Wind power expert Ward Marshall addressed frequently asked questions about wind farms at an event coordinated by the 'Illnois Wind Working Group.'

Wind farms do interfere with farming, ranching and other agricultural uses, but the impact is minimal.

"It takes up two to three acres of the total land area, depending the size," Marshall said.

"You have to have an access road. With an access road, depending on the topography, there are things that you are going to have to deal with such as if you have any kind of slopes you may end up with a road that’s going to need to be flat.

"If you’re trying to farm the land, we’ll do the best we can to try to keep the roads parallel to the actual farm land, but you may wind up not being able to just run that harvester right across the road if you have some kind of slope. If it is perfectly flat, we can do a pretty good jobs of keeping those roads right at grade."

"The roads need to be widened during construction, and after construction those roads are narrowed down and can be used for the typical maintenance crews and trucks."

Marshall said there is no 'right' answer to the question of wind farms being visually
attractive.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some folks think they are nice to look at, and other folks think they are not," he said. "It is a change to the landscape and you have to figure out if it is worth the benefit."

One of the biggest concern expressed when wind farm construction is proposed is its impact on the value of adjoining properties.

"We have yet to receive any factual evidence that it has reduced the adjoining property values," Marshall said.

"We even have projects in Illinois where we put up a bond, a sum of money set aside, and if anybody who is trying to sell the property is getting below market value for that property, then we’d make up the difference. That fund has been there now about four years. A couple of houses have sold and nobody has made a request for money for that property."

"There have also been studies done in other countries with the same basic information. There is no evidence  that it has negatively impacted the value of adjoining properties."

Concerning noise, Marshall said the predominant sound emanating from wind turbine is the aerodynamic swish of the blades. The sound is comparable to that of a new refrigerator at 750 feet away.

Noise studies are conducted as part of the siting process prior to determining final turbine locations. The energy output of a wind farm is highly dependent on the wind speed and the size of the turbine. A typical 100-megawatt wind farm in an area with adequate wind produces enough electricity for up to 30,000 American homes.

Wind projects typically take six to nine months to construct. Once the wind farm construction is completed, its operation does not require frequent disturbance of the land.

A typical 100-megawatt wind farm requires about six full time employees who are all well versed in minimizing landowner disturbance and distractions, according to Marshall.

Each turbine undergoes regular maintenance every six months, unless other problems occur. Leases typically run from 30 to 99 years. Marshall said he has not seen any 99-year leases, and Babcock and Brown are developing 50-year leases. Leases typically run from 30 to 50 years.

The owner of the wind farm is contractually obligated to remove the turbines and related infrastructure at the end of the project’s lease. "We own the wind farm.We own it long-term. That is our responsibility," Marshall said.

There are several different lease types of lease agreements signed between the landowner and developer.

"In Illinois I’ve seen most all fixed payments. Some were right around that $3,000 per megawatt payment. I’ve seen it vary depending on the site, Marshall explained.

Another frequently asked question is if wind farms negatively impact local birds and wildlife.

"The bird issue got a lot of bad press out in California based on old technology," Marshall said. "Turbine technology has come a long way. Lattice-style framework towers that actually provided nesting locations for birds and attracted birds to the turbines supported the older-style turbines."

“The modern turbines are supported by mono-poles that eliminate any perching locations. New turbines also have larger rotors that spin slower and are now designed with overdrive technology that keeps them from spinning faster than their set speed, no matter how fast the wind blows."

"External wires which used to cause electrocutions and were a main source of bird kills, are now completely enclosed in the turbine and buried underground. New turbines also have computer technology that allows the project manager to monitor them from a central computer on site."

"We think there are a lot of things that are helping. Can I say that no bird will every get killed? No, I can’t say that because it will happen."

Marshall noted the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy support wind energy as long as it is well sited and away from major wetlands or migratory bird path.