32 percent of those benefits reached low-income communities. And just 29 percent reached racial and ethnic minority populations.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, has set a goal of ensuring that 40 percent of the benefits from clean energy reach “disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.”
Wind energy isn’t cleaning up as much pollution as it could, especially in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods
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