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Introduction

FAQs

Wind power: 10 myths explained

Myth: Turbines are taking over the countryside

The facts:

  • There are now some 1,120 turbines in 90 locations.1
  • Generating 10 per cent of UK electricity from renewables by 2010 could mean an increase by around another one and half times the current number.2
  • Less than 1/20,000th of the UK (800–1,200 hectares) would be used for foundations and access roads.3
  • Land between turbines can still be used for farming or natural habitat.
Myth: Wind farms are unpopular

The facts:

  • Research suggests quite the reverse.
  • 90 per cent of the public believe the Government should encourage the use of renewable energy.4
  • 80 per cent support Government plans to significantly increase wind turbines.5
  • 74 per cent agree that wind farms are needed to meet current and future energy needs.6
  • 66 per cent would approve of a new wind farm in their area.7
  • Approval is over 80 per cent among those already within 5 kilometres of a wind farm.8
Myth: Turbines are a health hazard

The facts:

  • Wind generation produces no emissions, harmful pollutants or waste products.
  • 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 DTI has commissioned an independent study in response to public concerns about low frequency noise.
  • However, vibration levels 100 metres from turbines are a factor of 10 lower than the safety requirements for modern laboratories.9
  • Each development requires a noise assessment which can be validated by the Environmental Health Officer.
Myth: Wind farms devastate house prices

The facts:

  • A study by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggests that wind farms have no lasting impact on UK house prices.
  • This study is supported by evidence at wind farms in England, Scotland and Wales.
  • It shows that local house prices recover from any initial impact once a wind farm has been operating for two years.
  • Evidence suggests that those living nearest to wind farms are their strongest advocates.10
  • People promoting fears of falling prices risk making them self-fulfilling.
Myth: Wind farms keep tourists away

The facts:

  • Many wind farms are tourist attractions.
  • 30,000 people have visited the information centre for the new Scroby Sands offshore wind farm since May 2004.
  • 90 per cent of tourists surveyed in Scotland said wind farms make no difference to enjoyment of their holiday.11
  • Twice as many would return to an area because of a wind farm than would stay away.12
Myth: Turbine blades threaten bird populations

The facts:

  • UK wind farms have not been associated with any major adverse effects on birds.13
  • By far the biggest threat to UK bird populations is climate change,14 which is mitigated by renewables such as wind.
  • Environmental assessments are required as part of the planning process, to ensure wind farms are properly sited and configured in relation to bird movements.
  • These assessments have improved the understanding of bird ecology, helping conservation.15
Myth: Wind produces little power

The facts:

  • A single 1.8-megawatt turbine can produce enough power for 1,000 homes.16
  • Existing wind projects generate enough for nearly half a million homes.17
  • The average UK wind farm will pay back the energy used in its manufacture within three to five months – more quickly than coal and nuclear plants.18
  • Over its lifetime,19 a wind farm will repay this energy 50 times over.
  • The geographical spread of wind farms minimises the loss of generation when the wind stops in any one location.
  • Back-up generation is already in place to cover shut-downs of other forms of generation; little further back-up will be needed up to 2010 to cover periods when wind and other renewables generation is low.
Myth: Wind energy will not help climate change

The facts:

  • Producing 10 per cent of electricity from renewables in 2010 could cut carbon emissions by 2.5 million tonnes a year.21
  • Wind generation produces no carbon emissions.
  • Every unit of energy generated by wind doesn’t need to be generated by carbon-producing sources.
  • Any emissions savings lost through use of fossil fuel back-up will be minimal to 2010.22
  • Wind is part of a range of measures to tackle climate change, alongside other renewables and energy efficiency.
Myth: Projects are forced through with no regard for local concerns

The facts:

  • Ministers have made it clear that wind farms should only be located in the appropriate place and that local concerns should be listened to.
  • All wind farm proposals are subject to a strict planning process, addressing environmental, visual and community impacts.
  • Local planning authorities consider onshore proposals up to 50 megawatts (the vast majority of applications to date).
  • The planning framework23 facilitates renewable energy, while maintaining safeguards for landscape and nature conservation.
  • It does not impose targets or developments on local authorities.
  • For applications over 50 megawatts, local authorities can trigger an independent public inquiry if they object.
  • The public can participate in the planning processes and their views are taken into account at every stage.
  • Projects not meeting planning requirements are refused consent.
  • About a third of all applications are refused.24
Myth: Onshore wind is being promoted at the expense of other renewables

The facts:

  • The Government has committed £500 million to develop longer-term renewables, such as offshore wind, wave and tidal, solar, biomass and community projects.
  • Onshore wind is currently the most economically viable renewables technology with scope for expansion, but it will increasingly operate as part of a renewables mix as other technologies come on line.
  • The UK is already the world’s second-biggest offshore wind generator. Plans for further offshore wind farms represent the world’s biggest expansion of renewable energy.

1. British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), November 2004.
2. A rather smaller number of offshore turbines would also be required.
3. BWEA, November 2004.
4. ‘Attitudes and Knowledge of Renewable Energy Amongst the General Public’ – TNS Consumer 2003.
5. ICM Research, August 2004.
6. NOP World, August 2004.
7. ‘Attitudes and Knowledge of Renewable Energy Amongst the General Public’ – TNS Consumer 2003.
8. ‘Attitudes and Knowledge of Renewable Energy Amongst the General Public’ – TNS Consumer 2003.
9. ETSU, 1997.
10. ‘Public Attitudes to Windfarms: A Survey of Local Residents in Scotland’, Scottish Executive Social Research – MORI, 2003.
11. MORI Social Research, September 2002.
12. MORI Social Research, September 2002.
13. RSPB information leaflet ‘Wind Farms and Birds’, 2004.
14. ‘Extinction Risk From Climate Change’ – Nature 427, January 2004.
15. Dr Martin Perrow, University of East Anglia, on study of Little Terns at Scroby Sands wind farm, Norfolk.
16. BWEA.
17. BWEA.
18. ‘Dispelling the Myths of Energy Payback Time’ – Milborrow, 1998.
19. Based on a turbine life of 20–25 years – BWEA.
20. ‘Renewables Innovation Review’ – DTI/Carbon Trust, February 2004.
21. DTI Renewables Obligation Statutory Consultation, August 2001.
22. Mott MacDonald, 2003.
23. ‘Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable Energy’ – ODPM, August 2004.
24. Based on applications in the year to September 2004.