The Environmental Impacts of Wind Power
Compared to fossil fuels, wind power has few environmental impacts. It consumes no fuel and emits no air pollution. Constructing wind turbines does require the use of another energy source. This means that fossil fuels are usually burned to transport and construct new wind turbines, thus emitting carbon dioxide to the atmosphere during the construction phase. Scientists estimate, however, that the carbon dioxide emitted during construction is "paid back" within nine months of wind power use. That is, once the wind turbine is in place, it creates energy that will only cut back on the future need for fossil fuels. Click each image to learn more about some disadvantages of wind power.
Wind farms require large tracts of land and may be disruptive of ecosystems. To minimize this impact, many wind farms in the U.S. are built on farmland, leased from farmers. The wind farm does not harm the farm, and the land gets puts to additional use.
Wind turbines can be a danger to birds. In the U.S., wind turbines kill about 70,000 birds per year. However, this number is quite small compared to the 57 million killed each year by cars, and the hundreds of millions killed every year by domestic cats. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has set guidelines for placing wind farms away from known bird migration paths or near landscape features that attract birds of prey.
Bats are also harmed by wind turbines. Thousands die every year from contact with the spinning blades. Bat migration paths are less understood than bird migration paths, and scientists are still working on ways to lessen damage to bats.
There is some evidence that the sound generated by offshore wind turbines (those placed in sea water off the coasts) is significant enough to disturb marine mammals. Dolphins and whales, for example, use sonar to guide them in the water. The noise pollution from wind turbines may disrupt their normal ability to maneuver through the sea.
Some people just think wind farms are ugly and say they distract from the natural beauty of the landscape. This is called an aesthetics concern and is considered by some as a form of visual pollution. On the other hand, some people think the wind farms add value to the landscape. What do you think?
