The Good

As mentioned, wind farms are great for the environment in at least one obvious and significant way: they help wean us off of our reliance on fossil fuels and reduce our carbon footprint on a societal level. This is very good for the environment!

What’s more, one of the benefits of renewable energy is the ability to have on-site energy production. This leads to further carbon emission reductions because energy (traditionally in the form of fossil fuels) won’t have to be delivered to remote locations.

The Bad

Unfortunately, there are some downsides to wind farms from an environmental perspective. For one thing, wind farms require a lot of space and therefore end up consuming a lot of land.

There are also concerns over how wildlife interacts with large wind turbines. Bats and birds are most affected, and many are killed each year as they fly into turbine blades. In addition, offshore wind farms can have an impact on ocean life, as de-icing fluid from the blades inevitably spills into the ocean waters.

However, it is important to note that these risk factors are not unique to wind energy—or even renewable energy. In fact, one could argue that carbon emissions are worse for the environment than wind farms, considering the impact they have on wildlife and the long-term issues that global warming could pose on the global ecosystem.

What’s Next?

To combat these issues, more research must be done into making wind farms safer for the environment while also increasing their energy efficiency. As technology becomes more advanced, it will inevitably become cheaper, safer, and more efficient—we just have to be patient!

Looking for more information on this topic? Click here to learn more about wind energy, wind farms, and their impact on the environment.

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Basic wind energy facts

• The U.S. currently ranks among the top 10 countries in the world in wind power per capita. Considering the large size of the U.S. population compared to the rest of the countries in this range on the rankings, it is a very encouraging sign for U.S. wind power.
• In fact, wind energy is also the #1 source of new power capacity in the U.S., and offshore wind farms are a growing percentage of that market.

Why offshore wind farms?

One concern about renewable energy is the cost associated with obtaining the amount of land required to create an amount of energy that could power a large group of homes. However, the main draw of offshore wind farms is the fact that they exist offshore, cleverly out of the way of most of society.

Offshore wind farms could be deployed all over the planet in the future. When you consider the huge percentage of the Earth’s surface area that is covered by water, you can fully realize the potential that offshore wind farms could have on our planet’s energy future.

Like other forms of renewable energy, offshore wind farms are better for the environment than continued fossil fuel usage. What’s more, the creation and installation of all necessary machinery related to offshore wind farms would be a boost to local economies where these offshore farms are being installed.

From a logistical standpoint however, offshore wind farms would have to be placed in areas where they would not interrupt shipping lanes, meaning that port cities might not be prime locations.

But despite that, off shore wind power has enormous potential. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates a gross wind potential of 4,223 gigawatts (GW) off the coast of the United States alone – about four times the generating capacity of the entire electric grid in the US.

Looking to learn more about offshore wind energy? Click here for some further reading about the benefits of offshore wind farms!

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