Wider Horizons
Alberta is the birthplace of wind energy in Canada. As this innovative industry prepares for its 20th anniversary, it’s clear the large scale wind sector has positioned itself well in the province and is poised to continue growing.

As with any new industry, a number of facts and myths have emerged as wind energy has evolved. Wind turbines evoke mixed responses. Some people think the massive structures are like pieces of artwork on the horizon signaling positive change, while others believe they have negative health effects or prefer they do not obstruct their views of the Rocky Mountains.

Developers require thorough consultation with landowners to ensure they receive lease payments of approximately $3,000 per megawatt per year for a turbine that sits on their property (Canadian Wind Energy Association 2006). For a farm producing 30 megawatts a year, that equates to $90,000 in annual payments.

SOME HEALTH FACTS

Some people complain that turbines are noisy, cause nausea or cause headaches. Turbines are required to be at least 550 metres from any property. As you double the distance from a wind turbine, the sound drops by a factor of four. At the hub, they are the same volume as a dinnertime conversation at 60 decibels.

A scientific advisory panel from 2009 conducted a review of perceived health effects of wind turbines by the American and Canadian Wind Energy Associations. This multidisciplinary panel included medical doctors, audiologists, and acoustical professionals from the United States, Canada, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The panel concluded there is no evidence audible or sub-audible sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects. In addition, the panel concluded the ground-borne vibrations from wind turbines are too weak to be detected by or to affect humans and that the sounds emitted by wind turbines are not unique.

WHAT ABOUT THE BIRDS?

Bird deaths resulting from wind turbines are another hot topic. A study in the United States found that wind turbines caused less than one per cent of 100,000 bird fatalities. This means, on average, a typical wind turbine kills one bird per year. This is still unfortunate, but studies like the one Trans Alta and the University of Calgary have done are decreasing these deaths more than ever. They have shut down wind turbines during dawn, dusk and migratory seasons and discovered that this reduces fatalities by more than 60 per cent. This study estimates wind farms are responsible each for 0.3 to 0.4 fatalities per gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity while fossil-fueled power stations are responsible for about 5.2 fatalities per GWh. This estimate means wind farms killed approximately 7,000 birds in the United States in 2006, but nuclear plants killed about 327,000 and fossil-fueled power plants 14.5 million.

COUNTING THE COSTS

The average three megawatt large scale wind turbine costs $6.6 million, including geotechnical, construction, transportation and crane hoisting costs required to set it up. While that may seem like a significant amount of money, wind turbines typically take six years to pay for themselves. Supporters of wind energy point out that this is a great return on investment since they last 20-30 years.

Canada’s first wind farm began to feed electricity into the transmission grid in 1993 at Cowley Ridge, about 100 kilometres east of Lethbridge. Now 20 years later, Alberta has become home to 891 megawatts of wind energy across 28 wind farms. Six per cent of Alberta’s energy needs – the energy needed to power more than 270,000 homes – comes from wind. And that number is only expected to grow, as wind projects in Alberta alone are expected to quadruple in the next 10 years.

With such rapid growth expected in the coming years, wind energy is creating further economic prosperity and employment in rural southern Alberta. The International Wind Energy Academy team here at Lethbridge College organized Canada’s first Kid Wind Challenge last May, an event that featured high school teams from the region. As was evidenced by this event, there are several young entrepreneurs and engineers who are waiting in the wings to tap into a career in renewable energy. And the college and International Wind Energy Academy couldn’t be happier to encourage them to reach their goals.

Kris Hodgson in an instructor in the Communication Arts program at Lethbridge College. He previously worked as the Wind Energy Community Liaison with the college’s International Wind Energy Academy.
Wider Horizons
Kris Hodgson
Original Publication Date: