An Australian scientist is debunking some of the more absurd myths concerning wind turbines and their environmental impact, most notably around whales.
An article in the Sydney Morning Herald broke down the claims that have been put forth in opposition to offshore wind turbine farms, which include suggestions turbines pose a danger to the lives of whales feeding, migrating, or spawning in the regions where the wind farms are being built.
However, Dr. Olaf Meynecke, a research fellow at the Coastal and Marine Research Centre at Griffith University in Australia, was quick to point out these theories have no basis in fact.
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"The claims that are made by some members of the public or some politicians that it is going to kill whales are absolutely incorrect," he said.
Meynecke and U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Deputy Chief of Permits Benjamin Laws both noted there have been numerous studies on the impact of wind farms on marine life, including whales, in multiple places around the world.
"I want to be unambiguous," Laws said. "There is no information supporting that any of the equipment used in support of offshore wind development could directly lead to the death of a whale."
So where did this misinformation come from? According to the Herald, it can be traced back to astroturfing campaigns from right-wing think tanks in the Atlas Network, including the Caesar Rodney Institute, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, and the Heartland Institute. These think tanks are funded by Big Oil corporations like ExxonMobil, as well as extreme right-wing, anti-clean-energy groups like The Koch Foundation.
Wind farms have been growing steadily in popularity in recent years, both onshore and off. In England, there has been a push to build the country's largest onshore wind farm, while a site off the Virginia coast in the U.S. could power 600,000 homes when all is said and done. And another site off the coast of Maryland could provide energy for another 770,000 homes.
While turbines do have some risk for marine birds, they are actually a massive boon for fish. They make it difficult for commercial fishing vessels to maneuver in the spaces where they're built, essentially creating a marine reserve where many species can't be fished commercially.
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