Exploring the environmental and economic impacts of wind energy: a cost-benefit perspective

ABSTRACT

The transition from fossil fuel to a green economy has led to the rise of renewable energy sources. Wind energy stands out because it is free, clean, inexhaustible, has the capacity to generate greater power, and has lower energy costs. From local to global scales, the environmental effects of wind power are frequently positive, in contrast to the negative impacts associated with fossil fuel technologies. These include air pollution, climate change, health risks, high mortality rates, especially in infants, and greenhouse gas emissions. However, all energy sources have an impact on the environment and the economy including wind energy. With the rapid growth of wind energy over the last decade and the future potential of wind power generation, strategic assessment of these environmental and economic impacts, both positive and negative, and developing ways to mitigate these negative impacts are prerequisite operations to be carried out in the overall development of human-, economically- and ecologically-friendly wind energy.

KEYWORDS:

• Wind energy
• environment
• impact
• economy
• strategic assessment
• mitigation

1. Introduction

The increased interest in the effects of the generation of energy, together with the acknowledgement that our planet is an environment in a fragile balance, has focused on the search for sustainable energy technologies (Wang and Wang 2015; Wang et al. 2015). The burning of non-renewable energy sources is accepted as one of the primary sources of global warming and climate change. Energy scientists and experts and government leaders have progressively directed their interest toward sustainable power sources to lessen dependence on petroleum-derived fuels. Renewable energy technologies, for example, biomass, wind, and geothermal, are growing fast and becoming economically viable (Dai et al. 2015). Consequently, the use of renewable energy resource is developing breathtakingly, with one major segment being wind energy (Al Zohbi et al. 2015; Mustafa and Al-Mahadin 2018). Harnessing commercial-scale amounts of energy from wind is a relatively new type of power generation that does not cause ecological damage (Marques et al. 2014; Siyal et al. 2015; Mustafa and Al-Mahadin 2018).

The worldwide potential for wind energy production is gigantic and viewed by various individuals as the most encouraging renewable energy source (May 2015; Jensen 2019). The potential global wind energy is twenty times greater than the overall worldwide power consumption (Dabiri et al. 2015). As a standout amongst the most developed renewable energy technologies, wind energy has seen quickened development during the last decade (Alagab et al. 2015; Tajeddin and Fazelpour 2016). Wind energy has turned into the favoured choice of energy for engineers and national governments, who are trying to expand energy assets, lessen CO₂ discharges, create new businesses, and provide new jobs (Purohit and Michaelowa 2007; Dai et al. 2015; Bartolomé and Teuwen 2019). Generating power from wind energy lessens the utilization of fossil fuels, leading to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from 330 to 590 tons of CO₂ for every Gigawatt (GW) hour (Wang et al. 2015). The present innovation stream of wind energy could provide expanding power generation for 40–50 years and diminished electricity costs for 90–100 years into the future (Zhang et al. 2016).

Statistics show that, between 2001 and 2018, global cumulative wind capacity has increased rapidly. In 2018, it was estimated that the cumulative wind capacity worldwide was approximately 596,556 megawatt (MW) (Figure 1). About 50.2 GW of new wind capacity was added in 2018, bringing the global total to approximately 600 GW (Global Wind Energy Council 2019; Renewable Energy Policy Network for 21st Century 2017, 2018; Statista 2019). Annual installed wind power increased from 4117 MW in 2011 to 18814 MW in 2017 (Figure 2). This overall development of wind energy encourages energy independence and ordinarily costs less than other renewable energy sources like solar energy (Dinh and McKeough 2018).

Figure 1. Global cumulative installed wind capacity (2001–2018) (Statista 2019)

Figure 2. Annual cumulative wind power capacity (2011–2017) (Statista 2019)

All power generation, however, has environmental impacts (May 2015) including wind energy. It is not free of problems (Union of Concerned Scientists 2009), although they are small when contrasted to those associated with other sources of energy (US Department of Interior 2011; Al Zohbi et al. 2015). The impacts of wind energy on the environment are frequently viewed as positive from local to worldwide scales. The production of energy from renewable resources has the potential to reduce mining activities, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil fuels (Barclay et al. 2007; National Research Council 2007a). With its quick development, it is auspicious to examine the environmental impact of wind energy (Mann and Teilmann 2013). The development of wind power can prompt surprising ecological effects on ecosystems; this is because the numerous activities necessary with the entire wind energy chain, for example, raw materials acquisition, development, and transformation to energy creation and transmission, can positively influence the environment, soil, water and living beings (Katsaprakakis 2012; Wang and Wang 2015).

