Page 280 - Fluid Power Engineering

CHAPTER12

Environmental

Impact of Wind

Projects

Don’t blow it—good planets are hard to find.
—Quoted in Time Magazine

Introduction
Wind energy has significant environmental benefits, including no
emissions into the environment during energy production, no ther-
mal pollution of river or lake water, and no exclusive land use. Since
no fuels are used, the energy production causes no emissions at all.
This is unlike coal, diesel, and natural gas-fired power plants that are
large contributors to greenhouse gases and to a variety of other pol-
lutants into the atmosphere and land. Mining of coal and extraction
and processing of crude and natural gas also cause pollution. In coal
and nuclear power plants, a large amount of water is required either
to produce steam or to cool the fuel rods. Any other fuel that releases
energy during combustion has to release part of the heat to the envi-
ronment causing thermal pollution. Although wind farms use a lot of
land, this land is not exclusively used by the wind plant. If the land is
agricultural land, agriculture can continue on over 90% of the land; if it
is forestland or wilderness land, then forests and land-based animals
can continue to thrive.
Wind energy does create adverse impacts on the environment in-
cluding: Noise, aesthetics, killing of wildlife to a limited extent, and
others. In addition, wind projects may interfere with aviation airspace,
microwave communications, and long-range radar.

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