There are many myths about wind energy circulated by those opposed to renewable energy in general or wind turbines in particular. Some are so outlandish that it's hard to imagine people believe them, others are more subtle requiring a degree of technical background to refute. Since I began my career in this field four decades ago I have tried to focus on the facts--both the promise and pitfalls of wind energy. The links below explore these myths and the topics on which some myths are built.
"It’s bullshit," said Paul Gipe, who has published five books on wind energy since 1995 and who has closely studied California’s wind farms. (Now the American Wind Energy Association does that.)
Unsurprisingly, raptors were found to be the most vulnerable. The bird everyone in Germany is talking about in the context of wind turbines – the red kite – was not found in the study to an extent...
Newly released assessments of nearly 1000 properties in the southern part of El Paso, located near a wind farm southeast of Calhan, found no decrease in property values since the wind farm’s...
In early 2016 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) installed a large wind turbine at their headquarters in central England. The 100-meter (330-foot) tall turbine was installed at the...[more]
In fact, buried deep inside regulatory reports there is official recognition that wind power does have substantial equivalent firm capacity.
For the turbine in question, consumption was around 0.1% of total generation – so next time you see a story telling you that turbines are drawing power from the grid- stop and ask: “how much,...
The energy payback period for the two turbine models are found to be 5.2 and 6.4 months, respectively.
Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kingston Environmental Committee in collaboration with Tourism Kingston and Tourism Wolfe Island.
Vote Compass users overall say wind energy should be a significant source of Ontario’s electricity supply mix - but that view is not shared by respondents who identified as supporters of the...
If we allow ourselves to be deceived by the fossil-fuel industry and their fabricated worries about birds, then we will be refusing to look the future squarely in the face. We must end our addiction...
As detailed below, the Government's survey shows that the public is much more supportive of onshore wind - the technology they are determined to curb - compared to the technologies to which they want...
We can't prove negatives. If I tell you that there's a teapot orbiting Earth, and you can't provide evidence that there isn't, it doesn't mean that I'm right, or that there's a 50/50 chance that I'm...
In general, wind energy proposals were started by wind developers and firms who saw clearly that there was massive social license for wind farms in every survey and poll ever done. They typically...
Recently, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) released a comprehensive position statement on the curiously invulnerable issue of 'wind turbine syndrome'. One phrase from the statement caught my...
A proposed wind turbine installation near Camp Perry in Northwestern Ohio has recently been halted (see article) by environmental groups that turn out to have connections to the oil, gas and tourism...
Tehachapi’s Windmill-Wildflower Hike is one of the longest-running annual walks among wind turbines worldwide. More than 800 people, from children to octogenarians, have taken the six-mile walk...[more]
Our analysis of the raw house price data for transactions completed within the vicinity of the wind farms yielded no evidence that prices had been affected by either the announcement, construction or...
These are real fears of unreal things. They are strongly promoted by anti-wind advocacy groups. It is strongly arguable that anti-wind advocates drive down property prices in the run up to wind farms...
In a surprising finding, a joint study by the University of Connecticut andLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center concluded that property values increased...[more]
An analysis of more than 122,000 Massachusetts home sales between 1998 and 2012 found no statistically-significant evidence that proximity to a wind turbine affects home values.
Tired of hearing these comments about renewable power, but don't know how to reply? Saskatoon Community Wind has come up with a list of common wind power myths along with snappy responses.
People have been living with utility-scale wind turbines for 50 years. Now they have great video cameras on their iPhones and access to YouTube and Vimeo. Here are a great bunch of videos where...
A new survey finds that the wind turbines in Freiburg, Germany, are once again very popular after a brief concern over the impact on bats. The strangest thing was the timing of the bat issue.
The old canard of 14,000 abandoned wind turbines in California came up again recently in Australia of all places. A rabid anti-wind blogger—seems the Aussies have a good crop of them downunder—posted...[more]
I've added several new categories of cultural icons featuring wind turbines and updated some others. I've added categories for Book and Magazine Covers, Organic Chicken, Toys & Model Railroads, Pop...[more]
Michigan now has nearly 900 wind turbines, and that lit a lightbulb in the entrepreneurial mind of retired teacher Gene Jorissen. Last summer, he started leading hour-long bus tours of the...
Since the Waubra wind farm started generating power in 2009, the town has acquired a dubious reputation: the so-called `Waubra Disease’ is now known internationally. But how much sense does it make? ...
In Scotland, the first 100 percent co-op-owned wind turbine is going up, and in Australia, a new video shows how much locals enjoy the wind turbines on their land.
