How much land is required to site wind turbines?
Wind turbines and access roads occupy less than 3% of the land area in a typical wind farm. The remaining land can still be used for farming or ranching without inconvenience. Since wind turbines extract energy from the wind, there is less energy in the wind shade of a turbine (and more turbulence) than in front of it. In a wind farm, turbines generally have to be spaced between three and nine rotor diameters apart in order not to shade one another too much. If there is one particular prevailing wind direction, turbines may be spaced very closely in an orientation that is at a right angle to that direction to avoid shading. For instance, if the prevailing wind blows from the west, turbines may be placed north-south.
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