In spite of its economic efficiency, wind power has encountered considerable oppo­sition. Initially, many bats and raptors were found to be killed in wind farms. At Altamont Pass, the count was 1,300 raptors a year, including more than 100 golden eagles.4 This wind farm was located on a bird flyway, and the obvious solution was to avoid these flyways. Apparently, the raptors would land on top of the turbine and look for rodents on the ground. Once they saw one, they would dive right through the whirling blades. There was such concern that the state of California issued guidelines for the treatment of birds in the development of wind power.5 This report did not say how to avoid bird kills, but did outline the procedures for licensing and monitoring. Bats are not the most lovable creatures, but they do eat a lot of insects. Golden eagles have a regal name, but they have practically hunted the island fox of California’s Channel Islands to extinction. Wind power’s impact on wildlife is monitored by various organizations.6

This problem has not surfaced with modern turbines such as those shown in Fig. 3.1. These are much taller than first-generation turbines and turn at much slower speeds. But the clinching argument lies in the numbers. Ten to 40 thousand birds and bats are killed per year in wind farms. Compared to this, 100 million are killed per year by cats, and 60 million by cars and windows (which they fly into).4 It is just that no one goes around counting these carcasses the way they do on wind farms. If global warming is not controlled by eliminating fossil fuels, many more birds and animals will die and even become extinct, as we saw in Chap. 1.

There are other environmental objections. Wind farms cannot always be built where there are no people. The noise can be bothersome, and the effect on scenery, even of offshore turbines, often cannot be tolerated. There is a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) sentiment. Objectors have their own website.7 The technical problems have to do with time and place. Since wind speed fluctuates, the excess energy generated in periods of strong wind has to be stored, and there is no easy way to store that much energy. Wind farms are usually built far from population centers where the energy is needed. This involves modifying the power grid with new transmission lines. This presents a chicken-and-egg problem: neither the wind farm companies nor the transmission line companies want to proceed without the other.