The Pro's and Con's of Windfarms
The UK's potential resource for wind generated electricity, using windturbines sited in windy parts of the countryside, is put at about 20% of current electricity requirements. That's about what nuclear power provides at present.
However the amount of power that can actually be obtained form the winds will depend on how many acceptable sites can be found. Currently more than thirty windfarms - groups of windturbines on one site - have been set up, in Cornwall, Wales, Yorkshire, Scotland and else where. Most have been welcomed locally, but in some locations there have been some strong local protests, chiefly over noise problems and visual intrusion.
The Case for Wind Farms is straight forward. Windpower is clean - extracting power from the wind produces no chemical or radioactive emissions, and has minimal physical impacts on the local ecosystem. The land around the windturbines in windfarms can be used for conventional agricultural purposes- indeed sheep seem to welcome them as windbreaks.
Birds tend to avoid moving windturbine blades: indeed they seem much more at risk from the large national grid cables. Windturbines are more like bird scarers.
When and if needed, decommissioning is easy: when removed, windfarms leave no toxic residues or environmental damage. There are no direct fuel costs, and the cost of extracting power is bound to fall as the technology improves.
In summary, windpower is sustainable, clean and is increasingly competitive economically. Its local impacts are relatively small compared with the global impacts of using conventional fuels.
But there is also a case against windfarms.
Firstly, the local impacts are not always insignificant- local residents may be disturbed by noise and the windfarms intrude on the landscape. Some local residents have reported annoying levels of noise from the blades or the gearing systems of some windturbines - with some, for example, finding it hard to sleep. Others have complained that the machines are ugly, and may deter tourists from the area. Some objectors feel the planning bodies have not been sufficiently rigorous in applying the necessary planning controls.
Secondly, some say that the wind programme is counterproductive- it would be better to invest in energy conservation. Some opponents feel that the wind farms produce expensive electricity and that the developers have simply taken advantage of the interim cross subsidy scheme introduced by the Government to make easy profits, paid for by consumers, whereas the amount of power generated is small compared to what could be saved if we invested instead in energy conservation measures.
Finally, some say that the UK is too densely populated to be able to absorb a significant number of wind farms. Wind farms must inevitably be sited on prominent ridges and hills, and these are usually in attractive areas. These should be protected for everyone’s use. If we must have windturbines, why not put them off shore?
However the amount of power that can actually be obtained form the winds will depend on how many acceptable sites can be found. Currently more than thirty windfarms - groups of windturbines on one site - have been set up, in Cornwall, Wales, Yorkshire, Scotland and else where. Most have been welcomed locally, but in some locations there have been some strong local protests, chiefly over noise problems and visual intrusion.
The Case for Wind Farms is straight forward. Windpower is clean - extracting power from the wind produces no chemical or radioactive emissions, and has minimal physical impacts on the local ecosystem. The land around the windturbines in windfarms can be used for conventional agricultural purposes- indeed sheep seem to welcome them as windbreaks.
Birds tend to avoid moving windturbine blades: indeed they seem much more at risk from the large national grid cables. Windturbines are more like bird scarers.
When and if needed, decommissioning is easy: when removed, windfarms leave no toxic residues or environmental damage. There are no direct fuel costs, and the cost of extracting power is bound to fall as the technology improves.
In summary, windpower is sustainable, clean and is increasingly competitive economically. Its local impacts are relatively small compared with the global impacts of using conventional fuels.
But there is also a case against windfarms.
Firstly, the local impacts are not always insignificant- local residents may be disturbed by noise and the windfarms intrude on the landscape. Some local residents have reported annoying levels of noise from the blades or the gearing systems of some windturbines - with some, for example, finding it hard to sleep. Others have complained that the machines are ugly, and may deter tourists from the area. Some objectors feel the planning bodies have not been sufficiently rigorous in applying the necessary planning controls.
Secondly, some say that the wind programme is counterproductive- it would be better to invest in energy conservation. Some opponents feel that the wind farms produce expensive electricity and that the developers have simply taken advantage of the interim cross subsidy scheme introduced by the Government to make easy profits, paid for by consumers, whereas the amount of power generated is small compared to what could be saved if we invested instead in energy conservation measures.
Finally, some say that the UK is too densely populated to be able to absorb a significant number of wind farms. Wind farms must inevitably be sited on prominent ridges and hills, and these are usually in attractive areas. These should be protected for everyone’s use. If we must have windturbines, why not put them off shore?
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