This paper extensively reviews the environmental impacts of wind energy on human beings, marine animals, wildlife, such as bats and birds, land use, local climate, and livestock, resulting from noise, greenhouse gas emissions, electromagnetic interference, cultural, aesthetic and historical impacts to their visual impact, as well as the economic impacts on the local economy, job creation and employment, tourism, annual revenues, land revenue, and property value. Also, the ways that these negative impacts can be mitigated, thereby making comprehensive information available for policymakers, engineers and all organizations involved in wind energy, are explored.

2. Environmental impact assessment

Wind is free, clean, indigenous, and endless (Union of Concerned Scientists 2009; Alternative Energy Tutorials 2017). Wind turbines do not require fuel, so there are no ecological dangers or contamination from the exploration, extraction, transport, shipment, handling, or transfer of fossil fuels. Wind power is generated with zero emissions of carbon dioxide during operation, and it neither pollutes nor discharges lethal contaminants (Union of Concerned Scientists 2009; Jaber 2014). Environmental impacts can be categorized into those caused during development, operation, and decommissioning. Environmental impacts, specifically their seriousness, depend on various factors, such as the size and technique for their construction and use, the conditions at the generation site, and contending land use. When wind power is installed in developed areas, the ecological effects, excluding visual effects, are indistinct from those of the current manufacturing activities. Yet if wind power is to be introduced in delicate common zones, for example, mountain peaks and archipelagos, a detailed environmental impact assessment is required (WindAware 2017). The effect of wind power on the environment varies for human beings, local climate, land use, marine animals, and wildlife. This paper considers each of these effects and how they can be mitigated. Understanding these impacts will enable better mitigation and the formation of more effective renewable energy policies (Wang and Wang 2015).

2.1. Birds and bats fatalities

Wind turbines are tall, vertical structures with long rotating blades, which may represent a danger to birds that get excessively close (Alternative Energy Tutorials 2017). Bird fatalities stemming from impact with wind turbines have been consistently classified as a fundamental environmental disadvantage to wind energy (Marques et al. 2014; Al Zohbi et al. 2015; Wang et al. 2015) and are commonly seen as a noteworthy issue for wind power development (May 2015; May et al. 2015). This is despite the fact that bird mortality from wind turbines, both onshore and offshore, is far less than many other energy generation structures and human technologies (Figure 3). Bird fatalities may become a significant issue if wind power is installed extensively, which conceivably may result in a decrease in biodiversity (Wang et al. 2015; Kaldellis et al. 2016).

Figure 3. Annual avian mortality in the USA. Numbers show the lowest values of a range of estimates (Wang et al. 2015)

Moderately small increments in death rates may have a huge impact on avian species with small populations, particularly long-lived species with low yearly reproduction and slow maturity rates (Wang et al. 2015). Several researchers have studied the impact of wind turbines on bird populations (Marques et al. 2014; Al Zohbi et al. 2015; May and Nilsen 2015; Zhang et al. 2016; Mustafa and Al-Mahadin 2018; Renewable Energy Policy Network for 21st Century 2018). The development and functionality of wind power plants may influence birds through impact on mortality, decreased natural environment usage because of interference, obstructions to flight and migration, and habitat alteration, with the nature and extent of those impacts being site and species specific. Birds may react to these impacts by escaping, activity shifts, or changed habitat use, which is generally termed avoidance (May 2015; Masden and Cook 2016). Variables that explain why and how birds are killed by wind turbines include the flying conditions, lighting of turbines, bird movements, siting and terrain, turbine design features, geography of wind farms, and habitat disruption. Due to this intricacy, no straightforward technique can be extensively used for mitigation strategies. The best mitigation alternative may include a mix of more than one measure, adjusted to the specificities of each site, wind farm, and bird target species (Marques et al. 2014; Wang et al. 2015).

Fatalities of bats have been recorded at wind infrastructures globally (Barclay et al. 2007). Moreover, while fatalities of birds are distributed among numerous species, just three species make up most of bats killed. As a result, the potential effect on bat populations might be more noteworthy (May and Nilsen 2015). In Europe, for example, 19 out of 38 species of bats resident in the European Union have been allegedly killed by wind turbines (Ledec et al. 2011). Investigations of modifying cut-in speeds to decrease bat fatalities showed decreases in normal daily bat casualties from 56% to 92% with negligible yearly power loss. Also, bat fatalities increased exponentially with tower height. As bats fly at elevations similar to the blades of larger turbines, then reducing tower height might reduce bat deaths. Also, replacing older, smaller turbines with fewer, larger turbines can result in greater number of bat fatalities (Barclay et al. 2007).

