Common Questions
10 Myths & Misconceptions
MYTH #1 -- Wind Turbines Are Noisy
FACT: Modern wind turbines are designed to reduce noise. At 750 to 1000 feet a modern wind farm is generally no noisier than a refrigerator. Where the terrain is a factor (sheltered dips or hollows) the development is set even farther away from homes.
MYTH # 2 - Turbines Interfere with Television and Other Communications Signals
FACT: Interference, if any, can easily be avoided by improving a receiver’s antenna or installing relays to transmit the signal around the wind farm: both are common solutions.
MYTH #3 - Wind Turbines Kill Many Birds and Bats
FACT: GreenWing Energy pays serious attention to where we are locate wind farms to protect the bird and bat populations. Avian studies are routinely conducted at wind sites before an new projects are proposed. Compared to bird injuries and deaths caused by cats and buildings, the impact of wind energy developments on birds is extremely low. For every 10,000 birds killed by human activities, less than one death is caused by a wind turbine.
MYTH #4 - Wind Projects Don’t Contribute to the Local Tax Base
FACT: Wind farms support the local tax base, helping to pay for schools and roads, for example. A new wind farm creates employment for the construction and permanent jobs for the operation and maintenance phases. GreenWing is committed to using local resources whenever possible in the construction and operations of the wind farm. Money flows into the local economy through the provision of services required as well as hotels and restaurant revenues.
MYTH #5 - Wind Energy Will Never Provide More Than a Little Electricity
FACT: Wind energy has the potential to contribute much of our future energy needs.
By 2020, 100,000MW of wind energy installed could provide at least 6% of electricity generated in the U.S., or about the same amount as hydropower today. But first, regulatory barriers need to be removed.
American Homes Served by Wind Energy (in millions):
TODAY - 1.6 million
BY 2020 - 25 million
MYTH #6 - Wind Energy Is Expensive
FACT: While the upfront costs of a wind power project are higher than some traditional power technologies such as natural gas, there are no fuel costs. When the lifetime of the plant is considered (not just the construction costs) the cost of fuel, operations and maintenance of wind energy can be very competitive.
MYTH # 7 – Wind Projects Harm Property Values
FACT: The most recent statistics available from a 2003 survey or properties near multiple wind farms found that not only do wind farms not harm property values, but also actually increased property values in some cases.
MYTH #8 - Wind Energy Is Heavily Subsidized
FACT:Like all energy technologies wind energy is subsidized… but there’s a big difference. Environmental impact from fossil fuels (polluted air, polluted water, health costs, global warming, fuel spills, and cleanup and disposal of fuel by-products) are not reflected in higher costs of those energy sources.
Wind energy produces no emissions needs no fuel and the cost is predictable over time.
MYTH #9 - Wind Turbines Aren’t Safe: Blades Cause Dangerous Ice Throws and Turbines May Throw Blades or Collapse
FACT: Ice is of little danger because since ice buildup slows a turbine's rotation, it will be sensed by the turbine's control system and shut down automatically. Blade throws are unheard-of today because of better turbine design and engineering. There are thousands of turbines installed in Europe and the North America.
MYTH #10 - Turbines Are Ugly
FACT: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. GreenWing is always looking for new and innovative ways to reduce visual impacts and gain the consent of the community. Wind farms can generate tourism, some get upwards of 60,000 visits a year. Bus tours are organized to see these majestic wind turbines that generate electricity from a natural, renewable resource.
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