Wind Farms are a group of wind turbines, generally connected to the grid, used to produce electrical energy.  Very popular throughout Europe, wind farms are beginning to be accepted in Australia as a genuine alternative. However, there is still significant opposition to wind farms.  Community groups, such as Landscape / Coastal Guardians, cite aesthetic degradation, perceived noise, decreased property value and the possible impacts on local wildlife and biodiversity as reasons for not building wind farms in their local area. 

Pros and Cons, in a Nutshell

Pros:

• "Pollution free energy". This refers to mainly when used, but the carbon footprint of the manufacture of a wind farm is also very small compared to a power station of the same energy rating.

• Can be built in a matter of months, as opposed to 3 to ten years for coal or nuclear power stations. This means less capital is required to get a wind farm off the ground and investors get their money back quicker.

• Since wind farms only need a small ground footprint, the land they are built on can still be used for other purposes, like animal grazing.

• They are suited to high outcrop land which is otherwise unusable for other purposes.

• Windfarms can generate electricity 24 hours a day unlike solar panels. Winter tends to be windier than summer, and electricity use increases during winter, so these correlate positively as apposed to solar panels.

• Wind farms use renewable wind power to generate electricity. A coal power station requires energy to extract and transport its fuel, the coal, out of the mine to the plant, using up energy. Wind farms don't have this issue and are therefore more efficient.

• By harnessing wind energy we can reduce the amount of CO2 being emitted from electricity generation.

Cons:

• As wind farms are only efficient in high wind areas, this tends to be unsheltered areas of the countryside and are normally areas of outstanding natural beauty. The installation of wind farms to these areas degrade the visual beauty of these landscape.
• Wind farms tend to be situated away from cities and hubs of electricity use (cities are built in sheltered areas, wind farms need unsheltered areas to make the most of the wind) therefore energy is wasted in the transportation of the electricity.
• They used to make wind turbines with rails on the central hub which attracted birds to land on and they would be struck by the blades. (However, they no longer make wind turbines with rails making them an unattractive landing pad for wild birds.)
• Although a lot of decision making goes into choosing a site for wind farms, they can sometimes only achieve a tiny fraction (a few percent) of their load output (this is the output they could achieve if they ran 24/7 at top output.)
• They can be very unreliable as wind levels are always changing, and it can be very significant. If wind speed drops by half they loose eightfold of their output.
• Land value and property prices could be driven down in the area by a wind farm in the area.

Aesthetic Degradation

Whilst noise, property value and impacts on native wildlife and biodiversity can be scientifically measured and assessed it is more difficult to determine aesthetic appeal as this is a personal choice.  As wind farms need to be located in prominent places such as ridges, hilltops and coastal areas where they will catch the wind it would be reasonable to assume some people would find this unappealing.  This is very difficult to argue against as it can be neither proved or disproved.

However, in 2001 a survey was undertaken by Auspoll on behalf of Pacific Hydro in relation to their 'Portland Wind Energy Project' in Portland, West Victoria. It was developed to determine residents attitudes towards the proposal; perceived impacts (on environment, economy, employment, tourism and visual amenity) and it tested a variety of words to describe the wind turbines.  93.6% said 'Interesting' was a good word to describe wind turbines and 5% said 'ugly' was a good word to describe them.

Property Values

A document developed by the Australian Wind Energy Association (now the Clean Energy Council) “Fact Sheet 12 – Wind Farms and Land Values”   looks at the potential impacts on land values and experiences both in Australia and overseas. Whilst no official research has been undertaken in Australia, research undertaken in the USA by ECONorthWest in 2002 found “no evidence supporting the claim that views of wind farms decrease property values”.  Further research undertaken in 2003 involved the review of 25,000 records of property of sale within a distance of five-miles of a wind farm, the study found “property values increased faster within the view shed of the wind farm than in comparable locations away from wind farms”.

Noise

There are some interesting discussions and videos on YouTube regarding noise levels produced from wind turbines – this is just one video in a sizable number of video's both pro and con noise levels. Most are quite interesting and it is recommended you watch several to gain an unbiased view. An interesting note that we discovered is that the Americans video's are generally against the noise where Australian ones (with a little more profanity) seem to be ok with it. Watch a few and make you own mind up.

A number of sources state that you can have a normal conversation under a full capacity wind turbine and it is often considered to be factors such as topography, layout of the farm and wind speed and direction which impact on noise levels rather than the turbines themselves. These factors are taken into consideration when wind farms are being developed.

Offshore Wind Farms

Wind speeds are much more reliable and are at higher speeds at sea than over land. Wind farms at sea will not affect the beauty of the landscape on land and, as long as due consideration is made, it can be kept out of view from most residences from the coast. Noise will also no longer be an issue. Unfortunately, electricity generated at sea will be more expensive as the capital build and ongoing maintenance will be at a higher cost. Also, it will need to be transported further to reach the grid, which involves expensive cables to carry such high voltage electricity. If there is more development then prices may become more competitive with current electricity generation methods.

Further Research

Pro Windfarms:

http://www.actnow.com.au/

http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/

http://www.bwea.com/

Against Windfarms:

http://www.noturbinesin.saddleworth.net/thecase.htm

Extra Reading:

This paper aims to study to what extent the arguments against the siting of wind turbines are valid and what social processes are at work in the locally affected communities.
http://www.lumes.lu.se/database/Alumni/01.02/theses/devlin_liz.pdf

NSW sustainable energy page on wind energy.
http://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/energy/sustainable/renewable/wind