Don't Get Blown Away by All The Positives of Wind - Disadvantages of Wind Energy

There are always two sides to the coin. Let's look at the disadvantages of wind energy.

1. Wind itself is not dependable. In order for you to turn the blades on a wind turbine, you must have wind. Without this, you are dead in the water.

So you must live in an area that has consistent wind. Valleys, mountain tops, coastal areas are good candidates. I live in Florida. Not the best place for wind unless you are along the beach and pick up the sea breeze.

2. Land along the coast is expensive If you do live along the coast, your personal property is rather expensive and you might not be able to afford the opportunity to afford the land, let alone a wind generator.

3. Wind Farms are Unsightly. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some would feel that having 100 wind turbines sitting outside your picture window is an eyesore.

I live in North East Florida. When the winds are right, we smell the byproducts of the nearby pulp mills. Some would say it is pollution; some would say it is money for the economy.

I remember visiting a family who were pig farmers. Standing outside their home, enjoying the fresh country air offered by the pigs on a hot, humid Indiana summer afternoon, their son said, "Smell that money!"

I say, pretty is as pretty does. Sure, they might mar the scene, but most wind farms along the coast are so far out you will not even see them.

Comparing apples to apples, giving up a little of the landscape to gain more on alternative energy, use less fossil fuels,lower pollution, create more jobs and improve the economy: it's a no-brainer.

Regarding the disadvantages of wind energy, Ted Kennedy stirred up a hornets nest with his opposition to wind farms off of Nantucket. Yo can read about it here.

3.Wind Turbines Interfere with Television Reception. Some say that wind turbines give off interference to television and radio signals.

4. Wind Turbines Kill Birds Some of these blades can have a span of 100 or more feet. if they are going fast enough, just like a propeller, you really do not see them.

With that speed and length of blade, birds easily fly into the blade path and get killed. Some also say the hum of the blade is an attraction to birds and they are lured into the blade. if anyone knows more, please let me know.

Wind Turbines are Noisy So another of the disadvantages of wind energy is that wind turbines are noisy. They have the hum and also a "whooshing noise" when the blade turns.

It probably is not bad with one or two, but get about a hundred of these "bad boys" cranking out a few hundred RPM's and you might have the sound of an alien attack.

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