Monkwith

Research shows that people’s feelings about wind farms relate to their personal experience of them. They usually become more supportive of them once they are up and running. More than 50 public opinion surveys have been carried out since the UK’s first commercial wind farm opened in 1991. Some common features have emerged.

Those closest to wind turbines often prove to be the most enthusiastic advocates of wind power. Interestingly, the closer they live to the turbines, the more likely they are to support wind power. Consistently, a majority of survey respondents, often 70-90%, say they support wind power both in principle and in practice, locally and nationally. Many fears about wind developments tend to subside after the rotor blades start turning, as people’s views are shaped by their actual experiences rather than any pre-conceptions they may have had. This process helps to generate a more positive overall attitude within communities, and often a sense of pride in what’s been achieved as a result of public consultation and engagement.

Human activities are having an adverse impact on the global climate. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas, for electricity generation and motor transport creates emissions of greenhouse gases. There is now an overwhelming international scientific consensus about the cumulative effect of these emissions – worldwide changes in temperature and rainfall, rises in sea level, and more frequent extreme weather conditions.

Unless action is taken to reduce these emissions, densely populated areas of the south and east of the UK are vulnerable to a rise in sea level and other parts of the country from extreme weather conditions. Large parts of the world – including low-lying developing countries throughout Asia – will suffer catastrophic consequences. Some of the energy solutions needed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions lie in the very geographical features of the UK that make it vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Its exposed off-shore location in the north-east Atlantic Ocean makes the UK ideally placed to harness wind to create clean energy.

Wind power is one of many forms of renewable energy, other examples being solar, wave, tidal and biomass. What is distinctive about renewables is that they are inexhaustible, locally available and they produce no harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Why do we need wind power?
Wind is one of the most cost-effective and technologically advanced renewables available to the UK. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has indicated that onshore wind is already economic. As other sources of clean energy demonstrate their practical value and become more commercially viable, onshore wind power generation may become less dominant in the broad range of renewables.

How much wind energy are we using already?
Over 200* wind farms are currently operating in the UK. Together they are using more than 2300* turbines, providing enough electricity for over 1.8 million* homes. Renewable energy such as wind accounts for only about 4.5%* of electricity generation at present. The areas with the most wind farms are Scotland, Wales, Cumbria and Northumberland, Northern Ireland and Cornwall. Not all wind farms are large scale developments – some have just one or two turbines. [*Figures updated January 2009]

Why is the UK setting targets for increasing use of renewables?
Several factors are driving the shift towards renewable energy sourcing, and the setting of targets for increasing our use of them. Firstly we have climate change and emissions reduction targets. Secondly, supplies of traditional fuels such as oil and gas are becoming more expensive, and the UK’s reserves are in decline. We need to strengthen our energy security. Finally, the advent of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme will make the use of fossil fuels – especially carbon-intensive coal – less attractive in future. This is because a price is being placed on carbon emissions providing financial incentives to minimise these in all industrial processes, including electricity generation.

What are the renewable energy targets?
Under international targets agreed in the Kyoto Protocol, and adopted by the UK Parliament in 2002, the UK has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5% by 2012 – compared to 1990 levels. The UK Government has set itself a higher domestic target for cutting levels of carbon dioxide emissions – by 20% by 2010 using the same baseline. Carbon dioxide is the largest single contributor to climate change.
Alongside these targets are new statutory requirements on electricity suppliers to source up to 10% of their power from renewable sources by 2010, and 15% by 2015. A further ‘aspirational goal’ for 20% of electricity to come from renewables by 2020 has also been set. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have made their own arrangements for increasing their use of clean energy, with Scotland aiming for 40% renewables generation by 2020.

Increasing our use of clean energy sources will make a vital contribution to reducing the impact of climate change. But other strategies must be pursued, primarily boosting our energy-efficiency.

Shouldn’t we focus on energy saving, rather than support new ways of producing it?
We need to do both. Reducing the nation’s demand on the national grid – through energy saving, and changing our everyday behaviour – is not an optional extra in the drive to tackle climate change effectively. It’s essential, and it represents perhaps the most cost-effective way of meeting our obligations to cut greenhouses gas emissions. But it also requires a big effort by everyone to do their bit – not just politicians, policy makers and industry.
We waste an estimated 40% of our energy – through poorly insulated homes, inefficient appliances and by leaving on lights, computers, TVs, for example, when they are not needed.
Energy saving and renewable energy production must work in tandem if we are to achieve targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions – in the UK and elsewhere.

Why is the Government pushing wind power rather than other renewables?
Government doesn’t push one technology above another. The reason that wind power has been popular is because of its cost effectiveness. In the short to medium term, alternatives are less attractive to developers.

Traditional fuels like coal, oil and gas have served us well – why change?
Fossil fuels such as oil and gas are becoming harder to access in some areas, and so we can expect prices to go on rising in the foreseeable future. The UK’s production of both has ‘peaked’, and is on the way down. The UK has plenty of coal, but as a carbon intensive fuel it therefore has the biggest effect on climate change. Burning coal also produces ‘acid rain’ which has devastated forests in some parts of Europe. Action to tackle the pollution means that coal power stations will become more expensive to operate.
We have to take decisive action now to guarantee security of power supplies in future, reduce our dependence on imports, and improve both the local and global environment. We need to do this by embracing a range of energy production strategies that, when combined with increased efficiency and reduced waste, lead to a cleaner, greener, more secure electricity system for the UK.

