Do The Pluses Of Wind Power Outweigh The

Negative Impacts?

By: Thomas Bowen, Alfonso Merelo, Lyndsey Shay & Michaela Spaid

Introduction❖ Wind Power

❖ Wind Turbine

❖ "Wind Energy" or "Wind Power"

How Does Wind Energy Work?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DILJJwsFl3w

Major Types

❖ Horizontal-axis Turbines

❖ Vertical-axis Turbines

❖ Ducted Wind Turbines

❖ Onshore or Offshore

Horizontal-axis Turbines

Vertical-axis Turbines

Ducted Wind Turbines

Onshore Offshore

Clean Energy Source

❖ Fueled by the wind = no cost

❖ No pollution into the air like burning fossil fuels

❖ No carbon emissions being released in the air

❖ Relies on the renewable power of wind

Economic

❖ Maintenance ❖ Capital Investment

➢ Land/Farms➢ Capital assets or fixed assets

■ Manufacturing the plants■ Machinery needed

➢ Dominated by the turbine itself

❖ Auxiliary Costs➢ Foundation and Grid connection

Economic Continued...

❖ Average Turbine Costs➢ Home or Farm Scale Wind Turbines

➢ Commercial Wind Turbines

Economic Benefits

❖ Boost local economy

❖ Year- round jobs

❖ New tourism opportunities

❖ New eco-tourism destination

○ Example: Palm Springs, CA: Wind Farm has nearly 10,000 visitors per year

Job Creation

❖ The industry currently supports more than 50,000 jobs in services such as manufacturing, installation, and maintenance in almost every state

❖ Major job creator❖ America’s veterans play an important role in creating the highly-skilled wind power workforce

Political

❖ Sustainability of Wind Energy❖ Remote Locations❖ Positive Impacts of Wind Energy

➢ Cost - Effective➢ Renewable, Clean Fuel Source➢ Creation of Jobs

Social

❖ Visual Impact➢ Obstruction of views➢ Not visually appealing

❖ Cumulative Visual Impact➢ Result of:

■ Number of wind farms and distance between each farm■ Turbine models and farm design

❖ Developing Worlds➢ Sign of progress and novelty

Social Continued…

❖ Noise Impact➢ Mechanical and Aerodynamic➢ Varies depending on:

■ Layout of wind farm■ Model of turbines■ Topography ■ Speed and direction of wind■ Background noise

➢ Individual Noise Tolerance

Environmental Impact

❖ Loss of habitat for birds/aquatic animals

❖ Change of tidal currents

❖ Potentially harming endangered species living in ocean/on land

❖ Electrical service platforms holding 30,000 gallons of transformer oil could potentially cause oil

spill

❖ Disrupt recreational and and commercial fishing

❖ No guarantee of sustained winds

Threat To Wildlife

❖ Birds and Bats➢ National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC)

■ Deaths from collisions with the wind turbine propellers■ Different changes in the air pressure

● Due to the constant spinning of the turbines■ Causes less than 0.01 percent of all human-related bird deaths in the United States

➢ Marine Life■ Injury

● Above and below water

Threat to Humans

❖ “Wind-Turbine Syndrome” or Wind Farm Syndrome➢ Effects

■ Headaches■ Sleep Problems■ Night terrors■ Learning disabilities in children■ Ringing in the ears■ Mood Problems■ Concentration and memory problems■ Issues with equilibrium■ Dizziness■ Nausea

Is Wind Energy Reliable?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObvdSmPbdLg

Pros

❖ Clean energy source❖ Renewable❖ Creates jobs❖ Energy produced can be used to send

power to other towns❖ Unlike power plants or greenhouse gasses,

energy harnessed isn’t harmful to its atmosphere

❖ Natural fuel, does not have to be artificially manufactured

❖ Threat to wildlife❖ Noise Impact❖ Wind turbine syndrome❖ Visual impact ❖ Reliability of wind❖ Shuts down when winds reach 55 mph❖ Cost

Cons

Do we think the pluses of wind power outweigh the negative?

❖ Too many negative impacts all across the board that can be very detrimental to the environment

❖ Natural source of wind is a good idea but are poorly executed with turbines

Works Cited

“Advantages and Challenges of Wind Energy.” Advantages and Challenges of Wind Energy | Department of Energy. Web. 16 April 2017.

“Environmental Impacts of Wind Power.” Union of Concerned Scientists. Web. 16 April 2017.

European Wind Energy, Association. Wind Energy - the Facts : A Guide to the Technology, Economics and Future of Wind Power. Routledge, 2009. EBSCOhost, Web. 16 April 2017.

McNerney, Gerald and Martin Cheek. Clean Energy Nation : Freeing America from the Tyranny of Fossil Fuels. AMACOM, 2012. EBSCOhost. Web. 16 April 2017

Rap, Keenan W. “ADDRESSING THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT.” International Finance Corporation. Web. 16 April 2017.

Walker, R. P., & Swift, A. (2015). Wind energy essentials: societal, economic, and environmental impacts. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Ebook. 16 April 2017.

“Wind Turbine Syndrome and Vibroacoustic Disease. “ Wind Wise - Massachusetts. 13 Oct. 2011. Web. 16 April 2017.