What happens when a wind farm is taken down/decommissioned?
The way that a local authority wishes to have a wind farm decommissioned should be covered by clauses in its planning permission. These clauses typically require all visible traces of the wind farm to be removed. This takes care of the turbines. Service tracks, if there are any, could be removed, although it may be best to leave them. Obviously each case is different, depending upon the size and geography of the development. Developers will then comply with these clauses. The concrete bases could be removed, but it may be better to leave them under the ground, as this causes less disturbance. If so, they would be covered with peat, stone or other indigenous material, and the site returned as closely as practicable to its original state. The turbine itself will often have a scrap value which will cover the costs of such ground restoration. Wind energy technology is essential reversible, and compared to the problems associated with decommissioning a nuclear power station, or a coal or ga
