The focus of this report is to explore the impacts of deploying a large share of wind energy on the Northwest European power generation mix in the current market circumstances. The conclusion of the study is provided below. The full document can be accessed by clicking on the link(s) below.

This document provides a useful compilation of recent research pertaining to the impact of wind turbines on human health.

Gabriel Calzada Álvarez, Associate Professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (King Juan Carlos University) in Madrid, delivered this testimony before U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. In March 2009 Álvarez and two colleagues from the University, released their study on the Spanish experience with “green jobs”. An excerpt of his testimony is provided below. The full testimony can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.

More than thirty speakers from Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Britain, and the United States presented at an international industrial wind conference entitled, The Landscape Under Attack, held on March 27, 28 in Palermo, Italy. Speakers at the conference confirmed that thousands of massive wind turbines are planned for Italy. In response, leaders in Sicily, Rome, Tuscany, and Calabria met with energy experts throughout Europe and the United States to exchange ideas and agree on principles for protecting both the landscape and the consumer. The conference concluded with the Charter of Palermo, a statement of purpose, which called for an immediate moratorium on wind development, a thorough examination of its costs and benefits, and protection in perpetuity for the landscape's cultural heritage.

US President Barack Obama defends his energy subsidy package to invest billions into alternative energy generation by citing examples from Spain, Germany, and Japan. He has pointed to the renewables industry as a way to create new and sustainable jobs during a period of economic downturn. But this recent report prepared by Dr. Gabriel Calzada, an economics professor at Juan Carlos University in Madrid, shows that for Spain the “green employment opportunity” has proven elusive and unsustainable. The executive summary of Dr. Calzada’s report is posted below. The full report can be accessed by selecting one of the links at the bottom of this page.

For two decades, the capacity factor of wind power measuring the mean energy delivered by wind turbines has been assumed at 35% of the name plate capacity. Yet, the mean realized value for Europe over the last five years is closer to 21% thus making levelized cost 66% higher than previously thought. We document this discrepancy and offer rationalizations, emphasizing the long term variations of wind speeds. We conclude with the consequences of the capacity factor miscalculation and some policy recommendations. Click on the link below to download the full document.

This document authored by Acoustic Ecology Institute provides a comprehensive overview of noise issues pertaining to utility-scale wind energy development. This AEI Special Report will be continually updated, incorporating new research, more recent reports, and suggestions/comments from readers. Planned topics to be added over time include: effects of noise on wildlife and habitat, offshore wind energy, and the health effects of chronic noise exposure.

In this letter to residents of Burke, NY, Dr. Nina Pierpont briefly discusses her findings of health impacts on families living in proximity to industrial-scale wind turbines.

This 12-month diary (January 2007 through December 2007) was compiled by Gail Mair. Mrs. Mair lives with her husband Walter in Tuscany, Italy. Gail (fluent in English, German, and Italian) and Walter (a native of Italy) bought this piece of property some years ago and, in October 2006, moved into the (modest) dream house they had just built. It was to be their retirement home. As construction on their new home was coming to an end, wind developer, Gamesa, was completing construction on its windfarm nearby. In November 2006, the turbines were turned on and the problems of noise were started -- Day after day, relentless, unending. Gail and Walter have asked that their diary be circulated widely, in the hope of saving other communities and individuals from the misery they are living through.

This important collaborative document describes the current research on wind energy and the assessment of impacts on nocturnally active birds and bats.