Research shows that people’s feelings about wind farms relate to their personal experience of them. They usually become more supportive of them once they are up and running. More than 50 public opinion surveys have been carried out since the UK’s first commercial wind farm opened in 1991. Some common features have emerged.

Wind energy technology is one of the most widely used, commercially developed and fastest growing of all renewables in the UK.
Modern turbines are more powerful and reliable than earlier prototypes, capturing more energy. They are also quicker to build, easier to maintain and quieter. A turbine in use in the UK is likely to be producing useful power for 70-85% of the year. Typically, its design lifespan is 20 years.
Many people wonder what happens when the wind doesn’t blow. The truth is that the national grid system is already designed to cope with large fluctuations in supply and demand.

How will increased use of wind power affect my electricity bill?
Let’s assume by 2020, we have achieved the Government’s goal of generating 20% of our electricity by renewable means – and this is done solely via wind power. In this case, the extra cost to consumers would be around 3.8% of the current domestic charge – around £13 on the average annual UK bill. If the environmental benefit of reduced carbon dioxide emissions is calculated and included, the additional ‘social’ cost of wind power will be less – possibly zero.

People have concerns about different aspects of wind power, particularly in areas where new wind projects have been proposed. In this section we summarise the main objections and concerns expressed and describe how these are being addressed.

Aren’t wind farms a real blot on the landscape?
Some people find wind farms unacceptably intrusive in our much loved countryside. Others see them as graceful structures, generating local civic pride – unlike electricity pylons, for example, which we have lived with for decades. It’s a highly subjective judgement. Over 10,000 years, the landscape of the British Isles has evolved from post-glacial wilderness into a living landscape of remarkable diversity, shaped by human interventions and economic activity – not just natural forces. Climate change – unless tackled effectively now – is far more likely to have a severe and widespread impact on the landscape in the longer term than wind plants. Our willingness to save energy and reduce our dependence on traditional means of power generation will help to safeguard the landscape for the use and enjoyment of future generations.

We are a small country surrounded by water – why can’t all wind farms be built out at sea, out of sight?
Some wind farms are already operating offshore and more will continue to be built there. Current installations are 5-10km away from the shore. Further new sites are planned up to 25km from land and offshore wind power generation is expected to make a major contribution to the Government’s renewables target for 2010.
It is currently cheaper to build and maintain wind farms on land, so a mix of land and sea based operations is likely in the future. However, the larger turbine sizes that are possible offshore could improve the longer-term attractiveness of sea-based developments.

What’s being done to reduce the visual impact of wind farms?
Landscape and visual impacts comprise the single most common reason cited for the refusal of planning permission for new wind farms.
Wind farms that have fewer but larger turbines may be more visually acceptable than ones that have more but smaller turbines. The trend now in wind power technology is towards building larger more powerful turbines so that proportionately fewer of them will be needed.
The height and number of the turbines, the size of the rotor blades, how and where they are arranged, and the presence of associated structures, such as access tracks and transformers – all these factors contribute to the visual impact.
Obviously the quality of the surrounding landscape – and its national or regional importance – helps determine the way we perceive wind turbines and assess the level of visual intrusion in any given case.
It’s been shown that good design, reflecting sensitivity to the surrounding landscape, can help to minimise visual impact

Is it true that wind farms are noisy?
Noise is frequently raised as a public concern at the development and planning stages of wind farms. Wind turbines have become quieter in recent years, and we can expect the trend to continue as the technology develops.
Noise means an unwanted sound, and to some extent, it will always depend on subjective judgements. However, it is possible to have a normal conversation with someone while standing underneath a turbine without either of you having to raise your voice. Sheep and other livestock tend to carry on grazing near working turbines, not move away. Noise levels from wind farms are on a par with rural background noise at night time. No rural area, however remote, is completely silent for very long, day or night. Passing aircraft, tractors and other agricultural activity, stormy weather, wind in trees, even barking dogs – they all create noise.

Don’t wind farms cause house prices to fall?
A planning application for a wind farm can affect local house prices, but the negative impact diminishes as time goes on. Some 60% of chartered surveyors with experience of house transactions near to wind farms report that they have had an adverse effect on prices, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. But prices generally begin to recover, after the wind farm has been up and running for two years, according to the study. This suggests that wind farms become more accepted as communities get used to them.

Are birds and other wildlife at risk from wind farms?
Climate change is the biggest threat to bird populations and other wildlife through loss of habitat. As a renewable form of energy, wind power helps to offset the impact of climate change. In the first instance, wind power developers should try to avoid sensitive wildlife or ecological areas in favour of sites where the impacts will be minimal. Any potential impacts on birds and other wildlife – and measures to mitigate these – should then be set out in the Environmental Impact Assessment that’s required to inform local decision-making on all major wind project plans. Early consultation with nature conservation organisations is essential to help developers and planners ensure appropriate siting, design and construction of a project.

Do wind turbines present hazards for aircraft?
Potentially the impacts on radar, military aviation training, and telecommunications are significant and numerous. In most cases, these concerns can be resolved, but the outcome of the various discussions and evaluations currently taking place will clearly affect the pace of wind power expansion in the UK.

How do wind farms affect tourism and rural regeneration?
Many wind projects help their local communities by providing jobs for site management, educational opportunities and visits for school children. Some operate local profit sharing schemes or are entirely community owned. There is no significant evidence that tourists are put off returning to an area by the presence of a wind development.