Do wind farms spoil the landscape?
Although some people dislike the aesthetic impact of wind turbines, others see them as striking and graceful. Moreover, in comparison to ugly nuclear power plants or the smokestacks of coal facilities, wind farms are quite inobtrusive. Public opinion surveys typically show large margins – 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 – in favor of wind energy. When surveys have been taken in the same communities before and after wind turbines are installed, the level of support has usually gone up, not down, indicating that people’s aesthetic fears have been unfounded. Furthermore, a recent study showed that wind farm construction has no significant negative effect on property values, and sometimes even causes them to increase.
