Environmental Impacts Of Wind Power Generation

Is wind energy an increasing and efficient alternative to fossil fuels? In the article, Wind Power Puffery, H. Sterling Burnett states that wind power is not a reliable source of energy. Burnett exclaims that wind turbines are "noisy, land-intensive, and unsightly" and compares them to highways, industrial buildings, and industrial farms (Burnett 247). Politicians that support wind power argue that turbines will reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The author contrasts these views by informing that turbines indeed pollute the air when they are being built and maintained. Another downfall to wind power is environmental effects. "Lawsuits are either pending or being considered to prevent expansion of wind farms in West Virginia

When companies wanted the turbines to be built, it opens up about 100-150 jobs for people. These include the roads leading to the turbines, turbine foundations, construction of the turbines and then hooking to the electrical collection systems. After this whole process is completed, 8-9 full time employees oversee day-to-day operations and maintenance for the turbines. Kansas is ranked 5th for the number of wind related jobs. Because of the energy the wind turbines create, it saved the capital investment over $5 billion. The farmers make money off these turbines because the companies pay them for placing the towers on their land. Farmers in all are making around $8,000,000 off land lease payments a year. Not only are wind turbines making big bucks and big energy, but they are safe for the environment! Generating wind power creates no emissions and uses virtually no water! About 2 billion gallons of water per year are being saved from the wind farms and turbines in Kansas. The wind power installed in Kansas will avoid over 5.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, which is the equivalent of taking over 990,000 cars off the road. Another positive of the wind turbines effecting the environment is how much it reduces nonrenewable energy. Wind energy does not get rid of natural resources and renews every day as the earth cools and heats. The turbines only

People all around the world believe that wind power would be more efficient than burning fossil fuels, however; it causes more problems than what most people know. As H. Sterling Burnett begins in his article Wind Power Puffery, he states, "But is tis assertion correct? No, the truth is wind power's environmental benefits are usually overstated, while its significant environmental harms are often ignored" (Burnett 247). Having wind power may have little benefits, however; people fail to realize that they are not as great as the seem. Often throughout the article Burnett would talk about the wind turbines and how they were a problem for not only migrating birds and bats but the amount of land they consume as well. At night the bats fail to see

Just in 2008 wind power provided 15,000 megawatts of power, the equivalent of powering 3 million houses. Every megawatt produced by wind reduces 1,220 pounds of CO2 emissions. If the US had 20% of power produced by wind it would be the same as taking 71 million cars off the road and planting 104 million trees. These huge wind turbines don’t build themselves, it would generate millions of consistent jobs for americans. Wind-generating capacity in the United States grew 39 percent per year from 2004 to 2009, and is expected to grow more rapidly as demand for renewable energy increases. As the wind energy industry continues to grow, it will provide many opportunities for workers in search of new careers. Wind energy careers extend beyond the windfarm to the offices and factories which they are

Just as there are positive benefits from utilizing this renewable source, there are also some key disadvantages associated with wind energy generation which should be considered. Firstly, the effect of visual impacts depends not only upon the outward appearance of the turbines, but also the individual's personal attitudes to their presence (G.M Shafiullah, 2012). Similarly, a study conducted by Gourlay (2008) showed that the majority of the UK population (approximately 70%) had displayed a positive outlook

Wind provides a source of energy that can be collected and used to power electricity. By utilizing wind energy, companies and cities can more cleanly and efficiently supply their electricity. Turbines have been installed across the globe to supply this energy and are usually placed in open fields where wind flow is high and steady, and they are not close to residential areas. However, their distance from cities makes the process of transferring the energy more difficult and costly. Because of this additional cost, some think it is a better idea to place the turbines closer to the cities for which they provide energy. The issue with plants being closer to towns, however, is that wind turbines can be disruptive to the peace, causing nuisance

The three wind farms operating in B.C. don’t raise this issue to the same extent because of their locations. A fourth, under construction at Cape Scott on the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island, is also far from any large population centre.

Another concern that comes along with wind energy is the amount of noise produced by the turbines. People living nearby wind farms may be bothered by the noise of the turbines, although, for the most part the noise of the mechanical system is usually masked by the wind itself. Since the turbines only run when the wind is blowing, there is no “still” noise.

Wind turbines are a great way of conserving energy,there are some disadvantages to it though, but here are some solutions to those disadvantages. A solution to the problem of the loud sound of the wind turbines is that people who live in that area could get sound proofed walls. Even though it is expensive though soundproofing is expensive it would be well worth it not keeping you up at night. For the shadow flicker you could always get curtains or shades for your windows for your house. Sadly you wouldn't have much sunlight but that's better than on and off

The second major negative effect is on wildlife. Although wind turbines are effect alternative energy that used to generated electricity, the hidden threat is a devastating wildlife such as bird and bat collision with the turbine. Bird and bat fly through space at a low pressure; therefore, make birds and bats lose balance in flight. A study analysis shows that 20-40 birds are exterminated by the wind turbines each year (Rosenbloom, 2006). The construction of wind turbines resulted in the diversity and population of the birds and bats decrease, it never come back again after start to use the wind turbine. Though wind turbine is not located directly on the food. Notwithstanding the impact of wind turbines is not a major problem, if neglected

Rogers A, Manwell J & Wright S. (2006): Wind Turbine Acoustic Noise. Renewable Energy Research Laboratory, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

From some of the local farmers and residence we the committee have spoken to; their only concern was if that it would affect their livestock and/or the wildlife. In Michigan, Heritage Sustainable Energy is the main company to construct wind turbines (heritagewindenergy.com).

Article: Sue Wright, 2005, Wind power – what you need to know, viewed on August 15, 2011, retrieved from: www.environmentaction.org.au

First, both wind and solar power benefit the environment. Unlike fossil fuels, which produce carbon dioxide during combustion inside a power plant, wind turbines and photovoltaic cells do not produce any carbon emissions while in operation. Carbon dioxide is particularly harmful because it stays in Earth’s atmosphere as a greenhouse gas, which accelerates global warming by trapping more of the sun’s heat inside of the atmosphere. In turn, higher temperatures can lead to melting of the icecaps, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather. These effects of global warming are perfect in order to damage property, especially on property lying close to the shoreline. Organisms which are not accustomed to such conditions might decrease in population size or even go extinct, affecting other organisms and ecosystem as it does so. Ocean acidification can also happen during high levels of carbon

6. Wind turbines have a role to play in both the developed and third world.