Solar and wind myths and falsehoods (part1)
Everything changes -nothing is static. The way we have lived upon this planet has changed, especially over the past 250 years during what we call the Industrial Revolution. Before this time, power was largely derived from our own physical exertions and from animals. Wind and water were used to power basic machinery. These gave way to steam power, fueled by coal and wood which were in turn replaced by internal combustion engines using oil-derived fuels and electrical power largely generated by burning fossil fuels. The down-side to this is that each stage of the Industrial Revolution saw more greenhouse gasses being produced. It has reached the point where it is affecting the climates around the planet. Some countries adopted nuclear power. As we have seen, when nuclear power goes wrong either through human error (as with Chernobyl) or natural disasters (as with Fukushima), it goes horribly wrong. The difficulties with the disposal of nuclear waste and the decommissioning of the power stations remain major problems. It has become clear that we need to find new ways to generate electricity that do not harm the environment.
At present solar panels and wind turbines are leading the way in making our electricity ‘green’. No doubt this is partly due to these technologies already being in small scale use. This is not to say that they will not in turn be replaced by new, more efficient technologies that may be developed in the future, making them stop-gaps. Whatever happens, at present solar and wind are what the world is running with.
The proliferation of wind and solar farms have created some debate. As with most things, there are pros and cons. There are also arguments being put about that really don’t stack up or are simply not true.
Birds flying into wind turbines is a common argument against wind turbines. Indeed, some birds are killed in this way, but it is a small number (four to six per turbine annually, or 0.3-0.4 fatalities per GWh) when compared to the number of birds killed by cats, cars or plate glass windows. Fossil fueled power stations cause 5.2 bird deaths per GWh, far higher than wind turbines. Climate change is a far greater threat to wildlife. Turbine blades spin relatively slowly. Most birds simply dodge them.
Turbine noise damaging health is false. Newer turbines usually produce no generator or gearbox noise, but the spinning blades can produce a “whooshing” noise which is harmless to humans and animals. The study linking whale deaths to off-shore wind farms is fake.
That wind turbines only last three to four years is another piece of false information. They actually last 20-30 years. The claim may have originated from when an American wind farm needed to replace the gearboxes of some of its turbines because of a manufacturing fault. Turbine blades are regularly inspected and replaced if necessary.
Solar farms alter the climate. Solar farms do affect the weather of their immediate location as the solar radiation not absorbed by the panels to produce electricity is reflected back into the atmosphere. It is about the same as a medium density town or a ploughed-up paddock. Solar farms can create thermals in the same way as a ploughed paddock. The cooling towers and airborne particulates of coal-fired power stations can have a bigger climatic effect.
Solar farms are not compatible with agriculture or wildlife conservation. The way that solar farms are laid out does mean that the land can no longer be used for growing crops. However, they can still be used for grazing, especially for sheep. It has been found that with appropriate management and revegetation they make good wildlife reserves.
We will be continuing to look into solar panels and wind turbines in the next edition.