Somewhat surprisingly, the oil and gas industry and wind turbines, which have both been blamed for causing bird deaths, didn't make it onto the list of top killers.
Peter Marra was responding to the deaths of an estimated 7,500 migrating songbirds at a gas plant in Saint John, New Brunswick over the weekend.
Have you read an article or comment thread online that contains anti-wind myths and disinformation but didn’t have the resources at your fingertips to counter the spin? This post is intended to let...
Most of the time, Esperance uses all the electricity the wind farms produce, and the power station makes up any shortfall so that a reliable supply of electricity is always available.
Wind Turbine Noise: Rumors, Gossip, Lies, and Stories-- is a lovely little book--56 pages—I’ve had on the shelf for some time with the intent of reviewing it for its insights on the nature of...[more]
More than 80 percent of Icelanders support the construction of wind turbines for energy production, as indicated in a recent survey carried out by Capacent Gallup on behalf of Landsvirkjun, the...
As sportsmen we support oil and gas producers who develop energy responsibly. And we should support renewable energy projects that will help reduce climate change and protect our hunting and fishing...
Berkeley Lab analyzed more than 50,000 home sales near 67 wind facilities in 27 counties across nine U.S. states. In summary, the research did not find any statistically identifiable impacts of wind...
Goldman Sachs says Spain is a good example of how increases in renewable energy production has to be offset by a lower average load among fossil fuel plants. “Rising generation from solar plants in...
The question about what to do with wind turbines after they’ve reached the end of their useful lives is often raised out of fear that derelict wind turbines will litter the landscape. As I’ve...[more]
Because of a flood of misinformation about what it costs to dismantle wind turbines, I’ve chosen to post a section from my 1995 book on the topic. Note that this was written nearly two decades ago.[more]
Jürgen Peters, Professor of Sustainable Development at Eberswalde College in Germany, found (PDF) that 32 percent of tourists and locals do not mind wind turbines at all, while only 9.2 percent do....
Jürgen Peters, Professor of Sustainable Development at Eberswalde College in Germany, found (PDF) that 32 percent of tourists and locals do not mind wind turbines at all, while only 9.2 percent do....
In a significant victory for the UK wind sector over anti-wind propagandists, the UK Advertising Standards Authority have banned a leaflet stating that a 5.4MW wind farm planned for Wiltshire would...
Climate change is a debacle for the Australian right. Their tribal hatred of environmentalists has driven them to denounce any technology favoured by their enemies
Jamie Baxter from Western's Department of Geography and his team explore the conundrum that while a relatively strong majority of rural Ontarians actually living with turbines in their farming...
Researchers found 69% of residents surveyed in an area home to one of Ontario’s first large turbine projects support them, but support dropped to 25% in a community that didn’t have turbines, said...
In short, the BBC journalist practiced "fair and balanced" journalism. If there are people who want wind power, there must be some who oppose it. In doing so, the BBC gave a tremendous voice to a...
The world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer is joining forces with environmental groups in a global campaign to rouse the "silent majority" of people who support renewable energy to fight back...
Theologian, popular author, renewables activist, TV personality, Franz Alt is something of a phenomenon in Germany. Unfortunately for us Anglophones, Alt writes only in German. So it was a pleasant...[more]
The case of the increasingly vocal lobby groups against wind farms in populated areas is based on the idea that widely accepted scientific principles are wrong. . .
Danes are consuming more renewable energy and less fossil fuels and emitting less CO2, 2012 energy statistics show. . .
One of the B movie unkillable wind energy myths — it just keeps coming back even after it’s been run over by truckloads of facts, disembowelled by logic and burnt to a crisp by the light of reason —...
Dismissing this as one of the "flakier arguments" in the renewables debate, Smith points to a recent analysis National Grid undertook for the Scottish Parliament. It concluded that over an 18 month...
The lowly potato has a story to tell and it's a parable about modern attitudes toward wind energy. . .[more]
As such, wind farms will generally see replacement of old turbines and emplacement of new wind turbines in adjacent areas. This has been the case in major wind farm areas in California, Nevada,...
There’s an anti-wind energy myth floating around that refuses to die. The most recent siting was in the official policy of an Australian political party, the Democratic Labour Party of Australia....
There are about 240,000 wind turbines generating economically sound electricity world-wide today. But some anti-wind lobbyists claim that wind turbines consume 50% or more of the electricity that...
