Wind farms and smaller, localized wind energy projects can be beneficial for property owners. They can also help local communities by reducing their reliance on the grid for traditional electrical production.
In theory, wind farms help generate sustainable energy and can turn vacant farmlands into profit-generating properties. Unfortunately, neighbors and other community members sometimes take issue with a proposed wind farm. They may have heard stories about wind energy facilities that make them feel negatively about the proposed project. Businesses and property owners hoping to install wind turbines may need to communicate with neighbors and community members to educate them about the three myths below that can drive negative sentiments about wind farms.
Myth # 1: Wind turbines are noisy
People may have seen videos featuring what looks like wind turbines generating intense noise. As the propellers spin, they produce loud thumping noises that people can hear at a distance. Those devices featured in those videos are not energy-generating wind turbines. Instead, they are specialized frost fans or wind generation systems used by fruit farmers in northern climates. When frost is likely and trees already have buds on them, farmers use these noisy machines to help protect their orchards from frost damage. Wind turbines are actually quite quiet and generally only produce a low hum or no audible noise at all.
Myth #2: Wind turbines kill birds
The idea that renewable energy is bad for wildlife is a common misconception. Many people oppose wind farms and solar projects by claiming that renewable energy facilities kill large numbers of migratory songbirds. While it is true that some birds do strike the moving propellers on wind turbines, most birds are able to navigate wind farms with minimal risks. Researchers have validated that more birds die from cats roaming the streets and traditional electrical production than from wind farms and similar facilities.
Myth # 3: Wind turbines destroy the view
Some people worry that the installation of wind turbines and electrical infrastructure to transmit the power they generate could take a pristine local landscape and make it unsightly. Wind turbines are not as disruptive to the overall appearance of a rural area as people might expect. The turbines and power supply lines tend to fade into the background from a distance. Up close, they can be points of interest. Typically, even those who prefer an uninterrupted skyline can still enjoy a beautiful view even if a local property owner installs a large-scale wind farm.
Countering misinformation about wind energy production can change local sentiment about an upcoming project. Property owners and investors proposing wind energy projects may need help getting the approval necessary for the project and handling the various legal details involved, and that’s okay.