What effect do wind farms have on the environment?

Question

What are pros and cons to having these? Are they a viable option of replacing other sources of energy?

Answer 1

I haven't specifically looked into wind farms but I would think that they would have minimal impact on the environment.

The pro would be that there will always be lots of wind for free.  The con is that they aren't perfect... just like everything that man makes.

Viable option?  Very much so.

Once everybody is using my resonant electric generator instead of batteries, you'll be able to power your car entirely with wind farms; and the infrastructure is already in place... not like silly hydrogen.

Answer 2

Pro's:  It is spread out.  Security consists of having so many of them.  A terrorist could take out any one, and make practically no effect on the farm, let alone the grid.

It is essentially green.  

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Energy_re...

shows they get 25 times the energy out as what is needed to make them.  

They are generally away from populated areas.  

Cons:  Sometimes they kill birds or bats.  Huge whirling blades overhead can be spooky, to people at least.  

Generally make large amounts of energy where it is not needed.  Requires Transmission & Distribution.

Sometimes the wind dies:  Requires a way to store energy.  

"Global Calming"

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22... (all 401 hits)

Answer 3

They really have no negative effect since they do not produce pollutants or harmful gas emissions or waste products or  radioactivity. They are also quieter than conventional methods of producing energy.  So the only effect wind farms might have on the environment would be positive in respect that they are ecologically sound.

Answer 4

Wind farms take enormous amounts of energy out of the air flow and causes a phenomena called 'global calming'.

Global calming prevents rain storms and weather fronts to move as they normally would as there is no wind to push these storms east.

We can see the results in the central section of our country where storms moved, then just stalled at the areas where there is more wind turbines.

While some areas get more rain, others get less, as there isn't enough wind energy to move the storms to areas that are having droughts.

Answer 5

They help protect natural resources.

Answer 6

No negatives.  Free power.  As to the "calming" of the wind...ya sure, where did this piece of fiction come from.  I think they are wonderful.  We are getting 2 in our town to offset the cost of electricity for our local high school.  We thught about going with wind power, but went with solar for hot water instead.

Answer 7

Wind farms are also dangerous to wildlife, as birds, insects, and bats can get caught in the blades and die.

In my opinion, our best bet is solar energy or hydrogen power.  Solar energy has the fewest downsides of any alternative energy source I am aware of.

Answer 8

about 90 turbines are destined to go up where I live and i have done alot of research on them only to find nothing positive about them. first of all, they are intermittent because they only work when the wind is blowing. they also are unable to work in high winds. so they only work when the wind is blowing at a certain speed. when they are not being powered by wind, their back up generator kicks on which is powered by GASOLINE. were not saving our fossil fuels there. not to mention the tremendous production costs and amount of energy used to put them up. it was estimated that it would take aproximatley 7 years for a turbine to make up for the energy used to put them up. i can go on and on about how bad these things are.... the only reason people want them is becasue the industry gives you a large sum of money each year for each turbine you have on your property. its all about the money, just like everything else in america.

Answer 9

Solar Energy is great. 20 minutes of light from the sun could power our entire planet. But harnessing that energy is difficult and requires many heavy metals to be used to create solar panels. Hydro Energy has reached its peak. The United States has placed a dam everywhere we can. Dams displace sediment and make it almost impossible for many species of fish to migrate the way they are supposed to. There is also a deposit of foreign substance in the water from the dam: pollution. Wind is easily harnessed, inexpensive to maintain, and has the least environmental impacts. Yes, birds and bats and bugs fly into turbines but they also fly into windshields and sliding glass doors, that doesn't stop humanity from using such things. The bottom line is that ANYTHING is better than coal. And using energy star appliances, insulating your house,          turning your AC up to 76: any of these can reduce the effects that coal has on the atmosphere, the animals, and the plants. An entire mountain top mine only creates about 20 minutes of energy so use the energy as effectively as possible. This may help slowdown the development of more mines and the dismantling of Appalachia.

Answer 10

eventually there will be no wind left, kites lie like bodies in a war zone, there will be no cool breezes on a hot summer day. :)

-john oliver

Answer 11

not only do windmills kill flying animals, but thet are NOT QUIET and incredably LOUD. the blades moving across the sunlight makes a strobe-like "flicker effect" which littarly drives people insane and is dangerous to epileptics. the huge transformers attatched to them are anything but senic and allthough there is no radioactivity discharge, there is plenty of stray voltage running into the ground. this stirs up pollutants in your wells that would normally be settled at the bottom, making the water possibly unsafe to drink. when the blades stop spinning in the winter, snow settles on them. when the blades start spinning again, the snow is thrown at nearby structures or people. there are much more pros than cons in wind energy which people would know if they would have actually done any research.