Just Because a Better Mousetrap is Known Doesn’t Mean it will be Used When There’s a Vested Financial Interest in the Status Quo . . .[more]
Secretive funding network channelled millions to stop state governments moving towards renewable energy
The Environment Protection Authority issued a report 31 January 2013 on the Infrasound levels near windfarms and in other environments. The report is another nail in the coffin of anti-wind...[more]
Cancelled rally may be latest example of US big business funding grassroots opposition groups in the UK . . .
Four major and statistically reliable studies by different respected and independent organizations in different countries spread over a decade have found no correlation between operating wind...
A climate scientist who says he has been subjected to a vitriolic hate campaign has denounced the way that American billionaires have been able to secretly finance the climate-sceptic organisations...
Audit trail reveals that donors linked to fossil fuel industry are backing global warming sceptics . . .
Behind the climate 'countermovement' are two billionaire brothers . . .
In the last few weeks, Ben Lansink released two documents on the Wind Concerns Ontario and Ontario Wind Resistance websites. Mr. Lansink is an accredited appraiser and declares that his documents...
More than two-thirds of people would rather have a wind turbine than a shale gas well near their home, according to a new opinion poll published on Tuesday. . .
The deceptively-named Global Warming Policy Foundation (often mentioned on ET, try here and here) think-tanks on climate change (obfuscation), renewable energy (opposition), and conventional energy...
Of the 2027 GB adults interviewed 68% said they would be likely to support local renewable energy projects, including wind turbines, if they were 100% owned and controlled by the community with all...
Conclusive figures show that the sceptics who lobby against wind power simply have their facts wrong. . .
It shows unequivocally that wind power can significantly reduce carbon emissions, is reliable, poses no threat to energy security, and is technically capable of providing a significant proportion of...
Report from thinktank IPPR says wind power is an efficient and reliable energy source, contrary to claims made against it. . .
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) is describing Health Canada’s study of health impacts from wind turbines as “superfluous (and) a waste of time and a waste of public...
The daft claim that wind subsidies have driven 50,000 people into fuel poverty exemplifies the dishonesty of most objections . . .
How many ways can you misinform, distort and spin in a single radio interview? On 9 May, 2011, Max Rheese, executive director of the organisation with the grossly misleading name Australian...
Denmark and Germany provide evidence of a different kind: despite the presence of 30,000 wind turbines in these two countries, adverse health effects are not a significant issue in either country. . .
Denmark and Germany provide evidence of a different kind: despite the presence of 30,000 wind turbines in these two countries, adverse health effects are not a significant issue in either country. ....
Onshore wind farms, recently under attack from leading conservationists for damaging the countryside, can bring significant economic benefits locally and nationally, as well as contributing to the...
Britian's principal bird-protection society has announced plans to install a large wind turbine. The move may be unique in the English-speaking world where anti-wind lobbyists have argued that wind...[more]
A confidential strategy memo seen by the Guardian advises using "subversion" to build a national movement of wind farm protesters. The strategy proposal was prepared by a fellow of the American...
Finally, decades after being abandoned on South Point of Hawaii's Big Island the 37 Mitsubishi turbines have been removed. Long a source of embarassment in the wind industry and a source for right...[more]
No There are Not 14,000 Abandoned Wind Turbines in California Never Have Been And, No There are not 14,000 Abandoned Wind Turbines in the USA, North America, or Anywhere for that Matter[more]
The following is a response to an article in London's Daily Mail on what they claim are 14,000 "abandoned wind turbines". As a long-time critic of abandoned wind turbines in California, I was...[more]
A forum for sharing information about Wind Energy and its ramifications, environmental, social and economic, for the Western New York region.
A voice of reason in the British Isles not connected to any trade association.
Wind Turbine Syndrome (“WTS”) is an alleged condition proposed by pediatrician Dr Nina Pierpoint. . .
RWE, one of Germany's biggest utilities, has announced it will not build any more new coal plants. RWE currently gets 2/3 of its generation from coal. RWE by 2025 will get only 1/4 of its...[more]
You hear all kinds of propaganda about people not liking the site of wind turbines. Sure, some people don’t, but a lot of people love seeing these beautiful, massive, clean energy pinwheels. This is...
The 32-story turbines of the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm have so dramatically changed Atlantic City's skyline - perhaps more than any casino could - that tourists haven't stopped asking questions about...
This report aims to correct the main myths of these anti-wind activists, using credible scientific, mainstream sources to correct the record and to give communities the information they need to make...
A research paper commissioned by CSE drawing on peer-reviewed articles and government-funded analysis to address some of the concerns that are expressed in relation to wind power. . .
Below the fold is a (hopefully) complete list of ET diaries and stories related to wind power. . .
