DEBUNKING THE MYTHS
Misinformation and myths about wind power are often spread by people who want to oppose wind farms. Here we look at some of the most common myths, and give you the facts to counter them.
Myth 1 - Wind turbines spoil the landscape
Fact: This is a highly subjective issue. Being visible is not necessarily the same as being intrusive. While some people express concern about the effect wind turbines have on the beauty of our landscape, others see them as elegant and beautiful, or symbols of a better, less polluted future.
The landscape we inhabit is largely human-made and it evolves over time. In comparison to other energy developments like nuclear, coal and gas power stations, or open cast mining, wind farms have relatively little visual impact. Nevertheless sites within Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) or National Parks are unlikely to be appropriate for large wind farms.
The increased utilisation of renewable energy and greater use of wind power will mean that we will have more of these structures visible in our townscape and landscape in the future. But all the organisations supporting this web site believe that wind energy is one of the most environmentally benign ways of producing the electricity we need to power our daily lives.
If we don't switch to cleaner forms of energy, climate change will severely and irrevocably alter much of our landscape as well as the animal and plant life it contains.
Myth 2 - Wind turbines kill lots of birds
Fact: Monitoring of existing wind farms suggests that with sensitive siting there is no adverse effect on bird populations. Applications for consent for wind farms submitted to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and local councils must be accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that includes details of the likely impact of the project in question on the environment and wildlife, among other things. In considering an application, the Department consults with a range of stakeholders, including the statutory advisers on nature conservation, as well as others with an interest in the project. This ensures that decisions on whether to grant consent for a wind farm are considered in the light of the best available information about its likely impacts.
According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the available evidence suggests that appropriately positioned wind farms do not pose a significant hazard for birds. The RSPB supports the sustainable development of renewable energy such as wind power because it helps mitigate climate change, which they believe "poses the most significant long-term threat to the environment...The available evidence suggests that appropriately positioned wind farms do not pose a significant hazard for birds." The RSPB's conclusion is supported by a report last year for the Swedish State Energy Authority, which found that only 14 of the total 1.5 million migrating seabirds that each year passes two wind farms at Kalmarsund in south east Sweden are at risk of being killed.
Developers should contact specialists such as the RSPB and conduct a thorough analysis of the risk to birdlife as part of the environmental impact assessment of their wind farm proposal. With rigorous EIAs and thorough monitoring wind power can be deployed without significant detriment to birds (and other wildlife)
For example, the 9 harbour-wall turbines at Blyth are in a busy bird area. Of the bird flights through the wind farm, only 1 in 10,000 have resulted in a collision. This translates to 1-2 collisions per year per turbine. To put the issue into perspective, every year more than 10 million birds are killed by cars in the UK.
Projects like the Black Law windfarm demonstrate that, if properly sited, such developments not only produce zero emissions, but can also have a positive impact on the environment. The RSPB make clear that the Black Law windfarm, on the site of an abandoned opencast coalmine, represents an exciting opportunity to deliver real biodiversity benefits through habitat management. In any case, the likely impact on wildlife must be kept in context. A paper in Nature, by a large group of scientists including one from the RSPB, indicated that in sample regions covering about 20 per cent of the Earth's land surface - 15 per cent to 37 per cent of species (not just birds) will be committed to extinction as a result of mid-range climate warming scenarios by 2050.
For more information about wind power and nature conservation issues, including birds, see the report from RSPB, WWF, English Nature and BWEA: "Wind farm development and nature conservation" click here
Myth 3 - Tourists hate wind farms
Fact: There is no evidence to suggest that wind farms deter tourists, indeed many wind farms are themselves tourist attractions.
For example, in Swaffham, Norfolk, over 50,000 tourists have climbed the wind turbine tower to see the spectacular views from the top of its the 65m high viewing platform.
In August 2003 20 Greenpeace volunteers interviewed over 650 tourists about the proposed Scarweather Sands wind farm in Swansea Bay. The response was emphatic - 96 percent said that they would be 'more likely' or 'just as likely' to return for a beach holiday after the wind fram was built.
In Scotland, a MORI poll was undertaken in 2002 regarding wind farms in the Argyll area. 80 percent of tourists said they would be interested in visiting a wind farm if it were open to the public with a visitor centre., while 91 percent of repondents said they would not be put off from visiting an area because of the presence of wind farms.
In Denmark, many tour agencies run boat trips to take visitors to see the offshore wind farm at Middelgrunden, near Copenhagen.
Myth 4 - Wind turbines are noisy
Modern turbines are actually very quiet! Thanks to advances in wind turbine technology, well designed, well sited turbines can be quiet enough to cause no disturbance to people living just a few hundred metres away.
At these distances, any noise they do make is usually drowned out by the natural noise of the wind itself in the trees and vegetation. To protect nearby residents from any undue disturbance, proposals to install wind turbines are required to meet strict noise standards.
Having read exaggerated claims in the press, people visiting wind farms are often surprised at how quiet they actually are. The Scottish Executive public opinion survey is one of several demonstrating that concerns about noise are often unfounded.
Before construction of the Scottish wind farms studied, 12% of people living near the sites thought that the turbines would cause a noise nuisance, but after construction, when people had experience of the wind farm operating, only 1% thought they were noisy.
For more information: see the BWEA fact sheet on noise
