- Climate change is a major international problem, but industrial wind projects have
not, and will not, provide any benefits. Most climate change is caused by the transport
sector. No study in any country has shown any reduction in climate change gases
due to wind projects, although they are hideously expensive and destroy huge areas.
By comparison, rooftop solar systems can lower residential and business electricity
demand by 50% to 80%, even in cold climates. - Industrial wind power does not lower greenhouse gas production or fossil fuel use.
Because wind is so erratic, fossil fuel plants must run full-time as backup to wind
projects, to provide constant power into the grid and prevent brownouts or “cooking”
the grid. This “Spinning Reserve” means that utilities must sometimes increase
fossil fuel use because of wind projects. - Every single developed country in the world except the US is backing out of landbased
wind projects. The UK, with over 1,000 turbines, has increased its use of
coal-fired generation. Denmark, which has made the world’s largest investment in
wind power, is now selling off its wind projects. Germany has cancelled future wind
projects, as have Spain and Italy. - Industrial wind projects cost more jobs than they create. The Texas Secretary of
State has estimated every wind power job takes away 2.6 regular jobs, due to the
higher cost of energy and increased taxes to pay for wind projects. In Spain, the
estimate is four jobs lost for every wind job gained. In the US, most major wind
developers and manufacturers are foreign. - Although it provides no environmental benefits, wind power has catastrophic
environmental impacts, and will lead to the extinction of numerous bird and bat
species. The UK Secretary of Environment has says wind projects have worse
environmental impacts than climate change. - A range of peer-reviewed medical and scientific studies consistently show that wind
projects cause severe human health impacts. - Wind projects have been estimated to cause a 40% to 60% drop in tourism.
- Wind projects substantially reduce property values – up to 100% for properties near
turbines, but averaging 40% value loss for properties even at a mile or two distances
from the nearest turbine. - Wind developers are not good corporate citizens. They lie about impacts, purchase
politicians, sue and threaten opponents, do not keep their agreements, and pull out
of projects after receiving federal tax benefits, often leaving defunct wind towers
standing. Over 14,000 non-working turbines litter the US landscape. - Wind projects will never make financial sense. The industrial wind industry has
contributed enormously to America’s national debt. Over 85% of a wind project is
paid for by US taxpayers. The Obama administration has initiated a program where
1/3 the cost of a wind project is given by the federal government to a wind developer
before the project is even started.
