Text 3 (Questions 1-5)

Global warming could be causing long-term shifts in the generation of wind energy. New research published in the journal Nature Geoscience suggests that future climate change might cause wind resources to decline across the Northern Hemisphere. These losses could be tempered by increases in wind power potential south of the equator, under severe climate change scenarios.

It’s already known that climate change can affect global wind patterns. One reason winds exist is because certain parts of the planet receive differing levels of solar radiation. The result is varying levels of atmospheric pressure around the globe, which affects the way air flows from one place to another. So, scientists are well-aware that changes in global temperatures, particularly when those changes are occurring faster in some regions, like the Arctic, than in others may affect the flow of air around the planet. And these changes could have a big impact on the amount of power wind turbines are able to produce from the air flowing around them.

The projected declines in the Northern Hemisphere are not trivial, but certainly not enough to disqualify wind as a competitive source of renewable energy, according to cautioned lead study author Kristopher Karnauskas of the University of Colorado. But they do suggest that energy planners should take the future climate into account when creating long-term strategies for renewables. “On a local level, I think this study can provide some important information in terms of planning and allocating resources, where to build new wind farms relative to other locations, or deferred maintenance—which ones to service next if you have finite financial resources,” says Karnauskas.

“Wind power should still be considered an important part of the portfolio of enewable investments, as part of the broader strategy to reduce carbon emissions and so forth,” Karnauskas said. “And as renewables, including wind, are a part of the strategy, it’s just important to make sure we fully understand how the potential efficacy of that strategy may be changing concurrently with the problem itself.”

Source: Scientific American