Dig up a peat bog and release tonnes of [CO2]. Manufacture thousands of tonnes of concrete and transport it hundreds of miles. Manufacture thousands of tonnes of metal, transport it, build it. Put in the infrastructure to deliver electricity to the other end of the country. Erect monumental pylons sunk in concrete; more transport, more harm to the environment.
If we presume somebody has done the sums to calculate the cost to the environment of concrete, steel production and transport, why are not these numbers at the forefront of proposals? Add in decommissioning after a comparatively short wind farm life and can you come up with a green answer? Or is the North of Scotland to become a junkyard for electrical archaeology?
GREGOR RIMELL
Broomlea
Newtonmore, Inverness-shire
31 January 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/02/01/are-wind-farms-green/