2.2. Local climate change

Wind farms can influence the weather patterns in their immediate vicinities. Wind farms may influence climate in their immediate region. In Xilingo League, Inner Mongolia, data demonstrated that there have been extraordinary dry seasons since 2005, and that this drought increased more quickly in regions with many wind turbines (Leung and Yang 2012). Wind farms may create notable effects on neighbourhood- to provincial-level climate and weather if the densities of turbines are concentrated over large areas (Wang and Wang 2015; Moravec et al. 2018). Turbulence from rotating wind turbine rotors increases vertical mixing of heat and water vapour that influence downwind meteorological conditions, including rainfall (Dai et al. 2015). Overall, wind farms lead to a small degree of warming at night and a small degree of cooling in the daytime (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Physical processes between wind power and surface atmosphere (Wang and Wang 2015)

This impact can be decreased by utilizing rotors with higher efficiency or siting wind farms in areas with high natural turbulence. A small degree of warming during the evening could profit farming by diminishing ice damage and increasing the maturing season. Farmers currently do this with air circulators (Wikipedia 2017); that paper reported that the weather around an extensive wind farm in Texas was influenced by the proximity of the wind turbines. Using ground temperatures estimated by satellites, they discovered a slight warming of 0.5°C during the evening in the area specifically under the wind farm. This warming impact was small and affected the immediate surroundings; the evening warming affected a larger area than the immediate surroundings of the wind farm (Kraft 2012; Kirk-Davidoff 2014).

If they are large enough, these alterations may significantly affect the immediate environment to local climate and weather. Data from satellite surveillance indicate a large warming pattern of up to 0.72⁰C every decade, especially during the evening, under wind farms as compared to areas without wind farms (Wang and Wang 2015). Various studies have evaluated the impact of extensive wind farms using atmospheric models. Research results show that if 10% of world’s energy demand originated from wind power in 2100, then the world’s temperature would go up by only 1° C. Even at that, this warming impact brought about by wind turbines is still smaller than that created by the discharge of greenhouse gases on the worldwide scale (1.50° C by 2030) (Dai et al. 2015; IPCC 2019).

2.3. Noise and impact of noise on human health

Noise is described as any undesirable sound. Wind turbines produce two kinds of noise: mechanical and aerodynamic (Son et al. 2010). Mechanical noise is generated by the mechanical and electrical components of the turbine; aerodynamic noise is generated by airflow around turbine blades. The combination of both noises is the overall noise from the wind turbine (National Research Council 2007b). As of late, because of the development of advanced noise damped wind turbine designs, mechanical noise has been decreased successfully, and is not viewed as critical as the aerodynamics noise, particularly for large-scale wind turbines (Wang and Wang 2015; Alternative Energy Tutorials 2017). Different factors contribute to the spread of the noise from wind turbines, including air temperature, humidity, hindrances, reflections, and ground surface materials (Dai et al. 2015).

During the initial stage of wind energy development, wind turbines usually cause a degree of disturbance on human societies, quality of life, and local ecosystems (Kaldellis et al. 2003; Feder et al. 2015). Colby et al. studied the impact of the noise from wind turbines on human health and found that there is no evidence that the audible or sub-audible sounds produced by wind turbines have any direct detrimental physiological effects (Colby et al. 2009; Mann and Teilmann 2013). The ground-borne vibrations from wind turbines are too insignificant to be recognized by or to affect humans (Jaber 2014). The sounds produced by wind turbines are not special. There is no proof that the levels and frequencies of the sound from wind turbines are detrimental to wellbeing (Colby et al. 2009). In contrast, other researchers argue that the background noise produced during operation and visual impact are major irritations (Mann and Teilmann 2013) and produce dissatisfaction in people’s lives (Leung and Yang 2012) and serious health issues (Dai et al. 2015).

The closeness of wind turbines to residential areas has adverse effect on human health (Krogh et al. 2012). Results from a survey of individuals who lived within 2 km of wind turbines demonstrated that the wind turbines influenced life quality and luxury for some inhabitants. Those occupants were not willing to accept wind turbines and kept a poisonous frame of mind against wind turbine energy (Mroczek et al. 2015). Wind turbine disorder, a psychosomatic issue generally brought about by nervousness about wind farms, is also a hazard for human wellbeing (Colby et al. 2009). To control this noise level, a base separation of wind farms and residences is typically suggested by governments or medical organizations and differs amongst nations or localities (Dai et al. 2015; Alternative Energy Tutorials 2017). Son et al. examined the attributes of aerodynamics noise from wind turbines utilizing a coordinated numerical technique that is dependent on the Ray hypothesis (Son et al. 2010). The results showed that placing hindrances in the propagation path can minimally reduce the noise of wind turbines. Additionally, appropriate siting and insulating materials can be used to moderately limit noise impacts (US Department of the Interior 2011).

