Wind Farm Information

Energy derived from the wind offers a viable alternative to traditional power sources. Coming from a 100 percent renewable source, wind power will play an increasingly important part in our future. The turbines that are used to create the energy are often sited together and are called wind farms. Wind farms vary in size and can range from one or two turbines providing energy for a small rural village, through to large wind farms spread over many acres providing energy for a much wider area.

As with so many green initiatives however, there are many myths and misconceptions surrounding wind power. For one reason or another people regard wind power with suspicion, perhaps even thinking that it is too good to be true. This lack of understanding can lead to misapprehension about wind power and its use as a realistic alternative energy supply. Good quality factual wind farm information is essential to combating this and allowing people to make well informed decisions.

Many comprehensive information and education programs have been put together by different organizations, both in the U.S. and overseas. These are available both on the Internet and off line.

Sources of Wind Farm Information

One of the benefits of the Internet is that good quality information can be found and presented in new and exciting ways. Interactive websites, video and even webcams all help to disseminate detailed information about wind farms and wind energy in an engaging manner. Another benefit is that it is now very easy to access information and learn from the experiences of other countries.

Some useful sources of information about wind farms are listed below:

U.S. Websites

• awea.org – American Wind Energy Association. This website offers a huge amount of information about wind energy including a video, fact sheets and a pdf file debunking some of the myths about wind power and wind farms.

• WindEnergyWorks.org- Wind Energy Works! A website offering a range of information including a video and blog.

• IfNotWind.org - If Not Wind. A comprehensive website offering facts and explaining some of the myths.

• MaineWind.org – Maine Wind. This is a webcam giving a view of New England's largest wind farm on Mars Hill Mountain, Maine.

• NJWind.com – New Jersey Wind. Website offering information about the New Jersey wind farm plus a webcam.

International Websites

• bwea.com – British Wind Energy Association. This is a website offering a wealth of information about wind power, including latest news.

• Yes2Wind.com – Yes 2 Wind. This website is the result of collaboration between Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) with the aim of providing information and resources for the public to support wind farm proposals locally. The website includes a busy forum and blog.

• WindPower.org – Danish Wind Industry Association. This is an English language version of the Danish website. Denmark is a leader in the use of wind power, with an aim of having 50 percent of the nation’s power supplied by wind derived energy by 2025. This website includes a lot of useful information.

Wind Farms Open to the Public

Many wind farms are open to the public or offer tours. This can be a great way to find out more information about wind power and wind farms. Local green groups will have more information. Some wind farms with visitor centers are listed below. There are, of course, hundreds more which offer visitor centers or formal tours.

U.S. and Canada

• Wind Power Trail – Texas
• American Wind Power Center and Museum - Texas
• Huron Wind Farm - Ontario

International

• Codrington Wind Farm – Australia
• Woolnorth Wind Farm – Tasmania
• Swaffham Ecotech Centre - UK

Some of the common myths about wind farms is that they are noisy, spoil landscapes and have a negative effect on house prices. To counter these claims, it is necessary to provide better information and education demonstrating the long term benefits of wind farms and wind powered energy. An unfortunate side effect of some of these concerns is that wind farms fail to get built because of the protests of local action groups that are sometimes founded on incomplete information.

Hopefully some of the information sources listed in this article will provide interesting further reading and will help explain further the opportunities that wind power and wind farms afford.