Effets of a Wind farm BY: MADISON LAYDEN

Legal issues  many new developments, technology often progresses faster than the law.  existing laws will be unable to effectively address some issues relating to renewable energy. Like sub-surface oil and gas, wind and solar resources have characteristics that require specially tailored legal rules to effectively govern how these resources will be shared among neighbors. Competing wind rights provide an example.  Legal issues regarding wind rights appear when evaluating who has the right to freely capture wind. For instance, modern wind turbines create wind disturbances or wakes for hundreds of yards downwind.

Legal issues  Without clear legal rules segregating one property owner’s right to capture wind from the competing rights of neighbors, conflicts among neighbors will inevitably arise possibly resulting in litigation and underdevelopment of areas well-suited for wind energy.  The proposal is that in rural areas zoned for commercial wind energy development, landowners should be free to place wind turbines anywhere on their property (within ordinary safety restrictions) without being liable to neighbors for downwind wake effects.

Ethical issues  There is no way to guarantee the amount of wind on a given day, which could become a problem if wind is the only source of electricity.  wind energy is its affect on the people who live in the area where turbines or wind farms are being built. While many people find the sight of turbines to be “pleasant and optimistic” because it “symbolizes energy independence and local prosperity,” others argue that the tall, large turbines ruin the landscape and emit noise that interferes with their everyday life.

Ethical issues  Aside from the actual cost of building the turbines, studies have shown that homes and buildings near turbines have lost economic value since the turbines were built (“Wind Energy and the Environment”). Furthermore, one concern that is especially prevalent in the mountains of North Carolina is the effect of turbines on tourism. In order for turbines to work effectively, they must be placed in windy places, which, in the mountains, are on prominent ridges and mountaintops, where they can be easily seen.

Environmental issues  environmentalists are concerned with the impact of wind turbines on animal habitats, especially those of birds and bats (National Wind Coordinating Collaborative). Studies have even shown that the turbines can cause death to these animals, which fly into the fast-moving rotating blades.  While there are no global warming emissions associated with operating wind turbines, there are emissions associated with other stages of a wind turbine’s life-cycle, including materials production, materials transportation, on-site construction and assembly, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning and dismantlement.

Environmental issues  The land use impact of wind power facilities varies substantially depending on the site: wind turbines placed in flat areas typically use more land than those located in hilly areas. However, wind turbines do not occupy all of this land; they must be spaced approximately 5 to 10 rotor diameters apart (a rotor diameter is the diameter of the wind turbine blades). Thus, the turbines themselves and the surrounding infrastructure (including roads and transmission lines) occupy a small portion of the total area of a wind facility.