2.4. Emission of Green House Gases (GHG)

Wind energy projects that are developed properly help to combat climate change by displacing GHG emissions, while enhancing sustainable development especially in rural areas (Purohit and Michaelowa 2007), thereby making wind energy of interest. Wind energy reduces GHG emissions to levels much small than those of fossil fuels. Some GHGs are emitted by wind energy, the majority primarily during construction, assembly, transportation, maintenance, and dismantling (Finnish Wind Energy Association 2020). Life-cycle analysis (LCA) is used to evaluate the life-cycle of GHG emissions from wind power, because it considers the entire life from cradle to grave, for example, materials production, materials transportation, on-site development and assembly, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning and dismantlement (Union of Concerned Scientists 2009). LCA results demonstrate that the GHG emissions from wind power vary from 2 to 86 g CO₂ e/kW-hr. The huge gap in the estimation of GHG emissions is because of the size of wind farms, the techniques used to access GHG emissions from the life cycle of wind farm, and locations (Wang and Wang 2015). Techno-economic analysis of wind energy affirms its potential to contribute to a low carbon bioeconomy (Purohit and Michaelowa 2007; Höltinger et al. 2016).

2.5. Visual impact

Wind turbines are artificial, vertical steel structures consisting of large rotating blades and consequently visually affect the immediate environment and the distant horizon, in a similar manner to most other structures, large facilities, industries, and grid control frameworks. They have the capability to draw an individual’s attention (Borch et al. 2014; Alternative Energy Tutorials 2017). Among all the environmental impacts of wind turbines, the visual effect is the most complicated to evaluate (Leung and Yang 2012). The features of wind technologies may draw attention to themselves. These features comprise the turbines themselves including material, height, size, number, and color, access and site tracks, substation structures, grid connections, anemometer poles, and transmission lines (Jaber 2014).

Recent large wind turbines up to 1.5–3 MW can be sighted in the scenery from 20 miles away or more, yet as one moves away, the turbine looks smaller in perspective, until it becomes a small part of the overall view. The most critical impacts probably occur within a three-mile radius of the farm, and up to an eight-mile radius for sensitive areas or areas considered to be focal points (National Research Council 2007b). As visual impact is known to be site specific, wind design characteristics and proper siting have been discovered to reduce the potentiality of the visual effect (Jaber 2014).

2.6. Electromagnetic interference

Despite the fact that the electromagnetic field of a wind turbine itself is very low and is limited in range, it can cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) (National Research Council 2007b; Dai et al. 2015). EMI is electromagnetic disruption influence that interferes, hinders, or generally corrupts or constrains the operation of electrical hardware and gear. Wind turbines create electromagnetic interference in two ways; wind turbines may generate EMI and disrupt existing TV and radio transmissions (National Research Council 2007b). EMI can also impact microwave-transmission, mobile phones, and radar.

Measures that minimize this issue include using blades produced from synthetic and composite materials in contrast to steel blades because the former produce less interference (Dai et al. 2015). Also, wind farms can be sited without blocking communication signals. The use of additional transmitter poles could likewise be an answer, with some additional expense for investors. In areas where the wind turbines have previously created electromagnetic interference, diverters could be introduced to defeat the issues (Katsaprakakis 2012).

2.7. Impact on marine animals

Despite the growth seen in offshore wind development during the past few years particularly in Europe, there is still a lack of certainty related to the impact on marine creatures and the marine environment. Conventional offshore wind turbines are mounted on the seabed in shallow waters in a close-shore marine environment. Floating wind turbines are being utilized in deeper waters where more wind potentials exist (Wikipedia 2017) and may reduce these effects.

Additional concerns related to offshore wind technologies include underwater noise caused by wind turbines supported by monopile foundations and the modification of marine animal behaviour by the existence of offshore wind farms causing attraction or avoidance and potential disturbance of the near-field and far-field marine conditions from extensive offshore wind farms (Van Kuik et al. 2016; Wikipedia 2017). Maintenance performed on wind turbines, for example, parts renewal or lubrication, can introduce oil or waste and dirty seawater (Dai et al. 2015).

So as to reduce the impact of wind energy on the marine creatures, an assessment should be done in the following areas: (a) specific, detailed alleviation measures are required to guarantee that there is no impact on secured natural habitats or water courses; (b) oceanic ecology studies; (c) accurate fishery sizes and the impact on the influenced downstream zones should be estimated; (d) correction techniques where negative effects are anticipated, for example, natural contamination, sedimentation, fermentation, siltation changes in water streams, and deforestation; and (e) the likely need for alternative sites for the development of wind energy areas perceived to have catastrophic impact on the marine environment (WindAware 2017).

2.8. Impact on Livestock and water use

The development of wind energy has no water impact because little is used during operation of equipment. Some water is utilized to produce steel and concrete for wind turbines (Union of Concerned Scientists 2009). The land on which wind farms are located can be used for farming and cattle grazing. Animals are unaffected by the nearness of wind farms (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Livestock grazing on a wind farm (Alternative Energy Tutorials 2017)

Worldwide experience demonstrates that animals will approach the base of wind turbines and frequently use them as scratching posts or for shade. In an attempt to evaluate the impacts of raising animals close to wind farms, one investigation studied the impact that the wind farm has on the wellbeing and the development of animals. Two groups of geese were used in the case study. Results showed that geese raised inside a 50-meter radius of a wind farm gained less weight than geese raised 500 meters outside the wind farm. Semi-domesticated reindeer maintained a strategic distance from the construction event; however, they appear to be unaffected when the turbines were operational (Wikipedia 2017).

