Wind-farms: The Marmite of renewable energy?

“You either love them or you hate them”

I recently went on a walking holiday with my family to Snowdon, staying in Llandudno. On the first evening, as usual, we picked up a bag of fish and chips each and went to sit on the shore-front so we could enjoy our meal whilst looking out to sea. As we looked out and tucked in, the large formation of wind-turbines off-shore sparked the topic of controversy between my dad and me. He can’t stand them. And, as usual, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing – how on earth can you be against something so innovative and wonderful?

Sure, Dad, they aren’t natural-looking. And you’re right, they do stick out like a sore thumb on a horizon. But other than being offensive to your eyes (and your ears if you’re close enough… *whoosh*) what other argument can be made against highly efficient, electricity-producing machines powered by a free, clean, renewable fuel?

The Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm, nr Landudno, has 160-turbines that generates the equivalent energy of powering 400,000 homes. (Source)

It seems odd that two people, who have the same understanding and appreciation of the importance of wind farms in producing clean and renewable energy - particularly in light of the current global energy-ecological crisis - can have such opposing perceptions of wind farms because one, quite simply, doesn’t find them aesthetically pleasing.

Of course, divided opinions on aesthetics are not limited to my dad and me; it’s remarkable how fundamental these arguments are in wind-farm policy, particularly in the UK. In this Parliament briefing paper, it has been suggested that local planning authorities have been at fault rejecting too many applications for wind farms – appeals to inspectors has frequently resulted in rejection, normally on grounds of damage to the landscape. The problem is that wind is usually stronger in open countryside, which is often an area of high aesthetic value.  For example, seven wind turbines were rejected in the Grampian foothills as “it would have a significant adverse effect on landscape character and harm visual amenity.” Five 100m high wind turbines were also rejected at a site in North Yorkshire primarily due to landscape harm - an inspector stated “the landscape contributed to the area’s distinctive character”.

Can our society afford to be so insistent about landscape aesthetics? According to the Global Wind Energy Council, a typical wind turbine produces 6 million kWh in a year - enough to supply 1,500 average-sized homes with electricity. Let’s compare this to how much coal (the predominant fossil fuel in electricity production) is needed to generate the same amount. 1,904 kWh are produced per ton of coal, so it would take 3,151.26 tons of coal to produce the quantity of electricity that a single wind turbine would produce. Theoretically, this could have meant that the seven turbine project rejected in the Grampian foothills could have both supplied 10,500 houses with electricity each year and could have potentially saved 22,058 tons of coal a year.

The already-strained global energy situation will reach a critical level as the global population is expected to rise to 9.6 billion people by 2050. To deal with these global energy problems, there needs to be increased investment in technologies that improve energy efficiency as well as decreasing the environmental impacts of production. This is a critical transition that will not happen overnight, but it is obvious that there needs to be a move towards sustainable energy over the coming decades, for us to be able to cope with the unprecedented rise in population and energy consumption.

Projected light pollution growth in the United States 1950-2025, demonstrating the increases in population and the need for increased energy production over time. (Source)

It is no longer viable for the UK to be so precious about the aesthetic landscape when it comes to renewable energy. Until we’re ready to give up everything from our television to our heating, the power needs to come from somewhere, and it is no good being dependent on a finite source like coal that is quickly running out. Ask yourself this question, wind-farm opposers: Which are you more willing to give up, your electronic devices (and please bear in mind what you’re using to read this) or the view on top of a hill?

Whilst the need for sustainable energy increases, the energy needs to be produced sustainably – there must and will be compromises. We, as a society, need to become more accepting of the technological advances that are going to shape our landscape, for sure, but also a cleaner, sustainable future.