Wind Energy- a viable alternative to fossil fuels now?

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It's good for small localized areas but for long distance transmission, it costs more to distribute the energy than what is actually generated. That's why Spain can afford to invest in windmills. On average, a wind farm produces roughly 2 GigaWatts of electricity a year. To put that in perspective, the coal mines just of my college campus produces 2 GigaWatts a day. So the power is still with coal, even though it may not be as efficient. Nuclear or solar will probably be the future because they are both efficient and green.

People think that nuclear is dangerous, but on average nuclear still much much lower than that from coal http://www.the9billion.com/2011/03/24/death-rate-from-nuclear-power-vs-coal/.

A month or so ago, they have made solar panels that are 40% efficient which is quite remarkable. They think that the 50% mark will be broken within a few years. Now these won't be commercially available for at least 10 years. Right now the commercial panels are about 20%. Over the next few decades, the price of panels will decrease and the price of fossil fuels will increase. As these both happen, they will eventually cross paths and solar will most likely become the new standard for energy.

This video is a great discussion about energy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvsFWUo2iIw