2.9. Land use impact

The nearby scene, vegetation, and natural surroundings of numerous rodents and flying creatures can be influenced by the development stage because access roads, power line tunnels, and foundations change the area. However, the development procedure may take just fourteen days, contingent upon the site conditions and tasks; once accomplished, different operations can proceed up until the completion of the turbine bases (Alternative Energy Tutorials 2017). Deforestation and vegetation clearing needed to establish wind farms is insignificant compared with coal mines and coal-fuelled power stations (Wikipedia 2017). The development of wind energy has some unfavourable effects on land, which are determined by varieties of factors including the widening of streets, scaffolds that encourage access amid development, the actual development process itself, which includes establishing large foundations capable of supporting turbines up to 185 m tall, cabling for access to the network, and the ongoing upkeep of the turbines.

Construction may be very harmful to nature and nearby wildlife. Clearing surface vegetation will expose the soil to strong rainfall, consequently bringing about soil erosion (WindAware 2017). Wastewater and oil from the construction site can saturate the ground and have negative environmental impacts (Dai et al. 2015). The effect of each proposed wind farm should be appropriately evaluated; however, the combined effect of a significant number of turbines in a single area likewise should be cautiously surveyed by organizers (WindAware 2017). Yet, wind turbines in a wind farm occupy less than five percent of the landmass, alongside the electrical hardware and access roads. The foundations of wind turbines are about 50 m in diameter are completely buried. This allows livestock and farming activities up to the wind turbine tower base (Kaldellis et al. 2003).

The American Wind Wildlife Institute’s Landscape Assessment Tool is a publicly accessible mapping instrument that shows natural data pertinent to wind energy advancement within a given US topographical zone. Using more than 1,000 information layers, this instrument permits wind designers to perform the high-level screening of potential erection sites (US Department of Energy 2017a). The operational lifetime of a wind turbine might be no less than 20 years, which can be increased by yearly maintenance; yet once decommissioned and destroyed, the site could be re-established back to its original state with a large portion of the turbine segments being recyclable (Alternative Energy Tutorials 2017). It is suggested that wind farms are not installed in the most delicate regions (Finnish Wind Power Association 2020).

2.10. Aesthetic and cultural impact

Wind energy sites have both positive and negative impacts on recreation. On the positive side, wind energy projects are tourist attractions providing tours and information about wind energy (Jaber 2014). Some designers permit free access to wind project sites for activities such as hunting, hiking, and snowmobiling (National Research Council 2007b). Using spatial panel regression, the relationship between wind turbines and tourism demand in 2015 was analyzed. The results showed that wind turbines have a negative relation with tourist demand for the northern regions of Germany close to the North and Baltic Seas (Broekel and Alfken 2015). Viewing wind projects located on sensitive and historic landscapes requires the same kind of analyses for aesthetic impact; nevertheless, appropriate expert guidance is required in this aspect (Jaber 2014).

2.11. Safety

Some turbine nacelle fires cannot be extinguished because of their height and are sometimes left to extinguish themselves. In such cases, they create toxic smoke and can cause a secondary fire on the land below. New wind turbines are manufactured with automatic fire extinguishers, such as used in jet engines. These autonomous systems, which can be retrofit in older wind turbines, can detect fires, shut down turbines, and quench fires (Wikipedia 2017).

In winter, ice can form on the turbine blades and can fall off during operation. This is a potential safety risk that will shut down the turbine. Modern turbines can detect excessive vibration during ice formation and operation and can automatically shut down. Electronic control and safety subsystems monitor the turbine, generator, tower, and many aspects of the environment to determine whether the turbine is operating safely within specified limits. This system may temporarily shut down the turbine due to the strong wind, power load imbalance, vibration, and other problems. Common or serious problems can lock the system and alert the engineer for inspection and maintenance. Furthermore, if electronic control fails, most systems have multiple passive safety systems that can cease operations (Wikipedia 2017).

