Issue Case Studies

The Location: Northeast United States, in Nantucket Sound between Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket.

The Proposal: Offshore, 130 turbines, 420MW of capacity. The Story: Fears of viewshed disruption harming tourism, fears of interference with sport and commercial fishing, and NIMBY attitudes.   Viewshed simulations were comissioned by the developer, who runs CapeWind.org. Insurance companies are currently pulling out of Cape Cod, partially in response to the growing threat of global warming, including sea level rise and and the expectation of stronger storms and hurricanes.  Cape Cod Average electricity demand is 230MW, check current conditions and project production, and pollution and CO2 displacement. There are currently no offshore installations in North America. Similar installations are being proposed for Long Island, New Jersey, and Delaware, with less controversy and more support. A recent University of Delaware study shows overwhelming support for offshore turbine installations.

The Supporters:

Capewind.org, Clean Power Now, Vineyarders for Clean Power, Islanders for Wind Power (Nantucket), many others.

The Opposition:

Save Our Sound, and Allies.

Senator Edward Kennedy, and National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Senior Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Location: Northern Europe, in and around the Baltic and North Seas, not far off the coast of Denmark.

The Installations: 6 wind farms, 2 of which are 160MW of capacity or more, Horns Rev and Nysted.


The Story: Denmark has supported its wind power industry with strong public policy in its bid to become the wind power “hub” of the world. The offshore windfarms in Denmark have been studied in operation for years, and they are continuing with their plan of having 4,000 installed MW of offshore capacity by 2030, compared with 1500 MW of onshore capacity. With this much capacity, during periods of high wind Denmark will generate more than enough electricity to meet demand from wind power alone.

Most importantly, Denmark has shown that offshore wind energy can exist with minimal effects on wildlife, and the seafood industry. The slight exception is shellfish drag nets must avoid certain areas where cables exist close to the surface. The lesson has been learned to bury the cables deeper (and will be applied in the Cape Wind project). There have been few overall effects on fish, oceanic mammals, and birds. In fact, the concrete support pilings and scour protection on the sandy sea bed is helping to form a new habitat of increased diversity on the ocean floor.

The Location: An Appalachian Ridgeline in West Virginia The Installation: 44 1.5 MW turbines (66 MW capacity) The Story: An estimated 1,500 – 4,000 bats died colliding with the turbines in the Mountaineer project in 2004. The problem is being taken seriously by wind power developers, but the causes, and overall effects on bat populations are for now, only theories. Current thinking however, does not see wind energy as a significant threat to any endangered populations.

Solving the problem is difficult, if only because it is happening at night. Infrared cameras and special radars being used in an attempt to see the impacts occurring, so that the reasons for it can be found. Some theories include the insect hunting bats find more prey in the clearings around the turbines, or that the insects may be attracted to the aircraft warning lights on the turbines.

The Mountaineer project is not the only one that has a problem with bat mortality, Minnesota, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania have all had moderate amounts of fatalities.

Location: Lewis Isle, and the Islands and Coastal Peninsulas of Western Scotland

Proposal: 181, 3.6 MW turbines (651.6 MW capacity), along the Northern part of Lewis Isle. At various times in the plan development, it would be the world's largest windfarm.  The number of turbines proposed changes often in the literature.

Many other windfarms in the Hebrides proposed as well.

The Story: The Hebrides, and Lewis Isle, are a tremendously windy, and sparsely populated area of Scotland. However, it is also an incredibly beautiful, and quite untouched area as well. Tourism is a big industry in Scotland, and the disruption of the scenery is thought to be incompatible with the outdoor adventure enjoyed in the area. Visitors go to this area of Scotland for its pristine setting, and while tourism may simply shift from areas with new turbines, to areas without, it is impossible to quantify the possible effect.  The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is also extremely concerned about avian fatalities for many species, some of them endangered.


Besides the viewshed disruption, the construction of the turbines while relatively quick, will necessitate new facilities for mixing concrete, and many trucks and cranes to be involved in the construction. This disturbance also has the potential to interfere with tourism, and spoil the rural character of the area, disrupting tourist activity and the local economy.

The Hebrides controversy is a classic example of two attributes of a place, high quality wind and a pristine setting, and their respective uses being incompatible. The questions remain of what will happen if the proposal is developed, and whether or not planners able to fully integrate wind turbines into this pristine setting, while maintaining its character and desirability as a tourist destination.

Proposals: China plans on 5,000 MW (5 GW) by 2010, and 30,000 MW by 2020. China has located 3.2 Million MW of potential, 1 Million of which they consider developable.

India has seen tremendous growth, and has located over 45,000 MW of gross potential for onshore development.

The India and China stories are parallel because both countries are experiencing increasing energy demands, both residential and industrial, tied to their burgeoning economies. They also both currently use coal as their main source of electricity. China already uses more coal than the US, Japan, and Europe combined, and India’s population is expected to outgrow China’s by 2030.

While the currently fuel their energy demand with coal, both nations see the need for clean energy. India has a Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and China passed a renewable energy law in 2006. China has the most potential for hydroelectric power generation, and plans on 250,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020.