Wind power is a source of energy that is both affordable and renewable.
Wind power is a source of energy that is both affordable and renewable.
However, decision-makers have been reluctant to invest in wind energy due to a perception that wind farms require a lot of land compared to electric power plants driven by fossil fuels. Research led by McGill University and based on the assessment of the land-use of close to 320 wind farms in the U.S. (the largest study of its kind) paints a very different picture.
Misplaced preconceptions about the land use of gas-fuelled electricity
The study, which was published recently in Environmental Science and Technology, shows that, when calculations are made, the entire wind farm area is usually considered as land given over to wind development. However, the wind power infrastructure (such as the turbines and roads) typically only uses 5 per cent of the entire farmland – the rest is often used for other purposes, such as agriculture.
Read More: McGill University
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