2.12. Societal acceptance

Social acceptance is an important issue for wind energy use and may limit the amount of wind resources that can be used to achieve climate change goals (Enevoldsen and Sovacool 2016). Social acceptance is influenced by a variety of factors, such as the level of project characteristics, the understanding of the distribution of costs and benefits, and the level of public participation (Guo et al. 2015; Khorsand et al. 2015). Social acceptance also is influenced by the project landscape, property value, health, and biodiversity (Ellis and Ferraro 2016). In Germany, the most negative influence on the acceptance is fear of infrasound (Langer et al. 2018). Many people are horrified by the closeness of wind turbines to medieval structures; however, large percentage of people expressed a positive interest in both Portugal and Sortelha (Silva and Delicado 2017). Moreover, these results demonstrate that occupants see turbines in motion as more lovely than static turbines, evidence of the economic and ecological qualities that affect wind energy attitudes and expectations. As a result, the social acceptance of wind energy combines both generally positive attitudes towards wind energy technology and the rise of decisions at the local level (Lago et al. 2009).

Socio-political acceptance refers to the acceptance of both the technology and strategy at a general level. The general level of socio-political acceptance is not limited to the ‘high and stable’ level of people’s acceptance but includes acceptance among major interest groups and political decision-makers (Figure 6). The positions and policymakers involved in the discussion of ‘renewable energy policies’ play an important role in resolving project questions and facilitating community participation initiatives (Lago et al. 2009; Rehman et al. 2019).

Figure 6. The triangle model of social acceptance (Lago et al. 2009)

This complication means that simple amendments, simple consultations, or community benefit funds cannot be accepted. More radical reforms are needed in terms of how the energy system interacts with communities and citizens (Ellis and Ferraro 2016; Van Kuik et al. 2016; Brannstrom et al. 2017). Therefore, evaluating their acceptance level has piqued the interest of social researchers. In Austria, future development plans may confront resistance on the societal level, as well as by high-level stakeholders. However, a continual discussion with significant stakeholders at the national level to transparently examine these exchange offs (Lago et al. 2009; DOE 2017a) will reduce this opposition. It is imperative to actively involve the end-users in the production of energy in the near future whether for private energy supply or financial investment of their electricity and its production conditions (Spiess et al. 2015; Ellis and Ferraro 2016; Langer et al. 2016). The outcome of local attitudes towards wind projects, whether resistance or acceptance, cannot be predetermined, but the reaction can be effectively controlled and modelled, if given adequate consideration during the design and execution process (Guo et al. 2015; Enevoldsen and Sovacool 2016).

3. Economic impact assessment

The development of wind energy impacts the economy of the region in which it is developed. Economic impacts are crucial in the societal acceptance and in the development of wind power. Understanding these implications will allow for better design and implementation of more effective wind energy policies.

3.1. Local economy

Wind energy projects support local economies. The relationship between wind turbine, per capita employment, and per capita income is statistically significant and positive (Smith 2014). Researchers in the US studied the impact of the wind industry in rural counties. Economists established wind farms in twelve states between 2000 and 2008: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. The investigation areas covered 1,009 counties. Researchers found that wind energy development increases both total income and employment in the developing county. Results proved that for every megawatt of wind energy capacity, half of one job was created and for about half of all MWs of wind energy capacity created, personal income increased by 11,150 USD. Counties affected by wind energy development increased payments by an average of 1.4% for installation, operation, or leasing of turbines (DailyYonder 2012; Berkeley Lab 2012).

Considering the existing research in Wales and the Shetland Islands in the UK, as well as Hannover in Germany, only limited, if any, local economic impacts were noticeable in these areas. Researchers examined the impacts of wind power deployment on the local economy in Germany. The study only focused on the very county where the turbines are located. In contrast, the results proved a positive impact, increasing a county’s GDP per capita by 0.389% for a 1 GW wind energy project (Blazejczak et al. 2011; Dinh and McKeough 2018). In Texas, one project in 2001 of 1 GW of wind power had myriad effects on the economy. The project supported 260 USD million in activity during the construction phase and nearly 35 USD million per year during the operating phase (Reategui and Hendrickson 2011). This outcome was greatly influenced by increased investment activity (Blazejczak et al. 2011).

3.2. Job creation and employment

Wind tourism revenues supported between 30 and 339 jobs in 2015 at wind farms in Scotland (Glasgow Caledonian University 2008). Wind has the capacity to support more than 600,000 jobs in production, installation, maintenance, and support by 2050 (US Department of Energy 2017a). Wind projects produce jobs in different ways: direct, indirect, and induced. An investigation by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) looked at job creation in Iowa, which ranks second in wind capacity of US states. From the first 1,000 MW of installed wind capacity out of 4,525 MW, 2,300 full-time equivalent jobs were added during construction. The industry also created 270 permanent jobs, including 75 on-site positions, 105 equipment and supply jobs, and the remainder in other sectors. The study also found that, while in-state manufacturing was fairly low during this period, it grew rapidly as wind capacity increased, resulting in the addition of 2,000 wind manufacturing jobs (New York State Energy Research and Development Agency 2017).

