Geography For Schools

Anyone who enjoys the outdoor life in Scotland should be able to confirm that we live in a windy part of the world. Over the centuries Scotland has been exploited for its natural resources, some of which are now in very short supply.

Wind power in Scotland

Trees have been cleared for building boats, coal has been mined to fuel industry and more recently oil and gas have been exploited to produce electricity.

All of these resources are finite – that is to say they either cannot be replaced in human timescales or require a fundamental change in our land management practices to replace them.

We have other natural resources which may become crucial to our competitiveness as a nation – high average wind speeds and turbulent seas.

Both of these are high-energy systems and Scotland’s economic and social development will depend partly on our ability to harness these resources and extract useable energy from them.

Over the last few years wind energy in particular has become an economically viable proposition and this has resulted in a great many wind turbine sites seeking planning permission.

There have been numerous pieces in the newspapers both reporting on the location of new sites and expressing the views of those individuals concerned about the environment.

Wind is a peculiar resource from the business perspective. It is what is termed a common good – that is to say that all people in the world have free access to it and cannot "own" the wind.

There are however aspects of the capture of wind energy which can be controlled.

Turbines have to be built on land owned or rented by the generating company and this is classed as "development" and as such is subject to planning law. A number of factors are taken into account by the planning authorities when deciding if a development should be granted planning permission or not.

These are broadly divided into environmental, social and economic issues. An Environmental Impact Assessment is normally called for in multi-turbine sites and the national provision of wind power is taken into account with Strategic Environmental Assessment legislation.

Environmental Concerns from Wind Turbines

There are a number of issues associated with the siting of wind turbine developments. The high visibility of turbines in sensitive landscapes is high on the agenda – and very difficult to quantify.

Mathematical models and line diagrams are becoming more commonly requested. As technical representations they are "more scientific" than the gut feeling of individuals but expensive and time consuming.

Turbines can be up to 100 metres high to the tip of the blade, which does not sound that high until you actually try to visualise just how long 100 metres is!

Turbines are often in clusters of various numbers and this leads to a cumulative effect – particularly if there are other sites visible from the same viewpoint.

Habitat

Wind turbines are often located in wild upland areas where there is little human activity. To install and maintain the turbines substantial road networks often have to be build which can cause changes to the drainage in an area and is a possible factor in fragmenting habitats.

Remember that in many of these areas the land has not always been as it is now – an upland heather moorland may well have been covered in trees in the past. Remember that the animals and plants in these areas may not have always been resident to it and the habitat is not always truly natural.

The network of roads can also lead to increased access to these areas and cause disturbance to species which require isolated areas to live in.

Noise

Noise is the cause of a great many complaints in terms of new and proposed developments. Although the actual level of noise produced can normally be predicted or measured after construction it is very difficult to estimate the physiological effects.

Wind turbines do not produce a steady level of noise – the noise is dependant on the strength of the wind at a particular time, and is also complicated by the rotating nature of the source.

When estimating the likelihood of complaint from a noise source the cyclical nature of the noise can lead to a "humming" or whining effect which people tend to find more intrusive than a steady source. There has been a steady improvement in the levels of noise produced from wind turbines and this is a symptom of the improving efficiency of the turbines.

Bird Strike

Direct contact between birds and turbines is obviously very dangerous for bird populations. This has been the result of a number of studies in the past but the emphasis has now moved from remedial action to keep birds away from turbine sites to pre-emptive planning measures which recognise areas where this could be in danger and prevent turbines being built in areas where this risk is unacceptable.

Standardisation of how this danger is quantified and measured has also made comparison of risk between various sites more meaningful.

Social and Economic

There are a number of social and economic impacts to be taken into account when considering this type of development. The provision of local employment is always an attractive proposition in rural areas.

In recent times agricultural incomes have also fallen and the alternative income provided from a wind farm or maintenance contract can make estates and individual farms financially viable – particularly if the farm is on marginal land.

Employment can be created at the construction and operational phases of development. The economic input to local hotels, shops and other businesses can be substantial when the turbines and roads are under construction and this can last for several months in many cases. This has to be considered in the light of fears over decreased tourism but this is not proven to be the case as yet.

Some other countries where wind turbines are common have not found any significant fall off in tourism.

One important aspect of turbine development is that the turbines will have a deplenishment bond or insurance so that they will not be allowed to remain at the end of the development or in the event of the operator going out of business.

It is recognised that community involvement in these projects is always a very important aspect, and applications are more likely to be looked on favourably if they are accepted by the local community.

Keeping the local people up to date with developments, listening to their concerns and in some cases allowing them to invest in the project all lead to greater understanding and less friction between the developer and the community.

In many cases the developer will contribute to a community project such as the running of a school or provision of sports facilities under an agreement known as "Planning Gain".

For reports and studies on wind power in the UK visit The British Wind Energy Association website.