Simple math shows that a marginal gas or oil well has a power density at least 22 times that of a wind turbine while a nuclear powerplant has a power density that is more than 8 times that of a solar photovoltaic facility.
Even under optimum conditions, it takes anywhere from 300 to 600 square miles of wind turbines to generate as much electricity as a single conventional powerplant.
The good news was that the wind was blowing from the northwest and sending the smoke from the crippled Fukushima nuclear powerplant over the Pacific Ocean.
For example, Lisa McNeilly, a collaborator on the report, said it might be cheaper for a rural town that currently does not have electricity to construct a wind or solar energy facility in the village instead of wiring in electricity from a powerplant located a hundred miles away.
At any rate, a group of municipal power companies in the American Midwest reckon that building a wind-powered compressed-air plant to take advantage of the blustery Great Plains will be worthwhile.