While wind energy has the potential to blow many of our climate change concerns out of the water, it does come with its risks. Many activists around the world have raised concerns about the impact that offshore wind turbines have on whales and other marine life. Are these concerns valid or are they just a drop in the bucket in the fight for a greener future?
What are the dangers of off-shore wind farming?
The harsh reality of green energy initiatives is that they can come at their own environmental cost, and the same is true for off-shore wind farming. Despite the incredible capabilities of these behemoth turbines, some valid ethical concerns have been raised about them, especially with regards to whales. Muddying the waters of conversations about these red flags is some blatant disinformation about the dangers of wind power.
The most sensationalized claim is that wind turbines kill whales, which is simply untrue. To date, there hasn’t been a single confirmed case of a wind turbine killing a whale anywhere in the world. Mark Baumgartner, a whale biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, stated, “Of all the right whales that have died over the last several decades, the cause of death for juveniles and adults is always vessel strike or fishing gear entanglement.”
A whale of a time
Turbines killing whales isn’t the only concern though, as their livelihoods and habitats could be impacted. Large-scale ocean operations inevitably affect marine life. Placing wind turbines at sea temporarily disrupts whales due to the noise and heightened vessel activity involved in securing the structures to the seabed and transporting equipment. During migration periods, this can cause confusion for whales in areas affected. With whales being an extremely endangered species, any disturbance can have a large impact.
To address these short-term disturbances, federal agencies collaborate with wind developers on mitigation strategies. These efforts include scheduling installations outside of whale migration periods, halting work when whales are detected nearby, and introducing advanced methods to minimize noise pollution during construction.
There’s something fishy going on
Whales aren’t the only ones who could be impacted by off-shore wind farming, fishermen may run into trouble as well. Certain types of fishing like bottom trawling can get caught on the underwater cabling required for the turbines. This can push fishermen away from their usual hunting grounds, effectively displacing them. Often wind farms will have restricted areas to fend local fishermen away.
The great irony here is that fishermen actually present a greater danger to whales than wind turbines do, but turbines present a more tangible risk to fishermen. While further research is needed to understand the long-term effects of wind farms on whales, there is plenty of information on how the adoption of whale-safe technology by lobster and crab fisheries is essential, along with stricter speed regulations for vessels when whales are present, could drastically decrease the number of needless whale deaths.
Should we turn our backs on wind turbines?
While off-shore wind farming does present a few glaring questions, their necessity is still undeniable. Experts have been very clear about the fact that climate change and its world-altering risks pose the most significant threat to marine life.
According to marine ecologist Dr. Matt Edmunds, the continued reliance on conventional energy sources could lead to the collapse of marine ecosystems. While acknowledging the potential risks associated with offshore wind farms, Dr. Edmunds emphasized that they remain a more sustainable alternative to maintaining current energy practices.
Reality can be quite unforgiving and the truth is that off-shore wind farming is a far more reasonable inconvenience to a whale than the effects of oil and gas production. Further research is required to mitigate some of the issues which have been identified already, but the continued push to scale up wind power should not be halted or slowed.