The media frenzy over unhappy wind-turbine neighbours is downright irresponsible mainly because multiple studies show that wind turbine critics fall squarely in the minority. . .
In a normal wind year, Danish wind turbines generate the equivalent of approx. 20 percent of the Danish electricity demand. . .
Specifically, neither the view of the wind facilities nor the distance of the home to those facilities is found to have any consistent, measurable, and statistically significant effect on home sales...
The present research collected data on almost 7,500 sales of singlefamily homes situated within 10 miles of 24 existing wind facilities in nine different U.S. states. . . Specifically, neither the...
Contains a very good summary of wind penetration in Europe.
Anti-wind activists often claim that nuclear is more reliable than wind energy and, therefore, we should just use nuclear and forget wind energy, solar energy, and renewables in...[more]
Yes, windmills and dams deface the landscape but the climate crisis demands immediate action. . .
Opposition to wind power used to be the province of NIMBY’s who quailed at the supposed intrusion into their viewsheds and soundsheds. No more. Wind power is big — its share of U.S. electricity...
Another insightful analysis by Craig Morris of the American Spectator's "critique" of renewable energy . . .
[W]hen wind turbines are operated as parts of an interconnected grid for which the dominant share of energy is provided by generators burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), wind power...
Dr. David Colby doesn't doubt that some people are bothered by the noise generated by a wind turbine, but the acting medical officer of health for Chatham-Kent says there's no direct link between...
James Lovelock says the government’s enthusiasm for wind farms approaches fascism.--By George Monbiot in the Guardian . . .
On Noise from Wind Turbines and Wild Claims
October 30, 2008 Despite rumors to the contrary in the Anglophone world, French wind energy development is continuing. In fact growth is accelerating according to data published by France Énergie...[more]
Debunked by the Canadian Wind Energy Association
How to say yes to wind energy. . .
Portail de l'énergie en Région wallonne
Audubon strongly supports properly-sited wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming. . .
In 2005, the latest year for which figures are available, the alliance [Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound] took in almost $3.3 million in donations, including $1.1 million from oil magnate Bill...
The effect seems much less marked – if at all – for detached houses. The research also highlighted that, to some extent, wind farm developers are themselves avoiding the problem by locating their...
Adapted from Wind Energy Comes of Age, by Paul Gipe, John Wiley & Sons, 1995. All rights reserved. Much of this was written in 1993 and relied on reports published in the early 1990s. Studies...[more]
There is no one setback from residences for large wind turbines in California. Setbacks are regulated by individual counties. In 2006, the University of California at Davis did a survey of setback...
First, they raise questions about the role of wind as a source of electricity against America's main source of electric power today - coal, much of which is mined and burned in Appalachia. Second,...
Government report says Ontario coal-fired power plants cost nearly $0.13 CAD/kWh ($0.10/kWh) in environmental and social impacts. Ontario's ruling party swept to power in the fall of 2003 on...[more]
Centre for Alternative Technology Machynlleth, Wales I was visiting a planning office in Sydney, and a scrap of paper pinned to the wall caught my eye. It bore a short poem headed "The...[more]
Centre for Alternative Technology Machynlleth, Wales Let's get a few things straight at the beginning. Obviously the debate hinges on both the gravity and urgency of the climate change situation....[more]
Centre for Alternative Technology Machynlleth, Wales Dear Editor While I appreciate the sincerity and good intentions of Rob Collister's cri de coeur regarding wind farms in May/June...[more]
In 25 years of wind generation, with 68,000 turbines now worldwide, there are no significant reports of health issues. This includes Denmark, whose turbine density is 30 times that of the UK.
The Measurement of Low Frequency Noise at Three UK Wind Farms--Of the 126 wind farms operating in the UK, five have been reported low frequency noise problems. Therefore, such complaints are the...
Only two dead birds were found, one in spring and one in autumn. . . The rate of mortality is absolutely insignificant when compared to the thousands that are killed each year in Toronto at tall...
After accounting for comparable sales outside the viewshed of the wind farms selected, defined as beyond five miles (8 kilometers) from the turbines, the study found that viewshed property generally...
If, by accepting a modest, largely aesthetic change in the landscape, we can heal the earth to this great extent, how in conscience can we not do so? . .
Surveys point to broad support for wind energy despite vocal objections to some projects.[more]
Excerpted from Wind Energy Comes of Age by Paul Gipe, John Wiley & Sons, Inc New York (1995), pages 361-364, ISBN 0-471-10924-X. This except is provided as public service and can be viewed...[more]
