Nonsense and Rumors About Wind Power

“Nonsense and Rumors About Wind Power” is not a super-fact post but just what I consider interesting information regarding nonsense and rumors about wind power.

Wind power has been on the receiving end of false claims, nonsense, and strange rumors for a while. It is not the only energy source maligned by false information. Another example is Nuclear Power. However, this post is about some of the incorrect claims about wind power that I have come across. I am starting out with three bizarre claims.

Photo by Kervin Edward Lara on Pexels.com

False claim : Wind Power requires an additional power source to operate (like a diesel engine)

This bizarre claim is akin to saying that sailboats need a diesel motor to sail. If you get something to rotate (a turbine), whether it is pushed by running water, wind, or an engine, and you connect it to a coil in a magnetic field (generator), you get electricity. This is high school physics. You don’t need anything else. It is the principle behind hydro power, nuclear power, coal power, gas power, and wind power.

For a wind power station, the moving air rotates the wind turbine’s blades. That turning motion spins a generator just downwind from the blades (or rotor) in the nacelle, which also stores all the other working parts of a turbine. The generator produces electricity. When you read about how wind power works it says nothing about an additional power source needed (or click here).

For fun let’s also ask Google AI : Does wind power use other energy sources while operating?

Google AI: No, wind power itself does not use any other energy sources while operating; it solely harnesses the kinetic energy from the wind to generate electricity, meaning it only relies on wind to function as its primary energy source.

However, it should be noted that wind power is intermittent, so if it is part of a power grid other power sources or energy storage/batteries may need to be used more when wind speeds are too low to generate electricity.

Also, as is true with any power source, energy is needed when constructing wind power plants. In addition, a small amount of external electricity may be needed for startup and maintenance. It is possible that these facts were misunderstood and turned into “Wind Power requires an additional power source to operate” by confused listeners.

Photo by Nitin Sharma on Pexels.com

False claim : Wind Power generates less power than it consumes

This is another bizarre claim made by confused politicians (here in Texas). If wind power generated less power than it consumed, why would anyone invest in it?

The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) states that the average wind farm will pay back the energy that was used in its manufacture within 3-5 months of operation. This article in the journal Renewable Energy found that the average windfarm produces 20-25 times more energy during its operational life than was used to construct and install its turbines. It included data from 119 turbines across 50 sites going back 30 years.

For fun let’s ask ChatGPT this question : Does wind Power generate less power than it consumes?

ChatGPT : Wind power does not consume more energy than it generates. In fact, wind power is one of the most efficient and sustainable energy sources available. The energy required to manufacture, install, and maintain wind turbines is small compared to the energy they produce over their lifespan. This is known as their energy return on investment (EROI), which is quite favorable for wind energy.

Photo by Andrew Del Castilho on Pexels.com

False claim : The sound from wind power stations cause cancer

Donald Trump stated on April 2, 2019, in a speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee that “The noise (from windmills) causes cancer.” A poll was conducted in Iowa, a state where wind power is thriving and only 1% of registered voters agreed with Trump that wind turbines cause cancer, 84% disagreed and 15% did not know. So, it is not a widespread belief, but it does exist. The claim was quickly debunked by the American Cancer Society.

On the contrary, the pollution from the fossil fuel power plants that wind power will likely replace causes cancer.

Just for fun let’s ask ChatGPT this question : Does windpower cause cancer?

ChatGPT : No, wind power does not cause cancer. There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that wind turbines or wind energy have any connection to causing cancer. This misconception might stem from misinformation or misunderstandings about how wind turbines work. Wind power is a clean and renewable energy source, and studies have shown that it does not pose significant health risks.

Some people have raised concerns about possible health effects from wind turbines, such as “wind turbine syndrome,” which includes symptoms like headaches or sleep disturbances attributed to the noise or vibrations of turbines. However, extensive studies have not found conclusive evidence to support these claims either. The noise levels and vibrations from wind turbines are generally well within safety limits set by health and environmental standards.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Next, I am going to focus on three claims which are partially true but that are greatly exaggerated and need to be understood in context.

False claim : Wind power kills an enormous amount of birds causing an environmental disaster

Wind power killing birds is often presented as if it is a huge environmental problem and only a problem for wind power. When presented this way it is false. A study made in 2012 claimed that fossil fuels killed 24 million birds per year in the US, which correspond to 35 times more birds per GWh than wind power kills. That means that wind power saves the life of birds as it replaces fossil fuels.

In addition, the biggest bird killer is not fossil fuels but cats. Cats kill 5,600 times more birds than wind power stations and 77 times more birds than fossil fuels. See the graph from Wikipedia below. The problem with wind power plants killing birds should be addressed (and has been addressed) but let’s be honest about the scale of the problem.

From Wikipedia: Universiteit van Nederland, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

False claim : Wind power is only a marginal energy source

Wind power currently accounts for around 7.8%  of the world’s electricity up from 3.5% in 2015 and 1.63% in 2010. Wind power accounts for 10% of US electricity and 57.7% of Denmark’s electricity. It may also some as a surprise to some that in the fossil fuel capital of the world, the great state of Texas, where I live, wind represented 28.6 percent of the energy generation in 2023, second only to natural gas (41.8 percent). That is not a marginal energy source.

I can add that Texans are in general not favorable towards wind, and the local politicians are hostile towards wind. Fossil fuel is after all our bread and butter. Why wind power is so prominent in Texas is because of the Texas ERCOT system in which energy sources compete on price and the cheapest always goes first. In practice that means wind goes first.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

False claim : Wind power is extremely expensive

Wind power used to be expensive. It has been and still is subsidized by the government, but that is basically true for all energy sources, not just wind. Below is the average unsubsidized levelized cost of energy according to Lazard (from Wikipedia). Notice that the light blue line indicates that wind power is pretty cheap.

