Patricia Temples from Stanardsville, Virginia, would like an update on wind turbines.
“While traveling a couple of years ago we noticed many fields of wind turbines in Kansas and other western states. In locations where the land was flat, we also noticed cows grazing under them. There is a lot of information on both sides of the issue of wind turbines. Just wondering what your take is on this form of renewable energy and its impact on farming.”
Wind energy has been around long enough to have sufficient data to reach some conclusions and suggest its future. In 2019 wind energy generated 7.3% of all US electricity, compared to 38.4 for natural gas and 23.5% for coal. Looking at how this has changed in this century, here is a similar chart for 2000.
Wind energy is growing at about 8% annually, and newer, more efficient turbines will accelerate that trend. Solar perhaps has the greatest growth potential, however, it is now cheaper to build new solar capacity that operate old coal units.
Some people do not like turbines. They tend to be a small number in areas where units are being built, and typically not on their ground. Numerous rigorous health studies have been conducted, both here and in countries like Denmark with longer wind energy history. There is no evidence wind turbines constitute any health danger, including cancer. This of course applies to livestock as well. I respect the rights of neighbors to dislike turbines, but unfounded health issues and conspiracy theories don’t seem to be affecting the growth curve.
There are issues farmers and other landowners should consider. Decommissioning costs and actions, for example, should be clearly spelled out. Also, the idea of an enormous cube of concrete buried in your field from now on should be part of your analysis. And of course, the obvious need to farm around them, but the income seems to make that inconvenience worth it.
The retirement of coal plants, the increasing ability of the grid to handle intermittent nature of wind energy, and the explosion in solar capacity, and more power storage are rewriting how electricity is generated in our country. Wind is a safe and economical part of that transition.
