How much does electricity cost from windmills?

Windmills are not eco-friendly! Wind farms destroy the environment, sometimes irreparably. Windmills spoil the landscape. They are hostile to humans because they make noise and interfere with the work of electronic devices, including mobile phones and even televisions.

“The infrasound emitted by wind turbines is below the threshold of human perception. The noise level generated by turbines is associated only with annoyance, not with the harm of emissions to humans”, – summarizes the result of the research by Dr. Adam Zagubień from Koszalin University of Technology. That is, the noise of the wings of the windmills is not harmful to health; it is only “annoying.” Thank you, that’s enough for me.

Andrzej Talarczyk, a biologist at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, points out that wind turbines occupy land and affect landscapes and biodiversity. Even up to 5 kilometers, they have a deterrent effect on birds and large mammals. They cause micrometeorological changes in air temperature, soil moisture and radiation, which affect the circulation of carbon in the soil, physiological processes in plants and the activity of soil microbes. It is a biological degradation.

People know this because the value of land near wind farms is falling dramatically. For a simple reason: there are no buyers. No one wants to live near a windmill.

The cost of wind turbines is enormous. What? We don’t know. We know how much money the windmill manufacturers are asking for, and it’s not a small amount of money. But these amounts need to be added to – or subtracted from various subsidies. Polish and EU subsidies do not come from heaven but from taxpayers’ pockets. In addition, with the exception of homemade, pocket-sized installations, windmills are ecologically expensive. The foundation itself requires from 600 to 1000 tons of concrete and approx. 250 tons of steel. That is at least 300 tons of iron ore and approx. 200 tons of coal, which must be extracted, transported and melted. Turbines require a massive amount of oil grease. Giant shovels (up to 200 meters) are made of special, almost indestructible plastics, which, after the end of the operation, are most often buried. Although there are technologies that allow recycling, the cost of it deters. And shovels need to be replaced after 20 years of work.

Two weeks ago, we learned that Germany had decided to close – 10 years ahead of schedule – an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. The installation cost is approximately 250 million euros, and it is supposed to produce electricity by 2035. What happened?

In 2010, the German government granted subsidies to the project, guaranteeing that for 12 years, each kilowatt-hour produced a sum of 15 cents would be subsidized there. Not much? Very much! Because without subsidies, the market paid for 1kWh only 3.9 euro cents. Four times less than the subsidy. In the face of insolvency, a decision was made to liquidate. And in the queue for modernization (or demolition) are waiting for more farms.

The sad history of Alpha Ventus shows that the cost and price of wind from electricity are not the same, and an ordinary mortal in these financial montages has no chance of getting caught.

I write all this with the knowledge that I can be considered an insensitive person whose climate warming is not at heart. It’s comforting to know I’m not alone. A furious attack on windmills was made, for example, by Stéphane Bern, a world-famous author of programs about the history of people and monuments. In our country, his passionate reports – “history in characters written” – could be seen on Canal+ and TVP Kultura. Bern set heavy cannons against the wind turbines and found a way. Of course, he was accused of a lack of understanding of the troubles of the planet, but he did not let go. It was also thanks to him that the French began to organize against windmills.

Many people appreciate wind farms. We read about their advantages often and everywhere. However, I decided to exercise my right to freedom of speech and thought to explain why I hate windmills.