Wind power comes with environmental costs, hazards | ECOVIEWS
Whit Gibbons
Sat, April 8, 2023
Q. While driving through the Texas Panhandle, we saw hundreds of gigantic windmills. By generating free energy, are they the answer to the world’s ever-increasing energy needs?
A. Wind is a source of what's known as renewable energy. People's ability to harness wind for their own use has been around a long, long time. According to an article by United Kingdom scientist Trevor Price and colleagues in the scientific journal Applied Energy, the earliest depiction of wind power as an energy source for humans is “a picture of a windmill on a piece of Chinese pottery” from around 4,000 years ago. No one knows how long ago the first wind-powered boats sailed the seas. Wind can augment our current dependence on the nonrenewable energy sources —natural gas, oil and coal — but will never be able serve all our energy needs.
Jeff Lovich conducts research in the Mojave Desert to
determine the impact windfarms have on desert tortoises and terrestrial ecosystems.
[Photo provided by Jeff Lovich]
Although viewed as a clean and sustainable energy source, wind power is not without environmental costs and hazards that should be acknowledged and addressed. Unequivocal documentation exists that windmills kill more than 300,000 birds each year, especially species that fly at night. Fortunately, much progress has been made to minimize and significantly reduce the number of bird and bat mortalities.
However, another aspect of wind turbines also needs to be considered. How does wind energy development and operation on a commercial scale affect nonflying wildlife? An article in Applied Energy by Jeff Lovich (U.S. Geological Survey) and Josh Ennen (Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute) provides important perspectives on environmental impacts of windfarms.
Wind power is a promising source of renewable energy and has gained popularity among advocates in recent years. Wind is widely seen as an alternative to fossil fuels. However, the costs as well as the benefits need to be considered when adopting windmills or any other energy source.
More: How do we measure an animal's size? | ECOVIEWS
Lovich and Ennen conducted an exhaustive scientific literature survey of research addressing environmental consequences from all aspects of windmill energy production. Their findings reveal some of the downsides of giant windmill farms other than whacking birds and bats out of the sky with enormous spinning blades. Power companies, regulators and politicians advocating wind turbines need to pay attention to the findings.
Following are factors, other than killing flying creatures, that should be considered when assessing the pros and cons of wind as an energy source.
1. Environmental impacts of destruction and modification of habitat at the windmill site: Roads are never environmentally friendly, and the permanent presence of those needed for windmill construction and maintenance can cause lasting ecological damage to animals that must travel between habitats. During construction, heavy machinery may cause soil compaction and erosion that can kill subterranean animals. Wind turbines sit on enormous concrete pads that eliminate native habitat from use by plants and animals.
2. Effects due to air and ground vibration, constant noise, shadow flicker from propellers during the day: Although more research is needed, these disturbances may have negative impacts on ground-dwelling animals. The droning noise of propellers and the near-imperceptible but ever-present vibrations could also be a problem for people living nearby.
3. Offsite impacts related to acquiring, processing and transporting construction materials: Building a wind turbine and moving it to the site requires considerable expenditure of energy before the windfarm itself begins to offer a positive return.
4. Microclimate changes downwind: Natural climate regimes can be altered as far away as 14 miles downwind of a large windfarm. One finding showed that ground level temperatures were higher at night, but lower than normal later in the day. Such changes may be small but they create conditions that native plants and animals have not previously experienced. More studies are necessary to determine if downwind impacts have long-term effects on wildlife.
Clearly, we need more research regarding environmental impacts of windfarms, including consequences from preconstruction and installation as well as routine operations. What is equally clear is that we must find ways to end our dependence on fossil fuels. We obviously have some work to do.
Although viewed as a clean and sustainable energy source, wind power is not without environmental costs and hazards that should be acknowledged and addressed. Unequivocal documentation exists that windmills kill more than 300,000 birds each year, especially species that fly at night. Fortunately, much progress has been made to minimize and significantly reduce the number of bird and bat mortalities.
However, another aspect of wind turbines also needs to be considered. How does wind energy development and operation on a commercial scale affect nonflying wildlife? An article in Applied Energy by Jeff Lovich (U.S. Geological Survey) and Josh Ennen (Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute) provides important perspectives on environmental impacts of windfarms.
Wind power is a promising source of renewable energy and has gained popularity among advocates in recent years. Wind is widely seen as an alternative to fossil fuels. However, the costs as well as the benefits need to be considered when adopting windmills or any other energy source.
More: How do we measure an animal's size? | ECOVIEWS
Lovich and Ennen conducted an exhaustive scientific literature survey of research addressing environmental consequences from all aspects of windmill energy production. Their findings reveal some of the downsides of giant windmill farms other than whacking birds and bats out of the sky with enormous spinning blades. Power companies, regulators and politicians advocating wind turbines need to pay attention to the findings.
Following are factors, other than killing flying creatures, that should be considered when assessing the pros and cons of wind as an energy source.
1. Environmental impacts of destruction and modification of habitat at the windmill site: Roads are never environmentally friendly, and the permanent presence of those needed for windmill construction and maintenance can cause lasting ecological damage to animals that must travel between habitats. During construction, heavy machinery may cause soil compaction and erosion that can kill subterranean animals. Wind turbines sit on enormous concrete pads that eliminate native habitat from use by plants and animals.
2. Effects due to air and ground vibration, constant noise, shadow flicker from propellers during the day: Although more research is needed, these disturbances may have negative impacts on ground-dwelling animals. The droning noise of propellers and the near-imperceptible but ever-present vibrations could also be a problem for people living nearby.
3. Offsite impacts related to acquiring, processing and transporting construction materials: Building a wind turbine and moving it to the site requires considerable expenditure of energy before the windfarm itself begins to offer a positive return.
4. Microclimate changes downwind: Natural climate regimes can be altered as far away as 14 miles downwind of a large windfarm. One finding showed that ground level temperatures were higher at night, but lower than normal later in the day. Such changes may be small but they create conditions that native plants and animals have not previously experienced. More studies are necessary to determine if downwind impacts have long-term effects on wildlife.
Clearly, we need more research regarding environmental impacts of windfarms, including consequences from preconstruction and installation as well as routine operations. What is equally clear is that we must find ways to end our dependence on fossil fuels. We obviously have some work to do.
Whit Gibbons is professor of zoology and senior biologist at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. If you have an environmental question or comment, email ecoviews@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Wind power comes with environmental costs, hazards | ECOVIEWS
No comments:
Post a Comment