Table Of Content

Wind EnErgy EssEntials Wind EnErgy EssEntials societal, Economic, and Environmental impacts richard P. WalkEr andrEW sWift Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 750‐4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. 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(Andrew H. P.) II. Title. TK1541.W346 2015 333.9′2–dc23 2015007886 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 contents Preface xiii Foreword xv About the Authors xvii Dedication and Acknowledgments xix 1 Impacts of energy and electricity on society 1 1.1 What are “Social and Environmental Impacts”?, 1 1.2 Early Wind Power Innovation and Discovery, 2 1.3 Impact of Electricity on Society, 20 1.4 History of Wind Energy for Electricity Production, 28 1.5 Renewables and Electrification in Third‐World Countries, 32 1.6 The Nexus of Wind, Water, and Electricity, 32 References, 32 2 the Basics of electricity 34 2.1 Units of Electrical Measurement, 34 2.2 Descriptions of Common Electrical Equipment, 36 2.3 Types of Companies or Business Units within the Electric Industry, 39 2.4 Frequently Asked Questions, 40 Reference, 47 3 overview of Wind energy and other sources of electricity 48 3.1 Defining Renewable Energy, 48 3.2 Sources and Uses of Energy, 51 v vi CoNTENTS 3.3 Growth of Renewable Energy in the United States, 53 3.4 Use of Renewable Energy for Electricity Production in the United States, 53 3.5 Growth of Wind Power Capacity in the United States, 58 3.6 Subsidies or Incentives for Wind Energy, 59 3.7 Potential for Increased Use of Wind Energy in the United States, 60 3.8 Wind Resources in the United States, 62 3.9 overview of other Sources of Electric Generation in the United States, 67 References, 70 4 conversion of Power in the Wind to electricity 71 4.1 Wind Power Plants and Wind Turbines, 71 4.2 Atmospheric Science, 85 4.3 Wind Statistics, 94 5 the Wind energy Development Process 100 5.1 Requirements for an Economically Viable Wind Energy Project, 100 5.2 other Factors that Contribute to the Success of a Wind Energy Project, 103 5.3 Potential “Fatal Flaws”, 104 5.4 Coordination of the Wind Energy Project Development Process, 105 5.5 Timeline for Developing a Wind Energy Project, 106 5.6 Major Steps in the Early‐Stage Wind Project Development Process, 107 5.7 Major Steps in Latter‐Stage Wind Energy Project Development, 111 5.8 Final Steps in Developing a Wind Energy Project, 113 5.9 Conclusions, 114 References, 114 6 overview of Issues Faced by Wind energy 115 6.1 The Need to Understand and Respond, 115 6.2 Community Relationships and Public outreach, 117 6.3 General Categorization of Issues, 119 Reference, 121 7 Wind and Wildlife: siting Issues and challenges 122 7.1 overview of Wildlife‐Related Issues Faced by the Wind Industry, 122 7.2 State and Federal Regulations Relevant to Wind Development’s Impact on Wildlife, 123 7.3 USFWS Guidelines for Wind Development, 124 7.4 Best Management Practices for Wind Energy Development Included as Chapter 7 of the USFWS Land‐Based Wind Energy Guidelines, 125 7.5 Bird Deaths Due to Collisions with Wind Turbine Blades, 128 7.6 Wind Generation Wildlife Issues Not Limited to Avian Collisions, 131 7.7 Avian Species of Concern, 133 CoNTENTS vii 7.8 Bat Deaths due to Wind Energy Development, 136 7.9 organizations Studying Ways to Minimize Effects of Wind Development on Birds and other Wildlife, 140 7.10 Conclusions, 141 References, 141 8 environmental and ecological Impacts of Wind energy