I wanted to take an opportunity to respond to some of the more usual complaints against wind farms, generally found in newspaper letters pages, and here is as good a place as any.
* "Wind farms are ugly". This is a statement of opinion, not fact. Other people find them serene and calm, perhaps even beautiful. Roads may be ugly but because they are
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You are entirely correct about this being subjective - to the extent that I know someone whose first response (as a recent arrival to the UK) to seeing a wind-farm at close quarters for the first time was to delightedly assume that the turbine blades near the road were part of some kind of art installation. I approve wholeheartedly of that response, by the way.
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Community outreach at its simplest and perhaps its most effective.
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Same with Tescos, come to think about it. :-)
George Q
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Besides, in the UK we undertake extremely detailed surveys of each proposed site in conjunction with the RSPB to identify local nesting and migration routes. If issues are raised, the layout can be changed to minimise the danger.
Bats have it harder, as simply flying too close to a wind turbine can cause catastrophic lung failure in a bat. This is less of an issue in the UK as bats are relatively uncommon, but I've seen examples of wind farms on the continent where bat activity has required the wind farm to close down each sunset during the summer months.
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Link to XKCD Windfarm Strip
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If LiveJournal had "Like" buttons, I'd LIKE Captain Caveman's comment.
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Besides, the solar panels for the roof will cost a lot more, and it'll be a few years before we need to bother with the roof anyways.
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It's a good point about the urban/rural dichotomy. But on the other hand, many rural locations are crying out for an identity and something which provides local jobs for local people. Rural power stations and the associated grid infrastructure they require could provide that and enable more people to relocate /away/ from cities and commuter belts. The most significant rural industry may be tourism, but that doesn't mean other industries have to be banned. Besides, Whitelee windfarm near East Kilbride has a very successful visitor's centre.
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