What About A Wind Farm?

These days, everyone is looking for a way to generate electricity without resorting to environmentally damaging and unsustainable (or unsafe) methods such as coal or oil fired thermal generation, or (even worse) nuclear generation. Our electricity demands continue to grow, especially now that more and more people are looking to turn away from petrol and diesel powered automobiles and choose electric or hybrid engines instead. The electricity for these vehicles has to come from somewhere!

Researchers are turning to the four elements – earth, wind, fire and water – to find ways of generating electricity. Of these three, wind energy, as produced in a wind farm, seems to be a good option. Wind farms offer a number of advantages over other sustainable methods of generating electricity.

• The infrastructure is has less impact on the environment – no dams are needed
• Unlike rain for hydroelectric generation, wind is usually abundant, regardless of seasonal climactic patterns
• The wind is not affected
• Wildlife are not harmed (apart from the occasional bird who gets a bit too close)
• Wind farms are completely clean – no waste products or carbon emissions

This is a wind farm based on the land.

A wind farm is slightly different to the small-scale wind generators chosen by people who live off the grid and generate their own electricity. As the name suggests, a wind farm is larger in scale and involves quite a few turbines or windmills. The amount of electricity than can be generated by a wind farm is significant – a reasonable sized town can have all its energy needs supplied by a wind farm.

A wind farm need not be owned by a single owner. One example of a wind farm that has been spread out over several properties is found in New Zealand, in the university town of Palmerston North. Here, a number of farms located on the hills and mountains surrounding this city (which receives very strong winds year round) are part of this wind farm scheme. If you ever visit this small city, the turbines of the wind farm make quite an impressive sight, almost as if they are standing guard over the town below, huge arms revolving endlessly.

This is one of the more famous wind farms based off shore.

If wind farms are reliable, why do some people, Don Quixote-like, oppose them? What objections could possibly be made to something that produces ample electricity cleanly and with not very much impact on the environment? Here are some that have been raised:

• Visual impact – large turbines in a wind farm are rather conspicuous and can stop a location looking “natural” and untouched.
• Sound – a wind farm is rather noisy, as the turbines swish, hum and throb as they revolve.
  Bird strike – if a wind farm contains a lot of turbines, it can be difficult for birds to negotiate the area safely.
• Siting and construction– for best effect, a wind farm should be placed where it gets wind from all directions; hilltops are ideal. However, getting the construction equipment and materials to this site can place heavy demands on roads.

In my opinion, these claims are rather weak. The visual impact of a wind farm is a matter of taste, the sound of a wind farm is a lot less than traffic or airport noise, and any damage or cost of construction are less than for other methods, such as hydro or coal-fired plants. What do you think about a wind farm?