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Frequently Asked Questions

• Who should I contact if I'm interested in having a wind farm on my property?
• How efficient are wind turbines?
• What happens when the wind stops blowing?
• Do wind turbines affect property prices?
• What is the lifetime of wind turbines?
• Will wind farms make any difference to global warming?
• For more FAQs, please refer to these other excellent resources...

Please select the appropriate RES Americas office from our "Contact Us" option, and contact the development vice president.

How efficient are wind turbines?

Wind is a free and infinite fuel source and modern wind turbines are typically available to generate energy 97% of the time.  Over the course of a year, they will be generating energy for approximately 85% of the time; when the wind is blowing hard enough.

What happens when the wind stops blowing?

When the wind isn’t blowing strong enough to turn the turbines to generate electricity, your electricity will still work as usual.

Wind is one of the resources accessible on the electric grid.  If the wind is not blowing enough to produce at full power, then other resources on the national grid will handle peaks and valleys in energy supply and demand, to ensure that you always have access to electricity..

Do wind turbines affect property prices?

There is currently little evidence showing that wind farms negatively impact upon house prices.

The Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) released results from an extensive study based on 25,000 homes within a 5 mile radius of various wind farms. The report showed no change in values other than a small increase, which is likely to be due to a general increase in property prices rather the benefits of a wind farm in the local area. The report stated the following:'‘If property values had been harmed by being within the view-shed of major wind developments, then we expected that to be shown in a majority of the projects analyzed. Instead, to the contrary, we found that for the great majority of projects the property values actually rose more quickly in the view shed than they did in the comparable community. Moreover, values increased faster in the view shed after the projects came online than they did before. Finally, after projects came online, values increased faster in the view shed than they did in the comparable community. In all, we analyzed ten projects in three cases; we looked at thirty individual analyses and found that in twenty six of those, property values in the affected view shed performed better than the alternative.'

Another report carried out by ECONorthwest was based on a nationwide survey conducted of tax assessors in areas with wind power projects, the report found no evidence to supporting the claim that views of wind farms decreased property values.

What is the lifetime of wind turbines?

The expected lifetime of a wind farm is typically 20 years from the date of commissioning. At the end of this period, a decision would be made to refurbish, replace or remove the turbines. If a decision were taken to decommission the wind farm, this would involve dismantling and removing from site the turbines and associated infrastructure, restoring the land to its former state.

Will wind farms make any difference to global warming?

In the US over 25,170 MW of wind plants have been installed. Worldwide over 120 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy capacity have been installed, enough to power 40 million average North American homes.  The 120 GW of global wind capacity will elimintate 158 million tons of CO2 annually.

For more FAQs, please refer to these other excellent resources...

American Wind Energy Association

Canadian Wind Energy Association (English)

L'Association Canadienne de l'Énergie Éolienne (Français)