on Humans: Public Health Issues 145 8.1 overview of Environmental and Ecological Impacts on Humans, 145 8.2 Wind Turbine Noise: Key Terms, 146 8.3 Estimates of Noise from Wind Turbines, 147 8.4 Potential Health Effects of Audible or Subaudible Noise from Wind Turbines, 149 8.5 Noise ordinances, 150 8.6 Technological Advances that can Reduce Turbine Noise, 151 8.7 Siting Procedures for Noise Mitigation, 152 8.8 Shadow Flicker, 153 8.9 Mitigation of Shadow Flicker, 154 8.10 Electric and Magnetic Fields, 155 8.11 Mitigating EMF Exposure from Wind Projects, 156 8.12 Solid and Hazardous Wastes, 156 8.13 Mitigation of Solid and Hazardous Waste Issues, 157 8.14 Conclusions, 158 References, 158 9 environmental and ecological Impacts of Wind energy on Humans: Public and Workforce safety Issues 160 9.1 overview of Workforce and Public Safety Issues, 160 9.2 Things Can Go Wrong Anytime Humans are Involved (in any Industry), 161 9.3 Ice Shedding, 161 9.4 Mitigating Ice Shedding Issues, 163 9.5 Blade Throw, 163 9.6 Mitigating Blade Throw Issues, 164 9.7 Risk of Fire, 164 9.8 Mitigating Risk of Fire, 165 9.9 Lightning, 165 9.10 other Weather Emergencies: Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Hail, 167 9.11 The Impact of Wind Energy on Vehicular Traffic, 167 9.12 Planning for and Addressing Transportation Issues, 168 9.13 Electrical and Pipeline Safety: Height, Depth, and Location of Electric Lines, 171 9.14 other Wind Energy Industry Workforce Safety Issues, 171 9.15 Conclusions, 174 References, 174 viii CoNTENTS 10 Wind energy’s Impact on Aviation, Radar, and telecommunications 175 10.1 Impact of Wind Energy on Military and Civilian Aviation, 175 10.2 Regulatory Requirements and FAA Permitting Process, 176 10.3 FAA Screening Tools, 177 10.4 FAA Requirements for Marking or Lighting of obstructions, 181 10.5 Marking and/or Lighting of Meteorological Towers, 184 10.6 Potential Impact of Wind Turbines on Aviation or Navigation Radar, 185 10.7 Potential Impact of Wind Turbines on Weather Radar, 189 10.8 Potential Impact of Wind Turbines on Telecommunications, 190 References, 192 11 other environmental Issues of Wind energy Development: Aesthetics, cultural Resources, Land Use compatibility, Water Resources, and site Restoration 194 11.1 Aesthetic Issues: Wind Energy’s Impact on Scenery or Viewshed, 194 11.2 Mitigating Aesthetic Impacts and Issues, 202 11.3 Impact of Wind Energy on Cultural Resources, 202 11.4 Compatibility of Wind Energy Development with Existing Land Use, 204 11.5 Impact of Wind Energy Development on Water Resources, 213 11.6 Removal of Retired Equipment and Restoration of Property, 215 11.7 Best Management Practices for Decommissioning of Wind Energy Projects (from USFWS Land‐Based Wind Energy Guidelines), 216 References, 217 12 Impact of Wind energy on the electric Grid 218 12.1 overview of Wind Integration Issues, 218 12.2 The Electric Grid, 219 12.3 Wind Penetration, 221 12.4 Issues that Arise due to Integration of Wind Energy, 222 12.5 Capability of Wind Turbines to Meet Applicable Standards for Grid Interconnection, 230 12.6 Conclusions, 232 References, 233 13 non‐Wind Renewable energy sources Used to Meet electricity needs 234 13.1 Comparing Sources of Electric Generation: Attributes That Will Be Considered, 234 13.2 Renewable Energy Generation Resources in the United States, 235 13.3 Hydroelectric Generation, 235 13.4 Solar Energy, 238 13.5 Biomass Energy, 243 13.6 Municipal Solid Waste, 245 13.7 Landfill Gas, 246