In 2012, Canada was the ninth largest wind energy producer in the world with a capacity of 6,500 MW, supplying approximately 3% of the total Canadian electricity demand. With an addition of 936 megawatts and 10,500 employees, wind power generated over 2 USD billion in investments [76]. Over 2,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs were created in  the USA state of Texas in 2011 during construction stages and 240 permanent jobs (Blazejczak et al. 2011; Reategui and Hendrickson 2011).

3.3. Tourism

The economic impact of tourism cannot be determined in a straight forward manner because it is site specific although research found a positive relation. In Germany, a study was conducted to determine the relationship between wind turbines and demand for tourism. The results show a negative correlation, which is particularly bad news for Germany, especially the northern regions (Broekel and Alfken 2015). Overall, three-quarters of tourists consider wind farms to have a positive or neutral impact on the landscape in Scotland with 39% being positive about wind farms, 36% being neutral, and 25% were negative including10% whose reaction was strongly negative (Glasgow Caledonian University 2008).

3.4. Land revenue

The development of a wind project can provide an additional source of income to rural landowners from lease payments and production royalties (New York State Energy Research and Development Agency 2017). In general, for each wind turbine erected on their land property, landowners get up to 1–3% of revenues (Koeffel 2012). In spite of the fact that wind farms require large acres of land for development because wind turbines are spaced far apart, the real footprint of the wind turbines is small, ranging between 2% and 5%, which makes the activities prior to the development to continue alongside the wind farm (US Bureau of Reclamation 2013; Mills 2015). In the US in 2011, landowners earned nearly 5 USD million from lease payment income on wind energy projects and up to 11.5 USD million in 2015 (Reategui and Hendrickson 2011; Brannstrom et al. 2015). Currently, US wind farms pay a sum of 222 USD million to property owners in the US and one expects this number to increase exponentially in the near future (Dividend 2020).

3.5. Property value

There are some aesthetic issues outside the scope of analytical instruments; however, the effects of wind farms on property values have been investigated (Sterzinger et al. 2003). Sterzinger et al. analyzed the values of the properties in the form of onshore wind turbines and found that, in eight out of ten cases, the values of the properties in the form of a span increased faster than those without. In addition, the rate of growth in property value increased after the placement of the wind farm in nine common cases. Therefore, there is no empirical evidence that wind farms adversely affect the value of real (Snyder and Kaiser 2009). For example, a study conducted by Hoen et al. in (2013), analysed data from more than 50,000 home sales across 27 (mostly rural) counties in nine USA states including seven counties, of which four in New York that were within 0.5 to 10 miles of wind facilities. There was no statistically significant evidence found in the study that after the announcement, property prices were affected near the wind turbine before or after construction.

A similar study examined 122,000 home sales near 41 turbines located in more densely populated areas in Massachusetts, USA within 5 miles of wind facilities in 2014. The study concluded that there were no net effects on property values due to wind turbines. As a result of the study, only weak data were found, indicating that the wind project announcement had a moderately negative impact on real estate prices and that such impacts after the project was built and commenced operations became unapparent (Atkinson-Palombo and Hoen 2014; New York State Energy Research and Development Agency 2017). In contrast, a study based in England and Wales argued that the closer a property is to a wind farm of 1–10 turbines, the higher the reduction in price of the property. Properties within a 2 km radius of the wind farm had a 5% price reduction impact, within a 4 km radius the reduction was 1.5%, and became negligible beyond a 4 km radius. For a large wind farm, the price reduction of properties within a 2 km radius was between 5% and 6%, less than 2% within a 4 km, and minimal impact (below 1%) in areas within a 14 km radius. The long-term effects of operating wind farms on property value are eventually neutral or somewhat positive (Cox 2017). Analysis of real estate sales since post 1998 projects proved that there is no reason to believe that the development of wind energy will harm property values (Sterzinger et al. 2003).

3.6. Annual revenues

Annual revenues are a major way that wind energy contributes to the economy. In the Dutton Dunwich community in Canada, the Strong Breeze Wind energy project directly contributed around 1.7 USD million annually, approximately 1,170 USD per household. Wind energy projects increased Dutton Dunwich’s net property tax revenue in 2015 by 6% adding approximately 180,000 USD per year (Holburn 2017). In the state of Texas in the USA, annual property taxes generated were more than 7 USD million from wind energy in 2009 (Reategui and Hendrickson 2011). Furthermore, the Langdon Wind Energy Center project near Langdon in 2008 made annual local property tax payments of 456,000, USD, which was about 2,900 USD per MW (Leistritz and Coon 2009).

