Part I: Environmental Impacts 🦉🌿🌎
First we look at four impacts from wind farms:
1. ecosystems and wildlife
2. weather and climate
3. end-of-life treatment
4. rare earth elements
First we look at four impacts from wind farms:
1. ecosystems and wildlife
2. weather and climate
3. end-of-life treatment
4. rare earth elements
Comments
Wind farms can harm birds, bats, and marine life through collisions and habitat disruption. Impacts are less severe than fossil fuels, but vary by location and species. Careful siting, temporary shutdowns, and tech like painting blades black or radar can reduce harm.
Large wind farms can alter local weather, reducing wind speeds and changing temperature and rainfall. These changes are small vs global climate change, but can impact energy generation and ecosystems. Strategic planning and smart layouts mitigate these effects.
Turbine blades are made from tough composites that are hard to recycle. Most are landfilled, which isn't sustainable. New solutions include repurposing blades for cement and recyclable designs, but innovation and industry collaboration are needed.
Everyone is worried about critical minerals. Modern turbines rely on rare earths, which are geopolitically sensitive and hard to recycle. Supply risks are growing, but recycling technologies and alternative designs offer hope.
We look at another four areas:
5. land governance and tenure security
6. local monetary costs and benefits
7. landscape impacts
8. local health impacts
Wind energy development can risk marginalising traditional land users, particularly in vulnerable and Indigenous communities. "Green grabbing" can worsen inequality. Participatory planning and legal protections are essential to ensure fair outcomes.
I don't know whether it has moved forward since the original announcement in 2023.
https://www.siemensgamesa.com/global/en/home/explore/journal/recyclable-blade.html