Wind Energy Views on the Environment:
Clean and Green

by Thomas O. Gray, AWEA Communications Director
Full report can be found at the AWEA website.

An abbreviated summary of this report follows:

Public polling on wind energy's specific attributes is also from the United Kingdom and Vermont. In general, surveys found that wind's primary positive points are that it is clean, renewable, safe, and helps conserve fossil fuels; its principal weaknesses are the fact that it is intermittent and concerns about cost.

With respect to wind's environmental impacts, those surveyed were most concerned by visual impact and noise. However, in virtually every poll, the number of respondents expressing negative views is very small (20% or less). The British Wind Energy Association again provides a good summary:

" . . . [W]here two phases of research took place [typically, one immediately after wind plant construction and a second one a year later], concerns about noise and visual impact were less in the second survey than the first, demonstrating that direct experience of wind farms tends to allay fears for the majority. This was true in Cemmaes, where only 18% of people could hear the turbines [and] only 2% were bothered by the noise, and in the BBC survey, in which noise was a primary concern at Stage 1, and yet at Stage 2, only 21% could hear the turbines at all, and the majority of them were unconcerned.

"Concerns regarding the visual impact of the wind farms tended to follow the same pattern, with a decrease in those concerned at Stage 2, once the wind farms had been running for some months."

The Vermont survey took a somewhat different approach from the U.K. polls, offering a series of more detailed known or potential attributes of wind and asking respondents to rate each from 1 to 7, with 1 being a "big advantage" for wind and 7 being a "big disadvantage.

Results were as follows:

"It does not pollute the air and water." Average response 1.41, with 78.6% voting 1.

"It's an energy source that can be produced and used locally." Average 1.92, 53% voting 1.

"Land under wind turbines can be used for some other purposes. Average 2.90, 26% voting 1.

"The wind power facility will increase the local tax base and lower property taxes." Average 2.99, 24% voting 1.

"Wind turbines must be on hilltops to intercept strong winds, resulting in man-made structures in the Vermont landscape." Average 3.86, 19% voting 1, 12% voting 7.

"Wind power's impact on birds and wildlife (which is not well understood, and may be negative)." Average 4.68, 17% voting 7.

"Wind power is not reliable because the wind does not blow all the time." Average 4.82, 13% voting 7.

"Wind turbines may make sounds heard by neighboring residences." Average 5.27, 25% voting 7.

However, while the Vermont survey indicates that noise, wildlife impacts, and visual impacts are potential prospective problems for wind, the British polls make it clear that in practice, negative concerns about wind plants are not borne out. (The Vermont survey also suggests this possibility--note that the highest vote for any item as a "big disadvantage" was 25%, while 78% voted for its nonpolluting nature as a "big advantage." This suggests a predisposition)

Some typical findings from the U.K.:

The number of those concerned about noise dropped from 86% immediately after construction to 20% a year later (Cornwall).

80% of those responding felt that the local wind plant was a potential tourist attraction (Cornwall).
92% of respondents were not bothered by the visual impact of the local wind plant (Cemmaes).

3% of respondents were bothered by the wind plant's noise (Cemmaes).

23% of those responding could see the wind farm from their homes. Of those, 22% (or 5% of all respondents) were concerned, while 61% were "not at all concerned" (Kirkby Moor).

81% believed the wind farm "has caused little disruption." (three areas, Wales).

Conclusion

Wind and other renewable energy sources enjoy strong popularity with the public, a logical outgrowth of increasing concern about the environment and the perception that renewable energy sources have less environmental impact than their fossil and nuclear counterparts.

In the U.S. to date, wind energy's visibility as a potential source of electric power has been very low, both metaphorically and literally, with sizable wind plants operating only in the state of California. Now that situation is changing, with a score or more of utilities initiating "green power" programs in which wind is an option, and with large wind turbines being built or planned in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. As its visibility grows, wind is likely to add to its already strong latent public support and to become one of the most preferred electricity generation options of the next decade.

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