4. Mitigating the negative impacts of wind energy

The economic and environmental advantages of generating power from wind energy play a crucial role in achieving the energy policy goals of climate change. In order to achieve these results, the negative environmental and economic impacts must be adequately taken into account, which consequently increases the market value of wind energy (Sannino 2013). These measures, some of which have already been mentioned, can be adapted to minimize the negative environmental impacts. They include the following:

• Impacts are site specific; micro siting is critical to reducing these impacts (Sinclair 2017), especially for noise reduction, visual impact, EMI, and local climate impact. Using a multi-criteria decision-making process in micro-siting can help appropriate siting of wind turbines with reduced environmental impacts.

• From national to local scales, authorities must conduct strategic environmental assessments of all wind energy projects and programs that can lead to significant environmental impacts (Wesseler and Smart 2014).

• Expanding research using rigorous scientific methods is critical to filling existing information gaps and increasing the reliability of forecasts.

• Technological and improved engineering advancements play an important role in impact mitigation, e.g., the use of rotors with higher efficiency in controlling the local climate around a wind farm, use of insulating materials to reduce noise, and composite/synthetic material blades for EMI reduction. Also, limiting tower heights to reduce bat fatalities.

• For improved societal acceptance, multiple stakeholders and policymakers approach can be introduced involving the general public in the wind power development especially on the production parameters.

• Overall, wind energy development has a net positive impact on the economy. Econometric tools can be utilized to forecast economic impacts for new projects, so as to inform public–private partnerships and enlighten the people living in the regions where the wind energy project is to be situated.

When properly situated, wind projects can bring net environmental and economic benefits to the communities they serve and the entire country (US Department of Energy 2017b)

5. Impact of wind energy and sustainable development goals

Sustainable development could be more easily realized in Africa if renewable energy such as wind energy was exploited. Therefore, the transition from fossil fuel to green energy would be based on the sustainability pillars: economic, social, and environmental sustainability (Welch and Venkateswaran 2009; Mentis et al. 2015). The exploration of wind energy will be a major contributor to this change. In a continent like Africa, where the energy crisis is a major challenge for governments, channelling the huge reserves in wind energy will be a major step in solving this challenge, be a major contributor to rural electrification, and enable wind energy to contribute to the overall energy mix. This directly contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). SDG 7 is central to achieving all other SDGs (Fuso Nerini et al. 2017; Tosun and Leininger 2017; Buonocore et al. 2019). Wind energy helps to combat climate change by displacing GHG emissions (SDG 13), enhances the reduction of respiratory illnesses that are connected to air pollution especially in children, and consequently reduces the infant mortality rate. It also improves the quality of life, thereby improving health and well-being (SDG 3) (Rani 2014; Fuso Nerini et al. 2017; Tosun and Leininger 2017; Lim et al. 2018; McCollum DL et al. 2017; Nilsson et al. 2018; Buonocore et al. 2019).

Women are the primary home energy managers and use energy more than men. Hence, wind energy fosters a cleaner, gender-balanced environment contributing to gender equality (SDG 5) (Nilsson et al. 2018; UNWomen 2020). Wind energy development creates jobs and contributes to local and national economic growth promoting SDG 8. With increased jobs, annual revenues, and land revenues generated by wind projects, poverty is reduced (SDG 1) and hunger is also mitigated (SDG 2). The development of wind energy boosts industry, innovation, and industrialization goals (SDG 9) and enables energy efficiency fostering sustainable cities and societies (SDG 11) (Fuso Nerini et al. 2017; Tosun and Leininger 2017; McCollum et al. 2018; Nilsson et al. 2018). Offshore wind turbines may have impact on aquatic species. Birds and bat fatalities have been identified as a direct impact of wind projects. This impact must be assessed and mitigated boosting life below water and life on land (SDGs 14 and 15). Wind projects generate electricity with less water than the conventional fossil fuels, thereby enhancing clean water and sanitation (SDG 6). Wind projects can bring net environmental and economic benefits and multi-stakeholder partnerships to the communities in which they are sited and for the whole country, thereby making it possible to build peace and strong institutions and building support for partnership for the sustainable development goals (SDGs 16 and 17) (Fuso Nerini et al. 2017; Tosun and Leininger 2017; Lim et al. 2018; Nilsson et al. 2018; McCollum et al. 2017, 2018).

6. Conclusion

The environmental impact of wind energy is a sensitive and controversial issue even with a positive impact on the economy. Based on the literature presented in this paper, it is clear that the economic and environmental effects of wind energy are site specific. All forms of human activities have a corresponding impact on the environment including wind energy. However, as wind energy becomes a major source of energy, many of the environmental impacts that are currently insignificant may have detrimental effects and therefore cannot be ignored. It is paramount that more research and proper optimization be carried out to ensure wind energy becomes an environmentally friendly and sustainable method of generating electricity, by properly weighing the positive and negative impacts on the environment and the economy and by using the best design methods and modes of operation of wind energy and farms.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the African Centre of Excellence in Energy for Sustainable Development, University of Rwanda, through the World Bank ACE II program, for their sponsorship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.