ArticleSustainability

Six myths of renewable energy

05.12.2022
Tags: 
  • onshore wind power,
  • sustainability
Ilmatar

Ilmatar

Wind and solar power is now being built rapidly in Finland. Comparatively new forms of energy also give rise to doubts. And no wonder: the effects of pioneering technologies were feared already in the era of industrialization. This article dismantles the most common misconceptions about renewable energy. 

Myth 1: A wind turbine pollutes and cannot be recycled.

Wind power is renewable and emission-free in the production phase. In addition, wind turbines do not generate fuel runoff into the soil. However, shocking horrors sink into people more easily than positive news. Individual wind turbine blades have been raised in the recycling discussion. An attitude survey commissioned by Ilmatar also shows that some Finns think wind turbine blades are hazardous waste that is buried in the ground.

In reality, the blades of power plants can currently be recycled up to 90%. Composite materials for wings are not hazardous waste, but are called cumbersome waste due to their complex structure. The wing is mainly made of fiberglass, which can be recycled into raw material for the concrete industry, for example. However, the composition of the wings varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and other composites can also be used in the wings. For example, the large amount of carbon fibre can make cost-effective recycling difficult. Wing materials are no longer disposed of in waste treatment areas, as they were in the last millennium. Recycling solutions have evolved tremendously.

Susanna Tarkka-Partanen, Business Manager for Hazardous Waste at Stena Recycling, says that the company is able to recycle wings on an industrial scale. More than a hundred wings have already been recycled in Finland. Ilmatar’s power plants have not yet ended up in circulation, but the company has wanted to respond to the recycling challenge in a front-loaded manner.

As wind power becomes more common, better recycling solutions will also be developed. Marju Lappi, Marketing and Communications Manager at Stena Recycling, hopes that power plant manufacturers and recycling companies will cooperate more. When manufacturers and recyclers share information with each other, for example, about the material solutions of wings and their recyclability, synergy benefits are achieved when the latest information is available to all parties.

Myth 2: Wind turbine sounds are a health hazard. 

Turku University of Applied Sciences research group investigated health effects of wind power noise in the Hamina region. According to Jenni Radun, Doctor of Psychology and Senior Researcher at UAS and member of the research group, the most important finding was: if the noise levels of wind turbines comply with current Finnish regulations, there is no need to worry about health effects. 

Still, people’s experience is real. The sound can be very disturbing and worrying at times, Radun notes. 

According to the researcher, even wind power areas that comply with current regulations should be more concerned about the health hazards caused by road traffic noise. In the study, road traffic noise levels were above regulations, but very typical. Road traffic noise was associated with clear health effects. Although wind power noise can be perceived as disturbing at times, there were no other health effects. 

However in one study it turned out that if a municipality or a private person benefits from wind power, for example in the form of property taxes, the beneficiaries will not be disturbed by the noise at all, and there will be no other complaints.

Myth 3: Property prices fall in wind power areas. 

Commissioned by the Finnish Wind Power Association and carried out by Finnish Consulting Group and Taloustutkimus,ResearchAccording to the report, wind turbines have not had an impact on residential property prices. The study covered eight Finnish municipalities where wind power was built between 2012 and 2021. The dates of residential real estate transactions were compared with the commissioning of wind power, and the general price development of residential properties was taken into account. 

From 2010 to 2020, prices of old single-family houses have fallen by an average of over five per cent in Finland. Only in towns with over 100,000 inhabitants have prices of old single-family houses risen in the 2010s.

  

Myth 4: Citizens are denied access to wind turbine sites. 

The power plant area is far from closed: the power plants can be observed at close range. You can pick berries, hunt and recreation in the area in the same way as before the power plant was built. Road networks are being renovated to secure maintenance work, so access to the forest is easier than before. 

In winter, those walking in the power plant area should beware of possible falling ice. When cold air and water in the air meet, they stick to the surface of the wind turbine blade and form a layer of ice. It is very unlikely that ice will fall and hit a person, but it is good to keep this in mind. 

Myth 5: Wind turbines mutilate birds. 

The effects of wind power on bird life have been studied in the coastal region of the Bay of Bothnia, where migratory bird routes run and power plants are also most dense in Finland. The power plants have not posed a particular risk to birds. Modern wind turbines are located so far from each other that they do not prevent birds from moving around the power plant areas. 

In the planning phase of wind power projects, the presence of protected animals and plants in the area is investigated. The migration routes of birds will be investigated and, for example, safety distances will be maintained to important nesting areas. 

  

Myth 6: Only foreign investors benefit from wind power. 

70% of Finland’s wind turbines are Finnish-owned and the remaining 30% European-owned. Most wind power projects have only been available to institutional investors, but in recent years there has been a desire to make wind power available to private investors as well. Wind power brings property tax revenue to municipalities, and in some cases, for example, municipal tax has decreased considerably. 

Investing in renewable energy promotes Finland’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2035 and is therefore profitable regardless of the investor’s nationality. 

Tags: 
  • onshore wind power,
  • sustainability