Mir-445511, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.

To see the Super Facts click here

Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

42 thoughts on “Nonsense and Rumors About Wind Power”

  3. I have a lot of friends who are constantly posting misinformation about how bad and unreliable wind, solar, etc., are. I don’t get it. I mean, even if you don’t believe fossil fuels are harming the climate, they are eventually going to run out, and wouldn’t it be a good idea to have alternative power sources in place and established before then?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Yes you are right James. I am an “all of the above” guy when it is about energy sources. The different energy sources have different strengths and weaknesses, but spreading misinformation about one or a few of them is very unhelpful, and wind and solar have been maligned by a lot of misinformation. To keep our grids going and to accomodate our growing energy needs we need all energy sources, especially renewables, as well as an extension of our power grid/lines.

      Like

      Reply

    1. Hi Robbie, I have not heard that claim about wind turbines before, but I have heard about the high capital costs of, for example, nuclear power. But I am sure it is a common claim. The answer is that the energy used to create each turbine is not high and does not reduce the environmental savings much.

      Even though I am not addressing this particular false claim I am providing some relevant information about it under another false claim “Wind Power generates less power than it consumes” : “The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) states that the average wind farm will pay back the energy that was used in its manufacture within 3-5 months of operation. This article in the journal Renewable Energy found that the average windfarm produces 20-25 times more energy during its operational life than was used to construct and install its turbines.” Even if 5% of the total energy output of a wind power plant is delivered by a coal plant, the other 95% is clean energy from the wind power plant.

      I have to say that ChatGPT expressed pretty well.

      ChatGPT : Wind power does not consume more energy than it generates. In fact, wind power is one of the most efficient and sustainable energy sources available. The energy required to manufacture, install, and maintain wind turbines is small compared to the energy they produce over their lifespan. This is known as their energy return on investment (EROI), which is quite favorable for wind energy.

      Like

      Reply

    3. Yes and solar makes sense for Texas too. We’ve already have solar plants that are able to compete without government financing. If you look at the graph at the bottom you can see how solar has gone from being the most expensive energy source in 2009 to almost the cheapest in 2023, that’s world wide, but the projections look especially good for Texas despite the resistance from politicians. Solar in Texas 10 doubled from 2018 to 2023 and now encompasses 6% of the grid. Texas had 16GW of solar in 2023 but during 2024 and the beginning of 2025 another 24GW will be added.

      Like

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much Debby. Yes #3 is a good example of why we should respect the knowledge of scientists rather than believe what grandstanding politicians say. I’ve heard politicians say the darndest things so many times, some more than others.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Thanks for all the facts, Thomas. I’ve always liked wind power and believe it’s something we can safely promote and utilize. The politics around it have become totally absurd, so this may not be a superfact, but it sure is important to get the truth out there. The comment about cats being the most lethal threat to birds made me smirk. Poor birds, but it does show how out of proportion the false claims about wind power can get. Great post!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you for your very kind comment Diane and I agree “the politics around it have become totally absurd”. I am planning to turn a couple of these into super-fact posts, but not the silly ones because they aren’t widespread enough, just occasionally stated.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Yes I can imagine that being a breathtaking sight. I can add that here in Texas 28.6% of all electricity comes from wind farms. They are mostly located on the fields and prairie in West Texas and when we drive to visit our son in New Mexico we drive by them. You can see hundreds of them spread out over the land as far as the eye can see, but there might be thousands. It is good business for farmers. They rent their land to energy companies. They may not believe climate change is real or believe in renewables but they still like them for the income it brings them.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much da-AL. The bird thing is a very common one to believe and it has some truth to it, which is why I didn’t count as a silly misunderstanding like the three first ones. Also I thought like you until I read up on it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. World Questioner, that is a good question I did not consider. But, no, wind power does not take up a large amount of land compared to other energy sources (except nuclear power); while individual wind turbines require a certain area, wind farms can still be developed on land that can be used for other purposes like agriculture because the turbines are spaced far apart, meaning only a small percentage of the land is directly occupied by the infrastructure itself.

      Like

      Reply

        3. In response to “What about hydroelectric power? Is hydroelectric power a major cause of fish death? Is hydroelectric power bad for the aquatic ecosystem?”

          Sweden, where I originally am from uses a lot of hydro power, 45%. It also has a very low carbon footprint. Regarding the rest of what you bring up, I have to research it before I say anything.

          I have set the maximum of nested comments to four that’s why it gets a bit funny. I have to change that.

          Like

  11. I’ve never heard of the myth that the sound from wind turbines causes cancer. Sound cannot cause cancer, can it? Only certain reactive chemicals do, along with high-energy electromagnetic radiation, and alpha and beta particles from radioactive decay, not to mention neutron bombardment.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. You are correct. Trump said this (and that wind turbines kill whales) but very few people believed this statement. That is why I am not calling this post a super fact. It is just a list of myths, some of them silly, like the cancer one.

      Like

      Reply

  13. What do you think about nuclear power? It has the lowest carbon footprint of all forms of power generation, beating wind power, solar power, and yes, fossil fuels. Right?
    Are you going to write a Super Fact related to nuclear power?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Personally, I am in favor of nuclear power because of its very low carbon footprint, but it is a bit complicated. Yes, I might write a super fact related to nuclear power. It is also a misunderstood energy source.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment