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Visual Impact Modern wind turbines are large structures, sometimes over 100m to the blade tip and in essence have to be sited in exposed locations of high mean wind speeds in order to operate efficiently. Each turbine has to be spaced at at least 3 rotor diameters and therefore wind farms can occupy a significant amount of land. In general there is a trade off between the energy produce and the visibility. In most cases the assessment of a landscape and visual effects of a wind farm is normally undertaken by consultants. However we must point out that a certain degree of subjective interpretation is required for this work. The turbine layout is chosen in order to take into account the landscape character as well as the prevailing wind direction. What is more designers recognize the fact that wind turbines have to be pleasing and the choice for 3 bladed rotors has been mainly made for aesthetic reasons.
Effect of wind generators to agricultural activities There is no indication that wind farms affect agriculture or livestock. Since roughly 99% of the land that encompasses a wind farm are available for other uses, obviously rural activities can also be continued after the wind farm is installed. The usual sites of wind farms are in mountainous regions with bushy vegetation because of the existing high speeds of wind. Bird Impact The birds sometimes collide to buildings and other structures. The wind generators however do not cause particular problems as it has been found from studies in European countries as Germany, Holland, Denmark and England. It was calculated that in the total number of annually killed birds only 20 deaths were due to wind turbines. (installed capacity of 1000 MW), while respectively 1500 deaths were due to hunters and 2000 in collision with vehicles and the transfer lines of electric energy (almost invisible for birds). In any case, the protection of the population of birds in ecologically sensitive and protected regions should be taken into account at the phase of planning and the arrangement of a wind farm.
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